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Tangaloa (Tongan Mythology)
Tangaloa was an important family of gods in Tongan mythology. The first Tangaloa was the cousin of Havea Hikuleo and Maui, or in some sources the brother or son or father of them. He was Tangaloa Eiki (''T. lord''), and was assigned by his father, Taufulifonua, the realm of the sky to rule. Among his offspring the following are found: Tangaloa Tamapoulialamafoa, Tangaloa Eitumātupua, Tangaloa Atulongolongo, and Tangaloa Tufunga. But different sources disagree about the exact family relations between any Tangaloa. Tangaloa Tufunga (''T. carpenter'') was known as an adze maker. Tangaloa Eitumātupua is known in Samoa as ''Tagaloa Eitumatupua'' (''T. ghost and riddle''; an eitu or aitu is a second rank god of somewhat malevolent nature). Eitumātupua A big toa (ironwood tree'') reaching into the sky grew on the island of Toonangakava between Mataaho and Talakite. Tangaloa Eitumātupua climbed down from the sky and saw a beautiful woman shellfishing. Her name was Ilaheva also know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest; Samoa to the northeast; New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west; Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east; and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about from New Zealand's North Island. First inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Tonga's Polynesian settlers gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture as the Tongan people. They were quick to establish a powerful footing acr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuʻi Tonga
The Tuʻi Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the tenth century with the mythical ʻAhoʻeitu, and withdrew from political power in the fifteenth century by yielding to the ''Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua''. The title ended with the death of the last ''Tuʻi Tonga'', Sanualio Fatafehi Laufilitonga, in 1865, who bequeathed the ancient title and its ''mana'' to his nephew, Fatafehi Tu'i Pelehake, who was the ''Tu'i Faleua'', or Lord of the Second House (traditionally supposed to succeed to the office of the ''Tuʻi Tonga'' should the original line of kings perish without a natural successor). Tu'i Pelehake surrendered the title and its privileges to his father-in-law, King George Tupou I, who united its power and prestige with that of the ''Tu'i Kanokupolu'', '' Tu'i Vava'u'', and '' Tu'i Ha'apai'' titles to establish the modern-day institution of the Tongan Crown. Though the title is no longer conferred, the ancient line remains unbroken and is represented by the noble titl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangaroa
Tangaroa (Takaroa in the South Island) is the great of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures that live within them, especially fish, in Māori mythology. As Tangaroa-whakamau-tai he exercises control over the tides. He is sometimes depicted as a whale. In some of the Cook Islands he has similar roles, though in Manihiki he is the fire deity that Māui steals from, which in Māori mythology is instead Mahuika, a goddess of fire. Māori traditions Tangaroa is a son of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, Sky and Earth. After he joins his brothers Rongo, Tū, Haumia, and Tāne in the forcible separation of their parents, he is attacked by his brother Tāwhirimātea, the of storms, and forced to hide in the sea. Tangaroa is the father of many sea creatures. Tangaroa's son, Punga, has two children, Ikatere, the ancestor of fish, and Tū-te-wehiwehi (or Tū-te-wanawana), the ancestor of reptiles. Terrified by Tāwhirimātea's onslaught, the fish seek shelter in the sea, and the reptil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori Language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian, it gained recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987. The number of speakers of the language has declined sharply since 1945, but a Māori-language revitalisation effort has slowed the decline. The 2018 New Zealand census reported that about 186,000 people, or 4.0% of the New Zealand population, could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. , 55% of Māori adults reported some knowledge of the language; of these, 64% use Māori at home and around 50,000 people can speak the language "very well" or "well". The Māori language did not have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries arriving from about 1814, such as Thomas Kendall, learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (french: Mont Oave, links=no) on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level. Archaeological research suggests the islands were colonized in the 10th century AD by voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained a "remarkably uniform culture, biology and language". The Marquesas were named after the 16th century Spanish Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete ( es, Marqués de Cañete, italic=unset) by navigator , who visited them in 1595. The Marquesas Islands constitute one of the five administrative divisions (') of French Polynesia. The capital of the Marquesas Islands' administrative subdivision is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ta'aroa
