Seketo'a

Last updated

Seketoʻa was a fish god from Niuatoputapu and Tafahi in Tongan mythology.

Niuatoputapu island

Niuatoputapu is a high island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean, its highest point being at 157 m. Its name means sacred island. Older European names for the island are Traitors island or Keppel island.

Tafahi island of the Tonga archipelago

Tafahi is a small island in the north of the Tonga archipelago, in fact closer to Savaiʻi (Samoa) than the main islands of Tonga. It is only 9 km (5.6 mi) north-northeast away from Niuatoputapu, and fishermen commute in small outboard motorboats almost daily between the two.

Tonga country in Oceania

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian country and archipelago comprising 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The total surface area is about 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean. The sovereign state has a population of 100,651 people, of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu.

Originally Seketoʻa was a mortal, the grandson of Puakatefisi, the first of the traditional line of rulers of Niuatoputapu island, the ʻatu dynasty. Puakatefisi had a son by a concubine of his, named Falefehi. That son had two sons, the oldest with the name Moimoi, and the younger was called Seketoʻa. As common in Polynesia, the older son could command the younger in executing the orders of their father. Still Seketoʻa was more beloved by his father than Moimoi. Or so the latter believed, and he planned to kill his younger brother.

Moimoi ordered Seketoʻa to come to his house. The latter obeyed, and sat down outside the former's house, crosslegged with his head bowed and his hands clasped in front, awaiting orders as required by custom. Moimoi told him to come in. But Seketoʻa was suspicious and said that any commands could be given to him here. Soon Moimoi became angry, went inside and came out with a pōvai (big cudgel), and threw it at the other. But Seketoʻa jumped up so quickly that it missed him. Then he grabbed the club himself and yelling bakola (Fijian for: die you wrench) he ran with it towards the other. Moimoi resigned and did not defend himself: "Do what you like to me, Seketoʻa, for I am powerless."

Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000–450,000 ethnic Fijians as a native language. The 2013 Constitution established Fijian as an official language of Fiji, along with English and Hindi, and there is discussion about establishing it as the "national language", though English and Hindi would remain official. Fijian is a VOS language.

Thereupon Seketoʻa threw down the club and said that he would go to drown himself in the sea and become a fish, leaving Moimoi behind to run the errands for Māʻatu. And he, Seketoʻa, would watch the seas of these islands until the end of the world, that no fish would ever kill a person, and Māʻatu would have the right to call him anytime and he then would come in the shape of a fish.

This is still the right of the real chief of Niuatoputapu. He will send out two of his matāpule (official chiefly spokesmen) to throw kava roots in the sea. That will attract two suckerfish, who are the matāpule of Seketoʻa. They will come and then go. Then a small shark comes and goes. And a medium shark comes and goes. And finally a big shark comes. That is Seketoʻa, and Māʻatu will speak to him.

Kava species of plant, Kava

Kava or kava kava or Piper methysticum is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name kava(-kava) is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning "bitter"; other names for kava include ʻawa (Hawaiʻi), ʻava (Samoa), yaqona (Fiji), sakau (Pohnpei), and malok or malogu. Kava is consumed throughout the Pacific Ocean cultures of Polynesia, including Hawaii and Vanuatu, and Melanesia and some parts of Micronesia for its sedating effects.

Remora family of fishes

The remoras, sometimes called suckerfish, are a family (Echeneidae) of ray-finned fish in the order Perciformes. They grow to 7–75 cm long. Their distinctive first dorsal fins take the form of a modified oval, sucker-like organ with slat-like structures that open and close to create suction and take a firm hold against the skin of larger marine animals. The disk is made up of stout, flexible membranes that can be raised and lowered to generate suction. By sliding backward, the remora can increase the suction, or it can release itself by swimming forward. Remoras sometimes attach to small boats, and have been observed attaching to divers as well. They swim well on their own, with a sinuous, or curved, motion.

Seketoʻa had an important contribution to the creation of Tafahi.

Seketoʻa is also known away from Niuatoputapu and Tafahi, but less widely and more vague. There he is sometimes named as the father of ʻIlaheva.

Related Research Articles

History of Tonga aspect of history

The history of Tonga is recorded since the century after 900 BC, when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make up the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Fiji and Samoa, the area served as a gateway into the rest of the Pacific region known as Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.

Tongan narrative is a variant of a more general Polynesian narrative in Tonga.

Tinirau

In Polynesian mythology, stories about Tinirau are found throughout the islands of Polynesia. He is a guardian of fish. Many themes recur in the various versions. Often he travels to another land in search of his wife, or his wife travels to another land in search of him; sometimes he treats his wife badly, or she rejects him; while he is guardian of fish, it is his wife who gives the fish their individual characteristics. Sometimes their anxious or jealous relatives try to separate the lovers.

<i>The Old Man and the Sea</i> novel by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba.

