The mythology of Polinesia

The mythology and the gods of the Pacific region are both complex and diverse. Some gods
are shared between many groups of islands while others are specific to one set of islands or
even to a single island. Their exact roles are often overlapping as one god can appear in
different places under different names. A god can also appear in many different forms.

What follows is a short alphabetical listing of some of the primary deities of Polinesia.

Adaro
(Polynesia and Melanesia) A sea god. In the myths of the Solomon Islands, an adaro is a
malevolent sea-spirit in the shape of a fish-man with all fins on his feet and gills behind his
ears. He has a horn like a shark's back fin and a pike on his head like a sword fish or sawfish.
An adaro can travel along rainbows and koll men by shooting poisonous flying fish at them.
Afa
The Samoan Storm-God.
Ahoeitu
A legendary King Tonga, grandson of Kohai who may have been a primeval earth serpent.
Ahu
An ahu is a burial platform on Easter Island. There were 160 on the island, where the
ancestors lay entombed.
'Aiaru
(Polynesia) One of the seven guardians of the world. Her function is to predict death. The
others are Fa'a'ipu, Firifiri'Aufau, Nihoniho teitei, 'Orerorero, Tahu'a, and Tamaumau'orero.
Ai Tupua'i
(Polynesia) Goddess of healing and of war.
Ala Muki
(Polynesia) A river goddess who takes the form of a dragon.
Alalahe
(Polynesia) Goddess of love.
Alii Menehune
(Hawaii) Chief of the Little People. The aboriginal little people of long, long ago were called
menehune; Alii means highest: thus Alii Menehune.
Amai-te-rangi
A Polynesian deity of the sky who 'angles' for mortals on earth, pulling them up in baskets to
devour them.
Ao
The God of Clouds.
Apu Hau
A god of storms. God of the 'Fierce Squall'.
Apu Matangi
The Maori god of storms, God of the 'Howling Rainfall'.
Arahuta
The daughter of Tawhaki and Tangotango.
Ara Tiotio (or Awhiowhio)
The Polynesian God of the Whirlwind and Tornado.
Aremata-rorua and Aremata-popoa
'Long-wave' and 'Short-wave', two ocean demons who destroy mariners. They are greatly
feared by Polynesian mariners because they were totally at the mercy of their immense power.
Areoi
In the mythology of the Tuamotu (Society) Islands, a religious order first organized by the
gods Oro-Teteta and Uru-Tetefa, two brothers living in heaven but later settling on earth. Like
the Knights of St John, they were celibate warriors, who recruited their members from among
the nobility.
Arohirohi
The Maori Goddess of Marages.
Ata
An island in the Tongan archipelago. The story runs that Ata was thrown down from heaven.
Such stony islands were called Maka-Fonua 'Thrown-Land'.
Atanea
A dawn goddess in some South Pacific islands, who created the seas when she miscarried and
filled the hollows of the earth with amniotic fluid.
Atea
('Space') Atea was the Sky-God in the cosmology of the people of Tuamotu. He married
Fa'ahotu. Their first son was Tahu, 'Knowledge', who became a great magician.
Ati
The Maori chief who managed to catch a lovely fairy in a net, and married her.
Atonga
In Samoan myth, a hero who is half-human, half-spirit. He built a miraculous canoe which he
completed in one night. Then he summoned the birds from heaven to carry the light craft to
the beach of Upolu where chief Alutanga Nuku was awaiting it impatiently.
Atu
Name of the first man on Fiji and the first man on Tonga, according to Samoan myth.
Atua
An ancestor's spirit revered as a god.
Atutuahi (or Autahi)
The south star, Canopus, Alpha Carinae, God of the Heavens, which guided Polynesian
navigators on their voyages lasting many months. Atutuahi is addressed in hymns as the
'Mother of the Moon and the Star'.
Auahi-Turoa and the Fire Children
According to Polynesian myth, Auahi-Turoa was the son of the Sun-God Tama Nui-Te-Ra,
who sent him down to earth as a comet, carrying the Seed of Fire. On earth, Auahi-Turoa
married Mahuika, the Fire-Goddess, or Mother of Fire. They had five sons, the Fire Children,
who bear the names of the fingers: Koiti (little finger), Konui (thumb), Koroa (index finger),
Manawa (ring finger) and Mapere (middle finger).
Aumakua
(Hawaii) Means "Ghost of Your Ancestors". Huna, the religion of early Hawaii, taught that
each person had two souls. When one died the earthly soul (unihi-pili) remained earth-bound
and descended to the underworld. The aumakua (higher soul) ascended to the heavens to
rejoin the deceased ancestors.
Auraka
('The All-Devouring') A deity of death in Polynesian mythology.

