Atea is a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

in several Polynesian cultures, including the Marquesas and Tuamotu Islands, and New Zealand.

Marquesas Islands

In the mythology of the Marquesas Islands, Atea is the giver of light. In one legend Atea and Tāne are brothers, the sons of Toho. Another tradition relates that Atea (as light) evolved himself, and then brought forth Ono. Joining forces, they broke up the boundless darkness of the underworld ( Po), where Tanaoa, lord of darkness, and Mutu-hei (silence) had lived for eternity. Atea and Ono made war on Tanaoa and Mutu-hei, and defeated them. They confined the gods of night within set boundaries. Out of the struggle came forth Atanua, the dawn. Atea then married Atanua, and their children include the lesser gods and humankind (Tregear 1891:29).

E. M. Meletinsky Eleazar Moiseevich Meletinskii (also ''Meletinsky'' or ''Meletinskij''; russian: Елеаза́р Моисе́евич Мелети́нский; 22 October 1918, Kharkiv – 17 December 2005, Moscow) was a Russian scholar famous for his seminal stud ...

, ''The Poetics of Myth'' ( Routledge: London), 2000.

Tuamotu Islands

In the mythology of the Tuamotu islands, Atea is killed by Tāne, his second son (Meletinsky 2000:421). Their first son, Tahu, dies of starvation and the two gods switch sexes. Later, Atea tries to kidnap Tane, but Tane escapes to earth and eventually becomes so hungry that he eats a man, thus becoming the first cannibal. Tane declares war on Atea and kills him with the lightning bolts of Fatu-tiri, his ancestor).

New Zealand

Friedrich Ratzel in ''The History of Mankind'' (1896)Ratzel, Friedrich
''The History of Mankind''
. (London:

MacMillan and Co. Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

, 1896, accessed 30 May 2010. related the Māori belief that creation commenced with the night then, after untold periods, desire awoke, then longing, then feeling. Thought followed upon the first pulse of life, or the first breath drawn; and upon thought, mental activity. Then sprang up the wish, directed to the sacred mystery or great riddle of life. Later, from the material procreative power of love develops the clinging to existence, permeated by a joyous sense of pleasure. Lastly, Atea, the universe, floated in space, divided by the difference of sex into

Rangi and Papa In Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa (or Ranginui and Papatūānuku) appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world (though there are many different versions). In some South Island dialects, Rangi is called Raki or Ra ...

, Heaven and Earth; and individual creations then began.

E. R. Tregear Edward Robert Tregear , Ordre des Palmes académiques (1846–1931) was a New Zealand public servant and scholar. He was an architect of New Zealand's advanced social reforms and progressive labour legislation during the 1890s. Biography He was ...

, ''Māori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary'' (

Lyon and Blair John Rutherfurd Blair (8 February 1843 – 25 November 1914) was the Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand from 1898 to 1899. Biography Blair was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and was a paper merchant. His career started with a large Glasgo ...

: Lambton Quay), 1891.

References

{{Reflist Creation myths Light gods Marquesan mythology Polynesian gods Tuamotu deities

Marquesas Islands

Tuamotu Islands

New Zealand

See also

References