Qat (deity)
Encyclopedia
Qat is the principal god
in the oral
mythology
of the Banks Islands
, a small archipelago of northern Vanuatu
, Melanesia
.
Although he was never worshipped as a deity properly speaking, the folklore
of these once animist
populations traditionally referred, and still does, to Qat as the spirit
to whom we humans owe several elements of our culture: the world itself (in the form of the Torres and Banks archipelagoes); Night; Death; women; marriage rules and incest
prohibition; as well as the song language in use throughout the area (locally known as "Qat's language").
In modern times, Qat is sometimes assimilated
to the Christian God.
, an Oceanic language which was first documented by Anglican missionaries such as Robert Codrington
at the end of the 19th century. He is known under other names and pronunciations in the languages of neighbouring Banks
and Torres
islands: Qet kpʷɛt; Iqet ikpʷɛt; Qo’ kpʷɔʔ; Merawehih məˌrawəˈhih; and so on. This mythological figure obviously has strong connections with the god known as Tagaro in other parts of Vanuatu.
Along with creating islands and covering them with plant and animal life, Qat made the first three pairs of men and women by carving them from dracaena
wood and then playing drums to make them dance, bringing them to life through music. One story recounts how Marawa, envious of Qat's creations, carved his own figures and brought them to life, but then grew tired of them and buried them for a week. When he dug them up, they had rotted, and this is how death
came to be.
When his brothers became tired of daylight, Qat created night
and taught his brothers how to sleep. When they had slept enough he took a piece of red obsidian and sliced through Night, thus making Dawn.
One day Qat came upon a group of sky maidens who had taken off their wings to bathe. He quickly buried one pair of wings so that one girl had to remain behind, and in time she became his wife, Ro-Lei. They lived together until one day Qat's mother reproached her daughter-in-law and made her cry. Ro-Lei's tears washed away the earth covering her wings and she put them on and flew away. Qat shot an arrow with a rope tied to it into the roots of a great banyan tree in the sky and climbed after her into the sky world, but later as he climbed down with Ro-Lei, the root snapped and he plunged to his death, while she flew safely away.
In other versions of the story Qat does not die but sails away in a canoe, promising to return one day.
Friedrich Ratzel
in The History of Mankind Vol. 1 Page 313 in 1896 provided another version of the story as follows.
Nowadays, the story of Qat which is most popular among the islanders of northern Vanuatu tells how Qat, in Vanua Lava
, built his canoe with the help of the spider spirit Marawa; how the canoe was then stolen by Qat's eleven brothers, who sailed it to the nearby island of Gaua
; and how they all had to defeat the giant of that island, Qasavara
.
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
in the oral
Oral literature
Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
of the Banks Islands
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...
, a small archipelago of northern 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...
, Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
.
Although he was never worshipped as a deity properly speaking, the folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
of these once animist
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
populations traditionally referred, and still does, to Qat as the spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
to whom we humans owe several elements of our culture: the world itself (in the form of the Torres and Banks archipelagoes); Night; Death; women; marriage rules and incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
prohibition; as well as the song language in use throughout the area (locally known as "Qat's language").
In modern times, Qat is sometimes assimilated
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
to the Christian God.
Name
He is called Qat in MotaMota language
-External links:* in Mota* from Project Canterbury*...
, an Oceanic language which was first documented by Anglican missionaries such as Robert Codrington
Robert Henry Codrington
Robert Henry Codrington was an Anglican priest and anthropologist who made the first study of Melanesian society and culture...
at the end of the 19th century. He is known under other names and pronunciations in the languages of neighbouring Banks
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...
and Torres
Torres Islands
The Torres Islands are in the Torba Province of Vanuatu, the northernmost island group in the country. The chain of islands that make up this micro-archipelago straddle the broader cultural boundary that distinguishes Island Melanesia from several Polynesian outliers located in the neighbouring...
islands: Qet kpʷɛt; Iqet ikpʷɛt; Qo’ kpʷɔʔ; Merawehih məˌrawəˈhih; and so on. This mythological figure obviously has strong connections with the god known as Tagaro in other parts of Vanuatu.
