To-Kabinana

To-Kabinana Oceania
A Melanesian creator hero. The New Britain islanders tell of a pre-existent spirit, ‘the one who was first there’, who drew two male figures on the ground, cut open his own skin, and sprinkled the drawings with his own blood. He then shaded the figures with large leaves till they emerged as two men, named To-Kabinana and To-Karvuvu.

Whilst To-Kabinana always did things of benefit to the world, To-Karvuvu never succeeded in avoiding unfortunate actions. One day To-Kabinana climbed a coconut tree, picked two unripe fruit, and threw them to the ground. They split open and released two beautiful women. To-Karvuvu admired them and asked his brother how he had come by them. Having discovered the secret, To-Karvuvu also climbed a coconut tree, picked two unripe fruit, and threw them to the ground. Unhappily, they landed point downward, and the women who came from them had flat ugly noses.

Another day To-Kabinana carved a...

[The entire page is 342 words long]

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