Sea turtle appears on the day Unjami festival honors the sea gods
April 23, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
In the early morning of April 21 (March 3 in the old lunar calendar), a sea turtle showed up at Sumuide beach, Yagaji Island near Nago. The turtle laid eggs and went back to the sea in a few minutes. This was on the day of Unjami festival which honors the sea gods. The head of the community Munemasa Furugen welcomed the animal, saying, “I have not seen a sea turtle laying eggs for a long time. It is going to bring good luck to us.”
At around 7:00 a.m., a resident found the turtle while out for a walk on the beach and told Furugen. The turtle was struggling to return to the sea. While Furugen was trying to contact members of a wildlife conservation group, the animal managed to return to the sea.
Sea turtles sometimes lay eggs on the beach in Yagaji Island. The community center used to make an announcement when turtles came ashore.
(English translation by T&CT, Hitomi Shinzato)
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