A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Tauribolena mistreats his child, and his wives seek their brothers’ help to escape him. He evades mowing blades, leaps across a ring of burning grass, then is trapped underwater by a clam. His swollen body washes ashore; birds cannot pierce its tough flesh. The tiny tia flies to the moon and plunges back, puncturing him so the water drains. Tauribolena rises and seeks his wives again.
They finally give him roasted fruit followed by a red-hot cooking stone. He swallows it, smoke coming from his mouth, then angrily throws his bag of stone axe-heads and obsidian into the sea. He swims to distant Iriwavo and is seen no more. The title’s inability to be killed is supported by these escapes and revival; the ending supplies departure, rather than a witnessed final death.
Origins & earliest records
Annie Ker, Papuan Fairy Tales (London: Macmillan, 1910), The Man who could not be Killed, pp. 103–106.
Records & interpretation
Ker’s English collected narrative; the described powers belong to this selected account.
In the literature
“was too tough for their beaks to pierce.”
The Man who could not be Killed, printed p.106
Ordinary birds cannot pierce the apparently drowned man; the tiny tia later succeeds.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Papuan Fairy Tales: The Man who could not be Killed, pp. 103–106
Historical collected narrative; no individual narrator supplied in this chapter.
- 02
Papuan Fairy Tales — The Man who could not be Killed
London:Macmillan1910, title page and table of contents inspected in Wikisource scan-backed transcription. Introduction describes northeast-coast collection, mission residence, oral settings, tobacco exchanges and consultation of elders; individual narrators unnamed in these selected chapters.
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.
Papuan Fairy Tales: The Man who could not be Killed, pp. 103–106
London:Macmillan1910, title page and table of contents inspected in Wikisource scan-backed transcription. Introduction describes northeast-coast collection, mission residence, oral settings, tobacco exchanges and consultation of elders; individual narrators unnamed in these selected chapters.
- Mountain chief Tauribolena compels his wives Rekubole and Kauavira to accompany him despite cruel treatment of their child. Their coastal brothers try to kill him through wooden scythes, a ring of burning grass and a giant clam. He escapes the first two traps but remains caught by the clam as the tide rises.
- The opened clam releases his swollen body. Ordinary birds cannot pierce it, but the tiny tia descends from the moon and pecks out the seawater, after which he rises alive. His wives subsequently give him roasted fruit followed by a red-hot stone. Though his mouth smokes, he survives, throws his stone axe heads and obsidian into the sea and swims to Iriwavo.
The Man who could not be Killed, printed pp.105–107, apparent death and escape
Named wives and their kin remain distinct; no claim that these attacks establish scientifically absolute invulnerability. Apparent death and revival are narrated events, not a clinical diagnosis. He departs alive; the ending does not say his wives finally kill him.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected narrativeKer 1910: The Man who could not be KilledResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.