Tāne

Tāne is, in the Society-Islands recension, the first of the great gods to be sculpted by the artisans at Ta'aroa's word — the god of beauty, of the forests, of the craftsmen, and the god of peace. He finishes the heavens, fixing the stars and hanging the sun and moon, and in the octopus-cosmogony it is Tāne who cuts away the clinging arms of the sky-enclosing octopus Tumu-ra'i-fenua to fill the world with beauty and light. Ellis lists him among the four great gods as god of the forest and of the handicrafts. Authored as a son/handiwork of Ta'aroa and brother of Tū, Ro'o and 'Oro.

Parentage

• Ta'aroa

Domains

• beauty
• forests and trees
• craftsmen and artisans
• peace

Powers

• Adorn the dome of the sky and set the stars, sun and moon
• Cut away the clinging arms of the great octopus that enclosed the sky
• Grant skill to the canoe-builders and woodworkers

Relations

• child: Ta'aroa
• sibling: Tū
• sibling: Ro'o
• sibling: 'Oro
• equated with: Tāne
• equated with: Tane
• equated with: Tane
• equated with: Tane

Sources

• Teuira Henry, Ancient Tahiti (Bishop Museum Bulletin 48, 1928)
• William Ellis, Polynesian Researches (1829), on the four great gods of the Society Islands