In the
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
of the
Tuamotu
The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles Tuamotu, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extendin ...
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
, Kiho-tumu (or Kiho) represents the supreme god (Sykes and Kendall 2003:108).
The
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
is said to be his 'sacred
ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
' and the
dark rift
''Dark Rift'' is a 3D computer graphics, 3D fighting game, fighting video game for the Nintendo 64, notable for being the first N64 game to use 60 Frame rate, frames per second. It has been referred to as the Nintendo 64's first native fighting ...
within the Milky Way is referred to as his sacred
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
, called 'the Long
Shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...
' (Beckwith 1970:236).
On the other hand, research by anthropologist
Kenneth Emory
Kenneth Pike Emory (November 23, 1897 – January 2, 1992) was an American anthropologist who played a key role in shaping modern anthropology in Oceania. In the tradition of A. L. Kroeber and other pioneering anthropologists who trained him, ...
led him to doubt the reliability of Stimson's sources:
These details concerning the principal informants for the esoteric cult of Kio or Kiho, coming to my attention, have made it more and more difficult for me to accept their accounts and esoteric versions of chants, unsupported by trustworthy confirmation. Both Bishop Paul Mazé and I have earnestly searched for corroboration and have not only failed to find any, but have come across so much reliable contrary evidence (now on file at the Bishop Museum) that we are left completely without faith in the cult.
See also
*
Io Matua Kore
Io Matua Kore is often understood as the supreme being in Polynesian narrative, particularly of the Māori people.
Io does seem to be present in the mythologies of other Polynesian islands including Hawai‘i, the Society Islands, and the Cook ...
Notes
References
*M. Beckwith, ''Hawaiian Mythology'' (University of Hawaii Press: Honolulu) 1970.
*J.F. Stimson, ''The Cult of Kiho-tumu'' (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu), 1933.
*E. Sykes, A. Kendall, ''Who's Who in Non-Classical Mythology'' (Routledge: London), 2003
Tuamotu deities
Polynesian gods
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