Miti Krai
Melpa · mortal · Melpa traditional religion; continuing · mortal
Miti Krai is the hero of the best-known of the Hagen kang rom sung tales, a young man who travels far from home to court a woman he has only heard of. His name carries the sense of krai, 'love magic', the courting charms by which such heroes draw women to them. Winning Ambra Rangmba against the wishes of kin, the couple become the prototype of lovers who marry by their own choice and pay a price for it. Sources regard Miti Krai as one regional naming of a widely shared archetypal courting hero who appears elsewhere as Weipa or Waipa; the tale reached a broad audience through radio performances by the Melpa bard Paul Pepa and recordings made by Andrew Strathern.
Domains
- courtship
- love magic
Powers
- wield love magic to win a distant woman
- undertake the hero's courting journey against obstacles
Epithets
- Miti Krai
Relations
- spouse: Ambra Rangmba
Sources
- Rumsey, A. (2011). 'Style, Plot and Character in Tom Yaya Tales from Ku Waru.' In A. Rumsey & D. Niles (eds.), Sung Tales from the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Canberra: ANU E Press.
- Rumsey, A. (2011). 'Style, Plot and Character in Tom Yaya Tales from Ku Waru.' In Sung Tales from the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Canberra: ANU E Press.