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In Māori mythology, the Ponaturi are a group of hostile creatures (goblins) who live in a land beneath the sea by day, returning to shore each evening to sleep. They dread daylight, which is fatal to them. They appear in a number of stories, including:
In the Tahitian story of Rata 'Aremata-Popoto and 'Aremata-Roroa are two ocean-dwelling monsters that Rata must overcome.
Atea is a deity in several Polynesian cultures, including the Marquesas and Tuamotu Islands, and New Zealand.
In Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology..
In the mythology of Tahiti, Pua Tu Tahi was one of the giant monster clam of the deep in the legend of Rata.
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 Hawaiian mythology, Wahieloa is a hero associated with the Kaha'i and Laka epics.
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."
Manu-kura was a famous warrior in the Tuamotuan version of the Rata cycle of Polynesian mythology. His home was in the ocean.
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.
Faumea is a figure in Polynesian mythology, specifically that of the Tuamotus archipelago of French Polynesia, where she is regarded as an "eel-woman". The sea god Tangaroa encounters her when he sails to her island. In addition to being an eel-woman, Faumea has eels within her vagina which eat men, reflecting the folk concept of vagina dentata. However, Faumea teaches Tangaroa how to lure the eels out and they have sex. Faumea bears Tangaroa two sons: Tu-Nui-Ka-Rere and Turi-A-Faumea.
Morane is an uninhabited small isolated atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 153 km southwest of Maria Est, its closest neighbour. Morane Atoll is the southernmost atoll of the Tuamotus proper. It measures 5.8 km in length, 3.5 km in width and has a land area of 2.85 km2. The lagoon has an area of 11 km2 and has no passes. The islands on its reef are covered with screw pine (Pandanus) and coconut trees.
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.
Rata is a Polynesian name, which is reflected in the Māori, Tahitian and Tuamotu mythology. Also an alternate spelling for Ratha an Arabic word or a name given. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratha
References
- R.D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 251;
- J.F. Stimson, Tuamotuan Legends: Island of Anaa (Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press, 1937), 96-100.