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

Overview

Tari stores blood from an accidental wound in a bamboo vessel beside his fireplace. Cooked meals later appear mysteriously. His wife watches and sees the fair child Deitari emerge from the vessel; his name is glossed as Tari’s blood. The parents welcome him and he joins the village children.

Taepupuliti becomes a fish, swallows Deitari and takes him to another country. Tari searches through fish and bird helpers until a very thin fish assists in locating his child at the back of the captor’s house. During their meeting Tari avoids becoming affected by the kava he appears to drink, while Taepupuliti becomes affected, allowing the father to carry Deitari away. The ending preserves rescue rather than claiming the child dies when swallowed.

Emerges from a bamboo blood vesselSecretly prepares foodSurvives swallowing and is rescued
01

Origins & earliest records

R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891), Chapter XIX, III.13, pp. 406–407. His introduction credits islanders’ written manuscripts for these translated tales; specific individual writers are not supplied here.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected tale read in the public primary transcription, with printed-page markers retained. Descriptive profile titles are identified where the being is unnamed. The original page images have not been visually collated in this pass.

In the literature

“his father carried him off again”
R. H. Codrington; underlying selected contributor unnamed · The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore
Chapter XIX III.13, p.407; rescue · R. H. Codrington

Taepupuliti becomes a fish and swallows Deitari while the child bathes with other boys. Tari’s fish and bird searchers eventually include a very thin fish that helps locate him in the captor’s house. Tari remains unaffected during a meeting while the captor becomes affected, then carries the child away. The story gives rescue after swallowing, not permanent death.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    The Melanesians, Chapter XIX, III.13, pp. 406–407

    R. H. Codrington (English translation and presentation of islanders’ manuscripts) · 1891

    Chapter introduction, p. 356, identifies the manuscript basis. Local story headings retained; collector judgments are not present community consensus.

  2. 02

    The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore

    R. H. Codrington; selected underlying contributor unnamed · 1891

    R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891; selected University of Toronto historical scan/OCR. Chapter X final accounts and complete Chapter XIX III.9 and III.13 independently read; interleaved Basi footnote excluded from Deitari narrative.

Family, evolution & connections

Tari and the child emerging from his blood

Aurora tale III.13, pp. 406–407.

Deitari emerges from Tari’s stored blood; the account then repeatedly calls Tari his father and Deitari his child. The extraordinary blood origin is a story mechanism. Tari’s wife cares for the emerging child, but this passage supplies no maternal origin; Taepupuliti is a captor, not a relative.

Codrington (1891), The Melanesians, XIX III.11–13, pp. 403–407

Located primary passages

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

The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore

R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891; selected University of Toronto historical scan/OCR. Chapter X final accounts and complete Chapter XIX III.9 and III.13 independently read; interleaved Basi footnote excluded from Deitari narrative.

  1. Tari stores blood from a garden wound in bamboo by the fireplace. His wife finds food already cooked, watches and sees Deitari emerge from the vessel. Tari recognises the blood and rejoices when she presents the child. The text glosses Deitari as Tari’s blood and later calls Tari his father.

    Chapter XIX III.13 The Story of Deitari, Aurora, pp.406–407; Blood child and hidden meal preparation

  2. Taepupuliti becomes a fish and swallows Deitari while the child bathes with other boys. Tari’s fish and bird searchers eventually include a very thin fish that helps locate him in the captor’s house. Tari remains unaffected during a meeting while the captor becomes affected, then carries the child away. The story gives rescue after swallowing, not permanent death.

    Chapter XIX III.13 The Story of Deitari, Aurora, pp.406–407; Abduction and successful rescue

  3. Codrington describes all stories except the first as translations of manuscripts written for him by islanders. This selected tale’s individual writer is unnamed in the inspected introduction and heading.

    Chapter XIX introduction, p.356

Specific reported account, not modern universal consensus. No song, prayer, healing or ritual formulas excerpted; facsimile not visually checked in this batch. No original manuscript independently inspected or unnamed narrator identity invented.

References

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

  1. Primary textCodrington 1891, Chapter XIX: Stories, III.13, pp. 406–407Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. Primary provenance statementCodrington’s Chapter XIX collection and translation statementResearch 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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