Bélgica Dagua, "Why Young People Should Not Kill Geckos."

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—Shere re, re, re… can you repeat that again? Shere, re, re, re, re… That’s how the lizard called Wata, Wata cries. Why does it cry like that? When it’s alone, it calls its family —[aah]—. When they hear it, one comes, then another, and that’s how they gather. Does its family come all the way there? The whole family gathers when it’s mating season; they only come together during that time. That’s why they used to sing like that; it was forbidden to kill them. Boys who are growing up, girls who are growing up… those children are forbidden to kill the lizard (Wata, Wata). When they kill them —their children—, when a young woman marries and has a child, that child will fall ill because she killed the Wata, Wata. —He just cries… and faints. —The child? —Yes, the child. —Why does he faint? —Because he’s sick. He cries and suddenly faints; he starts to die because of that evil. Because of the evil of the Wata, Wata lizard, because she killed the Wata, that’s why he’s like that, with that evil inside. —How does the Wata, Wata lizard die? —When it’s killed while making that sound. When they hit it, it falls backward and dies; that’s why you must not kill that lizard. The same will happen to you. That can’t be cured. If they take the child to the doctors, he will die. He won’t recover. The child has that evil, that’s why he dies. —What do you call that evil? —We call the evil of the Wata, Wata lizard the evil of (shawinchu). —Shawinshu, what does shawinshu mean? —Shawinshu is what we call the evil of the Wata, Wata lizard. Instead of saying all that, we just say shawinshu. —So, the Wata, Wata lizard is shawinshu? —Its name is Wata, Wata lizard. But instead of saying “the evil of Wata, Wata,” we just say shawinshu. It’s the evil of the Wata, Wata lizard; but we just say shawinchu.