War-God of Bau
Fijian · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
Entered as a deity (war-god). One of the great regional/political war-gods of Fiji, tied to the rise of Bau; distinct from the pan-Fijian creator complex. Kinless in the record — see SOLITARY flag.
Domains
- war
- tutelary protection
Powers
- grants victory in war to the people of Bau
Sources
- Cagawalu is the supreme tutelary war-god of Bau, the island-kingdom that became paramount in 19th-century Fiji; his cult grew with Bau's power, he was housed in the bure-kalou and consulted through his priest before war, and the disillusionment of the chief Cakobau with him preceded Cakobau's conversion to Christianity.: Derrick, R. A. A History of Fiji, Vol. 1 (1946) (secondary); Sahlins, Marshall. Islands of History (1985) (secondary); Williams, Thomas. Fiji and the Fijians, Vol. 1 (1858), on the war-gods and temples of Fiji (secondary)