First Sky-Maker
Yapese · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
Yapese primordial sky-maker; classed as deity. Native name Gavur li yel yel (also Gāvur li yalyal). Gloss 'First Sky-Maker'. He stands above the sky-god Yalafath in the cosmogonic hierarchy: Gavur li yel yel makes Yanolop, who makes the five further sky deities, of whom Yälfaath the Elder then creates humankind.
Children
Domains
- creation
- the layered cosmos
Powers
- makes the four layers of the cosmos and the chief god
Sources
- Gavur li yel yel is the primordial Yapese deity who, dwelling in the topmost dark tier, made the four-layered cosmos and fashioned the chief god Yanolop.: Müller, W. (1917). Yap. Ergebnisse der Südsee-Expedition 1908-1910, II.B.2, Friederichsen, Hamburg (ethnography); Lingenfelter, S.G. (1975). Yap: Political Leadership and Culture Change in an Island Society. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu (reference)