 t
the Pwudoi Wildlife Sanctuary in
Kitti, visitors can witness one of the most
bizarre shows on the island of Pohnpei. Pohnpeians belong to
matrilineal clans associated with animal totems. The
high clan of Lasialap(1)
is the clan of the Great Eels. The Lasialap believe that the slippery,
fresh-water eels that dwell in all Pohnpei's rivers are their relatives.
As oral history states, the matriarch of the Lasialap clan was a large eel
of this variety. In Pwudoi, members of the eel clan have a special pool in
which lives a squirming mass
 of
utterly huge eels. For the squeamish entertainment
of groups of foreigners, men and boys 'call' the great eels to the
shallows where they actually slither their way out onto the bank. The
eels are then stroked and picked up, resting limply in the hands of their
masters. Strangely, if you ask permission to pick up the eels yourself,
you find that they struggle like the dickens to your own touch. These eels
are quite fearsome in appearance, but are actually very passive in
reality. And, they are very large---the heads of some are larger than the
average adult's fist. They have small teeth and could deliver a nasty
bite, but one rarely hears of them doing so. People who swim in rivers are always among them, but are
never bothered unless food is thrown into the water. Even then, the eels
go after the food, not the swimmers. Because the freshwater eels are
considered sacred and directly related to human lineages on the island,
there is a strong taboo against eating the creatures on Pohnpei.
HOME
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VENTURING OUT --- Cultural Centers
| Eels of Pwudoi
| Enipein Marine Park
| Kolonia Historical Sites
| Lidorkini Museum
| Nan Madol Ruins
| Petroglyphs
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(1) Lasialap
(la·see·a·lap) is the royal clan of U, from which comes the members of the
Nahnmwarki title line in that municipality.
 Eels
in Mythology
Eels play a prominent
part in Pohnpei's mythological stories and are portrayed both as
benevolent and as terrifying monsters.
The founding myth of the
Lasialap Clan recounts how a couple was pursued by a vicious eel, which hatched from a rock. After devouring the couple, the eel dwelt in the Lehdau River for many years. When death finally took the
monster, its huge carcass formed the mountains of Nett. Another
eel, called Mwasenlang (worm of heaven), was killed, and from its bones
sprouted the a particular type of banana, which was new to Pohnpei.
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A.K.A.:
Pwudoi Sanctuary, Pwudoi Eel Pool