Awha
The Maori Storm-God.
Ele'ele
The Samoan first woman.
Eleio
In Hawaiian mythology, a kabuna, a diviner who can see the spirits, cure diseases and return
the dead to life. One day, Eleio set out to find the root of the awa (kava) plant. Ahead of him
he saw a lovely girl. He walked faster to catch up with her but so did she. e ran, but so did
she. Over hills and woods she flew ahead of him.
.
Fa'atiu
The Samoan Wind-God.
Faumea
(Polynesia) Goddess of fertility.
Fe'e
In Samoan mythology, he is the War-God, who is described as a huge octopus, living under
the sea with his tentacles reaching to the far corners of the known world like a huge compass
with eight hands. Fe'e was believed to cause thunderstorms in which his voice would be
heard.
Haumea
(Hawaii) Goddess of childbirth.
Haumia Tiketike
The God of Wild Roots and ferns
Hiiaka'
1. (Polynesia) Sister to Pele and her helper in keeping the fires of Kilauea burning.
2. (Hawaii) Patroness of hula dancing.
Hina
(Hawaii) Goddess of the moon.
Hine
(Polynesia) Goddess of darkness.
Hine-keha, Hine-uri
The Moon-Goddess, wife of Marama the Moon-God, whose forms are Hina-keha (bright
moon) and Hine-uri (dark room).
Hine-nui-te-po
Goddess of the Night, of Darkness and Death. Hine is actually a universal goddess with many
functions. She is represented with two heads, night and day.
Hine-te-ngaru-moana
The Lady of the Ocean Waves. Hine in her fish form.
Hine-tu-whenua
A benevolent goddess of the wind who blows vessels to their destination.
Hoa-Tapu
(Tahiti) God of war.
Hua-hega
The mother of the trickster demi-god Maui.
Imoa
(Polynesia) The first woman.
Io
Polynesian myth tells how their supreme god, Io, created the world. In the beginning there
were only waters and darkness.
Kanaloa
(Hawaii) God of the sea.
Kane
(Hawaii) God of fertility, fresh water, and the woodlands.
Kapo
(Hawaii) Goddess of abortions, childbirth, and fertility.
Ku
(Hawaii) The god of power and war.
Kukailimoku
Hawaiian god of war.
Kuklikimoku
(Polynesia) God of war.
Kulu Lau
Goddess of mirages.
La'a Maomao
The Polynesian God of the Winds.
Laka
(Hawaii) Goddess of fertile land and dance.
Laufakanaa
In the mythology of Ata, one of the Tongan islands, Laufakanaa is the God of inds. The
heavenly god Tamapo sent Laufakanaa down to earth to rule the winds. He landed on Ata and
became its ruler.
Limu
The Polynesian God of the Dead.
Lingadua
The one-armed Fijian god of drums.
Lona
The Moon-Goddess in north Polynesian mythology, who fell in love with a mortal man, Ai
Kanaka, and married him. She carried him on her wings to the White Kingdom she ruled.
They lived very happily until Ai Kanaka died because he was an earthling.
Lono
(Hawaii) God of the sky, rain, and agriculture who descended on a rainbow to marry a
Hawaiian girl who was the goddess Laka.

MakeMake
(Easter Island) Half human, half bird, he was the protector of birds.
Mahiuki
(Polynesia) Ruler of the underworld, and as Mahuika is goddess of fire and earthquakes.
Maomao
The great wind-god, father of the many storm-god, including "howling rainfall" and "fierce
squall".
Marama
God of the moon, husband of Hine-keha, Hine-uri.
Marikoriko
First woman and divine ancestor, wife of Tiki. She was fashioned by the goddess of mirages
out of the noon day heatwaves.

Maui
1.The most famous folktale character of Polynesia is Maui, the trickster hero who steals fire
for man (The legend describes the descent of Maui to the underworld, where he learns the art
of making fire by rubbing two sticks together), fishes up the islands of the South Pacific, traps
the sun to lengthen the day, and helps raise the sky. Maui is also known in Micronesian and
some Melanesian folklore.

