Melanesian mythology refers to the folklore, myths, and religions of Melanesia, a region in Southwest Oceania that encompasses the archipelagos of New Guinea (including Indonesian New Guinea and Papua New Guinea), the Torres Strait Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. The various mythologies consist primarily of the traditions of oral literature in the different populations of Melanesia. More recent aspects include the cargo cults born in the 20th century during the Pacific War.
The Mythology of All Races (1916) In 1916 Roland Burrage Dixon wrote an early account of Melanesian mythology in The Mythology of All Races. Dixon's compilation reflects beliefs by some Western observers of the time in the existence of a mythology at the scale of Melanesia as a whole. It was then accepted practice to blend together mythological traditions from different regions of the South Pacific as if they were examples of a single "Melanesian" culture. Modern scholars such as Hilary Howes, Tristen Jones and Matthew Spriggs, critique this approach as over-simplification, preferring to present each local tradition separately and suggest possible links more carefully.
Dixon's proposed division of the area's populations According to Dixon, Melanesia falls into two geographic divisions: New Guinea with its adjacent smaller islands forming one; and the long series of islands lying to the north and east of it, from the Admiralty group to New Caledonia and Fiji, constituting the other. From an anthropological point of view, the population of the Melanesian area is composed of a number of different historical populations (what Dixon called "racial types"). He recognized "at least three groups":
One group, called by Dixon "Negrito or Negrito-like tribes", were supposedly living mostly in the interior of New Guinea and a few islands of Island Melanesia (the "Eastern Archipelago" in his terms) A second group he identified as Papuan, which he had little information about. A third group, corresponding to Austronesian-speaking populations of Melanesia. Contrary to modern usage, Dixon used the term Melanesian only to refer to his third group, namely the non-Papuan populations of Melanesia.
Main characteristics of Dixon's typology According to Dixon, the material on the mythology of Melanesia, though incomplete and fragmentary, "appears rather clearly to prove" the existence of two distinct strata, one of which he called "Papuan", the other "Melanesian" [sic]. Although the author does not mention languages, his proposed dichotomy, based on oral literature, evidently matches the contrast made by linguists, between speakers of Papuan languages and speakers of Austronesian (Oceanic) languages. Dixon's "Papuan" layer was best represented, in his view, among the Kai tribes of northern Papua New Guinea, as well as by the Baining and Sulka of northern New Britain. His so-called "Melanesian" stratum, on the other hand, was mostly found in Remote Oceania (which he named "eastern Melanesia"), but also throughout parts of New Guinea, among the coast tribes of northern New Britain, and in the Admiralty Islands.
According to Dixon, the "Papuan" type of mythology was characterized by a relative absence of cosmogonic myths, by the prominence of ghosts, and by "a general simplicity and naivete" [sic]. This category also appears to remain in local populations, rather than being distributed more widely. The "Melanesian" mythology, on the other hand, has more myths relating to cosmogony, as well as cannibalistic tales, and often includes a rudimentary dualistic character (revealed in many stories of the wise and foolish hero brothers). As Dixon further examined his "Melanesian" type, he found that it lacked unity. He suggested the following grouping:
Myths that were generally from "Melanesia"; Myths strictly in New Guinea and the immediate vicinity. Myths from Fiji, Central Vanuatu, or the Banks and Santa Cruz Islands. Including the whole of the Oceanic area, Dixon noted that the "Papuan" type showed little in common with any of the other Pacific regions, while his so-called "Melanesian" type showed similarities with Indonesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia; and even Australia. The "Melanesian" type of myths (which held similarities to the other areas) can be divided into four groups:
Those who only share similarities with Indonesia, which are typically represented more in the northern coast of New Guinea; Those sharing similarities with Polynesia, which are more prominent in the southern coast of New Guinea and seemingly comprising myths from Melanesia as well; Those sharing similarities with both Indonesia and Polynesia, which are most common in Remote Oceania, the eastern archipelago of Melanesia, and may have been brought and preserved by Polynesian ancestors from their Indonesian homes; or Only with Micronesia, which are equally represented in New Guinea and the eastern archipelago.
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