Kwatit - the River of Tears
With thanks to Norbert Tapi, who collected traditional stories for
Dr John Tyman, with the agreement of Torembi’s village elders
A long time ago in a village called Torembi, there lived two brothers.
They really were very good friends, and they did everything together.
In those days it was dangerous living at Torembi because in a cave at the bottom of a small hill nearby lived a great monster who first killed, and then ate, children who went outside the village to play.
People were really scared and parents would not let their children out at night.
Instead they kept them safe at home, or tried to.
This situation continued for many years.
The monster terrorised the village.
And though parents tried to keep their children safe, boys and girls disappeared night after night.
So many families were distressed that the chief decided something had to be done.
If things continued like this there would be no children left: and if that happened who would scrape sago and care for the gardens in years to come?
The killing had to stop.
So the chief called a meeting, to which he invited all the young men in the village.
He knew that everyone was scared of the monster, so he decided to offer a reward to those brave enough to fight it.
He said: “Any one of you who is brave enough and strong enough to kill the serpent can marry my daughter, my youngest child.”
Now, she was a beautiful girl, much admired by all the young men.
They were much excited at the thought of such a reward, but none of them seemed brave enough to hunt for the serpent — for they knew it would kill them if they attacked it.
The only men with courage enough to do anything were the two brothers I spoke of earlier, and they set off early the next morning in search of the monster.
They travelled in the direction of Maprik, to the hill where the serpent lived, and when they came close to the cave they heard the great snake snoring.
He had eaten a really fat child the night before and was resting after such a big meal.
Knowing that they might never see each other again the brothers said goodbye, and embraced one last time.
They then crept into the cave.
It was dark inside, and they could not see where they were going: all they could do was listen to the sound of the monster’s snoring and head in that direction.
The monster had been hunted for many years, however, and it too had learnt to listen carefully, even when it was resting.
It heard the brothers approaching and prepared to attack them.
The older brother struck the snake first with his sharp spear: it pierced the middle of its body, but the snake had a long neck and was able to twist itself around and bite the boy’s head.
He died instantly, because the snake was poisonous.
While this was happening the younger brother saw his chance: seizing the opportunity presented by this confusion he struck the serpent in the head with his spear, killing it.
And to prove that he had indeed killed the monster, and so could claim the chief’s daughter in marriage, he cut off the monster’s head and carried it with him as he returned to Torembi.
Though he was happy to be marrying such a beautiful girl the younger brother was sad, very very sad, at having lost his brother.
All the way home he wailed, and wept, and shed great tears continually, crying because of the death of his closest friend.
In fact he shed so many tears that the forest path he followed was turned into a river: not a big river like the Sepik, but a river nevertheless - a river of tears.
And that is what the Kwatit is.
It runs through the middle of Torembi and so reminds us each day of the tears shed by the younger brother for the friend he lost, the friend who saved the village from that horrible monster, long ago.