Culture heroes in literature are represented as humans, animals or demi-gods. They are an important part of creation myths and origin stories.

In some societies, they are presented as creators of the world, of humans and of society. In others, they complement the creation process through their exploits. They are also portrayed as tricksters in some mythologies.

Culture heroes have a practical function in that they can facilitate the means by which human societies and cultures develop.

They can bring to humans ideas of new ways of doing things or new technology thus completing the world and making it fit for humans to live in.

Traditional societies attribute important aspects of their existence and culture to culture heroes.

The introduction of fire into human society has been a major theme associated with culture heroes.

The ones who introduced fire to humans include the Greek titan Prometheus, the Polynesian demi-god Maui and the crow from Australian Aboriginal mythology, Waa.

In Papua New Guinea, a recurring culture hero in traditional myths and legends is the dog.

The dog is often portrayed as a companion, hunter and protector.

In some of these tales, the dog is elevated to the role of progenitor: an originator of human settlement; the discoverer of salt, fire or a body of water; or caregiver and healer.

Such tales also have dogs shapeshifting or having the ability to talk and communicate with humans.

How this ability was lost depended on how the stories evolved. One form had the dog talking to someone who was not supposed to know dogs could talk. Another would have the dog revealing a secret to someone who was not supposed to know the secret.

Here are two tales from the Lake Kutubu area of the Southern Highlands Province and the Dagua area of East Sepik which illustrate how the dog is an important narrative theme in traditional Papua New Guinea culture and experience.

__________

HOW LAKE KUTUBU WAS FORMED

Once upon a time, there was a man and his dog who lived in the bush. In that village, there was no water so every time, the man and his dog always thirst for water so they always search for water everywhere.

Every afternoon after eating the dog used to go someplace and come back in the night and sleep. The dog used to do this several times.

One afternoon, the man tied a long rope on one of the dog’s leg. After eating, the dog disappeared and the man got the end of the rope and followed the dog into the thick bush.

After some time the man saw his dog under a big tree. There he saw water coming down from the tree. He saw that and he went back home.

The next morning, he woke up and got his axe went to where the tree was located. Then he started to cut the tree until in the afternoon when the tree fell down. When the tree fell the place started to fill up with water.

Then the man and his dog enjoyed themselves washing and drinking and they were very happy. Sometime later, a lake was formed and now people call this lake, Kutubu.

__________

HOW DOGS HELPED PEOPLE

Once upon a time on a hill called Rautibri, there lived a couple. They had an only child named Luhim. There were also two dogs who lived with them. Luhim was like a brother to the dogs. They lived a happy and simple life on the hill.

The male and female dogs were helping dogs. They were also great hunters. Every time, they went into the bush to hunt for meat. On their return, they came with bandicoots in their mouths. Their parents were always excited to see them returned with food.

Since Luhim was just a baby, he couldn’t help his parents. As helping dogs, they would listen and do what their parents said.

One day, the couple decided to go to the garden. They put Luhim to sleep in a bilum and left for the garden. When the dogs saw that their brother Luhim was alone, they decided to stay back and keep watch over him.

After some time, Luhim woke up and began to cry. He cried for a long time. The female dog, in seeing this, said to the male dog, “Nobody will see us. We have to take him out of the bilum, wash him and let him sleep again. Mama and papa will not be returning soon.”

Since there was no one around, they agreed to remove Luhim from the bilum.   The female dog took him down to a pool and washed him. After bathing him, they replaced him in the bilum and let him sleep again.

When the couple returned, they saw the place was clean. They noticed that Luhim was washed because his hair was wet. The couple began to wonder out aloud and discussed who might have done all these things.

The dogs just slept quietly and listened to the couple talking and discussing. They felt demeaned and humiliated. From that day on, the dogs never helped their parents again.

I would like to acknowledge James William of 9C1 (Pangia Aisoli Memorial High School 2008) and Adasha Tairuo of 11Y (St John Bosco Secondary School-Dagua 2018) for these tales