Qat
Qat OceaniaThe good-natured spirit hero of Banks Island. Although some people claim him as their ancestor, this Melanesian hero never was a man: he was a vui, ‘spirit’. Born of Qatgoro, a stone that burst asunder, Qat grew up and talked at once. Of his eleven brothers the most notable were Tangaro Gilagilala, ‘the wise one’ who understood all things and could instruct others, and Tangaro Loloqong, ‘the fool’, who was ignorant of everything and behaved like an idiot.
Qat created things, but not the pre-existent world. He made pigs, trees, men, and night. One myth of the origins of life and death represents a dual creation by Qat and Marawa, a spider vui. For six days Qat carved the bodies of men and women from a tree; next he hid them for three days; then for three days, he brought them forth and, by dancing and beating a drum, ‘he beguiled them into life’, so that they could stand of themselves. But Marawa, after his wooden people...
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