Qat

Qat religion is the traditional faith of Vanuatu, an animism built on mana, a transferable spiritual power, on tabu, and on the worship of ancestral spirits. Named figures varied by region: Qat in the Banks Islands, Tagaro on Ambae, Lisepsep across the archipelago.

Qat is the principal god of Banks Islands mythology. He was never formally worshipped, yet he was credited with the world itself, night, death and women. He carved the first men and women from dracaena wood and drummed them into life, and he cut through the night with a piece of red obsidian to make dawn.

His companion was the spider Marawa, and his eleven brothers were all named Tagaro. The Banks Islands were the first part of Vanuatu seen by a European, when Pedro Fernandez de Quiros sailed past in 1606.