Mohamed Abu Bakur battles the Olhutholhu sea monster

by Adam Haleem, Kaddhoo, Laam atoll

from Haveeru 29 August 1998

translated by website authors

Strong-bodied Mohamed Abu Bakur recalls the most frightening experience of his life - grappling with a creature which emerged from the sea on an uninhabited island in Laam atoll in 1950.

As proof of this fight, Mohamed removes his Liverpool Football Club jersey and excitedly shows the terrible scars on his chest and shoulder blades.

Laamu Hithadhoo Lily Mohamed is a tall self-confident man, and it is 48 years ago that he sails alone to the island of Olhutholhu in western Lammu atoll.

He is to clear agricultural land for Abu Bakuru, Madharusaa Dhoshuge, Kunahandhoo, who has agreed to rent the island from the government and pay the annual produce tax.

Within a week the work is done. The land slashed, burnt, ploughed, and sown with bimbi seed. Mohamed has also built himself a small hut, and cook-house.

'This is when it happens. The night of the day I do the seeding, I decide to return to Kunahandhoo in the morning and get two other people to help... I go to sleep with this on my mind,' says 69 year old Mohamed.

'That night I am warned in a dream: Be alert! A huge sea monster is coming, it will cross the western side of the island along the area where white coral gravel is collected.'

However, by the time Mohamed arrives back at Kunahandhoo the next day, he has forgotten all about the dream. He collects his two eight year old helpers ¾young Dhonbe Ahamad and Amina, now [1998] the mother of five children, and the daughter of Dhon Ahmed who was in exile on that island at the time.

'My moustache has just begun to grow. The other two are much younger. Anyway, that same day we leave again for Olhutholhu. The only extra thing I carry is a kathivalhi [machete].

Back on the island, the three of us work madly, non-stop. Just after midday the whole place becomes dark as clouds pile on top of each other and it begins to rain.

'Amina! Ahamad!' I call out. Let's go to the hut. The rain is getting heavy.

But they can't hear because of the strong wind. So I go up to Ahamad, grab his tulip tree wood digging stick and throw it away, telling him to hurry into the hut instead of going crazy on work.

We run along the bush path, taking a short cut to avoid the downpour, but we're quickly soaked and join hands like Brazilian football players so we won't lose each other.'

Mohamed stops the story for a moment and looks down as he gathers his memories.

'Yes! from the bush path we come out onto the beach again, the rain has subsided a little. I say we need coconuts for our meal and I climb a tree and pick four. Climbing that tree is so hard!'

Mohamed climbs up the difficult side of a bent tree, using a lhaan'bu [hoop of rolled coconut fronds about 30cm diameter placed around the two feet], because it is so slippery. He falls off many times during the attempt.

'The angrier I get, the funnier Amina and Ahamad think it all is. They only quieten down after I shout at them to shut up and get lost.

Eventually I husk one nut and give it to Amina, the other three I tie together and give to Ahamad to carry. The three of us walk to the hut and light a bonfire.

'Amina! you're shaking, come here and get warm the both of you. I'll change into dry clothes.'

When I come back Amina and Ahamad are cooking finger-millet pudding. We eat straight from the saucepan with our fingers. As we sit in the hut the sun sets, and once again it begins raining heavily. There are a few leaks here and there.'

That night Mohamed lays down on his bed-bench to sleep. The two young ones are curled up on a coconut frond, their heads at opposite ends.

Once again Mohamed experiences the scary dream.

'Muhanmadhaa! Do not be careless! Be alert! This island's monster is coming now.'

As he lays thinking about this dream, Dhonbege Ahamad's snoring fades, and Mohamed falls asleep once again.

The dream appears again: 'Hey! Get up! The monster went along heylhi magu [upper beach path] and is now at white gravel beach.'

'I jump up. 'Ahamad! Amina! Where's the kathivali?' I shout.

The children don't want to get up. 'The sun isn't even up yet. Why do we have to go out into the field?'

I tell them to hurry and then I'd show them why.

As the red light of sunrise begins to glow on horizon the three of us walk through the mud to the sandy beach. A strange rotten smell fills the air.

Suddenly I see a thing like a cow jumping in the low tide sea. It leaps into the air and catches a fish, hurling it away just as quickly. I stand watching it for a while, waiting for the other two to catch up with me.

When it has run out of fish to play with, the creature comes up to the shore and stands looking at the sun. Then I realise the awful smell comes from the monster itself.

Its head is like a banana flower, though the legs are normal enough. But the hands seem to stretch down to its knees, and scales like crocodile skin cover its body.

Moss seems to be growing on some parts of the body, and its slow lazy movements are those of a human being.

'What is it?' I say, as young Ahamad arrives beside me.

'It's a thing from the ocean! Let's get out of here!' cry Ahamad and Amina, but the children are so frightened they faint and fall.

Now, what should I do? I get closer, it is terrifying, and my dream has warned me to be alert. But no way am I leaving. Whatever happens, happens.'

Only two metres from the creature, Mohamed throws the kathivali, but it simply bounces off. Undeterred, he leaps onto the creature's back. The monster grunts slightly and throws him onto the dry corals.

'Only then do I see the actual shape of this thing. As I lay there in agony it begins to expand, larger and larger. But it just ignores me, and I wait for the pain to stop a little before I attack it again.

This time it wipes some sticky shiny stuff from its fire red eyes, seizes me with its rough scaly hands and puts me on its shoulders.

I don't give up, beating it as hard as I can and biting, but my own body is being battered too. The creature tears into my chest with its hands and then drops me.

Wasting no more time, it runs fast along the reef and dives into the ocean.

At first my chest doesn't bleed, it's just white, like young coconut flesh. Only later does blood appear.'

The incoming tide laps around Mohamed sprawled on the corals. The two children are lying on the shore. Mohamed sits up, sore and exhausted, he tears his mundu [sarong] in half, wrapping one piece around his chest and other half around his loins.

'I sprinkle bloody salt water on the children's faces and when they opened their eyes we return to the hut. We grind up some leaves into a paste and treat the wounds. Ahamad becomes very angry and I start yelling as well.

'Why did you attack that thing?! Didn't I say to run away!' Ahamad is really angry with me.

Eventually we all agree to leave the cultivation work and return home by walking along the reef to our island. Little Amina has such a high fever I have to carry her on my shoulders. Ahamad follows behind, abusing me the whole time.

We don't tell anyone what happened. Ahamad becomes sullen and silent. The only problem occurs when Amina's fever won't come down, despite constant fanditha [traditional Maldivian medicine/magic].

At last she tells the fanditha person that her illness is caused by something that happened on Olhutholhu, and that I know best what happened. So I tell them... and prove it with my scar.'

Mohamed finishes the story, lifts his shirt and exposes his ravaged skin.