Onka
Wogeo · demigod · Wogeo traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Onka, whose fuller name is recorded as Goleiangaianga, is the counterpart of Mafofo among the great nanarang. The two are inseparable in tradition: together they endowed the Wogeo with the capacity for productive surplus and with the overseas voyaging and ceremonial exchange that underpin the island's political economy, and Anderson identifies them as the joint originators of kastom. As culture heroes they are creators and shapers of the world and the ultimate authorities behind the rules of daily conduct.
Domains
- overseas exchange
- renown and leadership
- custom and law
Powers
- grants the power to produce abundance and mount great exchanges
Epithets
- GoleiangaiangaAnderson, Astrid. 2011. Landscapes of Relations and Belonging (Berghahn Books). (secondary)
Relations
- companion: MafofoNamed 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
- Onka, also called Goleiangaianga, is one of the two great culture heroes who, with Mafofo, gave the Wogeo abundance of food and goods through overseas exchange and the great exchanges through which leaders gain renown and power.: 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)