Lefin
Arapesh · numen · Arapesh traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Lefin is the tambaran of the second grade of the Ilahita initiation cycle, associated with late childhood. It occupies the step between Falanga, the tambaran of the youngest novices, and Maolimu, the tambaran of adolescence, part of the older Arapesh stratum of cult spirits through which a male must pass on his slow ascent toward the mysteries of Nggwal. Sources render the name variously as Lefin or Lafin.
Domains
- mens cult secrecy
Powers
- advance boys through late childhood
Sources
- Lefin is the named tambaran spirit of the second Ilahita Arapesh initiation grade, associated with late childhood, part of the indigenous Arapesh tambaran sequence recorded by Tuzin.: Tuzin, Donald F. 1980. The Voice of the Tambaran: Truth and Illusion in Ilahita Arapesh Religion. Berkeley: University of California Press. (primary)