Melanesian Folk Religions

Melanesian oral traditions preserved distinct accounts of the origins of land and sea. On New Britain's Gazelle Peninsula, the brothers To-Kabinana and To-Karvuvu were said to have fished the land up from the sea, while a Baining story told how a concealed waterhole spread to become the ocean.

In Fiji, spiritual leaders known as bete held an important place in communities governed by chiefs and elders. The ceremonial preparation and drinking of yaqona formed part of Fijian community rites. In the early nineteenth century, European missionaries, especially Methodists, began working in Fiji.