Miti Krai

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 — Krai of Miti, the love-magic manRumsey, 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. (secondary)

Relations

• spouse: Ambra RangmbaThe couple marry against the wishes of kin and become the prototype of self-chosen marriage.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. (secondary)

Sources

• Miti Krai is the hero of the best-known Hagen kang rom sung tale, a young man who journeys far to court Ambra Rangmba, his name carrying the sense of krai, 'love magic'.: 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. (secondary)
• Scholars regard Miti Krai as one regional naming of a widely shared archetypal courting hero, appearing elsewhere as Weipa or Waipa.: 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. (secondary)