The Whale and the Sandpiper
Raj Eo im Kidid Eo

An Oral Tradition of the Marshall Islands
Juõn Bwebwenãtõ in ãelõñ Kein

Adapted by Jane Downing

 

One bright day the sea was calm
        and the sun was shining
But the whale and the sandpiper were arguing.

"There are more whales than sandpipers in the world"
        said the great whale.
"Oh not at all, there are many more sandpipers"
        cried the little sandpiper.

"More whales"
"More sandpipers"

The bickering could be heard all over the island
        and across the ocean.

"More sandpipers"
"More whales"

 Eaar juon raan eo emman, lomalo
        elae im al ej romaak.
Ak raj eo im kidid eo rej
        akwõõl.
"Elãñ lok raj jõn kidid ilalin."
Raj kileplep eo ekar ba.
"Ooo, elãñ lãk kiddid jõn raj."
Kiddid jidikdik eo eaar lamãj
"Elãñ raj."
"Elãñ kiddid"
"Elãñ kidid."
"Elãñ raj."


Suddenly the whale stopped
        shouting and started to sing
        "Bottor, Bottora
        Water to the sky
        Calling all whales
        Come fast to me
        From the East, the West, the North, the South
        Come faster to me."

And they came
From the East they came pushing the waves high
        From the West
 From the North
         From the South
                 Pushing the waves up to the sky.

"See" said the great whale
        "There are more whales than sandpipers!"

 Raj eo eaar bojrak im jino al.
        "Bãttãra, Bãttãra."
        Dõn ñan mejatto
        Kär aolep raj
        Mãkaj tok
        Jõn Ratak,Rõlik,
        Eõñ, Rak.
        Mãkaj tok.

Im raar itok.
Jõn Reaar raar itok, iuuni tok no ko reutiej.
        Jõn Ralik
 Jõn Eõñ
         Jõn Rak
                 Iuni tok no ko reutiej

"Kwolo ke!" raj kileplep eo eaar ba.
"Elãñ lok raj jõn kidid!"


The sandpiper said nothing
        But began to sing
        "Kirir, Kirira
        Crying to the world
        Calling all sandpipers
        Come quickly
        From the East, the West, the North, the South
        Come quickly and save me."

As the bird chanted, a high wind blew in from the East,
        It blew from the West
 from the North
         from the South
                 The flapping of a hundred thousand wings.

All the sandpipers came
And the whole sky was dark.

"See" said the little sandpiper
        "I told you there are more sandpipers than whales."

 Kidid eo eaar jab kãnono
        Ak eaar jino al
        "Kidid, Kidida
        Kär ñan lalin.
        Kär aolep kidid
        Eõñ, Rak

Mãkaj tok
        Jõn Ratak, Rõlik,
 Mãkaj tok im lomoren eã.
        Ke kidid eo ej jino al eo,
juon kãto kajoor eaar itok jõn Reaar.
Eaar tartok jõn Rõlik
        Jõn Eõñ
 Jõn Rak
         Añin bukwi taujin põ.
                 Aolep kiddid raar itok

"Kwolo ke"
Kiddid jidikdik eo ekar ba
"Iaar jiroñ eok ke elãññlok
kiddid jõn raj


"Wait. You'll see more" laughed the whale and loudly came his chant
        "Bottor, Bottora
        Black fins above the sea
        Calling all sharks
        Come fast to me
        From the East, the West, the North, the South
        Come faster to me."

From the four points of the world
The ocean filled with fins.
"More whales, more fish, more than sandpipers
        More, more, more!"
Shouted the clever whale.

"Kãttar. Konaaj lo bwijin." Raj eo eaar ettãñ im jarãk al peran eo an
        "Bãttãr, Bãttãra
        Īl kilmeej ioon lojet
        Kär aolep pako
        Mãkaj tok ñan ippa
        Jõn Ratak, Rõlik, Eõñ, Rak
        Mãkaj tok ñan ippõ.
        Jõn tärtär ko emõn ilo lalin

Eobrak malo kin äl
Elãñlok raj, elãñlok ek,
elãñlok jõn kidid
        lãñ!, lãñ!, lãñ!"
Elamãj Raj mõletlet eo.


Above his shout came the sandpiper's song
        "Kirir, Kirira
        Crying from defeat
        Calling all cranes
        Come quickly
        From the East, the West, the North, the South
        Come quickly and save me."

The whale and the sandpiper
        heard thunder and looked to the sky.
The cranes had heard the chant
        and flew in with loudly beating wings to save their friend.
"More sandpipers, more birds, more than whales
        More, more, more!"
Chirped the clever sandpiper.

Al eo an kidid eo epran lok jõn lamãj eo.
        "Kidid, Kidida
        lamãj jõn jorrõõn
        Kär aolep kabãj
        Mãkaj tok
        Jõn Ratak, Rõlik, Eõññ, Rak
        Mãkaj tok im lomoren eã."

Raj eo im Kiddid eo raar roñ ainikien jourur im reilok
ñan mejatoto.
         Kabãj ko raar roñ ikäd eo kõtok
kãn juon ainikien epañijñij
        in jipañ ro jeraer.
"Elãñlok Kiddid, lãñlok bao, jõn Raj.
        lãñlok, lãñlok, lãñlok!"
Kiddid mõletlet eo ekar ba.


The great whale and the little sandpiper kept
Singing and chanting
        Chanting and singing
 Calling all the fish
         Calling all the birds
                 of the earth to come.

