Molokau

Everyone is afraid of something in this world. This past week I have discovered a new fear. Exhibit A: Molokau.
I was lying in bed continuing my obsession with Harry Potter when I heard a noise that was different from what I was used to hearing. I’m familiar with the pitter patter of mice, the croaks from the little lizards, and the shuffle from the large roaches, but this caught me off guard. Out of a hole in the ceiling crawled a Molokau (pronounced molocow). It plummeted from the ceiling onto my bed where I proceeded to attempt to destroy it with a charm from my book. Thank goodness my mosquito net was somewhat covering my bed. When it scurried onto the floor I quickly tucked in all the edges of my netting. Before I finished another one took a nose dive from my ceiling onto the other edge of my bed. I was in a state of panic. If they get a bite out of you with their pinchers, I heard it’s horribly painful as well as causing huge swelling. I called to my neighbor and stood in the middle of my living room floor until he dealt with the situation. I was hyperventilating with tears in my eyes while he found and killed one. I’m embarrassed to reveal that certain things can bring out that uncontrollable child-like behavior. I’ve grown accustomed to the mice so maybe this will also become something I will learn to just brush off my shoulder.

This past week was another encounter with a girl being puke fakatevolo (sick with the devil). I’ve witnessed it from a distance before, but this up-close experience made me question and really sympathize with the girl and her family. Her house was surrounded by about 20 people all staring in through the window. I would have previously though this rude, but after being here for a year I decided to go take a look myself. The 19 year old girl was lying in the middle of the floor with her head in her husbands lap. Her family was surrounding her and holding her down. After peeking from outside for about twenty minutes the family invited me in. I sat in the corner of a room full of 20 people and watched with curiosity and confusion. A medicine man from another village was summoned to extract the deceased person from her body. The spirit (devil) was believed to be a relative relaying a message. Leaves were chopped up and rubbed all over her body. They were also shoved up her nose and into her ears. This was difficult to watch because the girl was crying and flailing about. Her eyes had such a look of fear in them while drool spilled out of her mouth. Fits would occur every few minutes and it took five people to hold her down. Towards the end of the evening a root was crushed and the juice poured into her mouth and on her chest. After the girl puked for five minutes everything seemed to be all right. The show was over and everyone went home.
Many people here say that women fake being sick. That was my initial thought when I’ve seen it in the past. Though seeing it up close and knowing the girl well made me think it is something more than just needing a little attention. I asked lots of questions, but that just made me more confused. Given that this culture is so religious and that I am here to learn about traditions and customs, I have just decided to accept the fact that the girl was possessed.

Enjoy your week.

Love,
Adrianne