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

Overview

The Mauis sail to Motuliki after hearing of a great dog that has consumed almost everyone on the island and attacks visitors. Three survivors, Sinailele and her brothers, hide in the bush and cook at night to avoid discovery. The dog is named Fulu-bubuta and compared in size with a horse or something larger. His cave is closed by a rock which opens and shuts without visible human action.

After the hunters fail to find him, Atalanga falls asleep on the beach while Kijikiji swims. The dog emerges quietly, swallows Atalanga whole and returns behind the closed rock. Kijikiji discovers footprints and blood, imitates his father’s seated posture and waits watchfully. When the dog approaches, he briefly admires it despite the killing, then pursues it into the cave and breaks through the entrance. He kills it by breaking its neck and retrieves his father’s body. The account continues with Kijikiji’s death through grief and the later bones episode. This is a Tongan recorded narrative located in Fiji, not a blanket statement about Fijian animal belief.

Horse-sized or larger dogSelf-opening rock cave entranceSwallows Atalanga whole
01

Origins & earliest records

The selected witness is E. E. V. Collocott’s 1921 article in Folklore, volume 32, pp. 45–58. The eHRAF catalogue identifies a Tongan-language missionary journal as the immediate collection context. The English publication dates this witness rather than the oral beginning; that earlier journal text has not been independently collated here.

02

Records & interpretation

The name, horse-size comparison, rock door and swallowing of Atalanga are specific narrative evidence. Their Tongan collection context remains distinct from the Fijian setting. The text does not establish a real giant dog or a universal local belief.

In the literature

“broke its neck”
E. E. V. Collocott · Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32
p53; pp51–53; Dangerous Creatures, Fulu-bubuta dog

The creature’s narrated defeat.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Legends from Tonga. The Maui, pp. 51–53

    E. E. V. Collocott (printed signature Collcott) · 1921

    Selected public primary pages read in full, including continuations. English missionary-era presentation is attributed, and its judgments are not treated as community consensus.

  2. 02

    Legends from Tonga. The Maui

    Ernest Edgar Vyvyan Collocott (E. E. V. Collocott) · 1921

    E. E. V. Collocott, Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32 (1921), pp45–58; proofread Wikisource page transcription inspected, facsimile not independently checked.

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.

Primary source witness

E. E. V. Collocott, Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32 (1921), pp45–58; proofread Wikisource page transcription inspected, facsimile not independently checked.

  1. The dog swallows Atalanga. Kijikiji kills it and recovers his father’s body, then dies grieving; no resurrection follows.

    pp51–53; Dangerous Creatures, Fulu-bubuta dog

Printed45–57 selected narrative pages inspected; sacred descendant catalogue and ceremonial formula excerpts excluded. No uninspected original informant identity or facsimile verification claimed. No global public-domain claim. Author died1970, independently verified in Australian Dictionary of Biography / National Library of New Zealand. Underlying1921 text treated conservatively as protected; site footer is not proof of globally free underlying copyright. Shared article budget24 words including duplicate short quotations/evidence in both outputs; no further excerpts.

References

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

  1. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 51Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 52Research access: 2026-10-05
  3. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 53Research access: 2026-10-05
  4. ReferenceeHRAF catalogue: Legends from Tonga, 1921, collection contextResearch 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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