George Tupou II King of Tonga

Siaosi Tupou II, King of Tonga was the King of Tonga from 18 February 1893 until his death. He was officially crowned at Nukuʻalofa, on 17 March 1893. He was also the 20th Tuʻi Kanokupolu.

George Tupou I King of Tonga

George Tupou I, King of Tonga was originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, or Tupou Maeakafa Ngininginiofolanga in modern spelling. He adopted the name Siaosi, the Tongan version of George, after King George III of the United Kingdom, when he was baptized in 1831. His nickname was Lopa-ukamea, meaning iron cable.

Sherman's Lagoon is a daily comic strip by Jim Toomey that is widely syndicated in newspapers worldwide after its first appearance in the Escondido Times-Advocate on May 13, 1991. The story takes place in the fictional Kapupu Lagoon by the island of Kapupu in the South Pacific Ocean, west of the Elabaob Islands in the Palauan archipelago of Micronesia. It is centered on the misadventures of an overweight, lazy great white shark named Sherman, his controlling, hot-tempered wife Megan, and the friends and foes they share their tropical home with.

Niuafoʻou Volcanic island

Niuafoʻou is the most northerly island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is a volcanic rim island with an area of 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi) and a population of 650 in 2006.

Culture of Tonga

The Tongan archipelago has been inhabited for perhaps 3000 years, since settlement in late Lapita times. The culture of its inhabitants has surely changed greatly over this long time period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Tongans were in frequent contact with their nearest Oceanic neighbors, Fiji and Samoa. In the 19th century, with the arrival of Western traders and missionaries, Tongan culture changed dramatically. Some old beliefs and habits were thrown away and others adopted. Some accommodations made in the 19th century and early 20th century are now being challenged by changing Western civilization. Hence Tongan culture is far from a unified or monolithic affair, and Tongans themselves may differ strongly as to what it is "Tongan" to do, or not do.

Māui (Māori mythology) culture hero in Maori mythology

In Māori mythology, as in other Polynesian traditions, Māui is a culture hero and a trickster, famous for his exploits and cleverness.

Māui (Hawaiian mythology)

In Hawaiian religion, Māui is a culture hero and ancient chief who appears in several different genealogies. In the Kumulipo he is the son of ʻAkalana and his wife Hina-a-ke-ahi (Hina). This couple has four sons, Māui-mua, Māui-waena, Māui-kiʻikiʻi and Māui-a-kalana. Māui-a-kalana's wife is named Hinakealohaila; his son is Nanamaoa. Māui is one of the Kupua. His name is the same as that of the Hawaiian island Maui, although native tradition holds that it is not named for him directly, but instead named after the son of Hawaii's discoverer.

The story cycle around Kae and Sinilau is well known in Polynesian mythology, found in several places. This article describes the Tongan version, of which the main source is an old poem published in 1876, and some other, incomplete manuscripts.

<i>Shark Bait</i> 2006 animated film

Shark Bait is a 2006 South Korean-American computer animated film. The plot revolves around Pi and his attempt to win the heart of Cordelia while dealing with a tiger shark that is terrorizing him and the reef's inhabitants. The film was a critical and commercial failure. It was largely criticised for borrowing heavily from other films such as Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo, DreamWorks' Shark Tale, and Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid, and despite the talented actors and comedians involved in the voiceover work, was a box-office bomb. Despite being an American-South Korean co-production, the movie did not receive a theatrical release in the United States, where it was released direct to DVD in 2007.

<i>Creature</i> (miniseries) 1998 television film directed by Stuart Gillard

Creature is a 1998 American television miniseries starring Craig T. Nelson, Kim Cattrall and Matthew Carey. It is based on the 1994 novel White Shark by Jaws author Peter Benchley. The miniseries is about an amphibious shark-like monster terrorizing an abandoned secret military base and the people who live on the island where it is located.

<i>Sea Scouts</i> (film) 1939 animated short film directed by Dick Lundy

Sea Scouts is an animated cartoon short film in the Donald Duck series. It was produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters June 30, 1939 by RKO Radio Pictures.

The Kava Ceremony is held to memorialize a royal death, marriage or bestowing of an honorary title or coronation. It is attended by the King. Kava is the ceremonial drink, a tradition which dates back to the tenth century. The drink originated on the islands of Tonga and Eueiki.

Niuas is an electoral constituency which sends one representative to the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. It covers the islands of Niuafoʻou and Niuatoputapu.

The Reef 2: High Tide is a 2012 South Korean-American computer animated film and a sequel to 2006's Shark Bait.It stars the same actors as last time, but Freddie Prinze Jr and Evan Rachel Wood are replaced by Drake Bell and Busy Philipps. Although Donal Logue reprised his role as the villainous tiger shark Troy, he replaces John Rhys-Davies as elderly harbor seal, Thornton. Rob Schneider reprised his role as Nerissa.

References