Newly dead souls pass through Degei’s cave and he determines whether they will be sent to paradise or flung into a lake to await punishment.ĭegei is the most powerful god in the pantheon (or “Kalou”) of deities that make up the old Fijian religion. According to legend, Degei created Viti Levu and the smaller surrounding islands and now lives in a cave in the Nakavadra mountain range in Viti Levu. Degei raised the humans, grew vegetation in order to feed them and told them stories that revealed the nature of all things.Īfter a good deal of time, Degei traveled through the ocean with the humans and their progeny and landed in Lautoka where he established the village of Viseisei, which is believed to be the first Fijian settlement. After several weeks of nesting, the eggs hatched to reveal two tiny human bodies. He came across Turukawa’s bird’s nest, in which he found two abandoned eggs that he promptly took to his own house to nurture. One day, Turukawa disappeared, and Degei went in search of her. In the beginning, Degei lived a lonely life with only Turukawa, the hawk, as a friend.
One popular Fijian creation myth that explains the existence of human life on the islands is of the ancestral snake god, Degei. So when in Fiji, pull up a stool (or a woven mat) beside the fire, grab a bowl of kava and Fijians will tell you a tale… a tale of Pacific gods, of indigenous plants and animals, of cannibals who ate their enemies during war time. Oral story-telling is a popular and important pastime in Fiji that helps to keep alive the myths from the old religion, as well as legends about more modern figures in Fiji’s history.