The island of Mangono is very much shaped like a
five pointed star, with mountainous peninsulas as each of the star points. The
mountains surrounding the island and at the very center of Mangono all contain
vast lakes and expansive ponds, of which cascade down the mountain faces;
making the island Mangono rich in waterfalls and streams as well. Fresh water is
always available, despite being surrounding by an endless, salty ocean.
Each of the five points of the star shaped island
of Mangono has a name and goes as such:
-in the north, there is Maya. In the valley of Maya
between the rising central mountain Lainettai there is a plain used for
battlegrounds; mostly the men and some women gathered here to practice their
skills of defense and offense.
-to the east, there is the mountain Rundai. Off of
the beaches between Maya and Rundai are the festival grounds, where all of the
villagers of Mangono gather to eat great feasts and share music, dance, and
stories. Within the bay to the east is the port.
-to the southeast, there is the mountainous
peninsula Gaotiu; there are the majority of the expansive farms, as well as the
Mangono market.
-to the southwest are the fields and forests of
Innaimu.
-in the west is Laki, where the burial grounds of
Mangono deceased.
Excerpt from a History of Mangono:
Now let us take a little tour of the island
Mangono. We shall start like most
visitors to the island, on the east coast, within the port of Rundai. If we
leave port and head due north towards the festival grounds of Rundai, we will
encounter the household of Malosi and Tepora. Malosi is master of the port;
with his keen eye, he spots ships from far away, and with gut instinct, he
knows whether or not to send up smoke signals inviting the ships into the
bay. Malosi greets every ship in port
yet he rarely ever takes to the ocean currents. The kitchen of Tepora is often
used for the festival cooking. Tepora
has more pots and pans and bowls than any other woman on the island. Tepora
loves the busy hours of preparation for a great festival, and she adores the
swarms of people gathering so close to her own quarters; Malosi, Tepora, and
now baby Teuila live so near to the festival grounds- literally within ear shot
of all the music and chattering of the people.
If we head along the beach along the base of Rundai
mountain, we will encounter the household of Siake, Loi, and baby Levi at the
tip of the peninsula. In his youth, Siake had been a ship builder; now, married
to Loi, he was a bit of a drunkard. He stumbled along the beach to the festival
grounds of Mangono, and then took the long way home up Mt. Rundai. Some say
Siake nearly drowned in the waters of Rundai one night on his way home; if it
hadn’t been for the cry of baby Levi, Siake would have slipped into slumber
within the cool pond; instead, he heard his son let out a wail, and Siake
stumbled the rest of the way home.
If we head northwest along the beach of Rundai,
just north of the festival grounds, we will intercept Mareko, Apikaila, and
baby Kerisiano. Mareko has taken over the work of Siake, and now Mareko builds
the best ships of Mangono. Apikaila loves the festivals, but only those
occurring after sunset. It is said that
after delivering Kerisiano at night, Apikaila was prone to the darkness,
continuing to do her chores and cooking in the midnight hours; so it is said
that baby Kerisiano never fully developed a particular schedule, often sleeping
during the hot sunny hours and rising with the moon to be with his mother.
If we head to the northern peninsula of the
five-pointed star shaped Mangono, we will arrive in an area called Maya. Within the lowlands of Maya- between Mt Maya
and massive Mt Lainettei- there is a great battlefield. Three families live
within the Maya peninsula. On the
northern tip of Maya, Noa, Tagilima, and Manaia reside happily, the mountain of
Maya slightly separating them from the rest of the island. On the southern side of Mt. Maya, just north
of the battlefield, is the home of Konelio, Esete, and Kiuga. Konelio runs most
of the battle games upon Mangono with much assistance of Noa; their wives,
Esete and Tagilima, also partake in the battle games, often setting babies
Kiuga and Manaia in a basket together at the edge of the battle grounds. Yet
there is one other family nearby who loves to boast their prowess upon the
battlegrounds: To the west of the battlegrounds, along the western, rocky
cliffs of Maya, there reside Natano, Fiafia, and Opetaia. Natano marches his
wife Fiafia- with a proud and haughty look upon her face as she carries Opetaia-
onto the battlegrounds to practice a scrimmage game against Noa and
Konelio. Every day, the three men, among
others, gather to wrestle, to practice fighting with spears and shields, with
knives and swords. The women challenge each other with bow staffs: Becoming one
with long, slender, and straight carved trees saplings; they master running and
leaping with their staves, as well as maintaining a perpetual fluidity of
motion, as if the staff were an extension of their arm, swinging perfectly at
ease in an arch in every which way.
If we head south from the home of Natano, Fiaifa,
and Opetaia, around the base of central Mt. Lainettei, we reach the burial
grounds of Laki, the western peninsula. It won’t be easy to get to our next
home from here; the ground of Laki is rocky, mostly cavernous; there are many
tombs here where the bones of the ancient ones reside. But after a precarious
walk, we arrive to the sandy shores of Laki, home of Siaosi, Aokusa, and baby
Tasura. West of here, there is the home of Faigofie, Luni, and little Talia;
and to the south, overlooking the burial grounds, set high on Mt. Laki, is the
home of Samuelu, Sina, and Setu.
To the south east, there is a great forest
separating Laki from the Innaimu peninsula. Within the Innaimu forest dwell two
families: Paulo, Naomi, and Natia, as well as, Lulio, Tava’Esina, Temetiu and
Timoteo.
Within Innaimu, there are also expansive fields and
marshes, flowing with streams, and growing a vast variety of plants. It is there that Apieneru, his wife Nafanua,
and daughter Lanuola live, creating their dyes.
The Mangono market lies within the lowland between
Innaimu (to the west), Lainettei, (to the north), and Gaotiu (to the east).
Just outside the market, the rich Filemoni, his lavish wife Perenike, and their pampered son
Falaniko live. They flourish in trade within the market of Mangono and seem always
to have the best of everything. North of the market, at the base of Lainettei,
resided Eli, Elekania, Elei, and La’ei; I t is said that Eli had but a short
ways to the forests of Laki, and it was there that he gathers his wood for his
carvings. Elekania does much trade
within the market, so close to their home.
In Gaotiu, just southeast of the market, Atamu,
Eunike, and Nikotemo live. Atamu is the blacksmith of Mangono who is always
ready to trade within the market. Some
say Nikotemo would never grow to be as strong as his father; Atamu had spent
many of his youthful hours practicing the war games, but because he now lived,
with his wife and son, so close to the market, they say Nikotemo would never
travel the span of the island Mangono to practice war games, and would be a
puny boy all his life. I suppose only time will tell, now won’t it?
At the very tip of Gaotiu, resided Ualesi, Mareta,
and Masina. It is said that the
moonlight shone the brightest at the tip of Gaotiu, perhaps because Masina
resided there, perhaps it was just part of the astrological trek of the moon.
Within the mountain of Gaotiu, Mauga, Fa’Afetai, and Tausa’Afia live with their
goats.
Not much further now, and we’ve circled the island
entirely. Just keep up the pace, and we’ll be done soon enough!
North of Gaotiu, there are the farm lands, tended
by Simi, Tina, and Samaria. And just
before we head north back to the port, there within the foothills of Lainettei
within the realm not quite Rundai, not quite Gaotiu, is the home of Setefano,
and Aigafealofani.
See now my friends, we have seen almost all of
Mangono. You now know where everyone
lives, and my tale can continue to flow without hindrance.”