Melanesian mythology has neither a supreme deity nor a distinct hierarchy, or ranked organization, of gods and goddesses. Instead, each cultural group possesses its own supernatural spirits, culture heroes, tricksters, and other beings that appear in local myths and stories.
Creator Gods and Heroes Most cultural groups have creation myths that explain or describe the origin of the world. Melanesians, however, believe that the world has always existed, so they have few stories about creation. Yet various figures do play roles in changing parts of the world and in the formation of islands and features of the landscape.
On the Banks Islands of Vanuatu, the first being in the world was Qat, a creator god and hero who fashioned islands and covered them with trees, animals, and plants. Qat also made humans by carving dolls From wood and then dancing and singing them to life. Then he created day and night so people could work and then sleep.
In the islands of Vanuatu and New Britain, a creator god made twin brothers, To-Kabinana and To-Karvuvu, by sprinkling the ground with his own blood. To-Kabinana became a creator hero who produced many good things, while To-Karvuvu was responsible for the evil and troubles in the world. In Papua New Guinea, the sky god Kambel made people and the moon. He also created the clouds, which pushed up the sky and separated it from the earth.
Tricksters and Other Spirits According to the Kiwai people of New Guinea, the trickster Sido could change his skin like a snake. He was killed by a powerful magician and then wandered the world seducing women and children. After losing his human wife, Sido transformed himself into a gigantic pig. Finally, he split himself open so that the pig’s backbone and sides formed the house of death, the place where people go when they die.
Another mythological figure of New Guinea is Dudugera, known as the “leg child” because he sprang from a cut in his mother’s leg. The people of his village mocked and bullied Dudugera, who one day told his mother to hide under a rock because he was going to become the sun. Dudugera soared into the sky and shot fire spears, which burned vegetation and killed many living things. To stop Dudugera from destroying everything, his mother threw mud or lime juice at his face, and it turned into clouds that hid the sun.
Marawa, the spider, is a friend of Qat. When Qat created humans Marawa tried to do the same, but his wooden figures turned into rotting corpses. That is how death came into the world. Tagaro, a trickster of Vanuatu, destroyed his evil brother Meragubutto by persuading him to enter a burning house to gain more magic and thus increase his power.
The mythologies of Melanesia include many spirits associated with nature and animals. The Adaro are sun spirits, part fish and part human, who use rainbows as bridges and come to earth during sun showers. The Bariaus are shy spirits that live in old tree trunks. The Kiwai of Papua New Guinea say that they are descended from Nuga, a half-human, halfcrocodile creature created long ago from a piece of wood.
World History
