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

Overview

Molgon promises his dying parents to care for his younger brother Molwor. During a canoe journey following floating fruit, a woman named Roprialal detains the elder with food and refuses his wish to take some back. Molwor dies beneath the sun while waiting. Molgon’s tears on his brother’s breast revive him, and the younger reproaches the failure of care.

Molwor sings, lowers his legs into the water and begins to become an eel. He dives when the song ends, and Molgon follows. Blood rises to the surface and both ultimately become stones lying in the watercourse. The paired profile retains the eel phase and shared stone ending; the woman’s later grief is distinct from the brothers’ transformations.

Tears revive the younger brotherEel transformation begins in the legsBoth become watercourse stones
01

Origins & earliest records

R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891), Chapter XIX, III.3, pp. 377–379. 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

“they two turned into stones”
R. H. Codrington; island manuscript writer unnamed · The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore
ChapterXIX III.3 Molgon and Molwor, Vanua Lava, pp377–379; p379; ending · R. H. Codrington

The parents charge elder Molgon to care for Molwor before dying. Roprialal detains Molgon at her food and prevents him sharing it. Molwor dies exposed in the canoe; Molgon’s tears on his breast restore him to life. The woman explains their names to justify her exclusion.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    The Melanesians, Chapter XIX, III.3, pp. 377–379

    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. The parents charge elder Molgon to care for Molwor before dying. Roprialal detains Molgon at her food and prevents him sharing it. Molwor dies exposed in the canoe; Molgon’s tears on his breast restore him to life. The woman explains their names to justify her exclusion.

    ChapterXIX III.3 Molgon and Molwor, Vanua Lava, pp377–379; Neglected brother and revival

  2. The revived Molwor accuses Molgon, sings and gradually becomes an eel before entering the stream. Molgon follows him; blood rises, and both become stones in the watercourse. The woman weeps and withdraws. The text does not supply a universal meaning for the stones or an unseen later resurrection.

    ChapterXIX III.3 Molgon and Molwor, Vanua Lava, pp377–379; Eel change and shared stone ending

  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.3, pp. 377–379Research 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.

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