SHE is identified by the echoing sounds of her breasts that collides with her thighs as she walks along the beach of Tawake in Udu, Cakaudrove.
Her name is Sucu Raberabe and elders of this district know her story.
They say she usually shows herself to women in an angry manner, but loves and enjoys the sight of men.
Tawake Village elder Penioni Cokanalagi said she only had this attitude towards visitors.
“Sucu Raberabe is a woman who has huge breasts and when she walks, you can hear the sound of her breasts hitting against her thighs and that’s why they call her ‘Sucu Raberabe’,” he said.
“When villagers hear that sound if they are near her mangrove patch, they will know it’s Sucu Raberabe.
“These incidents used to happen here in the time of our forefathers and when I was a kid I remember stories being passed down to us by our elders.”
Mr Cokanalagi said it’s the visitors who usually see her.
“When I was a small boy in primary school, our village elders used to tell us the story of Sucu Raberabe and we have had visitors who have seen her.
“One time, there was a foreign visitor who came to Tawake and spent a few days here with us. One afternoon, he decided to go for a walk and when he got to the mangrove area where she hangs out, he saw her walking towards him.
“He thought it was just another villager, but as he got closer, the visitor noticed something very different about this woman and he ran back to the village.”
The foreigner relayed his story to the elders and Mr Cokanalagi said village elders confirmed that it was Sucu Raberabe.
“Some elders in the time of our forefathers have also seen her, but we don’t know where she came from and whether she came with our first settlers from Verata in Tailevu,” he said.
“But she is seen alongside our foreshore and when she sees women, she acts in such a way to chase them out of her area.
“She is always jealous when she sees women and she prefers to see men.”
Sucu Raberabe usually hangs around the beachside at dusk.
Mr Cokanalagi said Sucu Raberabe appeared around this time because she knew that men would walk past her mangrove patch as they returned from their farms.
“So she waits for them and if one man is walking alone, she will follow that one and try to lure him to accompany her to her home,” he said.
“Her home is a pool that is located inside the bushy area by the beach and she hangs around there.
“Most of the men walk in groups and our elders have also told us that some men she has managed to take to her pool.”
Another foreign visitor, Mr Cokanalagi said, had visited the pool site to drink water while walking towards Naluka Estate, about 20 minutes from Tawake Village.
“This European guy came running back to the village after seeing her at the pool and our elders told him about the story of Sucu Raberabe,” he said.
“Not many people in the younger generation know the story and details of Sucu Raberabe, except hearing about the name of this woman.”
The people of Tawake, he said, were blessed.
“We are also informed of any visiting trip made by ship or boat to our district and we will know this by hearing the echoes of the conch shells being blown on the mountain range of Tawake,” he said.
“I can clearly remember hearing this when I was a little boy and our elders used to inform the villagers that a boat or ship with visitors would appear soon. “We don’t hear that anymore.” Today but we continue to be protected and blessed.”
