The Story of Kasabwaybwayreta and Gumakarakedakeda

“Kasabwaybwayreta lived in Tewara. He heard the renown of a soulava (spondylus necklace) which was lying (kept) in Wawela. Its name was Gumakarakedakeda. He said to his children: ‘Let us go to Wawela, make Kula to get this soulava.’ He put into his canoe unripe coco-nut, undeveloped betel-nut, green bananas.”

“They went to Wawela; they anchored in Wawela. His sons went ashore, they went to obtain Gumakarakedakeda. He remained in the canoe. His son made offering of food, they (the Wawela people) refused. Kasabwaybwayreta spoke a charm over the betel-nut: it yellowed (became ripe); he spoke the charm over the coco-nut: its soft kernel swelled; he charmed the bananas they ripened. He took off his hair, his gray hair; his wrinkled skin, it remained in the canoe. He rose, he went he gave a pokala offering of food, he received the valuable necklace as Kula gift, for he was already a beautiful man. He went, he put it down, he thrust it into his hair. He came to the canoe, he took his covering (the sloughed skin); he donned the wrinkles, the gray hairs, he remained.”

“His sons arrived, they took their places in the canoe, they sailed to Giribwa. They cooked their food. He called his grandson; ‘Oh, my grandson, come here, look for my lice.’ The grandson came there, stepped near him. Kasabwaybwayreta spoke, telling him: ‘My grandson, catch my lice in the middle (of my hair).’ His grandson parted his hair; he saw the valuable necklace, Gumakarakedakeda remaining there in the hair of Kasabwaybwayreta. ‘Ee …’ he spoke to his father, telling him, ‘My father, Kasabwaybwayreta already obtained Gumakarakedakeda.’ ‘O, no, he did not obtain it! I am a chief, I am beautiful, I have not obtained that valuable. Indeed, would this wrinkled old man have obtained the necklace? No, indeed!’ ‘Truly, my father, he has obtained it already. I have seen it; already it remains in his hair!’ ”

“All the water-vessels are empty already; the son went into the canoe, spilled the water so that it ran out, and only the empty vessels (made of coco-nut shell) remained. Later on they sailed, they went to an island, Gabula (Gabuwana in Amphlettan and in Dobuan). This man, Kasabwaybwayreta wanted water, and spoke to his son. This man picked up the water vessels—no, they were all empty. They went on the beach of Gabula, the usagelu (members of the crew) dug out their water-holes (in the beach). This man remained in the canoe and called out: ‘O my grandson, bring me here my water, go there and dip out my water!’ The grandson said: ‘No, come here and dip out (yourself)!’ Later on, they dipped out water, they finished, and Kasabwaybwayreta came. They muddied the water, it was muddy. He sat down, he waited.”

“They went, they sailed in the canoe. Kasabwaybwayreta called out, ‘O, my son, why do you cast me off?’ Spoke the son: ‘I think you have obtained Gumakarakedakeda!’ ‘O, by and by, my son, when we arrive in the village, I shall give it to you!’ ‘O, no!’ ‘Well, you remain, I shall go!’ He takes a stone, a binabina one, this man Kasabwaybwayreta, he throws so that he might make a hole in the canoe, and the men might go into the sea. No! they sped away, they went, this stone stands up, it has made an island in the sea. They went, they anchored in Tewara. They (the villagers) asked: ‘And where is Kasabwaybwayreta?’ ‘O, his son got angry with him, already he had obtained Gumakarakedakeda!’”

“Well, then, this man Kasabwaybwayreta remained in the island Gabula. He saw Tokom’mwawa (evening star) approach. He spoke: ‘My friend, come here, let me just enter into your canoe!’ ‘O no, I shall go to another place.’ There came Kaylateku (Sirius). He asked him: ‘Let me go with you.’ He refused. There came Kayyousi (Southern Cross). Kasabwaybwayreta wanted to go with him. He refused. There came Umnakayva’u, (Alpha and Beta Centauri). He wanted a place in his canoe. He refused. There came Kibi (three stars widely distant, forming no constellation in our sky-chart). He also refused to take Kasabwaybwayreta. There came Uluwa (the Pleiades). Kasabwaybwayreta asked him to take him. Uluwa said: ‘You wait, you look out, there will come Kaykiyadiga, he will take you.’ There came Kaykiyadiga (the three central stars in Orion’s belt). Kasabwaybwayreta asked him: ‘My friend, which way will you go?’ ‘I shall come down on top of Taryebutu mountain. I shall go down, I shall go away.’ ‘Oh, my friend, come here, let me just sit down (on you).’ ‘Oh come,—see on one side there is a va’i (stingaree) on the other side, there is the lo’u (a fish with poisonous spikes); you sit in the middle, it will be well! Where is your village?’ ‘My village is Tewara.’ ‘What stands in the site of your village?’ ‘In the site of my village, there stands a busa tree!’”

