Fehuluni

The story of Fehuluni also known as Felehuhuni and Fehululuni is one that has always perplexed me since I was a child. The story resonates from the Kingdom of Tonga, a South Pacific Island 3,200 miles from Australia. 

There are two main stories I will discuss both as told to me several elders.. 

Our first story begins with a very much alive and full human Fehuluni who happens to be the beautiful daughter of a Samoan Chief. A Tongan Prince by the name of Sinilau from the island of Tonga happens to go to Samoa, for what? I do not remember but, he is the male equivalent of Fehuluni. They see one another and they fall in love but, soon it is time for Sinilau to returns to Tonga he bids her farewell and returns. Fehuluni cannot bare the distance and misses him so much that she follows him to Tonga against her fathers will. So her father then banishes her from returning in life or death. With this on her mind she leaves willingly setting sail for Tonga. Upon her arrival it is to her dismay the prince is nowhere to be found. The palace will not allow her in and no one will answer for Sinilau. Never the less she continues on only to find that the prince had long married and forgotten about her (other versions say he was killed at sea or in battle soon after he left Samoa). In her lament she disappears and nobody knows what happened to her until the hauntings began.

Our second story begins with a young child born half immortal or Konga’i Otua(Half God) and half human the parents are both unaware of this but the village and everyone does notice Fehuluni’s great beauty and all who come in contact with her simply find themselves taken by her beauty… It wasn’t known until one day in her mid to late teen years a group of guys who followed her home and decided to play peeping tom stalker , were watching her through her living room window and saw the young Fehuluni remove her head and place it on her lap then her eyes from their sockets and place them on her chest. From that she began to fa’ala or look through her hair for nits and then commence to braid her hair. The boys all ran and soon everyone in the town was talking about it. Her parents came home to ask her but Fehuluni had already gone and so began the hauntings.

Either way, in both stories she becomes this bitter spirit roaming forever. In the first version She seemingly haunts all of Tonga and parts of Samoa . My guess is it would be the town her father was chief in. In that first tale she roams forever in search of Sinilau. In the second version she is simply never found but only seen when she haunts.

It is said that she is very jealous of any beautiful girl she may see. she takes the young maiden and lures her to the sea thus drowning her. If it is a young man who she thinks is beautiful she will take them and possess them leading them also to their death. She is also said to be a shapeshifter of some sort She appears to girls as a man (Sinilau) and appears to men as herself (Fehuluni). They say she is very beautiful with thick, long, black, flowing hair that reach her feet (or where they would be anyway) She is seen in a white flowing dress with a red orchid on her left ear. Most encounters tell of how she would come up and speak to you and it would only be per chance you look down and see she is only floating or when you return home and something is wrong people will as did you speak to any strangers? that would be when they remember she had no legs.

They say she only appears in the day and the latest she has been seen is dusk. there are many tales floating around about her. 

**This story was told by an oldtimer**

"I was in Tonga, It was about 1974 I think. Well anyway, it was a year before your aunt was born. You see in Tonga we had to go to Uta (Farm lands) to gather some Taro (A vegetable root that is edible. Kind of like Yam). It was near dark and i sent your uncle back on the horse with our last load of taro. Our piece of land is near the cliff and you could see the beach and if anyone had been there having a picnic I would be the first to hear them or see them. So after he loaded our last batch I told him to go ahead drop off the load and come back for me. 

I watched him leave then continued to clear away weeds and prepare for our return. Just then a lady walked passed I did not pay her any attention except that she spoke to me. she said to me “Hey do you want to come with me to the beach ? they are having a bbq and roasting pig. Listen can you hear them laughing? Hurry let us go.” I did not move. I looked at her and found her to be very beautiful but she already had her back to me . I replied “No, Thank you. I am waiting for my son he will be back shortly for us to return home.” As I turned away to pick up my things I noticed she had no legs when i got back up to look at her she turned and I saw her red Orchid dawning her left ear i immediately knew it was her Fehuluni. She said to me “Go, and never again let me catch you here alone.” she turned and faded off into the darkening skies. 

Just then your uncle returned I felt faint and I told him what happened. He got me onto the horse and walked us home. he told your grandfather what happened to me and he immediately summoned his cousin who was known at the time to often speak with Fehuluni and asked her to come and help, but, before he left she was already standing at our door. She says to your grandfather “Fehuluni came to me, said your wife has crossed her once. If you were not my blood she would have taken her and your son.” then she went on to say that I would be ok so long as I do not return to the area and be left alone. To this day I do not know if what I seen was real or just a hallucination. 

The thing that got me was that your grandfathers cousin, she was deaf and could not speak clearly but that night she came she had a flower in her left ear and she spoke as clear as day. As clear as when I spoke to Fehuluni. Whatever it may have been I never dared to test it and always sent the boys early in the day in groups..."

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