Editing Rotuma (section)

====Mythology centred around Faguta====

[[Image:North American herpetology (7211037826).jpg|thumb|upright|right|Local mythology tells of two turtles which live off the coast of Faguta, one red and one white. [[Green sea turtle]]s, which are known to frequent the islands of Fiji, can actually exhibit reddish and whitish hues on their carapaces and plastrons, respectively.]]

Solnohu, a islet off the southern coast of Faguta roughly equidistant between its constituent districts, is the location of a significant local myth, "The turtle of Sol Onau". The myth tells of two local girls who fall from atop the island into the sea below. There, the two were transformed into sea turtles, one red and one white. Local beliefs hold that these two turtles, called 'Eao', continue to live around the coral of the rock and will resurface if a particular chant is performed.

{{Quote box |align=left|quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=right
 |quote  =
<poem>
Eao manuse, ka Lepiteala
Ai, ma vehia ka foro ole tufe,
Havei, ma foiak ta ka fau paufu,
He ta jauaki, ma moiea. Pete.
</poem>|source = Traditional chant for sea turtles from "The Natives of Rotuma", (1898).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gardiner |first1=J. Stanley |title=The Natives of Rotuma |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |date=1898 |volume=27 |pages=503–518}}</ref>}}

J. Stanley Gardiner, who visited the island and wrote extensively on the locals' customs and myths wrote that he took [[Gagaj Mou]], the chief of [[Pepjei]], and five girls to recite the traditional chant. Gardiner recorded that from his vantage point out front he actually noticed the appearance of a [[Green sea turtle|green turtle]]. Green sea turtles are often located in the waters of Fiji and Rotuma.

He also recorded that Mou, the chief, as well as the others stated that they had regularly seen the turtle and that beach between Faguta and Solnohu was a frequently used feeding spot for the reptile.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gardiner |first1=J. Stanley |title=The Natives of Rotuma |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |date=1898 |volume=27 |pages=503–518}}</ref>