Kasabwaybwayreta
Dobu · mortal · Dobu traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Kasabwaybwayreta is a central hero of the Kula mythology of the Dobu district. By a rejuvenation and beauty magic he made himself young and handsome and so obtained the renowned necklace Gumakarakedakeda, the greatest of the shell valuables. Betrayed by his companions, and in the myth by his own kinsman, he was abandoned on a high platform or tree and, in the versions Malinowski recorded, rose out of reach into the sky. His story anchors the magical and moral logic of the Kula as it was practised between the Trobriands, the Amphletts and Dobu.
Domains
- exchange
- magic
Powers
- makes himself young and beautiful by magic to win valuables
Sources
- Kasabwaybwayreta is a central hero of the Kula mythology of the Dobu district, who won the necklace Gumakarakedakeda by rejuvenation magic and was betrayed and abandoned by his companions.: Bronisław Malinowski, Argonauts of the Western Pacific (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1922), ch. XII 'Mythology of the Kula'. (primary)