Rata, in
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
an mythology, is said to have become king of Tahiti when his uncle, king
Tumu-nui, and his father
Vahieroa are swallowed by a great clam,
Pua Tu Tahi, while they are on their way to Pitcairn. When he reaches adulthood, Rata plans to avenge his father. As in the Tuamotuan version, Rata identifies a tree to build his canoe, but it is protected by forest elves. After he captures them they build it for him in a single night. While en route for Pitcairn, Rata and his crew are sucked down into the same clam, but they use their spears to cut the monster open. They rescue the remains of Rata's father and uncle and bury them back in Tahiti. After recovering from their adventure, Rata sets out for further adventures. See also
Aremata-Popoa and Aremata-Rorua.
See also
*
Rata (Tuamotu mythology) In the Tuamotus, Tuamotu islands, the telling of the full cycle of the legend of Rata takes several evenings to tell.
The legend begins with his grandfather Kui (Māori mythology), Kui, a demigod who marries Puehuehu. Their son Vahi-vero was stole ...
*
Rātā (Māori mythology)
In Māori mythology, accounts vary somewhat as to the ancestry of Rātā. Usually he is a grandson of Tāwhaki and son of Wahieroa. Wahieroa is treacherously killed by Matuku-tangotango, an ogre. Rātā sets out to avenge the murder, travelling t ...
*
Laka
In Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology. (In other parts of Polynesia they are known as Rātā, Rata, Lata, Ata, or Lasa).
In one Hawaiian legend, Laka is the daughter of the '' Ali'i ...
(Hawaiian and other Polynesian mythology)
References
*R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 133-4;
*M. Beckwith, ''Hawaiian Mythology'' (Yale U.P.: New Haven, 1948), 263–275.
Tahiti and Society Islands mythology
Legendary Polynesian people
Legendary monarchs
{{FrenchPolynesia-stub