Ta'aroa is the supreme creator god in the mythology of the Society Islands of French Polynesia. While the use of the ʻOkina, ʻeta is appropriate given the pronunciation of his name, as is typically the case with Tahitian language, Tahitian words it is often omitted in practice. He then created the queen of all nations. The Myth In the beginning, there was only Ta'aroa, creator of all, including himself. He waited alone in his shell, which appeared as an egg spinning in the empty endless void of the time before the sky, before the earth, before the moon, before the sun, before the stars. He was bored, alone in his shell, and so he cracked it with a shake of his body and slid out of its confines, finding everything somber and silent outside, finding himself alone in the nothingness. So he broke the shell into pieces and from them formed the rocks and the sand, and the foundation of all the world, Tumu-Nui. With his backbone he created the mountains; with his tears he filled the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Australia. Divided into two parts, ''Tahiti Nui'' (bigger, northwestern part) and ''Tahiti Iti'' (smaller, southeastern part), the island was formed from volcanic activity; it is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs. Its population was 189,517 in 2017, making it by far the most populous island in French Polynesia and accounting for 68.7% of its total population. Tahiti is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity and an overseas country of the French Republic. The capital of French Polynesia, Papeete, is located on the northwest coast of Tahiti. The only international airport in the region, Faaā International Airport, is on Tahiti near Papeete. Tahiti was originally settled by Pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanaloa
In the traditions of ancient Hawaii, Kanaloa is a god symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne. It is also an alternative name for the island of Kahoolawe. In legends and chants, Kāne and Kanaloa are portrayed as complementary powers. For example, whereas Kāne was called during the canoe building, Kanaloa was called while the canoe was being sailed. Likewise, Kāne governed the northern edge of the ecliptic while Kanaloa governed its southern edge, Kanaloa is "the subconscious to Kāne's conscious". In this way, they represent a divine duality of wild and taming forces similar to (by Georges Dumézil, et al.) in Indo-European chief god-pairs like Odin–Týr and Mitra–Varuna, or the more widely known ''yin and yang'' of Taoism. Kanaloa is also traditionally depicted as an ocean god, hence his association with seamanship, or cephalopods.Beckwith However, there are also interpretations that see Kanaloa as subordinate to Kāne. Kanaloa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state geographically located within the tropics. Hawaii comprises nearly the entire Hawaiian archipelago, 137 volcanic islands spanning that are physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. The state's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S., at about . The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lānai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii—the last of these, after which the state is named, is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaii Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the United States' largest protected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manihiki
250px, Map of Manihiki Atoll Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga, making it one of the most remote inhabitations in the Pacific Ocean. Its name has two possible meanings: It's believed that the original name of the island was Manuhiki, inspired by the aboriginal discovers ''Manu'' coming from the word Rua Manu (a kind of canoe) and ''Hiki'' meaning ''ashore'', so the literal translation would be ''canoe carried ashore''. The second interpretation is that the original discoverers were from Manihi, an island in Tuamotus, so the name of the island would mean ''Little Manihi''. Geography Manihiki is a roughly triangular-shaped coral atoll, consisting of approximately 43 islets (''motu'') surrounding a deep, nine kilometer wide lagoon, which is almost completely enclosed by the surrounding reef. The atoll is l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangaia
Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily populated, Mangaia's population has dropped by 75% in the last 50 years. Geography Originally known as ''A'ua'u'' or ''A'ua'u Enua'' ("terraced"), the island was named Mangaia (or ''Mangaianui-Neneva'', "Mangaia monstrously-great") by Tamaeu, who came to the island from Aitutaki in 1775. Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old. It rises 4750 m (15,600 ft) above the ocean floor and has a land area of 51.8 km2. Surrounded by a fringing coral reef, like many of the southern Cook Islands, it is surrounded by a high ring of cliffs of fossil coral 60 m (200 ft) high, known as the makatea. The inner rim of the ''makatea'' forms a steep cliff, surrounding swamps and a central volcanic plateau. The interi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tagaloa
In Samoan mythology, Tagaloa (also known as Tagaloa-Lagi or Tagaloa, Lagi of the Heavens/Skies) is generally accepted as the supreme ruler, Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 33, Mo.2, J998 the creator of the universe, the chief of all gods and the progenitor of other gods. Tagaloa Lagi dwelt in space and made the Heavens the sky, the land, the seas, the fresh water, the trees and the people. Samoans believed Tagaloa created nine heavens. Tagaloa's role as paramount deity in the Samoa pantheon bears similarities to the position of in Tahiti and |
