'Oro
'Oro is the great war-god of Ra'iātea and, by the time of European contact, the principal deity of Tahiti — son of Ta'aroa and of Hina in her aspect Hina-tu-a-uta, born and enshrined at the international marae Taputapuātea in 'Opoa on Ra'iātea, the mythic seat of his cult. In war he received human sacrifice and his to'o-image was carried to battle; in peace he was the god of the fine arts and the founder-patron of the 'arioi, the high-ranking society of itinerant player-priests (its twin patrons Orotetefa and Uretetefa made by 'Oro's sisters). The Vairaumati cycle tells how, dwelling on Mount Paia in Borabora with his sisters Te-ouri and 'Oa'oa, he descended on the rainbow as a warrior to wed the mortal maiden Vairaumati of Vaitape. His signature object is the to'o, a sennit-bound wooden image dressed in the red and yellow feathers that were his emblem. Authored as a son of Ta'aroa and Hina and a brother of the elder great gods Tāne, Tū and Ro'o.
Parentage
Domains
- war
- the fine arts in peace
- patron of the arioi society
- fertility and rain
Powers
- Command and decide war
- Descend from the heavens to earth upon the rainbow
- Found and patronize the 'arioi society of player-priests
Epithets
- 'Oro-maro-'ura
- 'Oro-taua