Tale by Binet Bujen

 

Note: The interviewee is noted by initials, the interviewer by [Q].
N.B. All throughout BB sings and accompanies himself.

 

The Origin of the Banana

[BB] My name is Mr. Binet T. Bujen from the village of Lukoj (we tie) [here the name of the town means ‘tie’ so he is punning] in Arno Atoll.

[CA] Well, that is good -- you can go ahead and start your story and tell us the name of your story. Then go ahead and start it.

[BB] Thanks, Newton. Well, this story came from a village on the islet called Longar. The name of the village is called Lejre and this story came from the islet of Longar, Arno Atoll. And this story is about an old man. His name is Jorukwor and his two daughters came from the boil that was on the knee of the old man Jorukwor. So, now Mr. Lajuan, can I go ahead and tell you my story now?

[CA] Yes, go ahead.

[BB] Well, the beginning of the story tells about the old man who lived in the village called Longar, and in this story, an old man lived in his house by himself in the village called Lejre at Longar, Arno Atoll. And while this old man stayed in this village, a boil grew on his knee. A few months after the boil burst, his two daughters came out of it.

They lived in that village called Lejre at Arno Atoll, and the two girls grew older. Now the old man made his daughters promise that when he died, they should take his bones and bury them outside the east window of his house in the village called Lejre.

They lived quietly in that house for a long time. Oh, I am sorry! The honored father actually said that when the girls  are done burying his skeleton in that specific spot, then they should wait and see what will come out of the grave, and then make use of it and be really blessed.

After some years from the time he spoke to the girls, the old man died. Now, he also told them that when he died, that they should go and find his sisters in the village called Rong. It is located on the ocean side of Longar Arno Atoll. Now when this old man died, they buried him under the eastern window like the old man had asked them.

After a few months, the banana called jorukwor [one of more than ten varieties of bananas in the Marshall Islands] sprouted [from their father’s grave] and when the tree bore fruit, they ate it, and they became wealthy from the tree just as the old man, their respected father, had promised them.

When they were done making use of the banana, they remembered the other promise that their respected father exacted from them. He said that when he died, they should go and live with his sisters, their mothers, his younger sisters who live in the village called Rong [in the Marshall Islands, the siblings of a person’s parents are also his or her parents]. So, they went to the oceanside of Longar and started heading to the village called Rong [following the shoreline] like they had promised their respected father.

As they went on their way, they sang a song, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet.”

The younger sister asked the elder, “My older sister, where are we?” The older replied, “We are going to keep going a bit farther because we are not there yet.”

So, the younger girl strummed their aje [musical instrument] singing, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet.”

The younger sister asked the elder, “My older sister, where are we?” The older replied, “We are going to keep going a bit farther because we are not there yet.”

And the younger sister strummed the musical instrument and started the song, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet.”

When they looked ahead, they saw an old woman walking toward them along the ocean shore. And the old woman was walking at low tide looking under rocks for fish she could kill or clams to eat [this is considered fishing and women do not usually fish in the Marshall Islands]. This is the type of fishing that the people in the past commonly practiced.

Then the younger girl begins again, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet.”

When they finished the song, they had reached the old woman. The old woman grabbed them and took them to her younger sister’s house and tied them up. And these two old women went to look for firewood because they were thinking of cooking the two girls in an earthen oven and eating them.

Then the younger girl strummed her aje again and started their song and they both sang, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet. We miss the time when we were in our house at Lejre with Jorukwor. My father, my father, the witches are troubling me.”

Then the younger of the two older women told the older one, “Hey sister, can you hear the song that the young girls are singing?” The older said, “What are you talking about? Quit jabbering and keep gathering the wood. Quit talking because I am tired of listening to you!

Then the younger of the two girls stummed their aje and they started to sing again, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet. We miss the time when we were in our house at Lejre with Jorukwor. My father, my father, the witches are troubling me.”

