Tangaroa (Lord of the Sea and Fertility)

On Rarotonga (southern Cook Islands) Tangaroa is the senior of the great departmental gods, lord of the sea and of fertility, son of Vatea (Atea) and Papa. He is the focus of the famous Rarotongan wooden staff-gods and fishermen's offerings, and his line is traced in the genealogies of Te Ariki-tara-are.

Domains

• the sea and fish
• fertility and abundance

Powers

• to rule the sea, its fish and its abundance

Relations

• sibling: Rongo (God of Taro and War)

Sources

• Te Ariki-tara-are, 'History and Traditions of Rarotonga', trans. S. Percy Smith, Journal of the Polynesian Society 8-29 (1899-1920).
• Robert D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989).