Areop-Enap

Areop-Enap (Nauruan: old spider) played a major part in the creation of the world in the indigenous myths of the people of Nauru.

In the darkness, Areop-Enap explored the clam's insides, and found a tiny snail (or in some accounts, a Triton's Horn shellfish).

On waking, Areop-Enap asked the smaller snail to climb to the hinge of the shell and pry the clam open.

As the snail moved across the clam's flesh, it left a phosphorescent trail, in the light of which Areop-Enap saw a white worm (or in some accounts, a caterpillar) called Rigi.

The clam resisted and sweat poured from Rigi, making a pool in the lower shell, then a lake and finally a sea.