Home›Polynesian Deities›All Polynesian DeitiesBrowse ByAll Polynesian DeitiesThe gods of the Polynesian islands, from Hawaii and Aotearoa to Tahiti and Samoa, whose shared ancestry is visible in cognate names and common myths distributed across an enormous span of ocean. Genealogy is central: gods, ancestors and chiefs belong to a single recited line of descent.FactsLearn MoreAll Polynesian DeitiesConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods of the Polynesian-speaking peoples of the Pacific. The traditions are genuinely related - Tangaroa, Tagaloa and Kanaloa are one name across the region - but they are not one religion: rank, role and even which god is paramount differ by island group, and each archipelago's material was recorded separately and at a different date. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedAotearoa New Zealand and the Maori, whose gods and whakapapa are held within tribal traditions 3Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedHawaii, whose traditions were written down by Hawaiian authors from the 1830s onward 3Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedSamoa, Tonga and Western Polynesia, whose traditions differ markedly from the eastern ones 3Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedTahiti and the Society Islands, the earliest Polynesian religion described at length by European voyagers 3Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedThe Marquesas, the Cook Islands, Rapa Nui and the wider eastern archipelagos 3AttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedTransmitted orally, and far older than its documentation. The written record begins with European voyage accounts from 1769 and continues in the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century compilations made by Hawaiian and Maori authors and by ethnographers. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThese gods and the protocols around them remain culturally significant to Pacific peoples, and some cult sites have been restored and rededicated. 4DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedThe Polynesian pantheon is a comparative construct. The cognate god-names across the region are real, but the ranks and functions attached to them differ by island group, and a single reconstructed pantheon flattens that difference. 2Learn MoreThe Gods of Polynesia This group holds the deities of the Polynesian peoples spread across the Pacific, from Hawaii to New Zealand to the many islands between. Related traditions share a common ancestral stock of gods whose names shift from island to island: Tangaroa, Kanaloa, Tagaloa are one sea-god across the region. The browser will find creator and sky figures, the demigod trickster Maui who fished up islands and snared the sun, and major Hawaiian and Maori gods such as Kane, Ku, Lono, Pele of the volcano, and Tane and Tu. The atlas records the regional variants and notes that these traditions remain culturally significant to Pacific peoples today.All Polynesian DeitiesFilter Results17 entriesChild OfAllPapatuanuku (4)Ranginui (4)HistoricityAllHistorically attested (1)Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (16)TheologyAllPolytheistic: many gods (17)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (1)The Creator (1)The Explorer (1)The Hero (1)The Jester (1)The Rebel (1)The Ruler (1)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (16)Venerated in a modern revival tradition (1)Era Attested Start YearAll1855 (1)Worshipped InAllNative Hawaiian Religion (4)Polynesian Religion (15)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (2)Ancestors (1)Chaos and adversary (1)Craft, metalwork and smithing (1)Creation and cosmogony (4)Death (1)Death Underworld (1)Destruction and dissolution (1)Disease and plague (1)Earth (1)Fire (1)Moon (1)Motherhood (2)Mountains (1)Night and darkness (1)Primordial being (2)Rain and weather (2)Rivers, lakes and springs (1)Sea and ocean (1)Seafaring and fishing (1)Sky (1)Storm and thunder (1)Trickster (1)Vegetation and forests (2)War and battle (1)Wilderness and wild animals (2)Wind (1)GenderAllCollective / plural, not a single figure (1)Female (4)Male (12)PantheonAllPolynesian (17)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 17AumakuaPolynesian DeitiesHaumiaPolynesian DeitiesHinaPolynesian DeitiesHine-nui-te-poPolynesian DeitiesKanePolynesian DeitiesLonoPolynesian DeitiesMakemakePolynesian DeitiesMauiPolynesian DeitiesPapatuanukuPolynesian DeitiesPelePolynesian DeitiesRanginuiPolynesian DeitiesRongoPolynesian DeitiesTanePolynesian DeitiesTangaroaPolynesian DeitiesTawhirimateaPolynesian DeitiesTuPolynesian DeitiesWhiroPolynesian DeitiesConnectionsBelongs to TraditionPolynesian Religion, Religions Well-attested The deities of the Polynesian tradition.Source Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand RaceGeorge Greytier 2Sources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Hawaiian Mythologytier 1Martha Warren Beckwith, Yale University Press, 1940IntroductionView the Source3. On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands before European Contact, 2nd editiontier 1Patrick Vinton Kirch, University of California Press, 2017chapter on the Hawaiian Islands4. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealandtier 1Manatu Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand Government, 2005s.v. Maori religion and the godsView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Racetier 2George Grey, John Murray, 1855View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.