The Two Boys Who Tricked A Tropical Demon

The Two Boys Who Tricked A Tropical Demon is a story recounted by Tonke Aisea. On the island of Wōnbar, two boys lived with their parents. Every day, the father found food for his family, and one day his sons asked him to bring home kōtkōt birds, so they could watch the birds fight. The children went to find birds to eat, and the father rowed off in his canoe to catch fish. He caught many fish and returned to trap a fighting bird for each of his sons. He gave his sons the birds and told them to avoid the North side of the island. The boys built a small cage for their pets, and the next day brought them to the East side of the island. They found many birds to eat and released their fighting birds, only for all the edible birds to fly away. The two brothers returned home in disappointment having caught no birds. The next day the boys ran to the West side of the island in search of stronger birds. The younger brother, frustrated at seeing no bird fights, ran to the North side of the island to find more birds. When they reached the North side, they saw no birds and the younger boy was angry. A voice offered to have a bird fight with the boys, and then a demon emerged from the bushes. The younger brother accepted the challenge, and the fight concluded with the brothers winning. The younger brother laughed, but the older brother pointed out that the demon was changing colors and did not seem amused. The demon snatched them up and threw them into a pit with nothing but a clamshell inside, declaring he would eat them. He demanded to see the boy’s hands, and they showed that they were too thin to be good food. The demon brought baskets of food which the younger brother ate immediately, however, the older brother stripped any coconuts of their hair to form a cord. They kept this up for a time, repeatedly saying they were too skinny to eat, until eventually, the demon got tired of waiting. The demon created a fire to cook them and announced this to his prisoners. While the demon was distracted, the older brother used his rope to climb free and lowered a basket to free his brother. They filled the clamshell with coconut oil so that the demon struck out at their reflection and fell into the pit. The demon demanded to know how they escaped, and they tricked him into falling and dying by hitting his head on the clamshell. They took all the food and returned to their parents, deciding to move to the North side of the island now that the demon was dead.

Citations:

Marshall Islands Legends and Stories. United States, Bess Press, 2003.