Over ten years ago, a young couple (husband from the Banks and wife from Germany) told a horrifying story of a giant octopus which grabbed their five-year old son as he frolicked in the shallows of Woraulua Point or Ifira Point.
The young father reacted quickly as soon as he saw his son screaming and splashing after he was grabbed by the octopus. “I rushed down the beach, into the pristine waters and lifted my son who was entangled in the creature’s tentacles,” he said.
He said he could not figure out where the octopus came from. “Luckily there were no rocks nearby for the octopus to attach its tentacles to or it would have drowned my son so I dragged both the boy and his attacker ashore and into the ‘burao trees’ where I freed my son and we rushed him to hospital”.
Asked what happened to the creature, he said he left it in the hands of a man from Ifira on the beach.
“My priority was my son and what happened to the octopus was up to the man from the small island,” he said.
Later Chief Mantoi Kalsakau III of Ifira was reported to have spoken with words to the effect that the octopus should not have been killed.
The chief believed something would have happened in the immediate environment to anger the octopus to react in the manner towards the boy.
In the latest development at Ifira Wharf last Friday, Chief Kalsakau III sent a clear message to the Japanese company, TOA Construction that won the tender to build the country’s biggest multi-purpose wharf infrastructure, saying the site of the groundbreaking ceremony is a highly respected area for his people. “In fact the name ‘Lapetasi’ means octopus and traditionally is believed to be alive and watching over the area, where the new multi-purpose wharf is being built,” the chief said.
“As such I am performing a custom ceremony down there at the seashore today on your behalf, to allow you to proceed with the construction of the Lapetasi Wharf Project without any disturbance.
“At the same time, I am asking you to show respect for our traditional belief and go about the development this major project for the benefit of our children of tomorrow, for the people of Shefa Province and the country in peace”.
Witnessed by his council and people if Ifira, Chief Kalsakau III looked towards the Main Wharf and addressed his ancestors in Ifira language.
After speaking, he picked up two white live chickens and threw them into the sea along with a basket of fresh kumala, as a token of his plea for the custom guardian of the area to allow the work to proceed peacefully.