Tangaloa was an important family of gods in
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
n
mythology
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
. The first Tangaloa was the cousin of
Havea Hikuleo and
Maui
Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
, or in some sources the brother or son or father of them. He was Tangaloa Eiki (''T. lord''), and was assigned by his father, Taufulifonua, the realm of the sky to rule.
Among his offspring the following are found:
Tangaloa Tamapoulialamafoa, Tangaloa Eitumātupua, Tangaloa Atulongolongo, and Tangaloa Tufunga. But different sources disagree about the exact family relations between any Tangaloa. Tangaloa Tufunga (''T. carpenter'') was known as an
adze
An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...
maker. Tangaloa Eitumātupua is known in
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
as ''Tagaloa Eitumatupua'' (''T. ghost and riddle''; an eitu or
aitu
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, for example, ''aitu'' or ''eitu'' are lesser gods, many being ...
is a second rank god of somewhat malevolent nature).
Eitumātupua
A big toa (
ironwood
Ironwood is a common name for many woods that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in English ma ...
tree'') reaching into the sky grew on the island of Toonangakava between
Mataaho
Mataaho (also known as Mataaoho and Mataoho) is a Māori deity. Variously considered a god of earthquakes and eruptions, the guardian of the earth's secrets, the god of volcanic forces, or a giant, Mataaho is associated with many of the volcan ...
and
Talakite. Tangaloa Eitumātupua climbed down from the sky and saw a beautiful woman shellfishing. Her name was
Ilaheva also known as
Vaepopua from the island
Niuatoputapu
Niuatoputapu (''The Sacred Niua'') is a volcanic island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its highest point is , and its area is . Its name means ''sacred island''. Older names for the island are Traitors Island or Keppel Island. ...
. They cohabitated and the god went back up. He returned and they slept and he went up, many times. One day they overslept and a tern flying over saw them and woke them up. Therefore one island is called Tala-kite (''tern-see'') and the other Mata-aho (''Eye-of-day'').
Ilaheva became pregnant and bore a son. After a while the god returned down from the sky and told her to name him
Ahoeitu (''day has dawned''). Then, when the woman answered him that her place was sandy, he said he would throw some clay down from the sky so she could make a plantation for their child. So the hill Holohiufi (''pour the yam'') was made and the heketala (''slip tern'', a kind of yam) was planted.
[Nowadays this hill is where the New Zealand high commission residence is located.] Then the god did no longer return.
Ahoeitu grew up and became curious about his father. His mother told him the truth and let him climb the giant toa. In the heavens he found his father and he found he had elder stepbrothers. They did not like him and killed him, but his father resurrected him. Then he spoke that Ahoeitu should go down to earth where he would become the first
Tuʻi Tonga
The Tuʻi Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the tenth century with the mythical ʻAhoʻeitu, and withdrew from political power in the fifteenth century by yielding to the '' Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua''. The title ended with the dea ...
(from divine descent) to replace the Tui Tonga which came from the maggots of
Kohai, Koau, mo Momo.
Because of their murder his elder brothers, if they wanted to go down too, would have to serve him.
See also
Tangaloa, (or a variant of this name conforming to the local vernacular) is found in many other Polynesian mythologies. He may have exchanged functions with his cousins Hikuleo and Maui, or other gods seemingly at random in different places.
*In
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
as ''
Tagaloa
In Samoan mythology, Tagaloa (also known as Tagaloa-Lagi or Tagaloa, Lagi of the Heavens/Skies) is generally accepted as the supreme ruler, ''.
*In
Mangaia
Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily popul ...
as ''Tangaroa''.
*In
Manihiki
250px, Map of Manihiki Atoll
Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga, ...
as ''Tangaroa'' keeper of fire.
*In
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
as ''
Kanaloa
In the traditions of ancient Hawaii, Kanaloa is a god symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne. It is also an alternative name for the island of Kahoolawe.
In legends and chants, Kāne and Kanaloa are po ...
'', symbolized by the squid or ''hee''.
*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 ...
as ''
Ta'aroa''.
*In
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...
, as ''Tanaoa'' or ''Taka{{okinaoa''.
*In
Aotearoa
''Aotearoa'' () is the Māori name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference only to the North Island, with the whole country being referred to as ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' – where ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' means N ...
as ''
Tangaroa
Tangaroa (Māori; Takaroa in the South Island dialect; cognate with Tagaloa in Sāmoan) is the great atua of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures that live within them, especially fish, in Māori mythology. As Tangaroa-whakamau-tai, he exercis ...
'' god of the sea.
Notes
References
* E.W. Gifford, ''Tongan myths and tales'', BPB Bulletin 8, 1924
* R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 100.
Tongan deities
Sky and weather gods