Nggwal Bunafunei
Ilahita Arapesh · deity · Ilahita Arapesh traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Bunafunei is the junior of the two senior Nggwal grades, paired with Walipeine across the ceremonial moieties of Ilahita. Together the two forms constitute Nggwal, the supreme Tambaran, and the alternation between them structures the reciprocal ritual obligations by which one moiety initiates and feeds the other. Bunafunei governs the penultimate grade of the cult and shares Nggwal's associations with fertility, warfare and the fearsome secret that lies at the heart of male religious life.
Domains
- male initiation
- moiety exchange
Powers
- binds the ceremonial moieties in exchange
- guards the secret of the Tambaran
Epithets
- Nggwal Bunafunei — the junior NggwalTuzin, Donald F. 1980. The Voice of the Tambaran. Berkeley: University of California Press. (secondary)
Relations
- sibling: Nggwal WalipeinePaired senior forms of the one Nggwal.Tuzin, Donald F. 1980. The Voice of the Tambaran. Berkeley: University of California Press. (secondary)
- companion: MaolimuAdjacent grades in the ascending Tambaran hierarchy.Tuzin, Donald F. 1980. The Voice of the Tambaran. Berkeley: University of California Press. (secondary)
Sources
- Bunafunei is the junior of the two senior Nggwal grades, paired with Walipeine across the ceremonial moieties of Ilahita.: Tuzin, Donald F. 1980. The Voice of the Tambaran. Berkeley: University of California Press. (secondary)