2.The great Oceanian trickster hero, with powers almost equal those of a god. Maui was born
to Taranga, who wrapped the child in her hair and gave him to the sea-fairies. Maui is
responsible for many things, including the birth of the myriads of islands in Oceania, the
coconut, and the length of the day, which was once too short until Maui beat Ra with a stick
and forced him to travel across the sky more slowly.
Menehune
The "little people" of Polynesian folklore are also called "menehune".
Moeuhane
(Hawaii) God of dreams.
Moko
The lizard-god.
Nangananga
Goddess of punishment, who waits at the entrance to the land of the dead for bachelors.
Nganga
The god of sleet.
Paka'a
(Hawaii) A son of a guardian of the king, who serves the king so well himself that he becomes
the greatest chief of all.
Papa (or Enua, Hotu-Papa, Whenua)
Mother earth, wife of Rangi, first woman. (Hawaii) Goddess of the Underworld.
Pele
Goddess of fire and the volcano.
Pere
Goddess of the waters which surround islands.
Her mother was Tahinariki or Haoumea, or Papa. She married Wahiaroa. One morning Pere
wanted to travel so her mother gave her the ocean in a jar to take with her and later to carry
her in her royal yacht. In the beginning there was no sea at all, so Pere poured it out whenever
she wanted to go.
Ra
Tama. Nui-te-ra, the sun-god.
Rangi
God of the upper sky, originally coupled to his wife's Papa, the Goddess of the Earth, but
separated by their children, mainly Tane the God of Forests whose trees pushed the couple
apart and provide a space between the brown earth and the blue sky, to make room for
creatures to walk and fly.
Rehua
The star-god, son of Rangi and Papa, ancestor of the demi-god Maui.
Ro
A demi-god, wife of the trickster demi-god Maui who became tired of his mischief and left
him to live in the netherworld.

Rongo
God of agriculture, fruits and cultivated plants. Along with Tane and Tu he forms the creative
unity, the Trinity, equal in essence but each with distinctly attributes.
Rongo-ma-tane
God of the sweet potato, staple diet of the people of Oceania.
Rongo-mai
God of comets and whales.
Rua
(Tahiti) God of crafts.
Ruahatu
(Tahiti) A sea god.
Samulayo
God of death in battle.
Ta'aroa
(Tahiti) Supreme deity.
Tane
Son of Rangi, the sky-god and himself the god of artisans and boat builders. He is also the
God of Light (especially to underwater swimmers because to skin divers light is where life is),
the God of artistic beauty, the God of the Forest, and Lord of the Fairies. As creator in one of
his minor forms, he is the God of Hope.
Tanemahuta
(Polynesia) The Maori peoples' God of the Forests, Birds and Insects.
Tangaroa
God of the ocean who breathes only twice in 24 hours thus creating the tides.
(Polynesia) The Maori peoples' lord of the ocean, and the supreme god who created all the
other gods and mankind.
Tagaloa
The Samoan Ocean-God See Tangaroa
Tawhaki
God of Thunder and Lightning. Tawhaki gives birth to Uira (lightning) out of his armpits.
Tawhaki is also the God of Good Health, an artisan god particularly adept at building houses
and plaiting decorative mats.
(New Zealand) God of clouds and thunder.
Tawhiri-matea
The God of Storms and Winds, leveller of forests, wave-whipper.
Te Tuna
A fish-god and vegetarian-god. Tuna lived in a tidal pool near the beach and one day Hine
went down to the pool to bathe. Tuna made love to her while she did so and they lived for
some time on the ocean bed.
Tiki
The divine ancestor of all Oceanians who let his people in their fleet to the first islands of
Oceania.
(Polynesia) He is sometimes identified as the first man.
Tikokura
A wave-god of monstrous size whose enormous power and quick flaring temper are to be
greatly feared.
Tini Rau
Lord of the Fishes. (Polynesia) God of the sea.

Tu
(Polynesia) The war god.
Tu-Matauenga
The God of War, the first man
Tui Tofua
God of all the Sharks.
Tuli
(Polynesia) Goddess in charge of keeping the volcano Kilauea burning.
(Samoa) Creator goddess of the world.
Turi-a-faumea
(Polynesia) God of fish and reptiles.
Ua
The Rain God, whose many sons and daughters, such as "long rains" and "short rains" are
responsible for providing the earth with water.
Uira
Lightning (see Tawhaki)
Ukupanipo
(Hawaii) God of sharks.
Wahini-Hal
(Polynesian) The demonic mother figure of Polynesia looked like a seductive woman (except
for her protruding eyes and her tongue hanging to her toes!). She sneaked through the world
at night stealing and eating small children.
Wari-Ma-Te-Takere
(Polynesia) This goddess was a coconut-shell divinity who parthenogenetically produced the
other gods from her right and left sides. Wari symbolizes the fertile slime of primordial times
and literally means "mud".
Whaitiri
(Polynesia) She was a powerful figure who owned the thunder and ate human flesh. Once she
descended to earth to marry a warrior chief, misunderstanding his title, "mankiller." When
Whaitiri had taken up residence with her husband, she found that he did not, after all, share
her affection for eating humans. Not only that, but he complained about the smell of their
children's excrement. She invented the toilet, showed humans how to use it, and returned to
the sky, where she still lives.
Whatu
The Maori God of Hail.
Whiro
The Maori Lizard-God of the Dead who lives in the dark misty Underworld and inspires evil
thoughts in the minds of people.