A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
In Dixon’s Nauru account, Areop-Enap floats above a primordial sea and finds a huge closed Tridacna shell. Its hollow sound prompts him to seek entrance; a charm finally opens the valves enough for him to crawl inside. Darkness and the low roof prevent him from seeing or standing upright. He finds two snails and sleeps with each beneath his arm for three days, thereby imparting power. The smaller snail lifts the roof a little and is placed in the west as the moon. Rigi, a worm or grub, then raises the upper valve into the sky, while its salty sweat forms the sea below. Ancient Spider makes the larger snail into the eastern sun; the lower shell becomes the earth.
A further Nauru passage attributes heaven-supporting beings to stones that Ancient Spider turns into men. These are distinguished from ordinary humanity. Finding people on a shore but unable to learn their names, he makes a winged messenger from dirt beneath his fingernail. It settles on people’s noses, causing their companions to address them by name, and returns with its discoveries. The name Ancient Spider accompanies actions involving hands, arms and a fingernail in this English text; it does not supply a single resolved anatomical portrait. He also receives the younger Areop-It-Eonin in the separate heaven-and-fire adventure.
Origins & earliest records
Roland B. Dixon, Oceanic Mythology (Boston: Marshall Jones, 1916), Part IV, chapter I, pp. 249–252; notes 10 and 28.
Records & interpretation
Historical English scholarly retelling with located citations to earlier collected accounts; source-specific forms and episodes.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Oceanic Mythology, Part IV, chapter I, pp. 249–252; notes 10 and 28
Creation narrative cited to Hambruch p. 381; stone supporters and name-learning messenger cited to Hambruch p. 382. Separate fire adventure at pp. 255–256, note 41.
- 02
Dixon: notes to Part IV, chapter I
Creation narrative cited to Hambruch p. 381; stone supporters and name-learning messenger cited to Hambruch p. 382. Separate fire adventure at pp. 255–256, note 41.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical scholarly compilation of collected narrativesDixon 1916: Micronesian origin and deluge accountsResearch access: 2026-10-05
- Bibliographic source notesDixon 1916: underlying-source notesResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.