Primal Turtle

Primal turtle / cosmic foundation. Authored from the Banaban (Ocean Island) recension, which is a PARALLEL cosmogony to the Tarawan line already registered (in which Nareau the Elder, not Tabakea, is first). To avoid contradicting the registered genealogy, Tabakea is NOT wired as parent of kiribati_nareau_elder or kiribati_nareau_younger; the 'Tabakea is father of Nareau' tradition is recorded in notes only. His attested kin Na Kaa (brother) is not in the corpus. See SOLITARY flag. Treated as deity; immortal (he becomes the enduring island).

Domains

• primordial being
• turtles
• foundation of the land

Powers

• appears as the first of all beings
• turns his own shell into the island of Banaba
• Turn his own shell into the land of Banaba
• Bring forth Nareau from a clam shell

Sources

• Grimble, Arthur, and H.E. Maude. The Book of Banaba: From the Maude and Grimble Papers, and Published Works (1994)
• Grimble, Arthur. Tungaru Traditions: Writings on the Atoll Culture of the Gilbert Islands (ed. H.E. Maude, 1989)