Story of Soukep and how he came to Fefan Island.

Our story is a translated summary taken from "Uruon Chuuk" Volume I.



The story of Soukep begins on the island of Kachaw, said to be east of Chuuk.  Long ago the people of Kachaw would cook food in úúm or earth ovens for their chief Soukachaw.  Soukachaw had a sister, Lienkachaw, and she had a male child named "Atinkachaw."  Soukachaw would regularly have his sister divide the food among his people of Kachaw.  

There came a day when before dividing the food among the people, Soukachaw asked his sister Lienkachaw to lay the child Atinkachaw on the plates of food so the boy may crawl all over the food before it's divided. Soukachaw's wife observed this and had grown jealous of her husband's love for his sister and the child.  She would stay up nights pondering what to do to sow hatred between the siblings. 

After some time she had an idea.  She would break or cut ofoun Soukachaw's mulu.  So the next day, while Lienkachaw and her child were taking a bath in the nearby river; and while Soukachaw was fast asleep, his wife reached onto his neck and snatched the mulu, cutting it into bits and hid it in Lienkachaw's basket.  She then went outside and started crying loudly so as to wake her husband.  

Soukachaw was awaken by the sounds of his wife crying, and went outside to inquire what the matter was.  His wife looked up at him, with tears still in her eyes, and asked "why do you bother caring for her this much, when she does not respect you? She took your mulu while you slept and I found it among her things."  Soukachaw was infuriated at his sister. He sat down outside and waited for his sister and her child to return. 

When Lienkachaw and her child return, she saw her brother Soukachaw sitting down and she crouched down as an act of respect. She then asked him to stand up so she may walk with her child into their home.  Soukachaw, still furious yelled "Get up and walk! Don't pretend to respect me when you would put your hands on me and take my mulu while I sleep." "No one has ever touched it and you dare!" Lienkachaw was confused but before she could say anything, Soukachaw grabbed a rock and threw it at her. She flinched and the rock missed her and hit the child. 

Lienkachaw was so saddened by her child's injury.  She took him inside their house, freshened them up and then the two made their way to a coconut tree. Lienkachaw took two old coconuts and carried them together with the child to the island's reef. She then tied the two coconuts together and placed the child Atinkachaw on top.  She then let the waves carry them out into the open sea. 

After some time the current began pulling them to Chuuk and they went ashore on the island of Tol.  The chief of Tol saw them on the sands and sent for them to come into his home.  After telling the chief of what happened, the chief took great pity on them and welcomed them to live with him and his wife.  The chief took Lienkachaw as his second wife and they stayed on the island of Tol.

After some time, Soukachaw began to miss his sister and nephew and tasked some young men to follow the current and bring them back. Soukep was among them, and they each fastened two coconuts and likewise went out inside the open sea, following the current until it brought them also to Tol. 

The chief of Tol again saw the men wash up ashore and sent for them to come to him so he may ask them how they would up here.  So the men told the chief what happened and that they were sent by Soukachaw to return Lienkachaw and the child back to Kachaw because he misses them. The chief told them that it was for Lienkachaw to decide, and after some discussion, it was decided that the child would return, but Lienkachaw would remain in Tol as a wife to the chief. 

So the men of Kachaw once again went out to sea, passing some of the Chuuk islands on their way and made their way towards the island of Fefan.  Here it is said that one of the men stayed behind on Fefan, on the village of Fongen.  Soukep explored every inch of his new land from the reef to it's mountain tops.  He planted many trees and built many houses on his land. It is said that this how Soukep came to have such a vast land in Fefan.

After some time a great hunger hit the islands of Chuuk.  It was a hunger so great it has a name. The people in Chuuk call this type of hunger "lengita".  When breadfruits and coconuts will not bear any fruit; and taro patches dry up.  The ground itself dried up and gave no life to the vegetation. Many people in Chuuk were dying in great numbers.

A ghost from the island of Eur named "Sou-Eur" was looking towards Chuuk, particularly towards Fefan and felt pity for it's inhabitants.  He felt so much pity for the people on Fefan that he decided to journey to Fefan and give it's people the cure for plants to grow again in the ground. So Sou-Eur took some men and set his sails towards the island of Fefan. 

When Sou-Eur's boat was approaching the island of Fefan no one from the island saw his boat at first. Soukep was on the mountains of Fefan and he was the only person who spotted the sail of the boat.  Excited and intrigued, Soukep leapt down from the rock he sat on and ran down the mountain. He made his way towards the village and every once in a while looking into the ocean to see where the boat was.  He was thinking that the boat would be on shore by now but it was not the case. 

When he looked up once more, the boat was already inland, among the trees and heading towards him for it was a ghost boat. Sou-Eur was happy that atleast one person saw his arrival. He descended the boat and explained to a bewildered Soukep that he, Sou-Eur has seen the struggles of the people of Chuuk and that because he Soukep was the first to see him, he would gift him the cure to Chuuk's hunger problems.  
Soukep was delighted by the news. It was exactly what he and his people needed.  

So Sou-Eur gave Soukep two wrappings of medicine.  One was called 'patapat' for medicine to cure the ground; and the other 'ungupat' to cure  any plant or vegetation so that it may bear fruit again. Soukep was elated and thanked the Sou-Eur many times for the gifts. 

So after Sou-Eur went back to his island of Eur, Soukep rushed to his village to test the two medicines.  After applying the medicines on the grounds and plants of Fefan, all the trees and plant life began to sprout back to lifee; giviging fruits and life back to Fefan and it's people.  Soukep is remembered by this story of how he saved Fefan from a great hunger. 

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