A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
In Gill’s “Rata’s Canoe,” a legend expressly attributed to Aitutaki, the canoe encounters an open clam so large that one shell lies ahead of the vessel and the other behind it. Closing would crush the crew. Nganaoa has been admitted aboard specifically to protect them from ocean monsters.
He drives his long spear into the clam before it closes. The creature sinks to the ocean floor and the canoe continues. This is the first of three separate encounters; it is neither the later octopus nor the whale that contains Nganaoa’s parents.
Origins & earliest records
William Wyatt Gill, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific (London: Henry S. King, 1876). Introduction names Tereavai and Sadaraka among major contributors, but the selected tale has no individually named narrator.
Records & interpretation
Complete selected narrative and relevant collector notes read from digitized 1876 OCR. Original-language spelling on scan remains a further visual-collation queue.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Myths and Songs from the South Pacific, VII: Rata’s Canoe, pp. 146–147
Title-page imprint verified in digitized OCR; colonial religious judgments not adopted.
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.
- Primary collected textMyths and Songs from the South Pacific, VII: Rata’s Canoe, pp. 146–147Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.