First Woman

Marshallese first woman / primordial being; classed as deity. Native term Lejmān (the first-woman counterpart Limdunanij appears in the Lowa-leg variant). Gloss 'First Woman'. The worm-in-shell motif is noted by Flood & Strong to parallel Tongan cosmogony.

Parentage

• Creator

Domains

• first ancestry

Relations

• sibling: First Man

Sources

• Flood, B. & Strong, B.E. (2002). Micronesian Legends. Bess Press, Honolulu
• Erdland, A. (1914). Die Marshall-Insulaner: Leben und Sitte, Sinn und Religion eines Südsee-Volkes. Anthropos-Bibliothek, Aschendorff, Münster