Vanishing and Returning Heroes: Ambiguity and Persistent Hope in an Unea Island Legend

Authors

  • Jennifer Blythe McMaster University

Abstract

Throughout Melanesia, there are stories of creative heroes who leave their people. The tale of Mataluangi is told in Unea, an island in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. The legend of the snake hero is related to its ethnographic context and the story is analyzed to show its conformity to a type of origin myth, vuvumu, that is prevalent in Unea. It is suggested that the structure of this well-known legend and other vuvumu stories influence contemporary politics in Unea as well as how Islanders perceive their history and possible future.

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Author Biography

Jennifer Blythe, McMaster University

Jennifer Blythe is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from McMaster. She carried out ethnographic field work in Unea Island, Papua New Guinea, in 1975-76 and 1986.

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Published

2022-06-02

How to Cite

Blythe, J. (2022). Vanishing and Returning Heroes: Ambiguity and Persistent Hope in an Unea Island Legend. Anthropologica, 37(2), 207–228. Retrieved from https://cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/anthropologica/article/view/2017

Issue

Vol. 37 No. 2 (1995)

Section

Articles

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