Qasavara
Encyclopedia
Qasavara is a spirit from Melanesian mythology, more precisely from the Banks islands
, north of Vanuatu
.
, but the same deity is known under other names in neighboring islands: [kpʷasˈβar] in Vurës, [kpʷasˈβaj] in Mwotlap
, [wɔkpʷastaˈβaɸ] in Mwesen.
, the Great Spirit who made everything, and his twelve brothers were invited to spend the night in the house of a giant named Qasavara. The giant intended to kill them while they slept and eat them, but Qat opened a crack in one of the beams of the house and the brothers hid inside the beam. In the end, Qasavara became so frustrated that one morning he chased Qat and his brothers up a casuarina
tree. Qat caused the tree to grow so long that when it bent over, the tip touched a neighboring island. The brothers jumped off and the tree, released from the extra weight, sprang back, throwing Qasavara high into the sky. When Qasavara struck the ground, he died and was transformed into a stone. This stone still existed in recent times: those who desired success and strength in battle would make sacrifices upon it.
Another lesser-known version portrays Qasavara as the gatherer of the spirits of the damned, who he then feeds to mythical monsters.
Banks Islands
The Banks Islands are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu.Together with the Torres Islands to the northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The group lies about north of Maewo, and includes Gaua and Vanua Lava, two of the 13 largest islands in Vanuatu...
, north of Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
.
Name
The name ‘Qasavara’ is itself from the language of MotaMota (island)
Mota is an extinct volcanic island in the Banks group of Torba Province in northern Vanuatu.683 people live on Mota in coastal villages around the island. The names of the villages are Liwotqei, Lotawan, Mariu, Tasmate, Garamal, Tuqetap, and Veverao....
, but the same deity is known under other names in neighboring islands: [kpʷasˈβar] in Vurës, [kpʷasˈβaj] in Mwotlap
Mwotlap
-External links: *...
, [wɔkpʷastaˈβaɸ] in Mwesen.
Mythology
QatQat
Qat may refer to:* Qat , of Oceania or Melanesia* Qat, or Khat, a tropical evergreen plant whose leaves are used as a stimulant...
, the Great Spirit who made everything, and his twelve brothers were invited to spend the night in the house of a giant named Qasavara. The giant intended to kill them while they slept and eat them, but Qat opened a crack in one of the beams of the house and the brothers hid inside the beam. In the end, Qasavara became so frustrated that one morning he chased Qat and his brothers up a casuarina
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
tree. Qat caused the tree to grow so long that when it bent over, the tip touched a neighboring island. The brothers jumped off and the tree, released from the extra weight, sprang back, throwing Qasavara high into the sky. When Qasavara struck the ground, he died and was transformed into a stone. This stone still existed in recent times: those who desired success and strength in battle would make sacrifices upon it.
Another lesser-known version portrays Qasavara as the gatherer of the spirits of the damned, who he then feeds to mythical monsters.
External links
- Read and listen to the story of Qat and Qasavara (otherwise known as Kpwet and Wokpwastavav) in the language of Mwesen, north Vanuatu. Homepage of the linguist Alexandre François.