Mythology
Qat was born when his Father, a stone, exploded. He has eleven brothers, all called Tagaro taˈɣaro (Tagaro the Foolish, Tagaro the Wise, etc), and a companion, Marawa, who takes the form of a spider.Along with creating islands and covering them with plant and animal life, Qat made the first three pairs of men and women by carving them from dracaena
Dracaena (plant)
Dracaena is a genus of about 40 species of trees and succulent shrubs. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae . It has also formerly been separated into the family Dracaenaceae or placed in the Agavaceae...
wood and then playing drums to make them dance, bringing them to life through music. One story recounts how Marawa, envious of Qat's creations, carved his own figures and brought them to life, but then grew tired of them and buried them for a week. When he dug them up, they had rotted, and this is how death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
came to be.
When his brothers became tired of daylight, Qat created night
Night
Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. This occurs after dusk. The opposite of night is day...
and taught his brothers how to sleep. When they had slept enough he took a piece of red obsidian and sliced through Night, thus making Dawn.
One day Qat came upon a group of sky maidens who had taken off their wings to bathe. He quickly buried one pair of wings so that one girl had to remain behind, and in time she became his wife, Ro-Lei. They lived together until one day Qat's mother reproached her daughter-in-law and made her cry. Ro-Lei's tears washed away the earth covering her wings and she put them on and flew away. Qat shot an arrow with a rope tied to it into the roots of a great banyan tree in the sky and climbed after her into the sky world, but later as he climbed down with Ro-Lei, the root snapped and he plunged to his death, while she flew safely away.
In other versions of the story Qat does not die but sails away in a canoe, promising to return one day.
Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel
Friedrich Ratzel was a German geographer and ethnographer, notable for first using the term Lebensraum in the sense that the National Socialists later would.-Life:...
in The History of Mankind Vol. 1 Page 313 in 1896 provided another version of the story as follows.
- "…among the Banks Islanders the supreme god, Qat, emerges from a stone, which was his mother; and then with the help of his companion, Marawa, creates the rest of the world. Marawa is invoked with Qat in all emergencies, and may easily be recognised as the legendary Maui of New Zealand and Hawaii. Qat was doomed to be slain, but succeeded in climbing a nutmeg-tree. He had hardly reached the top when, by the arts of his hostile brothers, the tree grew higher and higher, and became of such circumference that Qat could not have got down again, had not Marawa, seeing his friend's difficulty, blown to earth a thread, or a hair from his head."
Nowadays, the story of Qat which is most popular among the islanders of northern Vanuatu tells how Qat, in Vanua Lava
Vanua Lava
Vanua Lava is the second largest of the Banks Islands in Torba Province, Vanuatu, after slightly larger Gaua. It is located about 120 km north-northeast of Espiritu Santo and north of Gaua. It has a land area of 314 km². Its population numbered 2,623 in 2009.The island measures about...
, built his canoe with the help of the spider spirit Marawa; how the canoe was then stolen by Qat's eleven brothers, who sailed it to the nearby island of Gaua
Gaua
Gaua is the largest of the Banks Islands in Torba Province of northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km².- Physical geography :...
; and how they all had to defeat the giant of that island, Qasavara
Qasavara
Qasavara is a spirit from Melanesian mythology, more precisely from the Banks islands, north of Vanuatu.-Name:The name ‘Qasavara’ is itself from the language of Mota, but the same deity is known under other names in neighboring islands: in Vurës, in Mwotlap, in Mwesen.-Mythology:Qat, the Great...
.
External links
- Dixon, Roland. Oceanic Mythology. Marshall Jones Company: Boston, 1941.
- Melanesian mythology: Vanuatu
- Oceanic mythology page
- Read and listen to the story of Qat and Qasavara (otherwise known as Kpwet and Wokpwastavav) in the language of Mwesen, north Vanuatu, with French and English translations. Read and listen to the story of how Night was brought to this world by Qat (otherwise known as Ikpwet) in the language of MwotlapMwotlap-External links: *...
, north Vanuatu, with a French translation.