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Varima Te Takere
In Cook Islands mythology, Varima-te-takere ("goddess of the beginning") also called Vari ( ), was the primordial mother of the gods and mortals. According to Gill, Vari, a female spirit or demon of flesh and blood, was admitted to the lowest depth of the interior of Avaiki, a place described as resembling a vast hollow coconut shell. Such is the narrowness of her territory that her knees and chin touch, no other position being possible. Her name in full, Vari-ma-te-takere, Gill translates as "The very beginning". The word ''vari'', however, also means "mud", and, taken in conjunction with ''takere'' (canoe bottom or keel), the name literally means "The mud at the bottom"; suggesting the mud on the bottom of Avaiki. ''Vari'' is the mud of taro swamps and connotes potential plant growth. As applied to a female, it means menstruation and conveys a connection with the female womb and the origin of human growth. The following passage from a dramatic song of creation (circa 1790) men ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varima Te Takere
In Cook Islands mythology, Varima-te-takere ("goddess of the beginning") also called Vari ( ), was the primordial mother of the gods and mortals. According to Gill, Vari, a female spirit or demon of flesh and blood, was admitted to the lowest depth of the interior of Avaiki, a place described as resembling a vast hollow coconut shell. Such is the narrowness of her territory that her knees and chin touch, no other position being possible. Her name in full, Vari-ma-te-takere, Gill translates as "The very beginning". The word ''vari'', however, also means "mud", and, taken in conjunction with ''takere'' (canoe bottom or keel), the name literally means "The mud at the bottom"; suggesting the mud on the bottom of Avaiki. ''Vari'' is the mud of taro swamps and connotes potential plant growth. As applied to a female, it means menstruation and conveys a connection with the female womb and the origin of human growth. The following passage from a dramatic song of creation (circa 1790) men ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tinirau
In Polynesian mythology, stories about Tinirau are found throughout the islands of Polynesia. He is a guardian of fish. Many themes recur in the various versions. Often he travels to another land in search of his wife, or his wife travels to another land in search of him; sometimes he treats his wife badly, or she rejects him; while he is guardian of fish, it is his wife who gives the fish their individual characteristics. Sometimes their anxious or jealous relatives try to separate the lovers (Tremewan 2002:120). In some traditions, he has a dual nature; one destructive as the guardian of sharks, and one a kind, handsome male youth; in others, his right side is human and his left side is a fish. Alternate names in the various Polynesian languages include Kinilau, Sinilau, Tigilau, and Tinilau. In Samoa Stories about Tinilau (or Tigilau) and his wife Sina are very popular in Samoa. There are numerous legends, and much variation in the tellings (Tremewan 2002:157). Here are some e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mother Goddesses
A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as the Mother Earth or Earth Mother, deity in various animistic or pantheistic religions. The earth goddess is usually the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky Father or ''Father Heaven''. In some polytheistic cultures, such as the Ancient Egyptian religion which narrates the cosmic egg myth, the sky is instead seen as the Heavenly Mother or Sky Mother as in Nut and Hathor, and the earth god is regarded as the male, paternal, and terrestrial partner, as in Osiris or Geb who hatched out of the maternal ''cosmic egg''. Excavations at Çatalhöyük Between 1961 and 1965 James Mellaart led a series of excavations at Çatalhöyük, north of the Taurus Mountains in a fertile agri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangaia Mythology
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] |
Moorea
Moorea ( or ; Tahitian: ), also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word , meaning "yellow lizard": = lizard ; (from ) = yellow. An older name for the island is ', sometimes spelled or (among other spellings that were used by early visitors before Tahitian spelling was standardized). Early Western colonists and voyagers also referred to Moorea as ''York Island'' or ''Santo Domingo''. History Prehistory According to recent archaeological evidence, the Society Islands were probably settled from Samoa and Tonga around 200 CE.Patrick V. Kirch: ''On the Road of the Wind - An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands Before European Contact'', University of California Press, Berkeley-Los Angeles-London 2000 Nine tribal principalities emerged in the enclosed valleys, which in turn were subdivided into individual cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tutelary Deity
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the ''genius'', functions as the personal deity or ''daimon'' of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore. Ancient Greece Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or ''daimonion'': The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Ancient Rome Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tu-metua
