The Myth of Manarmakeri

Abstract

In the principal myth of Manarmakeri a traditional or a real ancestor appears in whom many mythical heroes are embodied. That which appears scattered everywhere in the whole mythology of Biak is concentrated in him. He appears in the disguise of an Old Man. He is a hero with a genealogy who recaptured the secret of the land of the dead and was thereby enabled to revive the mythical primaeval time. He finds out that the true nature of things is hidden but by recovering the secret he succeeds in discovering it. This put him in possession of the “treasures and the food”, the principal elements of the ceremonial exchange and of the functioning of the community. By this reconquest he could have put an end to roaming, dissension, insecurity and death, but neither in the disguise of the Old Man nor in that of a youth rejuvenated by the baptism by fire is he recognized as the Lord of the Utopia (Manseren Koreri). Therefore he departed westward, after having promised, however, that one day he would return.