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Dangathei Fishermen Captured The Moon |
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This superstitious story is about a
fisherman from Dhangethi who was sailing to Male' one clear night with a full moon. On
board was a large clay pot full of drinking water. When the fisherman became thirsty and
bent to dip his ladle in the pot he saw the reflection of the moon in the water. |
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Thinking that it was the moon itself,
he quickly slammed down the lid to capture it inside. When he arrived to Male', he
excitedly carried the pot of water with the moon to the palace and presented it to the
Sultan. The Sultan, who was a learned man, laughed uncontrollably and dropped the pot of
water, breaking it on the ground. The fisherman was horrified. "Now look what's
happened, he said, "the moon escaped." |
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One day a large mahogany log was washed
onto the beach of a deserted island. The valuable log was found by fishermen
who devised a plan to return at a later date and claim what was legally the
sultans property. The fishermen made an oath of secrecy and agreed to divide
the log equally among them. A young boy looked on but was not included in the
agreement |
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They buried the log high on the beach
and marked the place with a few stones. They left, vowing to return one day to
collect the log and take it back to their island. |
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As the months passed, other fishermen
who stopped regularly at the island, noticed the stone markings high on the
beach. Thinking the stones indicated the site of a grave, they placed little
flags of decorated coconut palms on the grave to protect the owner on his long
passage into the next world. Over time the grave became a shrine of sticks and
flowers regularly tended by the passing fishermen. |
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| Several years passed before the
fishermen finally decided to return and collect the log. The young boy had
since grown, but despite his protestations for a share in the bounty, he was
overlooked and told that since he was only a boy when the log was found, he
was not entitled to a share. When the fishermen returned, they found the site
carefully tended and covered in fresh flowers. They dug a deep hole and
retrieved the log, then replaced the decorations as they were. The log was
taken back to the fishermen's island where it was distributed. |
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| In the meantime, the boy grew
resentfully and told the atoll chief of the mahogany log and, being a serious
crime to cheat the sultan of his rightful possessions, the fishermen were
rounded up and taken to Male' to answer the charges. |
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| Representatives from the justice
department were sent to the gravesite which they reluctantly dug up. No body
was found, only a small branch of the mahogany log that was buried there. The
fishermen were found guilty of their crime and the deserted island became
known as "Mahaana Elhi Huraa" - today known as "Rihiveli
Tourist Resort". |
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