{
  "country_code": "NR",
  "id": "eigigu-tree-to-moon",
  "title": "Eigigu: the tree that reached the moon's household",
  "category": "espace-temps",
  "date": "2026-09-30",
  "date_label": "Documentary review date; the undated traditional story has no verified event year",
  "location": "Nauru; island-wide folklore orientation",
  "lat": -0.53,
  "lng": 166.93,
  "summary": "A girl climbs a sky-reaching tree, restores an old woman's sight and marries the Moon. The published Nauruan story turns familiar lunar and cloud appearances into a household in the sky.",
  "documented_claim": "The government publishes Eigigu's ascent and her marriage to the personified Moon.",
  "unproven_claim": "The retelling establishes a physical sky-reaching tree or literal journey into a lunar household.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Government of Nauru — The Story of Eigigu",
      "url": "https://www.nauru.gov.nr/about-naoero/dei-naoero%27s-stories/the-story-of-eigigu.aspx",
      "language": "en",
      "kind": "Primary official folklore retelling",
      "note": "Undated and unattributed collection history; repeated phrases retained as a provenance issue.",
      "id": "S1",
      "accessed_on": "2026-09-30"
    },
    {
      "title": "NASA Earth Observatory — Earthshine",
      "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/earthshine-83782/",
      "language": "en",
      "kind": "Institutional astronomical explanation",
      "note": "Physical context for a faint lunar disk; not an independent source for Nauruan folklore.",
      "id": "S2",
      "accessed_on": "2026-09-30"
    }
  ],
  "country": "Nauru",
  "author": "Eklipsis",
  "content_languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "path": "/investigations/eigigu-tree-to-moon",
  "source_url": "https://www.nauru.gov.nr/about-naoero/dei-naoero%27s-stories/the-story-of-eigigu.aspx",
  "location_precision": "region",
  "location_note": "Approximate orientation marker for the named locality, not an exact encounter, burial, ritual or excavation position.",
  "location_source_url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-0.53&mlon=166.93#map=8/-0.53/166.93",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-30",
  "edition": 1,
  "truth_type": "unknown",
  "verdict": "An official Nauruan retelling is documented. The celestial family is narrative interpretation; a literal tree passage to the Moon is not established.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "The mystery and the documented account",
      "text": "Nauru's government publishes a story of Eigigu, a youngest daughter who leaves home, nurtures a seed and climbs the resulting tree to the sky. She encounters an old woman and her sons, identified as Sun, Thunder and Moon; after restoring the woman's sight she becomes the Moon's wife. The ending interprets the visible lunar form and clouds through this celestial household. NASA's account of earthshine supplies a separate physical explanation for the faintly lit lunar disk near a crescent, without explaining the cultural origin of the story.",
      "refs": [
        "S1",
        "S2"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "The question worth investigating",
      "text": "How does the tale connect family experience to recurring sky appearances, and which interpretations are preserved in Nauruan-language versions? A visual observation and the story used to explain it are different research targets.",
      "refs": []
    },
    {
      "title": "Evidence, provenance and uncertainty",
      "text": "The government page supplies no named narrator or collection date and contains repeated phrases that may be transcription errors. The review date is not a date for a supernatural ascent. NASA's physical explanation is contextual and does not independently attest the tale or determine its age.",
      "refs": [
        "S1",
        "S2"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Inspector’s assessment",
      "text": "An official Nauruan retelling is documented. The celestial family is narrative interpretation; a literal tree passage to the Moon is not established.",
      "refs": []
    },
    {
      "title": "Next research and discriminating evidence",
      "text": "Trace the government's text to its original collection and compare local-language versions. Preserve personal names, kinship and variant endings. Compare the story's described sky appearances with dated observations of lunar phase and earthshine. Do not silently repair repeated wording without documenting the source and correction.",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "timeline": [
    {
      "date": "Narrative opening, undated",
      "text": "Eigigu leaves home and grows the tree; this is a story stage, not a historical date.",
      "refs": [
        "S1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "Narrative sky episode, undated",
      "text": "She meets the old woman and the celestial sons.",
      "refs": [
        "S1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "Narrative ending, undated",
      "text": "Her marriage to the Moon explains visible sky forms within the tale.",
      "refs": [
        "S1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "30 September 2026",
      "text": "Eklipsis compiles this English documentary investigation from the named sources. No field visit or new eyewitness interview is claimed.",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "text": "The government publishes Eigigu's ascent and her marriage to the personified Moon.",
      "status": "Documented in the named record",
      "refs": [
        "S1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The retelling establishes a physical sky-reaching tree or literal journey into a lunar household.",
      "status": "Not established by the selected evidence",
      "refs": [
        "S1",
        "S2"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "An official Nauruan retelling is documented. The celestial family is narrative interpretation; a literal tree passage to the Moon is not established.",
      "status": "Editorial assessment; stated limits apply",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "hypotheses": [
    {
      "title": "A celestial family story linked to visible sky phenomena",
      "status": "Supported narrative reading",
      "support": "The ending explicitly interprets lunar and cloud appearances.",
      "limits": "The first telling and collection history are unknown.",
      "test": "Compare complete Nauruan versions and their sky descriptions."
    },
    {
      "title": "A literal passage through a giant tree",
      "status": "Not established",
      "support": "The tale depicts a physical ascent.",
      "limits": "A published wonder tale does not provide an event record.",
      "test": "Distinguish narrative geography from measured astronomical observations."
    }
  ],
  "tasks": [
    {
      "title": "Trace the earliest accessible record",
      "body": "For Eigigu: the tree that reached the moon's household, record author or storyteller, collection date, language, translation, page and exact scope. Distinguish evidence of a story being told from evidence of its events. Note which full documents remain unavailable."
    },
    {
      "title": "Investigate the central question",
      "body": "Trace the government's text to its original collection and compare local-language versions. Preserve personal names, kinship and variant endings. Compare the story's described sky appearances with dated observations of lunar phase and earthshine. Do not silently repair repeated wording without documenting the source and correction."
    },
    {
      "title": "Compare explanations without merging evidence",
      "body": "Compare complete Nauruan versions and their sky descriptions. Distinguish narrative geography from measured astronomical observations. Preserve contradictions and unsuccessful searches; proposed work remains unperformed."
    }
  ]
}