Kor Woep

Kor Woep, 'the Male Spirit', is the male counterpart of Amb Kor and the object of the second of the two great Hagen spirit cults. Associated above all with water, its cult centred on spring water that men drank to renew their virility and their capacity to father sons, and on the fertility of the ground and its crops; women were barred from the spirit's water but shared in the sacrificial pork and the closing dance. The cult was performed at named sites such as Kwamb and moved as populations dispersed. Sources note that the name element Woep also attaches to the hero of a Hagen courtship tale, Kwint Woep, and do not treat the spirit and the tale-hero as the same being.

Domains

• human reproduction
• water and springs
• agricultural fertility

Powers

• restore male virility through his water
• renew the fertility of the ground

Epithets

• Kor Woep — the Male SpiritStewart, P. J. & Strathern, A. J. (1999-2000). 'The Female and Male Spirit Cults in Mount Hagen.' (secondary)

Relations

• companion: Amb KorThe male counterpart of the Female Spirit; the two cults form a complementary female-male pair.Stewart, P. J. & Strathern, A. J. (1999-2000). 'The Female and Male Spirit Cults in Mount Hagen.' (secondary)

Sources

• Kor Woep, the Male Spirit, is the male counterpart of Amb Kor and the focus of the second great Hagen spirit cult, associated with water.: Stewart, P. J. & Strathern, A. J. (1999-2000). 'The Female and Male Spirit Cults in Mount Hagen.' (secondary); Vicedom, G. F. & Tischner, H. (1943-1948). Die Mbowamb, 3 vols. Hamburg: Cram, De Gruyter & Co. (primary)
• Men drank the spirit's spring water to renew virility and the fathering of sons; the cult also renewed the fertility of the ground.: Stewart, P. J. & Strathern, A. J. (1999-2000). 'The Female and Male Spirit Cults in Mount Hagen.' (secondary)