Papua New Guinea Snake Mythology

Etengena

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Tradition / Region: Papua New Guinea Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Forest Dweller, Bird, Snake

The Myth

In Kiwai Papuan folklore, etengena are mythical beings associated with particular places in the natural world. They are said to dwell in large trees, springs, and similar locations where nature is dense and undisturbed. Some etengena are believed to watch over vegetable gardens, guarding them from harm or intrusion.

Etengena do not have a single fixed appearance. At times they may take on human form, while at other times they reveal themselves as animals. They are known to appear as snakes, birds, or other creatures, depending on the situation and the person who encounters them.

The idea of the etengena overlaps in part with that of the ororarora, another class of mythical beings known in Kiwai belief. Because of this, the boundaries between these beings are not always clear, and their roles and forms may blend into one another in stories and traditions.

Gallery

Sources

Bestiary.us contributors. (n.d.). Etengena. In Bestiary.us, from https://www.bestiary.us/etengena/

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  • How to Invite The Etengena

Sorea

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Tradition / Region: Papua New Guinea Mythology
Alternate Names: Sorea, snake of Davare
Category: Snake

The Myth

The Tabio people once encountered an enormous snake in the bush at Davare. When they attempted to kill it, the creature did not flee or strike. Instead, it coiled itself into a great ring, placing its head at the center. From there, it beckoned to them, moving its head and flickering its tongue.

This, the people understood, was the way of snakes when they wished to make friends. To show this intent more clearly, the snake also beat the ground with its tail, signaling peace rather than threat.

The people named the snake Sorea. Rather than destroying it, they chose to settle at Davare, living alongside the great serpent. Sorea became their ororora—a protective and ancestral being bound to the land and the people.

One night, Sorea moved through the land with great force, cleaving a path as it crawled. This track became the Sorea-creek, known as Soreaturi, a lasting mark of the serpent’s passage through the earth.

Thus Sorea remained not as a monster, but as a guardian and origin-being, shaping the land and establishing a bond between the Tabio people and the place they came to call home.

Gallery

Sources

Landtman, G. (1970). The Kiwai Papuans of British New Guinea: A nature-born instance of Rousseau’s ideal community.

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Wiobadara

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

The Myth

Beneath the ground of Abuara Island lives a being known as Wiobadara.

By day, Wiobadara is seen in the form of a snake, moving unseen beneath the sand. By night, he sometimes emerges in human shape, revealing that his nature is not bound to a single form. His presence is known not by his appearance alone, but by the changes he leaves upon the land.

Wiobadara pushes the sand upward into small hills and ridges. At times, he alters the ground so thoroughly that women searching for crabs can no longer find the holes where they usually dig. Paths become unfamiliar, signs are erased, and the shore no longer responds as it should.

When this happens, the women do not confront him with force. Instead, they place food upon the ground for Wiobadara and speak to him respectfully, asking that he restore the land and allow them to find crabs again.

If properly appeased, Wiobadara relents. The sand settles, the hidden signs return, and the crabs once more reveal themselves. In this way, Wiobadara is understood as a powerful being of the earth—capable of withholding sustenance, but also of granting it when approached with respect.

Gallery

Sources

Landtman, G. (1970). The Kiwai Papuans of British New Guinea: A nature-born instance of Rousseau’s ideal community.

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Tube

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

The Myth

At Haemuba lives a being named Tube, one of the etengena—spirits connected to the land and its fertility.

Tube is closely bound to a particular man of the Mawata people. To him, Tube appears in dreams, teaching the knowledge of garden medicines and the proper ways to use them. The man, in turn, shares this knowledge with others, spreading what Tube has revealed.

At times, Tube does not remain unseen. He may appear in the garden or the bush in the form of a snake or an iguana. Though his shape is that of an animal, the man recognizes him by signs made with the creature’s head, subtle movements that reveal its true identity.

Once, the man encountered Tube in the bush in the form of an iguana. The animal held a small branch in its mouth—a branch that was itself a medicine. The man gently patted the creature on the head, and by this act received the medicine from Tube.

The bond between them is sealed through sharing. When the first taro is pulled from the ground, it is divided between the man and Tube, acknowledging the spirit’s role in the growth of the garden and honoring the partnership between human and land-being.

Thus Tube remains a quiet teacher and guardian of cultivated ground, passing knowledge through dreams, signs, and shared harvest, and ensuring that the wisdom of the land continues among the people.

Gallery

Sources

Landtman, G. (1970). The Kiwai Papuans of British New Guinea: A nature-born instance of Rousseau’s ideal community.

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  • How to Invite The Tube