Chapter Four.
Exploring the island.
The members of the tribe sat around the fire near where they had landed.
“I think we should travel north along the shoreline and see if there are other people on this island. We have been here for many days, and travelled further and further around, but we cannot go safely any further away from the camp. We cannot risk leaving the rest of the tribe unprotected,” explained Erangue.
“We will all go together.” The men agreed.
The tribe had built small make-do huts from the coconut branches. That night it started to rain, so it was decided to wait until the sky cleared. It would be difficult enough for the women and children to walk around the reef without the fear of slipping on the sharp limestone reef, or not seeing the large occasional waves that could come up from the sea and sweep them away; so they waited patiently.
The soft rain did not dampen the moods of the people. The children kept gathering the fallen coconuts and some of the women were busy scraping out the flesh. They would use the flesh to make milk and oil. When the tide was out, the women and children gathered periwinkles and other shellfish. When they had enough, they gathered dry leaves, lit a fire, and threw the shellfish on the open fire. Everyone gathered round talking and laughing; it was the first time they had laughed in a very long time. And although they were still fearful of what was on this island, they were grateful to their ancestors for helping them escape the perilous sea and lead them to this island, where food and water seemed plentiful.
The men however, took it in turns to keep watch nearby. Everyone felt happier since the second canoe had arrived, and went about their different tasks with more optimism.
The fierce scream shrieked out again, and everyone stood still as it echoed in the distance. Emanear looked towards the dark mountain, bowed her head and began to chant; everyone kept their eyes on her. The minutes ticked by but nobody moved, and only Emanear’s monosyllable notes and the ocean waves could be heard. Finally she lifted her head.
“We need not have any fear, the mystical beings will not harm us. They have returned to the underworld where they live.”
Everyone gave a last fleeting glance towards the dark mountain and continued, nervously, what they were doing before the interruption. Nobody questioned Emanear; they knew she could speak to the spirit world, but that did not prevent them from being afraid.
It had rained for another night. Softly it fell on their huts, and lulled them into a peaceful sleep. The next morning the sun was shining on the horizon. Everyone felt excited, for they now believed that others from their village could be somewhere on the island.
The chickens that had survived the long perilous voyage were still in their cages and carried. The young girls carried the piglets; they were still in charge of looking after them. When they were all assembled, they left the bay where they had landed, and slowly walked north.
Two of the men went on ahead of the group, scouting around in case there were hostile tribes waiting to ambush them. The men knew that if they were captured they could be killed and the women and children would become slaves or eaten, so they were alert to every noise and sound. They were fearful.
The tribe walked all morning. When the sun was high in the sky they stopped to rest. Their feet were cut by the sharp reef, but nobody complained. The women gave out more coconut oil to rub on their bodies and especially the soles of their feet. When they had rested a while, they started walking again.
The coastline came out towards the sea and they looked behind them and could see the moon shaped bay where they had landed. And still they kept walking following the coastline.
By the time the sun was fading in the western horizon, the small assembly had decided to stop for the night. They were all tired and hungry, but the men did not allow them to light a fire.
“If there are people living on this side of the island, we cannot signal to them that we come in peace. We must meet them when there is light, ” explained Erangue.
The fire was not needed to keep them warm, because the nights were very warm, but it pacified them, and they were reminded of home. It would also keep away any savage animals that could attack and eat them. The island seemed very big and they had only seen a small part of the coast.
The women and children gathered branches that were plentiful, and laid them on the ground for beds. They built their encampment amongst the low-lying bushes that crouched along the shoreline, ate the raw fish and coconut flesh, and drank water from the coconut containers. The animals were also fed; there was plenty to eat now, so although they were tired and afraid of what may lie ahead, they felt better, stronger.
For how long Ekewane slept she did not know. In her dreams she was running along the sandy beach with her friends, when felt her body violently shaken, she wanted to scream, but a firm hand was placed over her mouth. Then she heard her father’s whisper.
“Wake up and don’t make any noise.”