And the younger of the old women again asked, “Really sister? What is wrong with you? Some of the words in their song... and now why? Why don’t we listen?” The older woman said, “What is wrong with you? I might well punch you! Quit jabbering! Why don’t you just finish gathering the firewood so that we can cook the girls, eat them, and be filled? But what are you saying? What is wrong with you? It is like you have some sort of handicap. Are you crazy?” Because she did not believe…

And the younger of the two girls again strummed the musical instrument and they sang their song, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet. We miss the time when we were in our house at Lejre with Jorukwor. My father, my father, the witches are troubling me.”

And the younger [old] woman became singleminded because she was starting to hear clearly that the song the girls were singing contained the name of their older brother, but the older woman wasn’t really paying attention or listening to the song. She heard the girls’ song, but she was not really understanding the words. So the younger woman said, “Sister, quit doing that. Are you really listening to the song?” the older one said, “You are this close from me giving you a black eye. Did you not hear me say, ‘stop chattering because I am tired of listening to you’? Why don’t you just continue working on the firewood so we can cook the girls, eat them, and be filled? But you are talking about those words, what are they?” because she did not hear.

The young girls again strummed their musical instrument and started to sing their song again, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet. We miss the time when we were in our house at Lejre with Jorukwor.”

So the younger of the two old women said, “Hey sister, really, quit talking like that and come let us listen to the song.” Then the older of the two women, started listening to the song and she said, “Well, wait, let us listen to it.”

And the younger of the two girls again strummed the musical instrument and together they sang their song, “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet. We miss the time when we were in our house at Lejre with Jorukwor. My father, my father, the witches are troubling me.”

Then the older of the two old women said, “Hey sister, can you stop talking so we can listen to the song? It sounds like some of the words in the song, they are surprising.”

The younger girl strummed the musical instrument: “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet. We miss the time when we were in our house at Lejre with Jorukwor. My father, my father, the witches are troubling me.”

The older of the two old ladies said, “Hey sister, let’s go near the girls so we can carefully listen to their song. It contains some surprising words. This is the first time I have heard this song. It is like some of the words in the song are new to the Pacific.” The younger of the two women said, “Well, let’s go.” They went near the girls to listen, asking, “Can you sing your song?”

So they sang it. “Go to the oceanside and go go go along the ocean shore. They are searching for their mothers—what direction shall we go? We are not there yet. We miss the time when we were in our house at Lejre with Jorukwor. My father, my father, the witches are troubling me.”

The older of the women asked, “Can you two tell us who you belong to?” So the older of the two girls said, “We are Jorukwor’s daughters and he said that when he died, we should look for his two younger sisters in the village called Rong.”

[Upon hearing this] the two old ladies could not wait, they took the two girls and hugged them and cried. They didn’t know what to do. Now, you see the fire that they had started was still burning, so the older of the two women went and kicked sand on it. There were a number of things that she did in order to put the fire out. Maybe because the older woman was so busy trying to put the fire out, she bent too far over and she was straining so hard kicking sand on the fire she didn’t realize that she farted and it flew straight at the forehead of the younger old woman.

The younger old woman was really angry. She said, “What is wrong with you sister? Are you crazy? I can knock you out cold.” That is how mad she was because when she was hit by the flying fart of her older sister, she staggered backward until she fell on her back onto the pandanus tree near their house.

“Why would you say you can knock me out cold? The reason I farted was because I was really trying to put the fire out,” defended the older woman.

The younger replied: “Do you think that it is really okay with me that your fart flew and hit me in the forehead so I fell into the pandanus?”

Then she [the older] said, “Well, sister, please forgive me, but it was because I was trying so fiercely to put the fire out. But can you bring the two girls so…”

The old ladies brought the young girls and they fed them, and they made them feel at home. The old ladies were so sad about what they had almost done to their two young girls. Then the two girls stayed in the house of their respected father Jorukwor.

(Newton, wait a bit, I am going to take a sip) and they took care of them and spoiled them. Why wouldn’t they? For these are the daughters of their older brother, but they had almost killed them because they did not know that they belonged to their older brother. Well, Newton, thanks. 19:32.