“They went there. Already the village of Kasabwaybwayreta is straight below them. He charmed this busa tree, it arose, it went straight up into the skies. Kasabwaybwayreta changed place (from Orion’s belt on to the tree), he sat on the busa tree. He spoke: ‘Oh, my friend, break asunder this necklace. Part of it, I shall give you; part of it, I shall carry to Tewara.’ He gave part of it to his companion. This busa tree came down to the ground. He was angry because his son left him behind. He went underground inside. He there remained for a long time. The dogs came there, and they dug and dug. They dug him out. He came out on top, he became a tauva’u (evil spirit, see Chapter II, Division VII.) He hits human beings. That is why in Tewara the village is that of sorcerers and witches, because of Kasabwaybwayreta.”

To make this somewhat obscure narrative clearer, a short commentary is necessary. The first part tells of a Kula expedition in which the hero, his son, his grandson, and some other members of the crew take part. His son takes with him good, fresh food, to give as solicitory offering and thus tempt his partners to present him with the famous necklace. The son is a young man and also a chief of renown. The later stages are clearer; by means of magic, the hero changes himself into a young, attractive man, and makes his own unripe, bad fruit into splendid gifts to be offered to his partner. He obtains the prize without difficulty, and hides it in his hair. Then, in a moment of weakness, and for motives which it is impossible to find out from native commentators, he on purpose reveals the necklace to his grandson. Most likely, the motive was vanity. His son, and probably also the other companions, become very angry and set a trap for him. They arrange things so that he has to go for his own water on the beach of Gabula. When they have already got theirs and while he is dipping it out, they sail away, leaving him marooned on the sand-bank. Like Polyphemus after the escaping party of Odysseus, he throws a stone at the treacherous canoe, but it misses its mark, and becomes an outstanding rock in the sea.

The episode of his release by the stars is quite clear. Arrived at the village, he makes a tree rise by his magic, and after he has given the bigger part of his necklace to his rescuer, he descends, with the smaller part. His going underground and subsequent turning into a tauva’u shows how bitter he feels towards humanity. As usual, the presence of such a powerful, evil personality in the village, gives its stamp to the whole community, and this latter produces sorcerers and witches. All these additions and comments I obtained in cross-questioning my original informant.

The Dobuan informant from Sanaro’a introduced one or two variants into the second part of the narrative. According to him, Kasabwaybwayreta marries while in the sky, and remains there long enough to beget three male and two female children. After he has made up his mind to descend to earth again, he Makes a hole in the heavens, looks down and sees a betel-nut tree in his village. Then he speaks to his child, ‘When I go down, you pull at one end of the necklace.’ He climbs down by means of the necklace on to the betel palm and pulls at one end of Gumakarakedakeda. It breaks, a big piece remains in the skies, the small one goes with him below. Arrived in the village, he arranges a feast, and invites all the villagers to it. He speaks some magic over the food and after they have eaten it, the villagers are turned into birds. This last act is quite in harmony with his profession of tauva’u, which he assumed in the previous version of the myth. My Dobuan informant also added, by way of commentary, that the companions of Kasabwaybwayreta were angry with him, because he obtained the necklace in Boyowa, which was not the right direction for a necklace to travel in the Kula. This, however, is obviously a rationalisation of the events of the myth.

Comparing the previously related story of Tokosikuna with this one, we see at once a clear resemblance between them in several features. In both, the heroes start as old, decrepit, and very ugly men. By their magical powers, they rejuvenate in the course of the story, the one permanently, the other just sloughing off his skin for the purpose of a Kula transaction. In both cases, the hero is definitely superior in the Kula, and by this arouses the envy and hatred of his companions. Again, in both stories, the companions decide to punish the hero, and the island or sandbank of Gabuwana is the scene of the punishment. In both, the hero finally settles in the South, only in one case it is his original home, while in the other he has migrated there from one of the Marshall Bennett Islands. An anomaly in the Kasabwaybwayreta myth, namely, that he fetches his necklace from the North, whereas the normal direction for necklaces to travel is from South to North in this region, makes us suspect that perhaps this story is a transformation of a legend about a man who made the Kula from the North. Ill-treated by his companions, he settled in Tewara, and becoming a local Kultur-hero, was afterwards described as belonging to the place. However this might be, and the hypothetical interpretation is mine, and not obtained from the natives, the two stories are so similar that they must be regarded obviously as variants of the same myth, and not as independent traditions.