/ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/mythologyofallra91gray THE MYTHOLOGY OF ALL RACES Volume IX OCEANIC Volume I. Greek and Roman William Sherwood Fox, Ph.D., Princeton University. Volume II. Teutonic Axel Olrik, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen. Volume III. Celtic, Slavic Canon John A. MacCulloch, D.D., Bridge of Allan, Scotland. Jan MAchal, Ph.D., Bohemian University, Prague. Volume IV. Finno-Ugric, Siberian UNO Holmbeeg, Ph.D., University of Finland, Helsingfors. Volume V. Semitic R. Campbell Thompson, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., Oxford. Volume VI. Indian, Iranian A. Bereiedale Keith, D.C.L., Edinburgh University. Albert J. Caenov, Ph.D., University of Louvain. Volume VII. Armenian, African Martiros Ananikian, B.D., Kennedy School of Missions, Hart- ford, Connecticut. George Fodcart, Docteur ^s Lettres, French Institute of Oriental Archteology, Cairo. Volume VIII. Chinese, Japanese U. Hattori, Litt.D., University of Tokyo. (Japanese Exchange Professor at Harvard University, igis~igi6) Masahuro Anesaki, Litt.D., University of Tokyo. (Japanese Exchange Professor at Harvard University, igij-tgis) Volume IX. Oceanic Roland Burrage Dixon, Ph.D., Harvard University. Volume X. American {North of Mexico) Hartley Burr Alexander, Ph.D., University of Nebraska. Volume XI. American {iMin) Hartley Burr Alexander, Ph.D., University of Nebraska. Volume XII. Egypt, Far East W. Max Mtiller, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania. Sir (James) George Scott, K.C.I.E., London. Volume Xni. Index PLATE I Image of Kuila-moku, one of the Hawaiian patron deities of medicine. Prayers and offerings were made to him by the Kahunas, or shamans, when trying to cure patients. Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts. THE MYTHOLOGY OF ALL RACES IN THIRTEEN VOLUMES LOUIS HERBERT GRAY, A.M., PH.D., Editor GEORGE FOOT MOORE, A.M., D.D., LL.D., Consulting Editor OCEANIC BY ROLAND B. DIXON, Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY HARVARD UNIVERSITY VOLUME IX BOSTON MARSHALL JONES COMPANY M DCCCC XVI Copyright, 1916 By Marshall Jones Company Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London All rights reserved Printed September, 1916 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS BOUND BY THE BOSTON BOOKBINDING COMPANY AUTHOR’S PREFACE N the following pages we shall seek to present an outline of I the mythology of the Oceanic peoples. Although certain aspects of the mythic system of this area, as well as the myths of separate portions of it, have been treated by others, the present writer does not know of any recent endeavour to gather all available materials from the whole region, or to discuss the relationship of the mythologies of the various portions of Oceania to one another, and to the adjacent lands. The attempt has been made to go over all the myths of worth which have been published; but it is not impossible that valuable and im- portant material has been overlooked. Some omissions, how- ever, have been due to circumstances beyond control. A num- ber of volumes containing material, probably of considerable value, were not to be found in the libraries of the United States, and disturbances consequent upon the European War have made it impossible to secure them; while other gaps are due to the author’s insufficient knowledge of Malay languages, which prevented the use of some collections of tales, published without translations. The selection of the legends to be presented has offered con- siderable difficulty, this being especially marked in the class of what may be denominated, for convenience, miscellaneous tales. No two persons would probably make the same choice, but it is believed that those which are here given serve as a fair sample of the various types and include those which are of widest interest and distribution. In the majority of cases the tales have been retold in our own words. For strictly scientific purposes exact reproductions of the originals would, of course, be required; but the general purpose of this series, VI AUTHOR’S PREFACE and the limitations of space, have made this method impossi- ble. References have in every case, however, been given; so that those who wish to consult the fuller or original forms of the tales can do so easily. These references, and all notes, have been put into an Appendix at the end of the volume, thus leaving the pages unencumbered for those who wish only to get a general idea of the subject. The Bibliography has, with few exceptions, been restricted to the titles of original pub- lications; reprints and popular and semi-popular articles and volumes have been omitted. Every care has been taken to make the large number of references correct, though it is too much to hope that errors have not crept in. In the brief discussions at the end of each section, and again at the end of the volume, we have sought to draw conclusions in regard to the probable origin of some of the myths and to point out the evidences of transmission and historical contact