In Polynesian languages the word ''aitu'' refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia. In the mythology of

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 ...

, for example, ''aitu'' or ''eitu'' are lesser gods, many being patrons of specific villages and families. They often take the form of plants or animals, and are often more cruel than other gods. These trouble-making gods are regarded as having come from Samoa. The Tongan word ''tangi lauaitu'' means to cry from grief, to lament. In

Māori mythology Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern fantastic tales relating to the origins of what was the observable world for the pr ...

, the word ''aitu'' refers to sickness, calamity, or demons; the related word ''aituā'' means misfortune, accident, disaster. In Tahitian, ''aitu'' (syn. atua/raitu) can mean 'god' or 'spirit';Fare vana'a dictionary ('raitu' is also an affectionate word given to a cherished child

/ref> in other languages, including Rarotongan, Samoan, Sikaiana, Kapingamarangi, Takuu, Tuamotuan, and Niuean, ''aitu'' are ghosts or spirits. In

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

''Aitu'' is also the name of ancient tribes who came from the east. In the Samoa Islands, ''aitu'' also means ghost. In other Austronesian cultures,

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...

s of ''aitu'' include the Micronesian ''aniti'', Bunun '' hanitu'', Filipino and Tao ''

anito ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associa ...

'', and Malaysian and Indonesian '' hantu'' or ''antu''.

Notes

Tongan mythology Māori mythology Polynesian mythology Māori words and phrases Samoan words and phrases Māori legendary creatures Austronesian spirituality Nature spirits {{Oceania-myth-stub

See also

Notes