Great Mother Turtle
Marshallese · deity · mythic age · Recorded classification
Marshallese turtle-ancestress / tutelary spirit; classed as deity (theriomorphic culture-spirit). Native term Lijebake (the feminine prefix Li- marks a female being; wōn is the turtle). Gloss 'Great Mother Turtle'.
Domains
- sea creatures
- bestowal of power
Powers
- grants magic power to the trickster sons
Epithets
- Lijebake Lady Turtle / Great Mother TurtleMicronesian Religions: Mythic Themes, in Encyclopedia.com (secondary)
Sources
- Lijebake, the great mother turtle of Marshallese myth, gave the trickster brothers their magic and is the ancestress who distributed turtles among the atolls.: Tobin, J.A. (2002). Stories from the Marshall Islands: Bwebwenato Jān Aelōñ Kein. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu (reference); Flood, B. & Strong, B.E. (2002). Micronesian Legends. Bess Press, Honolulu (reference)