The Fijian myth of the greedy god - Raiana McKinney and Esther Wozniak

210,514 views ・ 2024-02-13

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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With his appetite for conquest and knack for combat,
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the shark god Dakuwaqa was determined to vanquish all his rivals.
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Long ago, the ancestral gods of Fiji, known as kalou vu or simply vu,
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settled on the Pacific archipelago,
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each establishing a village in a different area.
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Eventually, they metamorphosed into various forms.
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Dakuwaqa settled on resource-rich Cakaudrove
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and transformed into a shark.
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But he was unsatisfied.
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He became proud and greedy, and wanted to challenge every vu,
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establish himself as the mightiest, and dominate all of Fiji’s islands.
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In his quest for power, Dakuwaqa sped through the waters toward Rewa,
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where a quick and cunning eel-shaped vu tried to stop him in the mouth of a river.
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Soon, the two were tumbling through the water, locked in combat.
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The brawling vu created towering waves,
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stretching the river further inshore and flooding nearby coastal communities.
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In the end, the eel was no match for Dakuwaqa’s ferocity.
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After the fight, the Rewa River became the longest and widest in Fiji,
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which made nearby communities especially prone to flooding.
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But Dakuwaqa didn’t care what damage he caused,
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so long as he remained undefeated.
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Dakuwaqa continued on his rampage, later vanquishing Masilaca,
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the small, mischievous shark vu that lived near Beqa Island.
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Despite their rocky start, the two became friends.
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But one day, Masilaca— perhaps growing tired of Dakuwaqa’s proud, selfish ways
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and the chaos he’d caused across the archipelago—
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presented a challenge he knew Dakuwaqa couldn’t resist.
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Masilaca spoke about a fierce vu called Rokobakaniceva,
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who guarded the outer island of Kadavu,
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and teased that, until Dakuwaqa defeated them,
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he couldn’t claim the title of strongest vu.
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Before Masilaca could even finish describing Rokobakaniceva,
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Dakuwaqa was jetting through the water in the direction of Kadavu.
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As he came close, Dakuwaqa saw a giant octopus
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hovering at the entrance to a reef.
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The octopus vu, Rokobakaniceva, cared greatly for the people of Kadavu
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and asked Dakuwaqa politely to stay away and not intimidate the villagers.
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Dakuwaqa was only emboldened by the request.
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He showed his imposing teeth and lunged forward to attack.
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But Rokobakaniceva was prepared.
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With four tentacles, the octopus vu remained rooted to a rock on the seafloor
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and with the remaining four, captured Dakuwaqa’s body
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and flipped him over.
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In this position, his breathing slowed and his muscles relaxed.
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He was paralyzed and powerless in a mysterious state called tonic immobility
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that some sharks assume when flipped over
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or when the sensitive pores of their snout are stimulated.
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Dakuwaqa was stuck upside down and struggling to breathe,
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and Rokobakaniceva’s tentacles wrapped tighter and tighter around his body.
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Though still shocked,
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Dakuwaqa realized the battle was lost for the first time in his life.
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In exchange for Rokobakaniceva’s mercy, he promised that he would change his ways.
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Instead of menacing the villagers and other vu,
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he vowed to protect Fijian fishers from Kadavu and beyond.
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Pleased with the pact, Rokobakaniceva agreed and freed Dakuwaqa.
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He stayed true to his word— no longer bragging about dueling vu,
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conquering coastlines, and taking tributes.
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Instead, he began finding satisfaction in guiding lost people back to their homes
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and warning local fishers of bad weather and sinister sea creatures.
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In return, some of Fiji’s people would pay homage to Dakuwaqa
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by pouring a traditional drink— yaqona, also known as kava— into the ocean.
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And upon returning safely from fishing trips with an abundance of catch,
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they’d throw fish heads back into the ocean for the sharks—
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gestures of mutual care to elicit luck
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and protection from Dakuwaqa himself.
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