La'aka
Sa'a & Ulawa · numen · Sa'a & Ulawa traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
La'aka is a named adalo (ancestral spirit) of the Kwaio of northern Malaita, one of the powerful dead who are sustained by the sacrifice and taboo-observance of their living descendants and who grant or withhold protection and prosperity in return. She stands here for the worshipped-ancestor complex that runs across Malaita and forms the living heart of south-east Solomonic religion – the counterpart, in the Kwaio-speaking north of the island, of the 'ataro venerated at Sa'a and Ulawa. Her home tradition is that of the Kwaio; details of her particular acts are only sparsely reported.
Domains
- ancestral power
- mana spiritual power
Powers
- guards and prospers her descendants
Sources
- La'aka is a named adalo (ancestral spirit) of the Kwaio of northern Malaita, sustained by the sacrifice and taboo-observance of her descendants.: R. M. Keesing, Kwaio Religion: The Living and the Dead in a Solomon Island Society (1982). (primary)
- She exemplifies the worshipped-ancestor complex shared across Malaita, the counterpart of the 'ataro of Sa'a and Ulawa.: W. G. Ivens, Melanesians of the South-East Solomon Islands (1927); R. M. Keesing, Kwaio Religion (1982). (primary)