In Cook Islands mythology, Tu-metua was the sixth child and most beloved daughter of the mother goddess, Varima-te-takere, Vari. Tu-metua lived in Te-enua-te-ki "The-mute-land" (''enua'', "land" + ''te'', used as a negative, + ''ki'', "to speak"). This was a place said to have no spoken language, but communication only by signs—such as nods, raised eyebrows, grimaces, and smiles. William Wyatt Gill, Gill states that Vari and Tu-metua lived together in Enua-te-ki, but he was in error in treating Te Aiti as a descriptive word and not as Vari's own distinct land. Mamae's native text (Gill's informant), however, shows that the two lands were close together. It also explains the meaning of Tu-metua's name, which differs from Gill's translation as "Stick-to-the-parent". References {{reflist Mangaia mythology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raka (mythology)
In Cook Islands mythology, Raka (''Trouble'') was the god of winds and storms. He was the fifth child of the Great Mother, Vari. Raka found a congenial home in Moana-Irakau (''Deep ocean''). According to Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ..., Raka received from Vari a great basket, in which contained the hidden winds, as well as the knowledge of many useful inventions. The children of Raka are the numerous winds and storms which distress mankind. Each child was assigned a hole in the horizon through which he blew at pleasure. Gill's informant, Mamae, gives his wife and children but not the parents of the wife, Takatipa; whoever they were, they formed additional contemporaries of Vari. References {{reflist Mangaia mythology Sky and weather gods Wind deities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tumu-te-ana-oa
In Cook Islands mythology, Tumu-te-ana-oa was the female personification of Echo. She was the fourth child of Vari, the primordial mother goddess. Both her name and the land she occupied had to do with the production of echoes. Her name means "the cause (''tumu'') of the call or voice (''oa'') heard from caves (''ana'')". The term ''oa'' is used by people when calling out to evoke an echo. Her land was Te Parae-tea, which Gill translates, "The-hollow-gray-rocks". Mamae (Gill's informant) gives no more detail, but Gill recounts that Tumu-te-ana-oa frequented the caves of 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 popula ..., where she was seen by Rangi, one of the first inhabitants. The cave in which she was first seen was Aitu-mamaoa. References {{reflist Mangaia mythology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tango (mythology)
In Cook Islands mythology, Tango (''Support'') was the third child of the primordial mother goddess, Varima-te-takere. He was assigned to live at Enua-kura (''The land of red parrot feathers''). According to Mamae, Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...'s informant, Tango was the progenitor of a skilled fishing family. That the six grandsons of Tango were good workers is shown in the native text. The enclosure (''akeke'') for fish mentioned in a chant has not been retained in the local culture of the people. References {{reflist Mangaia mythology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatea
In Cook Islands mythology, Avatea (also known as Vatea; meaning 'noon' or 'light') was a lunar deity and the father of gods and men in Mangaian myth of origin. His eyes were thought to be the Sun and the Moon; he was also known as the god of light. Mythology According to one myth, Vari-Ma-Te-Takere (The primordial mother) created six children from her body. Three were plucked from her right side and three from her left. The first of which was Avatea, the first man, who was perceived as a moon god. As he grew he divided vertically into a hybrid being; the right half was a man and the left half a fish. In song, the gods are called "children of Vatea". The same shortened phrase is in use at Rarotonga: at Aitutaki and Atiu the full form "Avatea" is used, e.g. ''kia kakā te mata o Avatea Nui'' meaning "when the eye of Great Avatea is open;" in other words "when the sun is in its full glory;" still in contrast with the darkness and gloom of Avaiki, or the Underworld. In Mangaian my ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook Islands Mythology
Cook Islands mythology comprises historical myths, legends, and folklore passed down by the ancient Cook Islanders over many generations. Many of the Cook Islands legends were recited through ancient songs and chants. The Cook Islands myths and legends have similarities to general Polynesian mythology, which developed over the centuries into its own unique character. Creation myth In Cook Islands creation myth, the universe was conceived of as being like the hollow of a vast coconut shell, the interior of this imaginary shell being Avaiki, the under world, and the outer side of the shell as the upper world of mortals. At various depths there are floors of different levels, or lands, which communicate with each other. At the very bottom of this coconut is a thick stem tapering to a point, which represents the beginning of all things. This point is the dwelling of a spirit without human form called Te aka ia Roe (The root of all existence). The entire fabric of the universe is cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