which they show. Merely to present the tales without offering any suggestions as to how they had come to be what they are and where they are, seemed to fail of attaining the full purpose of this series. No one is more conscious than the author that the hypotheses offered will not meet with universal acceptance; that they rest, in many cases, upon uncertain foundations; and that, plausible as they may look today, they may be funda- mentally modified by new material and further study. Should this essay only serve to stimulate interest in this field, and lead to greater activity in gathering new material while yet there is time, he will be quite content. ROLAND B. DIXON. Harvard University, June i, 1916. CONTENTS PAGE Author’s Preface v Introduction xi Part I. Polynesia i Chapter I Myths of Origins and the Deluge 4 II The Maui Cycle 41 III Miscellaneous Tales 57 IV Summary 92 Part II. Melanesia loi Chapter I Myths of Origins and the Deluge 105 II Culture Hero Tales 122 III Miscellaneous Tales 130 IV Summary 148 Part III. Indonesia 151 Chapter I Myths of Origins and the Deluge 155 II Trickster Tales 186 III Miscellaneous Tales 206 IV Summary 240 Part IV. Micronesia 245 Chapter I Myths of Origins and the Deluge 248 II Miscellaneous Tales 258 III Summary 263 Part V. Australia 265 Chapter I Myths of Origins and the Deluge 270 II Animal and Miscellaneous Tales 288 III Summary 301 Conclusion 304 Notes 309 Bibliography 345 ILLUSTRATIONS FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE FACING PAGE I Image of Kuila-Moku, Hawaii — Photogravure Frontispiece II Wooden Figure of Tangaroa Upao Vahu, Austral Island 5 III Carved Club Head, Marquesas Islands 10 IV Wooden Figure of Taria-Nui, Rarotonga, Cook Islands 18 V Carved End of Wooden Staff, Cook Islands 26 VI “Hei-Tiki,” Jadeite Amulet, New Zealand — Coloured 37 VII Carved Wooden Figure, New Zealand 48 VIII Carved Wooden Panel, Mythological Subjects, New Zealand 58 IX Mythical Animal, Carved from Drift-Wood, Easter Island 69 X Tapa Figure, Easter Island — Coloured 76 XI Monolithic Ancestral Image, Easter Island 88 XII Wood Carving, New Ireland — Coloured 105 XIII Mask from Elema, British New Guinea — Coloured . 117 XIV Ancestral Mask Made of a Skull, New Hebrides — Coloured 125 XV Wooden Dance-Mask, New Ireland — Coloured . 138 XVI Wooden Ghost-Mask, Borneo — Coloured 158 XVII Image of Bugan, the Sister-Wife of Wigan, Philippine Islands 171 XVIII Dyak Drawing on Bamboo, Borneo 183 XIX Ifugao Ancestral Image, Philippine Islands 199 XX Wooden Ancestral Image, Nias Island 220 XXI A. Native Carving Representing Mythological Sub- jects, Pelew Islands 250 B. Native Carving Representing Mythological Sub- jects, Pelew Islands 250 XXII Aboriginal Drawing of Totemic Being, Australia . 271 XXIII Native Drawing of an Evil Spirit, called Auuenau, Australia 285 X ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE FACING PAGE XXIV Wurruna Spearing Emus, Aboriginal Drawing, Aus- tralia 295 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT FIGURE PAGE 1 Native Drawing of a Sea-Spirit 135 2 Native Drawing of a “Dogai," or Female Bogey .... 142 3 Native Drawing of a Bunyip” 280 MAP FACING PAGE Oceania 364 INTRODUCTION he myths and tales in this volume have been gathered T from all parts of Oceania, and it may be wise, therefore, at the outset to indicate just what area is included in our sur- vey; to sketch very briefly the character of the peoples and the environment in which they live; and to state the general plan and purpose of the book. The use of the term Oceania is, and has been, rather variable. By some it is taken to include only the smaller islands of the Pacific Ocean, comprised for the most part within the limits of Polynesia and Micronesia, while others extend the applica- tion of the term so as to include also Melanesia as well as the whole group of the East Indies. In the present case it is this latter usage which is followed, and the great island-continent of Australia, together with its appendage of Tasmania, is fur- ther added. Thus by Oceania will be meant all island areas, great or small, from Easter Island to Sumatra and from Hawaii to New Zealand. This great region may, for our purposes, be conveniently divided into five sections: (i) Polynesia, which may be roughly defined as including all the islands lying east of the iSoth me- ridian, together with New Zealand; (2) Melanesia, comprising the huge island of New Guinea, together with all the islands and archipelagos extending therefrom to the east and south- east as far as Fiji and New Caledonia; (3) Indonesia, which includes all the islands often spoken of as the East Indies, and extends from the Moluccas on the east to Sumatra on the west, and from Java and Timor in the south to the northern ex- tremity of the Philippines; (4) Micronesia, composed, as its name implies, mainly of small islands, and occupying the area xii INTRODUCTION north of Melanesia and east of the 130th meridian of east longi- tude; and lastly (5), but by no means least in importance, Australia, together with Tasmania.