Let’s cool off with a dip in the ocean!
That’s the volcano (actually a lava-dome complex) — there in the opening scene’s background:
https://youtu.be/1E7ZJhp4Tc4&rel=0
And this article introduces it well!
Can you imagine a scientist who could neither read nor write, who spoke their wisdom in riddles, in tales of fantastic beings flying through the sky, fighting each another furiously and noisily, drinking the ocean dry, and throwing giant spears with force enough to leave massive holes in rocky headlands?
Our newly published research in the journal Oral Tradition shows memories of a volcanic eruption in Fiji some 2,500 years ago were encoded in oral traditions in precisely these ways.
They were never intended as fanciful stories, but rather as the pragmatic foundations of a system of local risk management…
More information:
- GVP Nabukelevu page.
- Wikipedia.
- “Nabukelevu volcano (Mt. Washington), Kadavu–a source of hitherto unknown volcanic hazard in Fiji (jargon alert).
Lagniappe:
This is from six years ago — the discovery of volcanic hazard on Kadavu is relatively recent and, until there’s an eruption, it probably won’t be well known outside the country and the halls of Academia:
https://youtu.be/AFf22L5ZZN4&rel=0
Featured image: Ethan Daniels/Shutterstock
Flight To Wonder 