In 2012 at Gora Art Centre, Fate Savari presented a schoolbook she had obtained from her granddaughter. It was filled from front to back with drawings about her ancestral Ömie stories (including the creation story), histories, culture and clan designs. There were also some loose pages in the front and back of the schoolbook and more drawings on paper wrapped up in a larger drawing on paper. Fate created the book and drawings because she felt a great urgency to record her profound knowledge before she passed away. She used whatever materials she could find on hand. After presenting this first book, Fate requested “another book and drawing materials” so she could still create art during the seasons that she didn’t have any barkcloth to paint. So in 2014, Fate filled yet another drawing book with her art and this drawing is from that second collection of drawings.

Fate has drawn an integral part of the second part of the creation story of Mina and Suja, the first people. Mina, the first man and Suja, the first woman, were living together at Mount Obo. Mina stole the first fire from Insa (also known as Vitara), the old woman who lived right on top of Huvaimo (Mount Lamington). Mina and Suja did not yet realise that wood could be used to keep fires burning or that they could eat animals. They would use dried animal parts (instead of firewood) to keep the stolen fire burning. Fate explains further:

“Mina and Suja went hunting early one morning and caught a cuscus (webe). They went back to their house on Mount Obo and in the afternoon they cut the cuscus up into pieces and placed the meat on hot stones. They then covered the meat with leaves and left it to cook. When they saw that the cuscus meat was cooked they took it inside the house and hung it above the stolen fire to dry out. They kept the stolen fire burning using the dried cuscus meat.”

Fate has drawn the vene vitwé, Mina and Suja’s cooking site/fireplace where they would cook the animal meat which was used to keep the stolen fire burning on their home at Mount Obo. The cooking stones known as hitai hu’e are shown in the firepit.

Fate learnt this nioge design from her mother Majaho, a Dahorurajé clanwoman from the old Dahorurajé clan village of Sidonejo. This village was closest to the sacred Mount Obo.