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In the mythology of Tahiti, Pua Tu Tahi was one of the giant monster clam of the deep in the legend of Rata.
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Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia together with those of the scattered cultures known as the Polynesian outliers. Polynesians speak languages that descend from a language reconstructed as Proto-Polynesian – probably spoken in the Tonga and Samoa area around 1000 BC.
In the Tahitian story of Rata 'Aremata-Popoto and 'Aremata-Roroa are two ocean-dwelling monsters that Rata must overcome.
In Tahiti and Society Islands mythology, Taonoui is the mother by Roua of Fati and all the stars.
In Tahiti and Society Islands mythology, Roua, is the creator god of the Tuamotus. He is the father of Fati, the god of the Moon, and all the stars by Taonoui.
In Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology..
In Tahiti and Society Islands mythology, Pahuanui or Pahuanuiapitaaiterai is a sea monster.
Rata may refer to:
In the Polynesian narrative of the Tuamotus archipelago in the South Pacific, Puna is the king of Hiti-marama or of Vavaʻu, depending on the story.
In Tuamotu mythology, Vahieroa marries Matamata-taua or Tahiti-to'erau, and on the night of the birth of their son, the great Tuamotuan hero, Rata, the parents go fishing and are snatched away by the demon bird belonging to Puna, king of Hiti-marama, "an island north of Pitcairn and Elizabeth but long since swallowed in the sea."
In the Tuamotu Rata cycle, Tahiti-tokerau was a water-nymph whom Vahi-vero marries. She was abducted by Puna, king of the underworld and rescued by her husband. They then become parents of Rata.
Manu-kura was a famous warrior in the Tuamotuan version of the Rata cycle of Polynesian mythology. His home was in the ocean.
Tumu-nui is the name of several figures in Tahitan mythology.
In Māori mythology, accounts vary somewhat as to the ancestry of Rātā. Usually he is a grandson of Tāwhaki and son of Wahieroa. Wahieroa is treacherously killed by Matuku-tangotango, an ogre. Rātā sets out to avenge the murder, travelling to the home of Matuku, where a servant of the ogre tells him that Matuku comes out to devour people each new moon, and that he can be killed at the pool where he washes his face and hair. Rātā waits till the ogre comes out and is leaning over with his head in the pool. He grabs him by the hair and kills him. Matuku's bones are used to make spears for hunting birds.
In the Tuamotu islands, the telling of the full cycle of the legend of Rata takes several evenings to tell.
Rata, in Tahitian mythology, is said to have become king of Tahiti when his uncle, king Tumu-nui, and his father Vahieroa are swallowed by a great clam while they are on their way to Pitcairn. When he reaches adulthood, Rata plans to avenge his father. As in the Tuamotuan version, Rata identifies a tree to build his canoe, but it is protected by forest elves. After he captures them they build it for him in a single night. While en route for Pitcairn, Rata and his crew are sucked down into the same clam, but they use their spears to cut the monster open. They rescue the remains of Rata's father and uncle and bury them back in Tahiti. After recovering from their adventure, Rata sets out for further adventures. See also Aremata-Popoa and Aremata-Rorua.
In Tuamotu mythology, Vahi-vero is the son of the demigod Kui and a goblin woman named Rima-roa.
In Tahitian mythology, Vahieroa is a son of Tafa'i and his wife Hina, and is born at his father's house in the Tapahi hills of Mahina in north Tahiti. He weds Maemae-a-rohi, sister of the ruling chief Tumu-nui.
Rapa Nui mythology, also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology, refers to the native myths, legends, and beliefs of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island in the south eastern Pacific Ocean.
Kui was a chthonic demigoddess and the wife of Tuputupuwhenua in Māori mythology. They supposedly live underground and when a new house is built, a tuft of grass is offered to them.
Tahiti and Society Islands mythology comprises the legends, historical tales, and sayings of the ancient people of the Society Islands, consisting of Tahiti, Bora Bora, Raiatea, Huahine, Moorea and other islands. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries. The religion was officially suppressed in the 19th century, and ultimately abandoned by the natives in favor of Christianity.