A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A boy sharing roasted yams beside a stream attracts an eel, which becomes a man and eats with him. Their companionship continues into work in the gardens, where the visitor attracts enough attention to anger other men. The boy pours water over him, restoring eel form and helping him evade capture.

His enemies call forth rain and a flood that strand him on the beach, then cut him apart. The boy’s tears restore him to human form. He tells his companion to take his parents to another island before singing announces his survival. A great surf subsequently sweeps away the remaining inhabitants and the island itself. The selected narrative leaves the eel personally unnamed; this profile uses a descriptive title.

Alternates eel and human formTears restore lifeSinging precedes destructive surf
01

Origins & earliest records

R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891), Chapter XIX, III.2, pp. 375–377. His introduction credits islanders’ written manuscripts for these translated tales; specific individual writers are not supplied here.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected tale read in the public primary transcription, with printed-page markers retained. Descriptive profile titles are identified where the being is unnamed. The original page images have not been visually collated in this pass.

In the literature

“he turned into a man again”
R. H. Codrington; island manuscript writer unnamed · The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore
ChapterXIX III.2 A Story about an Eel, Vanua Lava, pp375–377; p377; tears revive the eel · R. H. Codrington

An eel eats the boy’s yam crumbs, becomes a man and joins him at work. Angry gardeners attack him because women crowd around; the boy pours water on him, restoring eel form and enabling escape. The companionship’s brother address need not establish biological kinship.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    The Melanesians, Chapter XIX, III.2, pp. 375–377

    R. H. Codrington (English translation and presentation of islanders’ manuscripts) · 1891

    Chapter introduction, p. 356, identifies the manuscript basis. Local story headings retained; collector judgments are not present community consensus.

  2. 02

    The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore

    R. H. Codrington; underlying island manuscript writer unnamed in this selected tale · 1891

    R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore, Oxford Clarendon Press1891, University of Toronto scan and OCR. Complete ChapterXIX III.1–4 selected bodies plus introductory provenance paragraph and Ghost-Wife editorial footnote independently read.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore

R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore, Oxford Clarendon Press1891, University of Toronto scan and OCR. Complete ChapterXIX III.1–4 selected bodies plus introductory provenance paragraph and Ghost-Wife editorial footnote independently read.

  1. An eel eats the boy’s yam crumbs, becomes a man and joins him at work. Angry gardeners attack him because women crowd around; the boy pours water on him, restoring eel form and enabling escape. The companionship’s brother address need not establish biological kinship.

    ChapterXIX III.2 A Story about an Eel, Vanua Lava, pp375–377; Food sharing, human form and jealous attack

  2. The men cause flooding, find the stranded eel and cut him up. The boy’s tears revive him as a man; he warns the boy’s family to leave. Later his voice is recognised before a great surf kills the remaining people and destroys their island. No full song or rain-working instructions are reproduced.

    ChapterXIX III.2 A Story about an Eel, Vanua Lava, pp375–377; Dismemberment, tears and destructive return

  3. Codrington says all these stories except the first were translated from islanders’ manuscripts written for him; the first Florida tale was recorded by A. Penny. No specific individual writer is supplied for this selected tale, and the introduction’s wider judgments are the collector’s views.

    ChapterXIX introduction, p356

Island-specific tale retained. Unstated mechanisms, biological kinship and modern community consensus not invented. No song, prayer or ceremonial formula excerpts. Confirms declared transmission method, not an independently inspected original manuscript or specific oral narrator identity.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textCodrington 1891, Chapter XIX: Stories, III.2, pp. 375–377Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. Primary provenance statementCodrington’s Chapter XIX collection and translation statementResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

FT·372 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