The Island of Cannibals

This happened many, many years ago. A ship was returning from the island of Miyago to the capital, Naha. The ship carried many treasures—rich gifts sent by the islanders to their ruler.

The sailors sat on the deck, admiring the sea.

"What wonderful weather we have today!" they rejoiced. "The sea is calm, and the sun is shining warmly!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sound of a flute began to ring over the sea, at first softly, then growing louder and louder.

"Who could be playing a flute out at sea?" the sailors wondered. Among them was a young sailor, just a boy, named Kana.

He was very clever.

"I don't like the sound of that flute," he said. "It must be the Wind God playing. I hope nothing bad happens."

"What are you talking about?" the sailors asked. "Let the Wind God do as he pleases. We're already very close to the shore. Look, our island is visible in the distance."

Kana didn't reply, but he began to watch the sky carefully. Suddenly, clouds appeared, and then darker and darker ones. The wind began to blow, so strong that it rocked the ship from side to side.

"It seems a storm is coming," the sailors worried.

The wind grew stronger, the waves higher, and rain poured down as if from a bucket. The sailors were terrified. "If only we can make it to the shore," they thought. "If only we can make it!"

Then a huge wave rose and swept all the cargo off the deck.

"Hold onto the sacks!" some shouted.

"Hold on tight, another wave is coming!" others cried.

The rain lashed, the waves surged, and they tossed the ship around like a feather. "This is it, our end has come," the sailors decided. "There's no saving us now."

The sailors fought the storm all night. By morning, the wind had calmed. They looked around—their homeland was nowhere to be seen, only an unfamiliar land in the distance.

"The gods have taken pity on us," said Kana. "They didn't let us perish in the sea."

The sailors headed toward the unknown island. They came ashore and looked around. What a miracle this island was: flowers everywhere, birds singing, dragonflies flying. Such bliss!

"There must be people living on such a beautiful island," the sailors decided. "We should go and look for human habitation."

They rested on the shore and then ventured inland.

"Hey, hey!" they called. "Are there people on this island? Answer us! Show yourselves!"

Suddenly, they heard drums in the distance: "Boom-boom, boom-boom!" The sailors were overjoyed and ran toward the sound. They reached a clearing and froze in their tracks: sitting there were monsters, beating drums. When they saw the sailors, they jumped up and shouted joyfully:

"The gods have sent us humans! We'll have a fine feast tonight!"

"Oh no! We've landed on an island of cannibals," the sailors realized.

They wanted to run back into the forest, but where could they go? The cannibals grabbed them and dragged them to the village.

It must be said that the monsters from that island were horrifying: horns on their heads, bird wings sticking out of their necks, black mouths as if smeared with ink, and seashells in their ears! Once you saw them, you'd never forget them!

The cannibals brought the sailors to the village and ordered the women to bring a cauldron and light a fire.

"Now we'll cook the humans," they said. The cannibals danced around the sailors, shouting:

"Ah, we'll feast!"

"Ah, we'll taste them!"

"What a delicacy!"

The sailors stood there, neither alive nor dead. Then the village elder came out of a house, gave the sailors a long look, and pointed at Kana:

"I like this one!" he said. "I want to eat him!"

The monsters rushed to Kana, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him toward the cauldron. Just as they were about to throw him into the boiling water, a loud female voice rang out from the crowd:

"Stop! Stop! Don't throw him in the cauldron!"

The sailors looked—a girl of unparalleled beauty emerged from the elder's house. The cannibals stepped aside to let her through. She was the elder's daughter, named Mamuya.

"Stop!" Mamuya repeated. "It's not right to kill a human today—the stars forbid it! Tomorrow, though—please!"

"Well, if the stars forbid it, we won't eat him today. We'll leave him for tomorrow," the cannibals agreed.

They didn't dare disobey Mamuya. The monsters knew the girl had the great power to know the future. Mamuya ordered the sailors to follow her. She led them out of the village and across a field. "It would be a pity to die at the hands of such a beautiful girl," the sailors thought. "If the monsters ate us, it wouldn't be so bad!" Mamuya led them to the bank of a mountain river and pointed to a hut standing nearby.

"Go to sleep here. No one will bother you," the girl said. "I'll come to you tomorrow."

The next morning, just as dawn broke, two monsters appeared before the sailors—bringing meat.

