Sina and her Eel

Sina and Her Eel

Across the pacific, stories are spread describing the most beautiful women in all the islands of Samoa the young woman's name was Sina. The king of Fiji, Tui fiti heard this and decided to go and win her heart and make Sina his wife. With his powers Tui fiti turned himself into a tuna or a young eel and swam all the way to Samoa.

One day Sina had to go and get some sea water for her mum’s cooking then she noticed a young tuna swimming in the lagoon pool. Gathering the young tuna in her galabash, Sina kept the young tuna a bowl and took care of it. After the tuna out grew the bowl Sina placed it in the spring next to her fale, but the tuna out grew the small pool so her mother suggested that she put the tuna into the much larger village pool, where it was hiding under the ledge.

Even Though the pool was used by everyone in her village, no one but Sina can see the tuna, when Sina went to go and bathe the tuna it would come out of hiding playfully and lovingly circle her. Soon Sina now became scared of the tuna which had become very very large and she wouldn’t bathe in the village pool anymore, Instead she bathed by the tiny spring pool by her fale but whenever sina bathed in the small pool the tuna would aprea in the small springs pool as well.

Now Sina is feeling afraid and mad she left her village to escape the tuna, she now began her long journey to another village. Along the way she became thirsty, she would stop at trailside springs to drink, but at every single pool she goes to the tuna is always there, feeling afraid Sina keeps traveling village to village and islands and islands but she keeps on seeing the tuna it’s like it was following her everywhere she goes.

In despair Sina came to fono and sat between two the speechmakers. They all sat in fear as they say a huge tuna across the open grounds stopped and spoke to Sina and said “Beautiful Sina forgive me but listened to me, I am Tui Fiti from far away Fiji I came here to seek you as my wife but I have long lost my magic and cannot turn back into a man, I am tired and soon I will die, Sina when I die cut off my head and bury it in front of your fale, a tree will grow a tree that will be very useful to you. When the wind fails to blow on the northern side, break a leaf off of the tree and fan yourself, and when you have become thirsty and drink the fruit water Sina that means you will be kissing me”. 

Soon the broken hearted tuna died and Sina carefully did what the tuna told her to do: cut off his head and bury it in front of her fale, it became a tree like no one has ever seen before, which is now known as the coconut tree, it was the first coconut tree. Now next time you eat or drink out of a coconut look for the eyes, mouth and face of Tui Fiti the Fijian king. 

_______________________________________________

Video about Sina and the Eel :)))