Deities of Fijiian Mythology
 

Fijian mythology has a number of deities. Degei is the most powerful in the pantheon. He was said to have lived on the slopes of the Kauvadra Mountains near the Ra coast. Degei was believed to have been in the form of a huge snake. It was thought that when Degei made abrupt movements in his cave, earth tremors and thunder occurred. Degei was said to have judged the souls of the dead after they went through either of two caves, Drakulu or Cibaciba. Degei sent some souls to Burotu, which was paradise. He tossed the others into a lake where they would sink to Murimura, the bottom. It was there that they would be rewarded or punished, whichever was deemed appropriate. Rokola was a son of Degei. He was associated with carpentry and canoe makers worshipped him.
Lilavatu was the wife of the chief's god of Nadi. This goddess was kind if people made offerings to her. However, she could cause aches and pains if they did not give her offerings. They could also be slain in war.
Ratumaibulu (also called Ratu Levu) was connected with agriculture. People made offerings to him to insure good crops.
Ravuyalo was a cruel deity. He stood on the path of spirits and threatened them with a club. They had to outwit him to avoid being struck.
Dakuwaqa was a god who manifested himself as a great shark. He resided in a cave on Benau Island and swam in the ocean. He was the deity of sea travel and fishing. However, he was also associated with adultery. Because Dakuwaqa was in the form of a shark, people saluted sharks whenever they saw them. It was taboo to eat shark meat.
The old woman of Na Kauvandra was a goddess who lived in the Kauvadra Mountains, where Fijians were thought to have originated. She had the form of an enormous snake.
Priests had the role of mediating between the gods and humans. People prepared feasts for the priests. The chiefs and elders took the food into the temple, which was called the bure kalou. They presented it and offerings of whales's teeth to the priests. The priests then communicated with the gods. They told the chiefs and elders what the gods had said.
People made small items in the form of bures. These were for housing sacred objects. The temple-shaped containers often had woven ears and a mouth.
Fijian mythology has many stories. I will present them in some other posts.

Neal Robbins

P.S. The knife that was used to cut seed yams could not be used for any other purpose. It could not be placed near a fire, since it was forbidden to heat that type of knife.
No one was allowed to reach for an item that was above the chief's head unless he or she had the chief's permission.