L132. Food theft: a family conflict. 19.20.
When one of the members of a small (family) group, left alone, secretly eats food, this leads to a serious conflict, often leading to the murder of the perpetrator.
Themotif was highlighted and the material was collected by Evgenia Korovina.
Mono, Truk, Ponape, Kusai, Nauru.
Melanesia. Mono (mono-alu language) [the legless and handless Kirikoputu has a friend Kanupea; Kanupea calls Kirikoputu to pick kai nuts; Kirikoputu refuses because she has neither arms nor legs; Kanupea gives her hers; after picking up the nuts, Kirikoputu refuses to share them with Kanupea; then Kanupea takes her arms and legs away; Kirikoputu has a hard time returning home; the next day the story repeats itself; parents paint Kirikoputu and cook an earthen stove; Kanupea comes and asks why Kirikoputu is beautiful; she replies that she was cooked; Kanupea wants to be cooked too; she gives Kirikoputu hands and legs and dies in the oven; it's being eaten; Kirikoputu now has arms and legs]: Wheeler 1972 (1929): 144-145.
Micronesia-Polynesia. Truk [an old Romwi man lives on Losap Island (his name is not etymologized); he has neither legs nor arms; the birds took care of him and fed him; one day they all flew away to fish; then the old man called arms and legs, ate all the food; when asked who did it, said he did not see anyone; the next day the same; on the third day, the birds leave liteikepar (fiery misomela, Micronesian myzomela) to watch him; the old man eats everything again, but liteikepar sees it, so Romwi's arms and legs remain; the old man tries to be sick, but the birds pick him up and drop him; he breaks; only the elder can share food]: Mitchell 1967:435-438; Ponape [the couple has a son Lêpînuôtopor, he has no arms or legs; the parents went fishing, the son called his hands, feet, rope-knife; climbed a palm tree and ate nuts, tears and let go of his hands and feet; told his parents that the nuts were eaten by people from Matôlenîm; the next day the parents pretended to leave and saw everything happen; the boy got angry, jumped from palm trees and died; parents also died from trembling (laughter?)] : Hambruch 1936:363-364; Kusae [a Koräm woman lived in Fenköl, she has a son and a daughter; she only loved her daughter; when the mother left, the daughter called her brother, they played, she fed him; so a few days; the mother noticed that in her absence the food was disappearing; followed the children; the next day she sent her daughter fishing, called her son and ate him; the daughter came back, saw blood; lets the mother eat oysters { any molusks in the shells} and ko, and then offers herself; first the mother refuses to eat her daughter, then agrees; sister and brother kill the mother from the inside; they try to eat her, but she is bitter]: Sarfert 1920:457-458; Nauru [Edabanono has five daughters and three sons; daughters are placed in a tree and boys are fishing; the mother has no bones, she keeps one in her pillow; when sons go fishing, the mother takes bone, inserts it in and feeds her daughters; when the sons return, the mother says she did not see who ate the food; the next day one of them, Agabanaitiaba, stays secretly and sees the mother feed her daughters again with fish; he breaks the leg of one of his daughters, Edeberankuanemet, the others run away; a mother scolds her sons - they are their sisters; sons scold their mother for hiding the bone]: Hambruch 1914:454-457.