Okikurumi Samayunguru And The Shark
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TALES OF THE PANAUMBE AND PENAUMBE CYCLE
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Aino Folktales
Okikurumi and his henchman Samayunguru went out one day to sea, and
speared a large shark, which ran away, up and down the sea, with the
line and the boat. The two men grew very tired of pulling at him, and
could not prevent the boat from being pulled about in all directions.
Their hands were bloody and blistered both on the backs and on the
palms, till at last Samayunguru sank dead in the bottom of the boat. At
last O
ikurumi could hold on no longer, and he cursed the shark, saying:
"You bad shark! I will cut the rope. But the tip of the harpoons, made
half of iron and half of bone, shall remain sticking in your flesh; and
you shall feel in your body the reverberation of the iron and the
scraping of the bone; and on your skin shall grow the rasupa-tree and
the shiuri-tree of which the spear-handle is made, and the hai-grass
by which the tip of the harpoon is tied to the body of it, and the
nipesh-tree of which the rope tying the harpoon itself is made, so
that, though you are such a mighty fish, you shall not be able to swim
in the water; and you shall die, and a last be washed ashore at the
river-mouth of Saru; and even the carrier-crows and the dogs and foxes
will not eat you, but will only void their foeces upon you, and you
shall at last rot away to earth."
The shark laughed, thinking this was merely a human being telling a
falsehood. Okikurumi cut the rope, and, after a long time, managed to
reach the land. Then he revived Samayunguru, who had been dead. And
afterwards the shark died and was washed ashore at the river-mouth of
Saru; and the tip of the harpoon made half of iron and half of bone had
stuck in its flesh; and it had felt in its body the reverberation of the
hammering of the iron and the scraping of the bone; and in its skin were
growing the rasupa-tree and the shiuri-tree of which the
spear-handle used by Okikurumi was made, and the hai-grass by which
the tip of the harpoon was tied to the body of it, and the nipesh-tree
of which the rope tying the harpoon itself was made; and even the
carrion-crows and the dogs and foxes would not eat the bad shark, but
only voided their foeces upon him; and at last he rotted away to
earth.
Therefore take warning, oh! sharks of the present day, lest you die as
this shark died!--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 24th
November, 1886.)