MySQL Cluster node utf8
Show us what you did to (1) use utf8 in the client(s), (2) how you established the charset from client to server, and (3) SHOW CREATE TABLE.

If you left out any one of those, that that is likely to be the problem.

Do not use utf16, only use utf8.  (Unless you have some good argument to the contrary.)

If you have INSERTed some data, let's see SELECT col, HEX(col)... to see if it was garbled on the way in.