Tradition / Region: Papua New Guinean mythology
Alternative names: None known
Category: Cave dweller
The Myth
Kaibani is a mythical guardian spirit associated with a sacred stone on Paho Island. She is described as a woman who lives beneath the stone and was once seen there weaving a belt. In some traditions, the spirit inhabiting the place is called Basai instead of Kaibani.
The stone is connected to a hollow place beneath the ground known as Basai’s Drum. When people stamp on it, it produces a hollow sound. The spirits of the dead, traveling to Adiri, are said to dance around the stone and beat the drum by jumping upon it.
In earlier times, the Mawata people performed ritual dances at the site whenever they visited Paho to fish and catch crabs. The sound of the drum was believed to predict the future. If it rang out clearly, it meant good fortune lay ahead, while a dull or unclear sound foretold difficulties.
Kaibani is also mentioned in a traditional ceremonial song, which refers to her belt with the verse: Mother of Paso makes Kaibani’s belt; that belt is no good. The source provides no further explanation of this incident, only that it refers to an episode from an older legend.
Sources
Landtman, Gunnar. The Kiwai Papuans of British New Guinea: A Nature-Born Instance of Rousseau’s Ideal Community. With an introduction by Alfred C. Haddon. New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1970 [originally published London: Macmillan, 1927].