One of the popular tourist attractions of
the Iji Islands is Gurita's Gripe - a natural lava formation that has hardened into a natural sculpture of black
dukori that resembles a 20ft tall screaming child that seemingly failed to crawl away from a river of lava.
A Molten Myth
The tale behind the landmark suggests that this was a harsh lesson taught by the fiery octopus deity,
Gurita, to punish the child for breaking many of the tenets of
Guritism. The story goes that a mother brought her child to the slopes of the volcano to seek forgiveness, but the misbehaving child thrashed about violently, punching and kicking the whole way. So, Gurita used infernal heat to magnify the child into a monstrous size, then proceeded to wash them off of the island with a torrent of lava.
The lava engulfed the screaming child, who became encrusted in volcanic rock. A lifelong lesson and warning to future generations of children to be well behaved and listen to the teachings of Guritism or risk evoking Gurita's wrath.
Luca Poddighe
When I read this I went to tidy up my room, just in case Gurita didn't appreciate the mess :D
TJ Trewin
Haha xD you may have just saved yourself from the wrath of a fiery octopus!