Snake Mother

The story is about a young man whose mother is a gigantic snake and lives in a cave. He regularily goes out to dances in other parts of the island where he impresses the young women who also attend the dance. He also sleeps in a man sized cocoon and knows a song which attracts young women irresistibly to him. Two such young women thereupon declare their desire to marry him and the three of them go to see his mother. When the women see the gigantic snake, one of them runs, the other pees herself but stays. She invites her family to come and attend the wedding ceremony. The snake advises her son to create gigantic amounts of food and goods out of the leaves of a cycad. When the guests leave with their gifts, the snake utters a curse that makes the sea go wild. The canoes shipwreck, all the goods are scattered and land at the different islands, which explains why certain plants and goods are only to be found on some islands but not on others today. The snake is said to still live in a cave on Ambrym to this day