by Sara
Turu was a young girl, admired by all the single men in her village. So far she had refused to marry anyone. But there was one young man who would always watch her from the shadows at night.
One night he approached her, and she was somehow hypnotized by him. After meeting a few nights in a row, she brought him into her room while her mother was sleeping.
Their meetings went on for weeks, and eventually the mother started to suspect something. So she decided to investigate. The mother looked into the room through a small peephole, and she was shocked by what she saw. The mother was very wise, and she knew in an instant that this guy wasn’t human, he was a demon!
The next morning, the mother confronted her daughter with the truth. Turu was frightened by what the mother had to say about the man. When the mother had watched him leave in the moonlight, he didn’t cast the shadow of a man. It was the shadow of a long, slender creature.
But the mother had a plan to prove her suspicions. She gave Turu a sewing needle and spool of white thread, with some instructions. She would then secretly attach the thread to the man’s collar, using the needle.
The next night, Turu did as she was told. When he slipped away in the night, he was unaware of the trail of white string he was leaving behind. The following morning, the mother and Turu went to investigate. They followed the line of thread, and it eventually led to a cave.
Mother and daughter were both shocked by what they saw in the cave. It was a large snake, writhing in pain, with the sewing needle stuck in its neck! The mother picked up a big rock and killed the snake, and they quickly left the cave.
Sara (SaraRandall Resident): But… As mother and daughter started walking back towards the village, Turu started trembling and sobbing. The mother tried to comfort her, “Turu my dear, there no need to worry. The demon is gone.”
“But mother,” she sobbed…
“I’m pregnant!”
Yes… Pregnant… By a demon… NOT a good thing!
Did I mention her mother was very wise? She quickly took her daughter down to the seashore. There she made Turu a special rice cake with magical ingredients. At high tide, then waded into the water, and kicked the wave crests 3 times. Turu’s body was cleansed, and the demon inside was washed away.
( Many villages throughout the Ryukyu Islands still practice this ritual. By the third day, of the third month, according to the Lunar Calendar, they enter the sea. It is believed that seawater purges evil spirits from a female’s body. )