Miru
Mangaian · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
The red hag of Avaiki who cooks the souls of the dead (Gill 1876). Her daughters are the beautiful Tapairu (cited, not authored). SOLITARY: Gill gives Miru no parentage, spouse, or sibling — only her daughters the Tapairu and her function over the dead; her ancestry is therefore not wired (Gill 1876, Ch. IX).
Domains
- the dead and the oven of souls
- underworld avaiki
Powers
- stupefy the souls of the dead with kava
- cook and devour the souls of the dead in her oven
Sources
- Miru (Miru-kura, 'the red'), the hag of nether Avaiki, receives the souls of the dead, stupefies them with kava, and cooks them in her oven.: William Wyatt Gill, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific (1876), Ch. IX 'The spirit-world', pp. 152–171 (primary)
- Miru is the red-faced underworld goddess of Mangaia whose daughters are the Tapairu and whose oven consumes the common dead.: Robert D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology (1989), s.v. 'Miru' (secondary)