Goga

In Melanesia-Papua New Guinea and nearby islands the story of how humans got fire goes like this: The primal being was an ageless old woman named Goga. In her body she nurtured fire, which a human boy stole from her. She pursued the boy who, trying to elude her, accidentally dropped the burning branch onto a tree, which caught fire. Inside the tree was a snake, whose tail caught fire. Though Goga deluged the world with rain, hoping to quench the stolen fire, the snake's tail continued to smolder, and humans used it to light the first earthly blaze.
 The Kiwai of Papua said that the primal woman was the first to kill an earthly creature.  Hunting down a wallaby, she left it to rot; human beings emerged from  it like maggots, and the old woman taught them the necessary rituals and regulations of earthly life.

• The Mythology of Oceania
• Tribal art of Papua New Guinea
• Papua New guinea travel guide
• Papua New Guinea

Fertility Goddess (Aiwai Meri)
Yenchenmangua Village
Middle Sepik Region
View larger image