Editing Dakuwaqa

{{Short description|Deity in Fijian mythology}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2023}}

[[File:Dakuwaqa-71.1969.51.25-DSC00435-black.jpg|thumb|Wooden figure of Dakuwaqa from the [[Solomon Islands]], on display at the [[Louvre]] gallery]]
In [[Fijian mythology]], '''Dakuwaqa''' ('''Dakuwanga''') is a shark deity and often appears as a fierce sea monster, guarding the islands.<ref>''Fijian Medicinal Plants'' by RC Cambie, J Ash</ref> He was greatly respected by fishermen<ref>''Bed the turtle softly: legends of the South Pacific'' by Mary Edith Branham and Joel S. Branham. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_mSBAAAAMAAJ&q=Dakuwaqa+wife "Many are the stories about the shark-god Dakuwaqa]."</ref> because he protected them from any danger at sea and its denizens.<ref>''Deuba: A Study of a Fijian Village'' by William Robert Geddes</ref><ref>''The People of the Sea: Environment, Identity, And History in Oceania''. Author: Paul D'Arcy. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Sp1zroD_ccMC&dq=Dakuwaqa&pg=PA42 Please see this page]. "His Fijian crew addressed the creature as Dakuwaqa, and promised it ''kava'' if it did not harm them. Dakuwaqa had a history of fierce retribution against seafarers who did not respect him, but had rescued his worshippers from trouble at sea."</ref>

==Background==
In one creation myth, the god was planning inland to conquer [[Kadavu Island]]<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=l2p-8nZIkNsC&dq=Dakuwaqa+octopus&pg=PA216 Fiji]'' by Dean Starnes, Nana Luckham.</ref> through the river when a goddess<ref>''She is everywhere! : an anthology of writings in womanist/feminist spirituality'' by [[Mary Saracino]]. According to Mary Saracino, the great octopus was a goddess.</ref> challenged him in the form of an octopus.<ref>[http://www.tropicalfiji.com/about_fiji/culture/legends.asp#shark_g Dakuwaqa The Shark God.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128142016/http://www.tropicalfiji.com/about_fiji/Culture/Legends.asp#shark_g |date=2012-01-28 }} "One of the best known gods in Fijian legends is the fierce sea-monster Dakuwaqa. He was the guardian of the reef entrance of the islands, fearless, headstrong and jealous. He frequently changed himself into the form of a shark and travelled around the islands fighting all the other reef guardians."</ref> After a great battle, the octopus won by pulling out his teeth with her eight arms which enabled her to hold off the massive attack of Dakuwaqa, forcing Dakuwaqa to promise to never attack Kadavu again. That is how Dakuwaqa became the god and protector of Kadavu. 

Dakuwaqa can also change shape into anything, but his real form is that of a muscular Fijian man with the upper torso of a shark.<ref>[http://www.sharkmans-world.eu/gods.html The Fierce Sea God]</ref> In the book ''Pacific Irishman'', the [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] priest Charles William Whonsbon-Aston records in Chapter 1, ''[[Creation myth|Creation]]'':<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pacific Irishman: William Floyd, by C. W. Whonsbon-Aston (1970) |url=https://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/whonsbon-aston1970.html |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=anglicanhistory.org}}</ref>

{{cquote|When I came to Fiji the famed fish-god, the Dakuwaqa, was very much a reality. The Government ship, the Lady Escott, reached Levuka with signs of an encounter with the great fish, while the late [[David Robbie (Fijian politician)|Captain Robbie]], a well known, tall, and very erect Scot, even to his nineties, told of the sleepy afternoon as his cutter was sailing from his tea estate at Wainunu, under a very light wind, with most of the crew dozing. A great fish, which he described as near 60 feet in length, brown-spotted and mottled on its back, with the head of a shark and the tail of a whale, came up under his ship, almost capsizing it.

The crew, instantly awake and concerned, followed the ancient pattern, pouring a strong libation of kava into the sea, which, it would seem, was just the right idea for placating fish-gods; the monster slowly submerged, the breeze gradually gathered the cutter away, its keel dragging along the monster's back, making the skin pale.

To the Fijian crew this was the "Dakuwaqa"--in the twentieth century; what must have been the effect in the tenth?}}

== Media ==

* [[Jeff VanderMeer]] wrote the story ''The Third Bear'' about Dakuwaqa.<ref>{{Cite book|isbn = 978-1892391988|title = The Third Bear|last1 = Vandermeer|first1 = Jeff|year = 2010}}</ref> 
* Dakuwaqa is the father of the supervillain [[King Shark]] in the [[DC Universe]]. 
* One episode of the [[History Channel]] series ''[[Beast Legends]]'' is about Dakuwaqa.
* Dakuwanga is an [[Atlantis|Atlantean]] Bio-weapon in the Earth Prime setting of the [[Mutants & Masterminds]] roleplaying game. 
* Dakuwanga is the official pet in the "[[Quidditch]] World Cup [[Argentina]] 2014" in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' universe. 
* Dakuwaqa's vest is a fictional artifact mentioned in the 2017 film ''[[Sharknado 5: Global Swarming]]'' as the item used to prevent sharknados in the past. 
* The merged tribe in ''[[Survivor 45]]'' was named after Dakuwaqa.

== See also ==
*[[Avatea]]
*[[Kamohoalii]]
*[[Ukupanipo]]
*[[Ulupoka]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline}}

[[Category:Fijian deities]]
[[Category:Fish gods]]
[[Category:Sea and river gods]]
[[Category:Shapeshifting]]
[[Category:Animal gods]]
[[Category:Culture of Fiji]]
[[Category:Religion in Fiji]]