The tuna heard and came
        The gulls heard and came
 The bonito heard and came
         The noddy terns heard and came
By the hundred, by the thousand, by the million.
The noise could be heard over The noise of all the fish and all the birds
        in the whole wide world called together

 Raj kileplep eo im Kidid
         jidikdik eo raar akwõõl
Al im roro
Roro im al
Kär aolep ek
Kär aolep bao
In lal in bwe ren itok
         Bwebwe ko raar roñ im itok
Keõr ko raar roñ im itok
ñãjabwil ko raar roñ im itok
        Keõr kilmeej ko raar roñ im itok
Bukwi,
        taujin,
        milien.
Ainikien eo eaar elaaj ioon
õne eo im malo eo.
Ainikien aolep ek im aolep
         bao ipelaakin lalin


But still no-one knew if there were
        more whales than sandpipers
Or more sandpipers than whales.

"What will we do now?" a shark asked the whale.
The whale looked over the multitude,
He looked back and forth
And back and forth at the birds
        flying above and
the birds resting on the island.
"We will eat all the land
then the birds will not be able
        to survive" said the whale.

All the fish in the sea ate the land,
        Piece
 by piece
          by piece.

Ak ejjelok en ejelõ ellañe
        elãñ lok raj jõn kiddid
Ak lãñ lok kiddid jõn raj.
"Jenaaj et kiã?" juon pako ekar
kajitikäni raj eo.
         Raj eo eaar lale jarlepju eo,
Eaar reilik reimaan
         Im lale bao ko rej ekkõke
imejatoto Im reilik reimaan
Im lale bao ko rej kakkije ioon õne.
"Jenaaj kañ aolepõn õn in
Ilõm bao kein reban maroñ mour."
        Raj eo eaar ba.

Aolep ek ko ilojet raar kañ õn eo,
        Jidik
 Illok jidik
          Illok jidik.


"What will we do now?" a crane asked the sandpiper
        as the land disappeared from under their feet.
The sandpiper looked back and forth across the ocean
        and over and under the sea.
"We will drink up all the water in the ocean"
        said the sandpiper
"Then the fish will not be able to survive."

It took a lot more time to eat the land
        than to drink the ocean
So the birds finished first.
They drank all the water in the ocean
And with no water to live in the whales
        and the sharks and the tuna and the bonito and all the fish
        wriggled and gasped.

 "Jenaaj et kiã?" juon kabãj eaar kajitikni kidid eo
         ke õne eo ej jako lok jõn eomän ne er.
Kidid eo eaar reilik reimaan
        ioon im ibulãn malo eo
"Jenaaj ilim aolepõn lojet bwe en jab maroñ mour ek kein."

Eaar bãk elap iien ñan kañ õn eo
        jõn ilim malo eo.
Kãn menin bao ko raar mãj mokta
Raar ilim aolepõn dõn eo ilojet
        Im kãn an ejjelok dõn ilojet
        Aolep pako, bwebwe, lãjabweil im ek ko jet
        raar dipãkpãk im ikkijelok.


The birds saw the fish dying
And they all started to worry.
They ate fish for their food
        Without food they would starve
 Without fish they too would die.

"We need to have fish in the world" they cried.
They watched the fish gasp for water and were sad.

The sandpiper was the saddest of them all,
He told the birds what to do.
All the sandpipers and the cranes and the gulls
        and the noddy terns and all the birds
Spat out the water they had swallowed
        And the ocean was filled again
 Just as before.

The sandpiper and the whale smiled at each other as friends.

 Bao ko raar lo an ek ko mej
Em jino inepata.
Ek ej men eo kijeer
        Im ñe ejjelok ek renaaj
 mej barõinwãt.

"Aikuj or ek ilal in." raar lamãj.
Raar lale an ek ko ikkijelok im buromãj.
Eaar lap tata an kidid eo buromãj,
Eaar jiroñ bao ko ta eo ren kãmmane
Aolep kidid, kabãj, keõr im keõr
        kilmeej im aolep bao ko
Raar ibbäraake lok dõn eo raar ilimi
        Im eaar bar ejaak malo eo
 õinwãt kar mokta

Kidid eo im Raj eo raar bar ettãñ im jera.


So all the fish swam home
And all the birds flew home
        To the East,
 the West,
 the North,
 the South
They swam and flew.

Everything was just the same as it was in the beginning
Only they had learnt a lesson,
A lesson about how much they needed each other.
The birds and the fish of the world remembered
        and lived together in harmony.

And they never did find out if
there were more whales than sandpipers in the world.

 Kon menin aolep ek raar aã .ñan joko jikieer
Aolep bao raar kelok ñan joko jikieer.
        an Reaar,
 Rõlik,
 Eõñ, Rak
  Raar aã im kelok.
aikuji doon.

Men otemjej ar bar õinwãt
Men eo wãt, raar katak juon katak,
Juon katak eo kãn joñan aer
Bao im ek ko ilal in raar ememej
        im mour ippõn doon.

Im rejab jelõ ellaññe elãññlok
raj jõn kidid ilal in.


Original publication:
Downing, Jane (1992)
The Whale and the Sandpiper. An Oral Tradition of the Marshall Islands retold by Jane Downing. Majuro Atoll: Ministry of Education.

Downing, Jane (1992)
Raj Eo im Kidid Eo. Juan Bwebwenato in aelãñ kein Ekkar in Jane Downing. Majuro Atoll: Ministry of Education.


(c) Jane Downing 1992-2000
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Marshall Islands Kosrae CNMI Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Guam Wake Pohnpei FSM Federated States of Micronesia Yap Chuuk Marshall Islands politics public health environment culture WWII history literature XXX Cultural Heritage Management Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences CNMI German Colonial Sources Mariana Islands Historic Preservation Spennemann Dirk Spennemann Dirk HR Spennemann Murray Time Louis Becke Jane Downing Downing