Mafofo
Wogeo · demigod · Wogeo traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Mafofo is one of the two pre-eminent nanarang, the culture heroes who created and shaped the Wogeo world and stand as the ultimate arbiters of proper conduct. Paired throughout tradition with Onka, he gave the islanders their ability to raise an abundance of food and valuables and to conduct the overseas voyages and great ceremonial exchanges through which headmen achieve renown and display their power. Anderson treats the two heroes together as the source of kastom, the inherited order of correct practice, making Mafofo less a remote creator than the guarantor of the exchange economy and social hierarchy that organize island life.
Domains
- overseas exchange
- food abundance
- custom and law
Powers
- establishes overseas exchange and great ceremonial distributions
Relations
- companion: OnkaNamed together as the two great heroes who instituted Wogeo custom and exchange.Hogbin, H. Ian. 1991. 'Wogeo,' in Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume II: Oceania (Boston: G.K. Hall). (secondary); Anderson, Astrid. 2011. Landscapes of Relations and Belonging (Berghahn Books), 'The Origins of Kastom: Onka and Mafofo.' (secondary)
Sources
- Mafofo is one of the two great culture heroes (nanarang) who, with Onka, gave the Wogeo abundance of food and goods through overseas exchange and the means to hold the great exchanges by which leaders gain renown.: Hogbin, H. Ian. 1991. 'Wogeo,' in Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume II: Oceania, ed. Terence E. Hays (Boston: G.K. Hall). (secondary); Anderson, Astrid. 2011. Landscapes of Relations and Belonging: Body, Place and Politics in Wogeo, Papua New Guinea (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books). (secondary)
- Mafofo and Onka are treated in Wogeo tradition as the originators of kastom, the received body of proper custom and practice.: Anderson, Astrid. 2011. Landscapes of Relations and Belonging (Berghahn Books), chapter 'The Origins of Kastom: Onka and Mafofo.' (secondary)