348 AUSTRALASIAN AND POLYNESIAN 
In the interior of the supposed cocoanut shell, in the lowest 
depth of Avaiki, lives a woman, or demon, of flesh and blood, 
named Vari-ma-te-takere (shortened into Vari) — The-very- 
beginning. At various times Vari plucked off three bits from 
each side, and moulded them into human shape. These six are 
the primary gods of the universe. Yet no ‘‘ marae” or image 
was ever sacred to them, nor was any offering ever made to them. 
The first of the six primary gods is Avatea or Vatea (Noon), 
half man and half fish, whose eyes are the sun and moon.* 
Evidently we have in Avatea, or Vatea, the god of light. The 
second primary god is Tinirau (Innumerable), the lord of all fish, 
The third is Tango (Support). The fourth is Echo (Tumuteanaoa), 
regarded as a female dwelling in hollow rocks. The fifth, 
Raka, or Zyouble, presides over winds. At the edge of the 
horizon are a number of wind-holes. To each child is allotted one 
of these apertures, through which he blows at pleasure. The 
sixth and last of the primary gods is a female, Tu-metua, or 
Tu-papa, who dwells with the Great Mother, ‘ Vari,” at the very 
bottom of Avaiki, in the S7/ez¢-/and, the only language of which 
is that of signs and smiles, to comfort her. Tuy (short for 
Tu-metua or Tu-papa) was the tutelar goddess of the island of 
Moorea. To her the fourteenth night in every moon was 
sacred. 
In his dreams, Vatea, the eldest of the primary gods, saw a 
woman, Papa (Foundation), whom he afterwards succeeded in 
making his wife. Now, Papa was the daughter of Timatekore 
(Nothing-more). Tangaroa and Rongof{ were the twin children 
of Vatea and Papa. They were the first beings of ferfect human 
form in the universe, and possessed no second shape. Three 
other sons (Tonga-iti, Tangiia, and Tane-papa-kai) were born to 
Vatea and Papa. These are the principal deities of the Hervey 
Islanders and (with numerous variations and additions) of Eastern 
Polynesia. To the children of Vatea and Papa belong the maraes 
and idols ; they received the offerings and listened to the prayers 
of mankind. 
The tutelar god of Mangaia is Rongo, whose wife, Taka, bare 
him a daughter named Tavake. The boast of the three original 
tribes on Mangaia is that they are the descendants of Tavake by 
her own father Rongo, z.e., that they are of divine origin. 
Now, Rongo was likewise the dread deity of Tahiti and the 
Leeward Islands, under the slightly modified designation of 
“Ord.” The original marae of “ Ord” in Eastern Polynesia was 
* The moon is the fish-eye, on account of its paleness. 
+ When Cantain Cook, for the second time, visited Tahiti, he found the king to be “ Otoo,” 
ancestor of the preseut Pomare. * Otoo” should be written 7u, the O being a mere prefix 
to all proper names. This mythological name was adopted in order to secure for its owner 
the reverence due to the gods, who are invisible to mortal eye. 
+ In the Society Islands ‘ Oro ” (Ro[ng]o) was the son of Ta‘aroa (Tangaroa), not his twin 
brother, 
