A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Three sisters pass a hungry snake on their way to fish. The first two refuse to share their food, but the youngest chews taro soft and feeds him. He tells her to fish at the first noise from the heavens and climb the hill at the second. She obeys the thunder warning and watches the flood carry great trees downstream from her safe position.

Returning, she concludes that her sisters were swept out to sea; the snake says feeding him would have saved them. She gives him fish wrapped in a leaf, which he carries away in his mouth. The narrator calls this speaking snake bariawa. Dubo and Kawakio’s snake are mentioned only as separate promised tales, so their fire-giving or other deeds are not transferred to this encounter.

Human speechFood exchanged for warningThunder and flood signs
01

Origins & earliest records

Annie Ker, Papuan Fairy Tales (London: Macmillan, 1910), The Three Sisters, pp. 147–150.

02

Records & interpretation

Ker’s English collected narrative, situated within her northeast-coast mission-era collection.

In the literature

“spake even as a man.”
Annie Ker, collector and English reteller; selected narrator unnamed · Papuan Fairy Tales
The Three Sisters, printed p.149

The closing narrator explanation identifies this bariawa snake as able to converse.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Papuan Fairy Tales: The Three Sisters, pp. 147–150

    Annie Ker, collector and English reteller · 1910

    Specific selected collected narrative; unnamed narrator not assigned a modern community identity.

  2. 02

    Papuan Fairy Tales — The Three Sisters

    Annie Ker, collector and English reteller; selected narrator unnamed · 1910

    London:Macmillan1910, title page and table of contents inspected in Wikisource scan-backed transcription. Introduction describes northeast-coast collection, mission residence, oral settings, tobacco exchanges and consultation of elders; individual narrators unnamed in these selected chapters.

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.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Papuan Fairy Tales: The Three Sisters, pp. 147–150

London:Macmillan1910, title page and table of contents inspected in Wikisource scan-backed transcription. Introduction describes northeast-coast collection, mission residence, oral settings, tobacco exchanges and consultation of elders; individual narrators unnamed in these selected chapters.

  1. Two sisters refuse food to a talking snake, but the youngest feeds it softened taro. It tells her to fish at the first thunder and climb at the second. She follows the warning and survives the flood from higher ground.

    The Three Sisters, printed pp.147–148

  2. The youngest finds the snake again and reports that her sisters were swept away. It says feeding it would have saved them; she gives it fish. The closing voice identifies it as bariawa and separately mentions Kawakio’s snake and Dubo without telling their complete stories.

    The Three Sisters, printed pp.148–149, return and ending

The storm warning responds to this specific kindness. The source does not explicitly say the snake itself caused the flood. Her sisters’ fate is reported in dialogue, not witnessed in the narrative. The closing references do not make the three snakes the same being.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary collected narrativeKer 1910: The Three SistersResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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