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