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Cook Islands mythology comprises
historical myths,
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
s, and
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
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
The Polynesian narrative or Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia (a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian Triangle) together with those of the scattered cul ...
, which developed over the centuries into its own unique character.
Creation myth
In Cook Islands
creation myth
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop ...
, the universe was conceived of as being like the hollow of a vast
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
shell, the interior of this imaginary shell being
Avaiki
Avaiki is one of the many names by which the peoples of Polynesia refer to their ancestral and spiritual homelands.
Samoa, Hawaii, Cook Islands
By no means certain, but certainly possible, is an origin in the large islands of Samoa, namely Sav ...
, 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 constantly sustained by this primary being.
Above this extreme point is Te tangaengae (Breathing) or Te vaerua (Life) this being is stout and stronger than the former one. The thickest part of the stem is Te manava roa (The long lived) the third and last of the primary, ever-stationary, sentient spirits, who together form the foundation, permanence, and well-being of the rest of the universe.
We now advance into the interior of the supposed coconut shell, the lowest part of Avaiki, where the sides of the shell almost meet, there lives a goddess of flesh and blood called
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 ...
(The very beginning). Her territory is very narrow, so much so that her knees touch her chin, no other position being possible. Varima te takere was very anxious for
progeny. One day she plucked off part of her right side, like a fruit from a tree, and it became the first human being, the first man
Avatea
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 lig ...
(or
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 lig ...
). He became the father of gods and men, having the right half of a man and the left half a fish, split down the middle. The land assigned by the Great Mother to Avatea was called Te paparairai (The thin land). Varima te takere continued to pluck from her body more pieces of flesh, from which more children were created, the right side of her body created gods, and from her left side of her body she created goddesses.
Prominent figures and terms
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Avaiki
Avaiki is one of the many names by which the peoples of Polynesia refer to their ancestral and spiritual homelands.
Samoa, Hawaii, Cook Islands
By no means certain, but certainly possible, is an origin in the large islands of Samoa, namely Sav ...
, the land of the gods and ancestors.
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Avatea
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 lig ...
, the first man, a sky and moon god.
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Auparu, a stream, bathing place for nature spirit
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Ina, the lover of the moon god Marama.
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Marama, the god of the Moon.
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Nganaoa, a myth hero from Aitutaki.
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Papa, the goddess of the Earth
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Rongo
In Māori mythology, Rongo or Rongo-mā-Tāne (also Rongo-hīrea, Rongo-marae-roa, and Rongo-marae-roa-a-Rangi) is a major god (''atua'') of cultivated plants, especially kumara (spelled ''kūmara'' in Māori), a vital crop. Other crops cult ...
, the god of vegetation.
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Tamangori, a cannibal giant
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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 a ...
, the god of the sea.
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Vaitakere, the father of Ina, father-in-law of Tangaroa.
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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 ...
, the primordial mother goddess.
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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 lig ...
, similar to Avatea, a god of Mangaia.
Notes
References
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External links
Cook Islands MythologyReligion and gods in pre-1823 Southern Cook Islands society
{{Paganism
Cook Islands culture