Red Giant Ancestor

Pre-eminent Tungaru ancestral hero; entered as demigod (culture-hero/ancestor-deity), parallel to how Nareau the Younger is typed. Some popular references style him a 'sun god' (from his red/sun-coloured skin), but the securely attested Grimble core is the red giant ancestor from Samoa, lord of the pandanus and deity of Karongoa, husband-brother of Nei Tituaabine. RECIPROCAL within batch with Nei Tituaabine (spouse + sibling).

Domains

• ancestry and migration
• pandanus
• kingship and clan

Powers

• leads the first settlers from Samoa to Tarawa
• is the lord (uea) of the pandanus, with the rat for his totem
• stands of a giant's stature with red skin
• is invoked as lord (uea) of the pandanus in fructification rites

Relations

• spouse: Tree Goddess
• sibling: Tree Goddess

Sources

• Grimble, Arthur. Tungaru Traditions: Writings on the Atoll Culture of the Gilbert Islands (ed. H.E. Maude, 1989)
• Grimble, Rosemary. Migrations, Myth and Magic from the Gilbert Islands: Early Writings of Sir Arthur Grimble (1972)