A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Codrington’s footnote abstracts a Mota manuscript in which bird fat falls onto Wetopunpun’s head underground and draws him up. The editor identifies him uncertainly as Qat-wuruga’s father, his dead father’s ghost, or a vui spirit. His words generate gardens, food, livestock, a village and a gamal, supplying wealth that enables the boy’s advancement in suqe rank.
When the boy is abducted, Wetopunpun leaves in grief and the estate disappears. People from famine-stricken Qakea take him there, where his power creates productive gardens. Their envy prompts another departure. He finally settles beside Ro Som with his possessions; the editor reports a stone representing him as a place of sacrifice in his own period. This is a published abstract rather than the full manuscript, and the uncertain identity is retained.
Origins & earliest records
R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1891), Chapter XIX, footnote to III.6 (printed pp. 395–396): Qat-wuruga manuscript abstract. Chapter XIX identifies islander-written manuscripts as its basis, without naming each individual contributor.
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant selected tale or explicitly abridged footnote read. Local identity, separate versions and unnamed narrator limitations retained.
In the literature
“They envy him and he leaves them”
Chapter XIX, note to III.6, p.396; Qakea departure · R. H. Codrington
After Qat-wuruga is abducted, Wetopunpun grieves and his settlement disappears. Qakea people take him to their famine-stricken island, where gardens appear; their envy prompts another departure. He settles beside Ro Som, and a representational stone is reported. This continuation is part of the footnote abstract, not the Woman and Eel tale in which it is typographically interleaved.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Melanesians, Chapter XIX, footnote to III.6 (printed pp. 395–396): Qat-wuruga manuscript abstract
Published collected witness; modern oral/community variants not exhausted.
- 02
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 historical scan/OCR. Complete selected Chapter XIX II.1–2 and III.14–17 narratives and the complete separately marked Qat-wuruga manuscript abstract independently read. Chapter XIX p356 says stories except the first derive from islanders’ manuscripts supplied to him; no individual writer supplied for these selected accounts. Original manuscripts not independently inspected.
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.
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 historical scan/OCR. Complete selected Chapter XIX II.1–2 and III.14–17 narratives and the complete separately marked Qat-wuruga manuscript abstract independently read. Chapter XIX p356 says stories except the first derive from islanders’ manuscripts supplied to him; no individual writer supplied for these selected accounts. Original manuscripts not independently inspected.
- The collector summarises a manuscript excluded from full printing. Bird fat reaches Wetopunpun underground and brings him up; he supplies gardens, buildings, food and livestock to Qat-wuruga. The editor offers father, dead father’s ghost or a vui as alternatives. Identity uncertainty is retained and no working charm is copied.
Chapter XIX, note to III.6 The Little Orphan, pp.395–396; Qat-wuruga abstract
- After Qat-wuruga is abducted, Wetopunpun grieves and his settlement disappears. Qakea people take him to their famine-stricken island, where gardens appear; their envy prompts another departure. He settles beside Ro Som, and a representational stone is reported. This continuation is part of the footnote abstract, not the Woman and Eel tale in which it is typographically interleaved.
Chapter XIX, same note continuing beneath III.7, p.396; withdrawal
- The note explicitly says two more Mota manuscript stories are too long to include in full. This witness is therefore a published editorial abstract of Qat-wuruga, not a completely transcribed underlying manuscript. Its correct attachment is III.6, while the later III.9 Winged Wife is a different account.
Chapter XIX, manuscript-abstract introduction, p.395; editorial scope
Original island manuscript not inspected; unidentified narrators not invented. Specific local version, not present community consensus. No ceremonial formulas copied; facsimile not visually checked in this batch.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected textCodrington, Chapter XIX, footnote to III.6 (printed pp. 395–396): Qat-wuruga manuscript abstractResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.