Black Horse

Te Pusi mo te Ali: The Eel and the Flounder

In short: Explore the Tuvaluan story in which a stone breaks and becomes the islands of Tuvalu.

Te Pusi mo te Ali: The Eel and the Flounder · A stone breaks into islands FAIRY TALE ATLAS · № 169 Te Pusi mo te Ali: The Eel and the Flounder Explore the Tuvaluan story in which a stone breaks and becomes the islands of Tuvalu. Origin An island formation story from Tuvalu’s oral tradition. The 1983 history and the 2016 teaching resource are distinct published records. Atlas record 1983 First appearance Exact date unknown SIGNATURE MOTIF A stone breaks into islands Reach¹ 1/10 Suggested age² 8+ Member rating No votes yet 2 records · 1 countries or regions blackhorsestories.com

¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question

Origin and tradition

An island formation story from Tuvalu’s oral tradition. The 1983 history and the 2016 teaching resource are distinct published records.

In the story of Pusi the eel and Ali the flounder, a stone connects a quarrel between two animals to the beginnings of the islands. Ali is flattened beneath it. The fragments become the islands of Tuvalu. I’m Black Horse. One stone changes the shape of an animal and a country. How would you tell the story starting with the islands?

Dated records and sources

  1. 1983 · Tuvalu atolls
    K. O’Brien · Tuvalu: A History · pp. 14–15 · Published collection
  2. 2016 · Tuvalu atolls
    Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa · Tuvalu Language Week education resource · Public retelling

Country pages

Fairy Tale Glossary

Origin
Black Horse. Te Pusi mo te Ali: The Eel and the Flounder. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-pusi-ali-tuvalu/