Tekelmarae and the Boy Who Remembered VANUATU Retold by Selina Tusitala Marsh and Pala Molisa as told by Ripae Mandei Tutuhun Tekelmarae the Eel River Guardian of Fun and Love protects the blue waters of Vanlav where people gather to fish and play The people dance in fun swim in love and every year give thanks for all the good things that come from the mountain especially the fish It is custom that you use all of someone’s names when you thank them properly Names hold stories Stories hold the magic of a people Tekelmarae has three names Every year the people gathered to chant Your first name is Tekelmarae Your second name is fun Your third name is love We name you for everyone They watched Tekelmarae dart out from his hole like a flash of black lightning They oohed and aahed at his long black body and waited for his reply The river flows From mountain to sea I am the river The river is me The river then giggled with silvery fish But over time the people began to forget the River Guardian’s names One year the people were so busy working in town they forgot the third name Tekelmarae only came out to his white milky belly The next year the people were so busy at church they forgot the second name Tekelmarae only poked out his black inky head 8
The following year the people were so busy cutting trees on the plantation they forgot the first name Now all the names had been forgotten Tekelmarae was nowhere to be seen River Guardian Come out The water is low The fish are dying the people cried From inside the hole they heard a whisper People of Vanlav You have forgotten Fun and Love The river will not flow From mountain to sea You have forgotten my names You have forgotten me Silence Everyone thought that Tekelmarae was dead They left to go back to work But Majijiki the littlest boy lingered He began crying River Guardian Can’t you see You are the river And the river is me The water flickered Majijiki cried again River Eel Hear my plea Tell me your names So we can all be free The water exploded with a flash of black lightning I am Tekelmarae I am the same Feel me feel me What is my name Majijiki put one hand into the water and felt the eel’s heart beating slower Was the eel dying He couldn’t lose his beloved eel As the eel slipped slowly out of his hands the tail flicked his palm Majijiki giggled He softly poked the eel’s belly teasing Tickle tickle Nearly the eel replied Tickle Tekel Tekel marae Majijiki laughed out loud Then the boy remembered Your first name is Tekelmarae Your second name is Fun Your third name is Love I name you for everyone Tekelmarae swished his tail in the rising waters now full of laughing fish People of Fun and Love To always be free Know you are the river Know you are me 9
Jump to page 58 for a deeper look NORTH AMERICA page 48 The Mystery The Mystery of the of the Watering Hole Watering Hole SAINT LUCIA SAINT LUCIA page 20 The Waters The Waters of Sulis of Sulis ENGLAND ENGLAND Travel to page 51 to meet Autumn Peltier a clean water activist in Canada ATLANTIC OCEAN page 40 Rimac and Rimac and Chaclla Chaclla PERUPERU SOUTH AMERICA Climb to page 26 to follow water to the treetops of towering redwood trees PACIFIC OCEAN Dive into page 33 to find out about a discovery of giant tube worms near the Galapagos Islands Trek to page 39 to see the wonders that water brings to the Amazon Rainforest Travel the world with eight Travel the world with eight storytellers from around the globe storytellers from around the globe 10 Dip into page 63 to see how Georgie Badiel of Burkina Faso uses water to help girls go to school SOUTHERN OCEAN B A
ARCTIC OCEAN page 34 The Battle of The Battle of Baal and Yamm Baal and Yamm LEBANON LEBANON EUROPE AFRICA page 28 Where the Water Where the Water Lily Grows Lily Grows ZIMBABWE ZIMBABWE ANTARCTICA Jump to page 59 for a deeper look page 54 The River The River Sisters Sisters CHINA CHINA page 12 The River The River of Life of Life INDIA INDIA ASIA INDIAN OCEAN Visit page 38 to read about the great Sahara where water is scarce Explore page 30 to follow the journey of the ocean’s Global Conveyor Belt page 8 Tekelmarae and Tekelmarae and the Boy Who the Boy Who Remembered Remembered VANUATU VANUATU OCEANIA Glide to page 17 to read about the enormous Antarctic Ice Sheet A C D E 11
