Kai-n-tiku-aba

Kai-n-tiku-aba Oceania
Literal meaning: ‘tree of many branches’. The sacred tree of Samoa. According to the Gilbert islanders, who migrated northwards from Samoa about 1400, Kai-n-tiku-aba sprang from the spine of Na Atibu, the father of the gods, who died that the world could be made ready for mankind. People actually grew as fruit on the branches of Kai-n-tiku-aba. One man, however, broke the tree: he was Koura-abi. What roused him to this sacrilege was the excrement dropped by the branches on his head. Because of Koura-abi's violence the people of the tree were scattered and sorrow entered the world of men.