Ekewane knew not to ask questions and follow orders; she knew that her life and the lives of the tribe depended on following instructions, without needing to have explanations.
She quickly sat up and looked around. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She thought of the man-eating tribes, the mystical beings that lived on the island. The familiar feeling of fear that had not gone away since leaving her home, returned in force, leaving her breathless; she was afraid, for she knew they would never be woken up in the middle of the night if they were not in grave danger.
Everyone was hushed and looked towards the men. “There are fires further in the north.” hissed Anweb. Everyone froze and looked around terrified, afraid they would be attacked at any moment.
The men walked away from the group and sat in a circle to decide what they should do next. Everyone else did not move and kept glancing at the dark forest that surrounded them. Apart from the whispering of the men, all that could be heard was the low chant of Ekewane’s mother. The soft monosyllable notes always helped to calm the listeners.
But it was not long before the men stood up; a decision had been made.
“Ramanmada and I will go and see who has lit the fires. The other men will stay here and protect our tribe. Do not sleep and be on guard,” warned Erangue.
Nobody spoke, and silently all the weapons were handed around to the women and older children. Ekewane still had her clamshell axe and held it tight. She was no longer considered a child; she now had her own weapon, on her island this honour would not have been given to her, it was only given to the boys, but here things would be different. So the group waited quietly: nobody spoke.
A golden streak of light could be seen out to sea. “The sun is waking up,” thought Ekewane.
But there were still no signs of the two men. The small tribe huddled together feeling anxious for the safety of the two; there were only two of them, what if they had been attacked?
The sun was high in the sky and still they waited. Then a strange sound could be heard from a distance. Everybody strained to hear what this sound was; it was faint, but it sounded like laughter! The sound became louder and louder, it was laughter! The group looked at each other confused. Emanear smiled.
“It’s Erangue, and there are others with him,” she said.
All eyes looked at where the noises were getting louder. From a distance they could see four men walking along the reef. Curious to see whom the other people were, the group got up and walked quickly towards the distant men. As they came closer they recognised the other men, they were from the Deib clan. Instantly a great shout of joy rang out and everyone started running towards the newcomers; another canoe had been saved!
Everyone packed up their belongings and excitedly walked along the beach towards the third canoe.
That night there was reason for celebration, they did not kill a pig but the mood was happier and more excited than it had been until now.
“Maybe, other canoes have also landed, we will co
ntinue to look for them,” they all said.
The next morning the group now much larger set off again. There were many more men now, so they were less afraid if they were attacked. Ekewane looked at her father proudly walking in front of the group with some of the other men. He was still wearing his shell armband. She knew that this armband brought her father prestige, but wondered why he was wearing it now?
The group walked all day and as the sun was setting they could see another group of people gathered on the reef. This time they were not afraid. They shouted and waved as they ran towards the group, for they had recognised the friends from one of the other canoes.
For many weeks the islanders travelled around the island, but did not see any more of the missing canoes. When they finally reached their initial landing place, the canoe was still there untouched, so the tribe decided that no other tribes lived around the coast. However, they could still see the dark mountain surrounded by a thick impenetrable forest, and knew that there could be still many dangers on the island.
The tribes talked increasingly of the dark hovering mountain; sooner or later they would have to go up there, but the mountain looked dangerous and unapproachable.
Ekewane looked up and could see many birds flying over the dense forest, they had not eaten meat for a very long time, and the chickens and pigs that had survived the journey were needed to produce more of their kind. So the birds looked very tempting.
“Perhaps I could go just a little way up the mountain and find their nests, ” she thought to herself.
She knew that it was not her role to go hunting birds, or go were the men still had not gone.
“But nobody said we cannot go, things are different here on this island, there are not enough men and I now have my own axe,” she reasoned to herself.
This thought kept going through her mind and every day she would go further and further into the surrounding bush, to collect pandanus and other wild fruit and nuts. She also went to the brackish water pools to collect water, which was as far away towards the mountain they had been until now.