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.
Tribal art of Papua New Guinea
Fertility Goddess (Aiwai Meri)
Yenchenmangua Village
Middle Sepik Region
View
larger image
This page last updated: 03/01/2018