Dogs & Nigthcrawlers

Last Sunday, I was taking a walk with my host brother after Church. We were strolling through the forest along the water and enjoying the beautiful day in paradise. We were leisurely wasting away the day without a care in the world. The two of us then came upon a  house along the path and my brother suddenly put out his hand and stopped me in my tracks. He knew something was wrong. We were approaching a house that had a couple over-protective dogs that could be dangerous. He hollered to the owner of the house and the man came out to shoo the dogs under the house. We approached slowly and inched our way past the house as the man stood guard between the growling dogs and us. Suddenly, the mangy canines darted out from behind the man charged right for us. I had no rocks, or sticks or any weapons to defend myself with; so I figured the best defense was to stand still and exhibit no aggression. This was not the best approach. The first dog pounced at my brother and narrowly missed his leg. The next one twirled around my backside and quickly sank his teeth into my calf. We both went to smack the dogs but they retreated hurriedly and scampered off into the trees. The result of the encounter was a big gash on my inner calf. We continued our walk and left the property promptly. After we were a safe distance from the house, my brother took a closer look at my wound. He noticed that it was bluish-purple and swelling quickly. He squeezed the wound and blood began to flow from the bite mark. After sufficient squeezing, he found a small sprouting coconut tree and gathered a chunk of the soft pith from the inside of the bark. He rubbed the natural remedy into my cut and assured me that it would be a good temporary cure for the bite. My brother then began cursing angrily and swore that we were going to kill and eat that dog tonight. He was enraged that we didn’t have anything to beat it away with when it came to attack and assured me that he would stab it in the heart to avenge the attack. I told him that it wasn’t necessary to kill and eat the dog, but I wouldn’t stop him if he really wanted to do it (We never killed it). I later returned to my house and cleaned the cut properly. My host father is a nurse and helped make sure that it was suitably sterilized and free of infection. I have been vigorously applying Neosporin and hope that the wound doesn’t get infected with the flurry of contaminated elements that are present in this tropical climate. Even slight scratches on feet and fingers will get nastily infected within a day if not properly treated. So I must be very careful to watch my wound closely and monitor its healing process. Although it sucks to be bitten by a dog, I do feel like it’s kind of like a rite of passage for being here in Chuuk. Angry dogs have bitten most people here in Chuuk and I feel like more of local now that I’ve dealt with it, haha.

On my last night in Tonoas I partook in another Chuukese custom that seems particularly weird under American standards. It’s called night crawling. And it has nothing to do with the myriad of creepy crawly things that scurrying around our rooms at night. Rats, lizards, spiders, and cockroaches seem to be in every corner of every room; but my description of those night crawlers can be saved for another time. This type of night crawling has to do with courtship. Rules of courtship and relationships in Micronesia are extremely conservative. It is taboo to showcase any type of public affection, especially if you aren’t married. Holding hands or even direct eye contact are off limits between unmarried men and women. You aren’t really even supposed to have extended conversations or ever be seen alone with a member of the opposite sex. Men and women usually sit apart at social gatherings and stick to their own sex in almost all walks of life. There is no concept of dating in the western sense and you must be extremely careful not to exhibit any sexual advances.

Despite this strict cultural customs about relationships, people are people and still crave the presence of the opposite sex. So in Micronesia, its gotta be sneaky. Very sneaky. Sneaky to the point that would be considered creepy in America. Let me explain the standard method of courtship in Micronesia. It is called night crawling. This process is totally acceptable and understood throughout Micronesia, but would get you thrown in jail and labeled as a sex offender in America. Basically, men creep around at night at go to young woman’s houses. They approach quietly and tap on the window or splash water or doing anything necessary to wake up the girl of their desire. They must be extremely careful not to wake up the father or other members of the family. This can be exceedingly difficult, because in most Micronesian homes all of the family sleeps on the ground in one room. Nonetheless, the man will hopefully get the attention of the girl and be invited in or bring the young lady outside. From there, you can use your imagination to what happens next. Sometimes a romp in the jungle, sometimes a silent embrace under the covers, or sometimes just a romantic talk. The ancient Chuukese technique actually employs something called a “Chuukese Love Stick”. The Love Stick was traditionally slid through the thatched walls of the house and  poked the girl to wake her. Each love stick has a unique design on the sharp tip and the female looks at the artwork and decides if the craftsmanship is good enough for her. If she wants her suitor, she will accept the stick. If she rejects the love stick, then she pushes it back through the wall and stabs the night crawler to death. Talk about tough love. This method of the Chuukese love stick is really practiced anymore, but nightcrawling is more popular than ever. Nightcrawling is really the only way for men and women to have any sort of relationship. It is the only way they have privacy to talk. It is the only way that they have time alone. It is the only way that they can get to know each other. And it’s the only way that they can satisfy their inborn urges.

Anyways, on the last night in Tonoas I was walking along the shore with my brother and cousin and they snickered to each other in Chuukese and then pulled me along with them to go night crawl some girl. We approached the house softly and my brother began his process of slight taps and quiet whispers to try to wake the sleeping maiden. The three of us were standing outside the window and patiently trying to infiltrate the defenses and find a way to surreptitiously get the attention of the girl without waking the family. Suddenly, achooooooo!!!!! Despite my best efforts, I unleashed a booming sneeze and undoubtedly blew our cover. We hurried off into the forest laughing at my amateur move, and without a lady for the night. It was a funny introduction to the art of night crawling and I cant say that I was too disappointed that we didn’t wake up some random young girl. I wasn’t really intending to do anything with the unsuspecting girl; I just thought it was exciting to experience the trade of night crawling. Sometimes woman also venture out and night crawl men, so I am gonna bide my time and let them come to me, haha.