Hundreds of years ago, the ancestors of the people of Waai Village threw a magic spear from the Salahutu mountains. The spear was stuck firmly and gave rise to a spring when it was removed from the place where it was stuck. The spring is called Waiselaka and has become the foundation of life for the residents of Waai Village, Salahutu District, Central Maluku to this day. One thing that is interesting, along with the appearance of the Waiselaka spring, an animal resembling an eel with a very large size also appears. The people call the animal Morea.

At a glance Morea looks like an electric eel that lives in salt water, but this animal actually comes from a freshwater river formed from the Waiselaka spring. Its body is elliptical, reaching 2-2.5 meters with a diameter of 15-20 centimeters. The entire surface of the skin is smooth and slightly slimy, but Morea is not a ferocious animal that is aggressive towards human presence. Morea in the Waiselaka springs are very tame and are familiar with human life. They are used to passing by the people of Waai Village who are washing clothes or just bathing in the Waiselaka river.

The people of Waai Village really sacred Morea’s existence. They think that Morea is the guardian of the Waiselaka spring which has been a source of livelihood for all villagers. Since long ago, no one from outside the village had dared to steal or even kill the Morea because apart from respecting tradition, they were also afraid of the curse they would get if they broke this rule.

Morea live in natural holes formed along rivers. They will only come out when they feel hungry and look for small fish around them to eat. However, Morea can be called out by a special handler using a raw egg. The handler will break the egg and make a splash of water along with a little raw egg liquid. The fishy smell of the eggs will make Morea come out of the nest and get closer to the Charmer. Usually, this is what the handler Morea does to call Morea out when many tourists visit Waai Village. After Morea leaves the nest, tourists can not only witness the uniqueness of this animal from a distance, but can also touch it, swim with it, and even lay raw eggs as food, just like the handler did.

Local wisdom in protecting the river is a strong factor that is the reason for the survival of this site for hundreds of years until now. The residents of Waai Village realize that the Waiselaka spring and river are their source of life for water consumption, washing, bathing, and so on. They even honored the existence of this spring with hundreds of years ago, the ancestor of the Waai Village community threw a magic spear from the Salahutu mountains. The spear was stuck firmly and gave rise to a spring when it was removed from the place where it was stuck. The spring is called Waiselaka and has become the foundation of life for the residents of Waai Village, Salahutu District, Central Maluku to this day. One thing that is interesting, along with the appearance of the Waiselaka spring, an animal resembling an eel with a very large size also appears. The people call the animal Morea.

At a glance Morea looks like an electric eel that lives in salt water, but this animal actually comes from a freshwater river formed from the Waiselaka spring. Its body is elliptical, reaching 2-2.5 meters with a diameter of 15-20 centimeters. The entire surface of the skin is smooth and slightly slimy, but Morea is not a ferocious animal that is aggressive towards human presence. Morea in the Waiselaka springs are very tame and are familiar with human life. They are used to passing by the people of Waai Village who are washing clothes or just bathing in the Waiselaka river.

The people of Waai Village really sacred Morea’s existence. They think that Morea is the guardian of the Waiselaka spring which has been a source of livelihood for all villagers. Since long ago, no one from outside the village had dared to steal or even kill the Morea because apart from respecting tradition, they were also afraid of the curse they would get if they broke this rule.

Morea live in natural holes formed along rivers. They will only come out when they feel hungry and look for small fish around them to eat. However, Morea can be called out by a special handler using a raw egg. The handler will break the egg and make a splash of water along with a little raw egg liquid. The fishy smell of the eggs will make Morea come out of the nest and get closer to the Charmer. Usually, this is what the handler Morea does to call Morea out when many tourists visit Waai Village. After Morea left the nest, the tourists
Source : Indonesiakaya.com