Kabagat Koat, ruling spirit of the sea

Kabagat Koat (Tai Ka Bagat Koat, also Tai Ka-Koat, 'the lord within the sea') is the ruling spirit of the ocean in the Arat Sabulungan religion of the Mentawai. He guards marine life and the coastal waters, and fishermen and seafarers seek his consent through the kerei and the sabulungan leaf-offering. With the rulers of the sky and the forest he completes the triad of cosmic-domain spirits whom the Mentawai address in every major rite.

Domains

• sea and marine life
• fishing and coastal waters

Powers

• to guard the sea and the marine life within it

Epithets

• Tai Ka Bagat Koat

Relations

• ally: Taikamanua, ruling spirit of the sky
• ally: Taikaleleu, ruling spirit of the forest and mountains
• subordinate to: Ulaumanua, the formless high deity

Sources

• Schefold, Reimar. Lia: Das grosse Ritual auf den Mentawai-Inseln (Indonesien). Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1988.
• Tulius, Juniator & Linda Burman-Hall. 'Primates and birds of sabulungan; Roles of animals in sculptures, shamanic songs and dances, and the belief system of traditional Mentawaians.' Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia 23(2), 2022.