"Try our offering," they said, smiling slyly.

The sailors were very hungry. When they saw the meat, their mouths watered. They were about to taste it when Mamuya burst into the hut.

"Don't eat it!" she cried. "This meat is poisoned! It was cooked in a brew of poisonous herbs. If you eat even a bite, you'll turn into oxen, and the cannibals will make you plow their fields for the rest of your lives."

The sailors were terrified and threw the meat into the far corner of the hut. They began to thank Mamuya.

"We never thought," they said, "that we'd find human kindness on this terrible island."

Mamuya turned to Kana:

"I like you very much, and that's why I decided to save you and your friends."

Mamuya and Kana fell in love.

"You can't stay on our island," Mamuya said. "If you escape, come back for me later. I don't want to live among cannibals my whole life."

"Don't worry," Kana replied. "If we escape, I'll definitely find a way to take you away from here."

That evening, Mamuya came to the sailors again and said:

"Everyone in the village thinks you've turned into oxen. Tomorrow, many of you will be slaughtered and eaten, so tonight you must flee the island. When the moon rises, I'll send my servant to lead you out of the village. I'll leave a boat by the sea, so run! May the gods help you!"

"Thank you," Kana said. "I'll never forget you, and I'll definitely come back for you."

Late that night, just as Mamuya had said, her servant came to the sailors and led them to the sea. There, indeed, a boat was waiting, along with a reliable helmsman. As soon as they boarded the boat, they saw Mamuya running down the path.

"Take food and water," she said. Then she turned to Kana: "Here's a stalk of magical bamboo. It will protect you from everything. This bamboo only grows on our island. If a big wave catches you at sea, break one segment, and the wave won't destroy you."

The sailors set off. The sea was restless, the waves rising, threatening to swamp the boat. The sailors were frightened: "The sea wants to destroy us again!" But Kana calmed them.

"I have a wonderful remedy for waves and storms," he said. He broke one segment of the bamboo and threw it into the sea. Immediately, the waves calmed, and the wind died down.

They sailed all night, and as dawn broke, they saw that the cannibal island was far behind them.

"We were saved because Kana was among us," the sailors said. "If we return home alive, you'll be our captain."

The sun rose over the sea. Good spirits returned to the sailors—all the horror was behind them. Suddenly, Kana saw a black cloud appear on the horizon. It grew larger and larger, coming closer.

"That's no cloud," Kana exclaimed. "The cannibals have set out after us in a fast boat."

"What do we do now?" the sailors asked.

"Trust me, we'll think of something," Kana reassured them. He looked around and saw a small, forested island in the middle of the sea.

"Row to that island," he ordered his friends. The sailors navigated through the coral reefs surrounding the island, jumped onto the sandy shore, and ran into the forest.

"Wait!" Kana stopped them. "We acted rashly—we left footprints on the sandy shore. If the cannibals reach the island, they'll know where to look for us. We need to go back and confuse our tracks."

Kana sent two sailors back to the shore to obscure their tracks. Just as they returned to the forest, the cannibals arrived at the island.

"You won't escape!" they shouted. "The island is small and uninhabited—there's nowhere to hide!"

The cannibals began to search the island. Meanwhile, Kana and his friends found a large hole in the forest and hid there, holding their breath. Kana waited until the cannibals had gone deeper into the forest, then told his friends:

"Now's the time for us to flee this island." The sailors rushed to the shore, boarded the boat the monsters had arrived in, and tied their own boat to it.

"This is no ordinary boat," they said. "It's magical—there's no rudder."

They commanded the boat:

"Take us, miracle boat, away from here to our homeland." The magical boat flew across the water with incredible speed, barely touching the waves. The sailors marveled:

"Such wonders exist in the world! No one can catch us now!"

And what became of the cannibals? They searched the entire island and returned to the shore. They saw that the boats were gone, as if they had never been. They realized then that Kana had outsmarted them. The cannibals screamed, howled, and stomped their feet, but what could they do? They were left on the deserted island to await their death.

The sailors returned to the capital safe and sound. They told their ruler about the island of cannibals. The ruler ordered a group of brave men to set out for that island. Kana went with them. Mamuya greeted him joyfully. Together, they returned to the capital and lived long and happily. And the magical bamboo saved them from storms and typhoons many more times.

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The Island of Cannibals

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