Home›Polynesian Deities›Veneration Status›Actively venerated in a living traditionBrowse ByActively venerated in a living traditionThis page groups deities by how actively they are still venerated today, from gods with a living cult to ones whose worship has died out entirely. Wikipedia defines veneration as "the practice of honoring people and articles of religious significance, for example, the veneration of saints and the veneration of relics." Browsing this way lets a visitor tell a deity that still receives offerings apart from one preserved only in historical study.FactsLearn MoreActively venerated in a living traditionConnectionsSourcesComments (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.Actively venerated in a living traditionFilter Results16 entriesChild OfAllPapatuanuku (4)Ranginui (4)HistoricityAllNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (16)TheologyAllPolytheistic: many gods (16)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (1)The Creator (1)The Explorer (1)The Hero (1)The Jester (1)The Rebel (1)The Ruler (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 (3)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 (11)PantheonAllPolynesian (16)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 16AumakuaActively venerated in a living traditionHaumiaActively venerated in a living traditionHinaActively venerated in a living traditionHine-nui-te-poActively venerated in a living traditionKaneActively venerated in a living traditionLonoActively venerated in a living traditionMauiActively venerated in a living traditionPapatuanukuActively venerated in a living traditionPeleActively venerated in a living traditionRanginuiActively venerated in a living traditionRongoActively venerated in a living traditionTaneActively venerated in a living traditionTangaroaActively venerated in a living traditionTawhirimateaActively venerated in a living traditionTuActively venerated in a living traditionWhiroActively venerated in a living traditionConnectionsBelongs 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? 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