Thursday, July 16, 2015

Okinawa Folktale: Origin of Star Shaped Sand

grains of sand, star-shaped

Babes of the Southern Cross

 

 

The legend comes to us from the Yaeyama Islands, far south in the Ryukyu Archipelago.

Two stars, the Southern Cross and North Star decided to have children.

God, told the Southern Star to have the babies at Taketomi Island in the warm seas. 

Master of the heavens, knows best so, she deposited thousands of babies, there.




Irritated the God of the Seas

 

 

 

 

  The Dragon God of the Seas didn't like what happened.


Nobody asked him if all those stars could be born there so, he took action.

He sent a sea serpent to kill all the baby stars.

The monster, ate them and spit out their remains, to float away in the ocean.

What was left of them, washed ashore, as particles of star sand.

A sacred woman from Taketomi-jima took pity on the baby stars.

She burned them along with her incense.

That way, they could rise with the smoke and, join the Southern Cross in the sky.

The say, look closely at the Southern Cross and, see the baby stars surrounding her. 


 REFERENCES:

Folktales of Okinawa ISBN4-947654-05-8  P.19

The Birth of Star Sand





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