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Overview

A mission account reprinted by Florence Coombe describes thirteen canoes from Mboli in 1873, following a peace, halting before landing at Honggo. Takua ordered that the ghosts be consulted. Guavi read the absence of any movement as refusal while several names were tried in turn. When Hauri, a shark ghost, was finally named, a wave bowed the canoe, and this was interpreted as permission to go ashore, dance and eat.

Coombe describes such tindalo as formerly human beings. In Hauri's case the human progenitor is said to be forgotten, and no ancestor is supplied here.

The episode records a reported divination and how participants interpreted it; it is not evidence that the consultation worked. The mission narrator is not named in the passage used. The source gives no shark species or size, and this profile does not add one.

Shark ghostCalled a tindalo by CoombeConsulted through canoe divinationA wave bowing the canoe interpreted as permissionHuman progenitor forgotten
01

Origins & earliest records

Known here from a Gela mission account of an 1873 visit, reprinted by Coombe in 1911. This is an attestation, not the oral origin of the tradition.

02

Records & interpretation

Coombe, Islands of Enchantment (1911), Part III ch. IV, pp. 298–299, 303. The narrator is unnamed in the inspected passage.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Islands of Enchantment: many-sided Melanesia seen through many eyes

    Florence Coombe · 1911

    Selected bibliography; Part III ch. IV, pp. 298–299, 303, reprinting a mission account.

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.

  1. Historical book (public-domain digitised text)Islands of Enchantment: many-sided Melanesia seen through many eyes (full OCR text)Research access: 2026-10-07
  2. Archive catalogue recordIslands of Enchantment: many-sided Melanesia seen through many eyes (catalogue record)Research access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

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

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