Tradition / Region: Papua New Guinea Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fish, Catfish
The Myth
On the reef of Kubani-kikava there lives a cat-fish called Pairio, feared by all who travel those waters. No canoe dares to pass close to her home, for Pairio destroys vessels by thrusting up her back, which is lined with sharp spines. At times a single spine is seen breaking the surface of the sea ahead of a canoe, a warning that forces the crew to turn away at once. At other times she swims behind a vessel, one spine aimed like a weapon, and the paddlers must flee with all their strength to escape destruction.
Pairio was not always a fish. In the beginning she was a malignant female being, akin to other dangerous spirits of the land. One day she was pursued by a great cloud of butterflies. They swarmed over her and settled upon her body until she was completely covered, their wings beating and clinging so tightly that she could not free herself.
To escape them, Pairio fled into the sea. The butterflies followed and were soaked by the water. Their wings hardened, their bodies changed, and spines rose along their backs. In that moment they were transformed into stone-fish and cat-fish, bright and richly colored, just as the butterflies had been.
Pairio herself remained in the reef, now fully a creature of the sea, armed with spines and power. From that time on, the waters of Kubani-kikava became dangerous to all who ventured too near, and the presence of strange, spined fish in the reef was remembered as the legacy of butterflies that once chased a spirit into the ocean.
Gallery
Sources
Landtman, G. (1970). The Kiwai Papuans of British New Guinea: A nature-born instance of Rousseau’s ideal community.
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Pairio