Goddess Meduu Ribtal teaching women to plant breadfruit and taro in Palau.

The Breadfruit Story

Long ago, when the islands of Palau were still new and the people depended only on what they could gather from the wild, a goddess descended from the heavens. Her name was Dirachedesbsungel, though many came to know her as Meduu Ribtal, the Lady of Breadfruit. She appeared from the mist that rose above the ocean, her hair like flowing vines and her skin glowing with the green of new leaves. Wherever she stepped, flowers opened and streams began to flow. In those early days, life was hard. The people hunted fish and gathered roots, but the land gave little,
Read More

Aboriginal Australian Folktales

A possum and a lizard delivering different messages to humans under the moon, from the Aboriginal Dreamtime story “The Coming of Death.”
November 5, 2025

The Coming of Death

In the time before time, when the Dreaming first shaped the earth, all living beings were eternal. People, animals, and spirits walked
Rainbow Snake shaping rivers and valleys in an Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime scene.
November 5, 2025

The Rainbow Snake

In the time before time, when the world lay flat and dry beneath a silent sky, the earth had no rivers, no
View all →

Melanesian Folktales

A sepia-toned illustration shows two Polynesian brothers paddling a traditional outrigger canoe across calm ocean waters under a rising sun. The older brother sits at the stern, focused and determined, while the younger brother at the bow gazes thoughtfully at the water. Both wear patterned loincloths and grip wooden paddles. The canoe features a curved prow and a bamboo outrigger. Gentle waves ripple around them, seabirds soar overhead, and the horizon glows with early morning light. The vintage style and warm sepia tones evoke timelessness and quiet reverence.
November 7, 2025

The Heron’s Reward

The sun had barely cleared the horizon when two brothers pushed their outrigger canoe into the gentle surf. The older brother sat
The Sea and the Land shaping the first humans, Tuhaka and Lila, on a Vanuatu shore—waves and earth meeting in harmony as clay and foam form living figures beneath a golden sunrise.
November 6, 2025

The First Man and Woman of Vanuatu

Before there were villages dotting the coastlines, before canoes carved paths through crystal waters, before the first cooking fires sent smoke curling
Qat, the wise creator, carves the first humans from wood and brings them to life on the lush Banks Islands, while his jealous brother Marawa the Spider tries to imitate him but instead causes decay and brings death into the world.
November 6, 2025

Qat and the Secret of Death

In the beginning, when the world was fresh and unmarked by sorrow, there lived two brothers whose natures were as different as
View all →

Micronesian Folktales

A glowing canoe guided by ancestral lights over calm ocean waters Marshall Islands folktale scene.
November 8, 2025

The Spirit Canoe of the Dead

In the time before the world knew separation between the living and the dead, the people of the Marshall Islands believed that
A woman holding a glowing basket near a breadfruit tree under a golden sky Marshall Islands folktale scene
November 8, 2025

The Fire from Heaven

Long ago, when the world was still young and the stars shone brighter than they do now, the people of the Marshall
A maiden and a giant shark protecting an island Marshall Islands folktale scene
November 7, 2025

The Shark and the Maiden

Long ago, on one of the shining atolls of the Marshall Islands, there lived a maiden named Lijoko. She was gentle and
A young man planting the first coconut Marshall Islands folktale scene
November 7, 2025

The Coconut of Life

Long ago, before the islands of the Marshall seas were covered with tall palms and whispering leaves, the people lived on fish,
View all →

Polynesian Folktales

View all →

Editor's Pick

A glowing canoe guided by ancestral lights over calm ocean waters Marshall Islands folktale scene.
·
November 8, 2025

The Spirit Canoe of the Dead

In the time before the world knew separation between the living and the dead, the people of the Marshall Islands believed that every soul was born from the ocean’s breath. When life ended, the spirit did not vanish. It returned to the waves, guided by the voices of those who had gone before. This belief became the story of the Spirit Canoe of the Dead, a tale still whispered across the atolls when the moon glows upon the calm sea.
by
Go toTop