Papua New Guinea Dwarf Mythology

Hiwai-abere

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Tradition / Region: Papua New Guinea Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dwarf, Shapeshifter

The Myth

Hiwai-abere are wicked female beings who resemble women but are marked by grotesque and unsettling features. They are described as very fat, with large heads, swollen bellies, and unusually short legs. Their fingernails are long and sharp like spears, and with these they are able to hunt and kill wild pigs. Wherever they go, they constantly break wind, an action that is both comic and disturbing, and yet they possess extraordinarily sharp hearing, able to detect even a whisper from far away.

Despite their monstrous nature, hiwai-abere are masters of deception. They can disguise themselves perfectly, even taking on the appearance and features of specific human women. Through this ability, they approach men they desire and insert themselves into human society unnoticed. In many folk tales, a hiwai-abere replaces a bride at a wedding or abducts the rightful wife and takes her place in the household.

At first, the husband notices only that something is wrong. His wife seems changed in strange and troubling ways. The hiwai-abere cannot properly perform ordinary women’s work and instead demands to be served. She becomes possessive and jealous, preventing her husband from speaking to or approaching other women. The household falls into disorder, and the husband grows increasingly distressed by the inexplicable transformation of his wife.

Eventually, the deception is uncovered. The hiwai-abere is exposed for what she truly is, often through her inability to maintain human behavior or through the intervention of others. Once revealed, she is driven away, and the rightful wife is restored. The tales always end with the reuniting of the legitimate couple and the removal of the dangerous impostor.

Through these stories, the hiwai-abere stand as symbols of deception, disruption, and the fear of identity being stolen. They embody the danger of false appearances and the belief that what looks human may not always belong to the human world.

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 Hiwai-abere

Wawa

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Tradition / Region: Papua New Guinea Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

At Mabudavane stands a huge, isolated block of stone. This stone is known as the house of Wawa.

Wawa is a being shaped like a man, but he is very short and thick in build. From his head grow bushes and flowers, as though the land itself has taken root in him. When he works in his garden, he removes these plants and sets them aside, placing them back on his head when his labor is finished.

A long tale is told of Wawa’s cruelty and fierce revenge against a man who once offended him. Though the full story is rarely spoken, it is enough to make people cautious of his temper and respectful of his presence.

At night, Wawa can sometimes be seen standing on top of his stone house. People also hear the sound of him banging his door as he enters his dwelling. These noises are taken as signs that he is awake and moving.

When the Mawata people come to this place to catch crabs, they perform certain rites in Wawa’s honor, acknowledging his authority over the land. The spirits of the dead are also said to pass by Wawa’s house on their journey to Adiri, making his dwelling a threshold between worlds.

Two men of Mawata are known as Wawa’s special friends. To them he appears in dreams, offering guidance and useful advice. His favor is personal, not communal, given only to those he chooses.

From Wawa’s house runs a narrow path leading to a flat slab of rock. On this stone, Wawa sharpens his axe. Long oblong marks in the rock are said to be the traces of this sharpening. The path remains worn and clear, though no ordinary human ever walks it.

Thus Wawa endures as a being of stone, soil, and spirit—rooted in the land, feared for his vengeance, respected through ritual, and quietly present where the living, the dead, and the earth itself meet.

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 Wawa

Obouibi

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Tradition / Region: Papua New Guinea Mythology
Alternate Names: Obóubi, Obóubi-spirits
Category: Spirit, Dwarf

The Myth

The Obouibi are mysterious beings who belong to the water. They live in the sea and travel far up the rivers, moving freely between saltwater and freshwater. Though they are spirits, they appear largely human in form. Both male and female Obouibi exist, and they resemble ordinary people, except that the females wear skirts made of grass. At times, an Obouibi may be seen swimming like a frog, its short limbs and stout body cutting through the water.

The language spoken by the Obouibi is said to be the same as that of humans, but their voices are feared. Those afflicted with sores or sickness are believed to be under their influence. They are masters of crocodiles and other water animals, and when a crocodile kills someone unexpectedly, people say it is the work of the Obouibi. At night, a strange wailing may be heard from the water—this is said to be their cry.

Some Obouibi live near villages such as Kimusu. They kill and eat dugong, leaving behind piles of bones. Some of these bones are left in the water, some are taken fresh, and others are arranged in circles, much like the way humans arrange the skulls of enemies they have captured. If a canoe is lost at sea, the people believe the occupants have been taken by the Obouibi and will never return. Sometimes, however, a person may escape. It is said that one man passed an Obouibi and was carried alive to their dwelling beneath the sea, where he remained for several days.

There is a story of a handsome Puruma boy who was visited at night by a beautiful Obouibi girl while he slept in his canoe. He married her and kept her hidden from the people. She bore him a child, and for a time lived among humans. But one day, when the husband was absent, she overheard people speaking badly of her. That night, she took her child and returned to the water, vanishing back into her own world.

It is also said that male Obouibi sometimes rise from the sea and take human women with them, carrying them away into the depths.

The Obouibi are known to give medicines and knowledge to certain people through dreams. These gifts are used in harpooning and gardening. Along with other related beings, they are closely associated with dugong hunting. Harpooners appeal to them for success and guidance, and in earlier times offerings of dugong bones were made to gain their favor.

Thus, the Obouibi remain beings of both danger and knowledge—powerful water spirits who can kill, heal, abduct, or instruct, and whose presence is felt wherever rivers meet the sea.

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 Obouibi