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Polynesian mythology
Articles about Polynesian mythology within Oceania.
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Miru
Miru is a name associated chiefly with the underworld in traditions from eastern Polynesia, especially the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. In these traditions, Miru is a powerful female being who rules or inhabits…
Moai
Moai are the monumental stone figures created by the people of Rapa Nui, the Polynesian island more commonly known in English as Easter Island. They are among the most recognisable monuments in the Pacific, but they are …
Moko
Moko is a name associated with a giant lizard-like being in Māori and wider Polynesian folklore. It is generally described as a taniwha or other supernatural reptile connected with water, although accounts differ and do …
Na Atibu
Na Atibu is a primordial figure in traditions associated with the Gilbert Islands, now the Republic of Kiribati, in the central Pacific. He is commonly described as an ancient male being, ancestor or first man, and is of…
Ngaru
Ngaru is a name associated with the sea, waves, and ocean movement in parts of the Polynesian world. It is sometimes presented in modern mythology lists as the name of a Polynesian sea god or wave deity. That description…
Oro
Oro, also written ʻOro, is a major deity in the traditional religion of the Society Islands, especially Tahiti and Raiatea, in eastern Polynesia. He is most strongly associated with warfare, chiefly authority, religious …
Pahuanuiapitaaiterai
Pahuanuiapitaaiterai is a name associated with Polynesian mythology, but it is not securely documented as a widely recognized deity across Polynesia. Information about the figure is extremely limited, and the name appear…
Po
Po is a Polynesian concept associated with darkness, night, the unseen world and the earliest stages of creation. It is especially important in Māori and Hawaiian traditions, although the meaning and religious significan…
Pulotu
Pulotu is a name used in several Polynesian traditions for a supernatural realm associated with the dead, ancestral spirits and powerful deities. It is especially prominent in Tongan and Samoan religious traditions, alth…
Ro’o
Ro’o is a name associated in some accounts with the religious traditions of eastern Polynesia, especially Tahiti and the wider Society Islands. The figure is often described as a deity connected with cultivated food, fer…
Roua
Roua is a name associated with Polynesian mythology, but its identity is uncertain and its traditional context is not securely established in the surviving record. Unlike widely documented Polynesian figures such as Māui…