Marine Beast Terrified the Locals in Ancient Myths

On the tropical islands of Vanuatu, the villagers have from generation to generation orally passed down the stories and traditions of their culture .

On the island of Ambrym, there lies a large rock in the sacred waters of the Bay of Olal. The locals name it Pouviaserole. It tells of a fiend that once was the guardian of the bay.

The enormous beast, Pouviaserole, or Guardina, was something between a wild boar and a savage dog, with a large horn in the centre of its head.

Children from the nearby villages would run to the beach to swim and enjoy the tepid tropical waters, unaware that Pouviaserole had transformed itself into an innocent looking log on the beach.

Sometimes the children would pick up Pouviaserole and fling the log into the ocean and watch it float back to the beach. It was such fun!

Unexpectedly Pouviaserole would form itself back into the monster it really was, and consume some of the terrified kids.

Undetected the beast would creep back into its underwater home. Its stomach filled with children, it would be many months before it would once again repeat the deception.

Finally the local Chief tan of the adjacent village declared the beach offl limits. No longer were the kids allowed to visit that area of the ocean .

When Pouviaserole finally realized that the children no longer came to his beach, the ogre decided to pay the village a visit. Licking its lips, at the thought of the coming feast , it slithered along.

When the strongest and most handsome child ran to where the log lay, Pouviaserole quickly snatched up the unwary child. Unfortunately he was the son of the Chieftan.

Enraged with grief , the Chief finally declared vengeance on the monster of the sacred bay. He ordered the men of the village to hide themselves in the bush near by the beach.

Not having satisfied its growling stomach, the monster decided to look for more food.

It had only slithered a small way out of the water when the revenging hunters were upon it. In spite of the huge size of the beast the men of the village ran forward. The first spear pierced the monsters eye. Another hit it in the belly.

Even though grievously wounded the beast refused to die on the beach. Slowly it slithered back into the sea, determined to breathe its last breath in the privacy of its underwater home.

Fearing the escape of the monster, a valiant warrior violently threw his spear. It planted itself in the neck of the animal.

Blood stained the sea . The monster remained immobile trying to protect itself from the arrows and spears that began to rain upon it. Pourviaserole quickly transformed itself into a rock. The monster lost its life, but gained immortality.

The child eating rock is still known as the guardian of the sacred bay and can be seen today in the popular adventure travel destination, Bay of Olal.

Vanuatu is rich in tales such as Pouviaserole, as can be found in the book Nabanga, an illustrated anthology of the oral traditions of Vanuatu. Secrets of Vanuatu are slowly being disclosed as seen in a recent art exhibition in Australia. Art which had never before been seen outside Vanuatu and has the art world buzzing.

While we may read these collection of tales with some amusement, there is an underlying tragedy in this beautiful tropical island archipelago of the Happiest Country on Earth.

Throughout Vanuatu kids miss out on schooling. Education is not free and remains beyond the realm of most of the isolated villagers, who live in a no-cash economy, on under $1 per day. Paying school fees is totally beyond their meager incomes.

The horrendous results of this are...

" Only 55.8% of Vanuatu kids will get to grade 6 " Of those only 18.2% will go to high school " 26% will never go to school at all.

In late 2007 the Vanuatu government admitted that it did not have the resources to provide education beyond the main islands. Education was not seen as a priority.

You can be part of this exciting Blue Moon Opportunity. You can make e a real difference and assist children who not only value their own rich cultural heritage, but are eager to embrace the benefits of the 21st Century.

Rick and Wendy Tendys, the founders of YouMe Support Foundation, are raffling Seachange Lodge (a private holiday home, plus 6 luxury holiday apartments) on the Internet. This very innovative , world first raises funds for non-repayable high school education grants for the children of the outer islands of Vanuatu. This Blue Moon Opportunity will alter someones life, as well as the lives of these beautiful children. This is an opportunity you cannot afford to miss out on.

Dr Wendy and her husband Richard are the CEOs of YouMe Support Foundation, charity . Over the past four years they and their guests have provided desperately needed school supplies to remote island communities in the far north of Vanuatu through Seachange Lodge,Seachange Lodge YouMe Support Foundation in partner ship with Win a Resort is raffling Seachange Lodge on the Internet. All funds are placed into a Trust Fund to provide education for children who will never enter the 21st century without assistance. You can assist by making a donation to the children by going to or Win a Resort.