One-u'i

One-u'i ('the sand-woman') is the consort of 'Atea in the pu'e (sacred creation chant) tradition of the Marquesas — the alternative to the Atanua tradition. Handy records that the pu'e recounts the impregnation of One-u'i by 'Atea, naming plants as 'births by One-u'i' after impregnation to provide materials for the house of the first parents; the 'mothers of various kinds of material' are invoked to furnish the construction. She is the mother of the first man, Tiki. The pu'e was tapu to teach to women, who were excluded from its recitation. Her name (one 'sand/earth') marks the pan-Polynesian sand-formed-woman motif (cf. Maori Hine-ahu-one).

Children

• Tiki

Domains

• the sand formed first mother

Powers

• Sand-born generativity

Relations

• spouse: AteaConsort of 'Atea in the pu'e creation chant (the sand-woman tradition, parallel to the Atanua tradition).Handy 1923 — 'Atea impregnates One-u'i in the pu'e chant; they are the first parents. (primary)
• mother of: TikiMother of the first man Tiki.Handy 1923 — One-u'i and 'Atea as parents of the first man Tiki. (primary)

Sources

• existence: E. S. Craighill Handy, The Native Culture in the Marquesas (Bishop Museum Bulletin 9, 1923) — the pu'e sacred creation chant of 'Atea and One-u'i. (primary)