Tagaroa
Rotuman · deity · Rotuman traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Tagaroa was the most prominent of the Rotuman high gods, identified specifically as the god of human fertility and as the deity of the sau (sacred king) and the mua, the two title-holders who presided over the island's ritual cycle. The high gods, of whom Tagaroa was foremost, were regarded as the source of sustenance and were prayed to for rain, for fruitful land and for success in undertakings affecting the whole island. He bears the same name as the great Polynesian god Tangaroa (Samoan Tagaloa), and on Rotuma stands at the centre of the fertility religion alongside the supreme 'God Above', Tagroa Siria.
Children
Domains
- human fertility
- sacred kingship
Powers
- to make human beings fertile and increase the people
- to send rain and fruitful harvests when propitiated
Epithets
- TagaroaChurchward, C. Maxwell (1940). Rotuman Grammar and Dictionary. Sydney: Methodist Church of Australasia. (secondary)
Relations
- ally: Tagroa SiriaTagaroa, god of human fertility, and the supreme 'God Above' Tagroa Siria are reported as closely linked members of the same Tagaroa/Tangaroa divine complex at the head of the Rotuman pantheon.Howard, Alan (1991). 'Rotuma.' In Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Vol. II: Oceania, ed. Terence E. Hays. Boston: G. K. Hall. (secondary)
Sources
- Tagaroa was the Rotuman god of human fertility and the patron deity of the sau and mua title-holders, the most noteworthy of the high gods.: Howard, Alan (1991). 'Rotuma.' In Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Vol. II: Oceania, ed. Terence E. Hays. Boston: G. K. Hall. (secondary); Gardiner, J. Stanley (1898). 'The Natives of Rotuma.' Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 27: 457-524. (secondary)