[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

626 MALEKULA
There is one signiï¬Åcant point in the story ; the name of the
Ambat " He_ exists alone ". As has been pointed out this being
cannot belong to the group of the ï¬Åve Ambat brothers. It will
be seen, however, that there is almost incontrovertible evidence
to prove that the Ambat of Seniang are the same as the Kabul of
Mewun. The most important Kabat. myths concern Kabat
Tokhtuei (also called Butwanabaghap) Whose name signiï¬Åes
“ He remains for a very long time ", and who was, moreover,
the only being on earth until the transformation of his wife.
To him Arnbat Ito-sombun appears to correspond, and just
as Tokhtuei was the father of the ï¬Årst men so we should expect
to ï¬Ånd Ito-sombon. The question as to whether this legend
concerning the “fall " of the Malekulans is to be regarded as
authentic must therefore be left open. It would seem clear,
however, that the Ambat were conceived more commonly as
culture-heroes than as creators.
Besides the ï¬Åve brothers and Ito-son-ibon there are brief
references to two other ambat. One of these is called Kinbal.
All that we know of him is that after Amlmt had planted the
coco-nut on Tomrnzm Island and gone thither with his brothers
to live Kinbal came to the island, pulled down the coco-nut,‘
took one of the nuts, and went home to Loormarit in Seniang,
where he planted it, thus introducing the coco-nut there. Kinbal
is therefore directly associated with the legends of the ï¬Åve
brothers.‘ is
The other is linked with them only very indirectly. He is
the Ambat Malondr, the husband of Nevinbumbaau and father
of Sasndaliep. .
As we have seen, Nevinbumbaau is a being who occurs in
of the children’: pmncs. but the father wss referred to throughout the story
as " Amhnt
Deacon docs not anywhere discuoi the possibility as this story not being
indigenous but due to mixsinnhxy influence, End he siisss to it in one of his iemis
ls though there were ns doubt in his mind M to its gennineness, Layaxd, too.
seems to favour the view flllt it is not tho result of contact with the whites.
There £126 in one 0|‘ two other pints oi Melanesia mytll-8 which show n very sinsn
resemblance tn ohi Testament legends inn yet which the natives earnestly
maintain to nice back to a. time belore the advent 0! the missionaries. ons
of those is a creation myth iinin sin Cristoval (Fox. Tlwlillflld uf UL! Pimps.
p. zss), another is I creation myth min Tanna [X-lumpllreys, Tin snnuim Nm:
Hnbvidas, p. 92), and this Malekulan Stvry cannot thefefllte be lightly dismissed
38 a recent mdaptatiuu.—C. 1-1. w.
I The we of the note is not very lucid ; it runs; " Kinbnl goes to Our,
winis to take out skin of mmu!-amp (skin of coco-nut) ; {or this pulls down
cOc0~nuC, takes one Mid c0l'n:S to Loni-nissic and plants this coco-nut there."
mm