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

Overview

Basi’s mother initially lives in a cave at Dama. When her daughter’s husband asks her to move closer, she requires a house with ten chambers. Her night journey brings earthquake-like rumbling and thunder. Her tail enters first, coiling chamber by chamber until the entire building contains her enormous serpent body; her woman’s head faces the doorway.

Basi affectionately touches noses and lies beside her mother, while her husband dislikes this closeness and the serpent’s consumption of nearby pigs and fowls. He arranges to burn the occupied house during a distant feast. The mother foresees the attack and warns Basi, who runs back upon seeing sparks and enters the fire with her. The later claimed remains and their power are the narrator’s account, not independently identified biological relics.

Serpent body and woman’s headFills a ten-chamber houseForesees the burning attack
01

Origins & earliest records

R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891), Chapter XIX, III.12, pp. 404–406. 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

“a snake with a human head”
R. H. Codrington; island manuscript writer unnamed · The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore
Chapter XIX III.12 The Story of Basi and Dovaowari, Aurora, pp.404–406; p.406; people inspect the mother · R. H. Codrington

At her son-in-law’s request the mother moves into a house with ten chambers. Her arrival is accompanied by earthquake, thunder and rumbling. Her enormous tail and body fill the rooms; her woman’s head rests at the door. This hybrid anatomy is explicit in the selected account, rather than inferred from a deity’s insignia.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    The Melanesians, Chapter XIX, III.12, pp. 404–406

    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 island manuscript writer unnamed · 1891

    R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folk-lore, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891; University of Toronto scan/OCR. Selected complete Chapter XIX III.7, 8, 11 and 12 independently read. Interleaved footnote to the preceding Ro Som tale excluded from III.7.

Family, evolution & connections

Basi’s snake mother and the qualified second daughter

Aurora tale III.12, pp. 404–406.

  • Snake mother
    • Basi
    • Unnamed other girl (shared mother; initially qualified as sister)

Basi’s mother is explicitly a snake. The other girl is first tentatively called a sister, then both girls refer to a shared mother. The narrator’s initial sister qualification is retained. No father or full-versus-half-sibling distinction is supplied. Dovaowari is Basi’s husband and the snake’s son-in-law, not her offspring.

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; University of Toronto scan/OCR. Selected complete Chapter XIX III.7, 8, 11 and 12 independently read. Interleaved footnote to the preceding Ro Som tale excluded from III.7.

  1. Basi of Dama leaves her snake mother and follows Dovaowari despite his warning about poverty. Another girl returns to the mother. The narrator initially calls this companion a sister with the qualification that he supposes so; later wording calls the snake mother of both. Her identity and name are not invented.

    Chapter XIX III.12 The Story of Basi and Dovaowari, Aurora, pp.404–406; Marriage and uncertain sister identification

  2. At her son-in-law’s request the mother moves into a house with ten chambers. Her arrival is accompanied by earthquake, thunder and rumbling. Her enormous tail and body fill the rooms; her woman’s head rests at the door. This hybrid anatomy is explicit in the selected account, rather than inferred from a deity’s insignia.

    Chapter XIX III.12 The Story of Basi and Dovaowari, Aurora, pp.404–406; Ten chambers and a human head

  3. Disliking Basi’s closeness to her mother and the snake’s consumption of nearby pigs and fowls, Dovaowari arranges to burn the house while they attend a feast. The mother foresees it and warns Basi; on seeing sparks Basi returns and jumps into the fire, and both die. Later relic and magic assertions remain attributed historical claims; no ritual procedure is copied.

    Chapter XIX III.12 The Story of Basi and Dovaowari, Aurora, pp.404–406; Burning and daughter’s death

  4. Codrington describes all stories except the first as translations of manuscripts written for him by islanders. The first Florida tale was recorded by A. Penny. This selected story has no individually identified manuscript writer in the inspected heading or introductory statement.

    Chapter XIX introduction, p.356

Island-specific historical account. Unstated identities and present community consensus not assumed; songs and ceremonial formulas not excerpted. Facsimile not visually checked in this batch. Original island manuscript not independently inspected; general contributors named elsewhere are not automatically individual narrators here.

References

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

  1. Primary textCodrington 1891, Chapter XIX: Stories, III.12, pp. 404–406Research 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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