Editing Degei

{{Short description|Fijian god}}
In [[Fijian mythology]], '''Degei''' (pronounced ''Ndengei''), enshrined as a [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpent]], is the supreme [[god]] of [[Fiji]]. He is the [[Creator deity|creator]] of the (Fijian) world, [[fruit]]s, and of men and is specially connected to [[Rakiraki District, Fiji]].<ref>''King and People of Fiji (The Pasifika Library'') (''Paperback'') ({{ISBN|0824819209| 0-8248-1920-9}})</ref> He [[Divine judgment|judges newly dead souls]] after they pass through one of two caves: [[Cibaciba and Drakulu|Cibaciba or Drakulu]].<ref>John Freese, ''The Philosophy of the Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Human Body''. Facsimile reprint of 1864 edition. Kessinger Publishing, 2005, {{ISBN|1-4179-7234-3}}.</ref> A few he sends to paradise [[Burotu]]. Most others are thrown into a [[lake]], where they will eventually sink to the bottom ([[Murimuria]]) to be [[afterlife|appropriately rewarded or punished]].<ref>T. Williams, J. Calvert, ''Fiji and the Fijians'', Heylin, 1858.</ref>

He is said to have at first moved about freely, but then in the form of a [[snake]] to have grown into the [[earth]] with his ringed tail.<ref>''Myths & Legends of Fiji and Rotuma'' by A.W. Reed and Inez Hames</ref> Since then he has become the god of [[earthquake]]s, storms and seasons. Whenever Degei shakes himself fertilising [[rain]] will fall, delicious fruits hang on the trees, and the [[Yam (vegetable)|yam]] fields yield an excellent [[crop]].

Degei is also a [[god]] of wrath who declares himself in terrible fashion. He punishes and chastens his people by destroying the crops or by [[flood]]s; he could indeed easily wipe out mankind from the earth, for since he has lived in the bowels of the earth he has been tormented with so insatiable hunger that he would like to take in and swallow the whole world.<ref>[[Friedrich Ratzel]], ''The History of Mankind''. ([[London]]: MacMillan, 1896) Vol 1 Page 317. URL: [http://www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/melanesian-gods.htm www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/melanesian-gods.htm See this page.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706145750/http://www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/melanesian-gods.htm |date=2011-07-06 }} Accessed 9 June 2010.</ref>

Rokola is a name of the son of Degei.

== First human couple ==
Degei hatched an [[Egg (biology)|egg]] from which the first [[Protoplast (religion)|humans]] came to [[Earth]].

== In popular culture ==
[[Friedrich Ratzel]] in ''The History of Mankind''<ref>Ratzel, Friedrich. ''The History of Mankind''. (London: MacMillan, 1896). URL: [http://www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/melanesian-tattooing.htm www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/melanesian-tattooing.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706145448/http://www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/melanesian-tattooing.htm |date=2011-07-06 }} accessed 21 October 2009.</ref> reported in 1896 a religious practice enjoined by Degei that involved [[tattoo]]ing women on the lower part of the body and the thigh, the corner of the mouth, and the finger.

R.A. Derrick (1957:11) says:<ref>R.A. Derrick</ref>

<blockquote>
"In these traditions Degei figures not only as the origin of the people, but also as a huge snake, living in a [[cave]] near the summit of the mountain Uluda – the northernmost peak of the [[Nakauvandra River|Nakauvandra]] Range. Earth tremors and [[thunder]] were ascribed as his uneasy turnings within the cave. He took no interest in his people’s affairs; his existence was no more than a round of eating and sleeping. By association with him, snakes were honoured as ‘the Offspring of the origin’. The [[Snake worship|snake cult]] was generally throughout the group."
</blockquote>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Death gods]]
[[Category:Fijian deities]]
[[Category:Legendary serpents]]
[[Category:Creator gods]]
[[Category:Snake gods]]