Atariba
Y
Niguayona |
| Little Atariba, with her long black hair and eyes like seashells, was very sick. She lay in a hammock in the bohío (hut) of the bohike, the village healer. The bohike had tried to heal her but could not. Her best friend Niwayona watched over her and was very sad. As he watched her he remembered how happy he had been, wandering with Atariba by the riverbanks. Together they had played with the parrots and the furry Jutias. Only days before he had made her a beautiful necklace of seashells and green stones. Time passed and Atariba still did not recover. Niwayona wandered alone along the riverbank, playing sad tunes on his wamo, his conch-shell horn. “How can Atariba be cured?,” he wondered. One afternoon, a golden-green macaw landed on Niwayona's shoulder. “On the far side of the forest (hiba) grows a tall kaimoní tree,” said the bird. “Pick the fruit of this tree, place it on the lips of your friend Atariba and she will be cured.” And having spoken, the golden-green macaw flew off into the hiba. Niwayona ran toward the village. After hearing his story, his mother and father agreed that he must try to find the tall kaimoní tree. The bohike began to pray for him. Niwayona entered the hiba alone, but he was not afraid. The tree frogs, Koki's, sang to him. An owl called out. Night came quickly and it was soon quite dark. He sat down to rest beneath a large tree and ate the casabe bread his mother had given him. Then he said a prayer to Yocahu, the great god of the Taíno people. “Yocahu, dweller of heaven, grant that I may soon find the tall kaimoní tree!” The next day as he walked through the hiba, Niwayona found a beautiful anóna fruit lying under a pile of leaves. “How delicious it looks!” he thought. But he did not eat it. Instead, he placed it carefully in his bag. “If I don't find the kaimoní fruit, perhaps I could touch the anóna to Atariba's lips.” Another day passed, and Niwayona still did not find the kaimoní tree. He wasbecoming very tired. The hiba's thorns tore his skin. The casabe bread was all gone, and he was tired and hungry. He walked on until he came to a wide, deep river, which blocked his way. Thinking of Atariba, he sat down on the riverbank and began to cry. “How can I find the kaimoní now?,” he asked himself After awhile Niwayona bravely dried his tears. Then he saw a shining light beside him. It was the anóna. “I will light your path from the sky,” she said. The anóna rose high above the treetops and shone over the entire hiba. Higher and higher she rose until she became a majestic comet in the sky. The river spoke to Niwayona. “Leap on my back,” said the river. And the boy leapt on the river's back and sailed across the wide, deep water as swiftly as a canoe moves, faster than the wind. When Niwayona landed on the far side of the river, he ran toward the tall kaimoní tree which was growing on the edge of the hiba. He climbed to the top of the tree and plucked a red fruit from the highest branch Then he mounted the water once again and was carried quickly to the very riverbank where he had once walked with Atariba The people of the village were waiting for Niwayona. Day and night they had prayed to the great Yukahú for his safe return. They had eaten nothing since his departure so that their prayers might have more power. “Hurry, Niwayona!” they cried. “Atariba is dying!” Niwayona raced to the village and breathlessly approached Ataríbá's still body. He touched the fruit to her lips, which were burning with fever. For a moment, nothing happened. Suddenly life began to return to Ataríbá's little body. She moaned and opened her eyes. Slowly she sat up and looked around her. “The kaimoní must contain the blood of the gods,” whispered the people. After Atariba recovered, there was a fiesta with many songs and dances in praise of the gods. And once again Atariba and Niwayona wandered together along the banks of the river. With the passing of time, Atariba and Niwayona became strong and compassionate leaders of the Taíno people of Puerto Rico. Their story is remembered to this day. |