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

With his appetite for conquest and knack for combat, the shark god Dakuwaqa was determined to vanquish all his rivals. Long ago, the ancestral gods of Fiji, known as kalou vu or simply vu, settled on the Pacific archipelago, each establishing a village in a different area. Eventually, they metamorphosed into various forms. Dakuwaqa settled on resource-rich Cakaudrove and transformed into a shark. But he was unsatisfied. He became proud and greedy, and wanted to challenge every vu, establish himself as the mightiest, and dominate all of Fiji’s islands.

In his quest for power, Dakuwaqa sped through the waters toward Rewa, where a quick and cunning eel-shaped vu tried to stop him in the mouth of a river. Soon, the two were tumbling through the water, locked in combat. The brawling vu created towering waves, stretching the river further inshore and flooding nearby coastal communities. In the end, the eel was no match for Dakuwaqa’s ferocity. After the fight, the Rewa River became the longest and widest in Fiji, which made nearby communities especially prone to flooding. But Dakuwaqa didn’t care what damage he caused, so long as he remained undefeated.

Dakuwaqa continued on his rampage, later vanquishing Masilaca, the small, mischievous shark vu that lived near Beqa Island. Despite their rocky start, the two became friends. But one day, Masilaca—perhaps growing tired of Dakuwaqa’s proud, selfish ways and the chaos he’d caused across the archipelago—presented a challenge he knew Dakuwaqa couldn’t resist. Masilaca spoke about a fierce vu called Rokobakaniceva, who guarded the outer island of Kadavu, and teased that, until Dakuwaqa defeated them, he couldn’t claim the title of strongest vu.

Before Masilaca could even finish describing Rokobakaniceva, Dakuwaqa was jetting through the water in the direction of Kadavu. As he came close, Dakuwaqa saw a giant octopus hovering at the entrance to a reef. The octopus vu, Rokobakaniceva, cared greatly for the people of Kadavu and asked Dakuwaqa politely to stay away and not intimidate the villagers. Dakuwaqa was only emboldened by the request. He showed his imposing teeth and lunged forward to attack.

But Rokobakaniceva was prepared. With four tentacles, the octopus vu remained rooted to a rock on the seafloor and with the remaining four, captured Dakuwaqa’s body and flipped him over. In this position, his breathing slowed and his muscles relaxed. He was paralyzed and powerless in a mysterious state called tonic immobility that some sharks assume when flipped over or when the sensitive pores of their snout are stimulated. Dakuwaqa was stuck upside down and struggling to breathe, and Rokobakaniceva’s tentacles wrapped tighter and tighter around his body.

Though still shocked, Dakuwaqa realized the battle was lost for the first time in his life. In exchange for Rokobakaniceva’s mercy, he promised that he would change his ways. Instead of menacing the villagers and other vu, he vowed to protect Fijian fishers from Kadavu and beyond. Pleased with the pact, Rokobakaniceva agreed and freed Dakuwaqa.

He stayed true to his word—no longer bragging about dueling vu, conquering coastlines, and taking tributes. Instead, he began finding satisfaction in guiding lost people back to their homes and warning local fishers of bad weather and sinister sea creatures. In return, some of Fiji’s people would pay homage to Dakuwaqa by pouring a traditional drink— yaqona, also known as kava— into the ocean. And upon returning safely from fishing trips with an abundance of catch, they’d throw fish heads back into the ocean for the sharks—gestures of mutual care to elicit luck and protection from Dakuwaqa himself.