194 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
were created by Taaroa, and constituted the first order 
of divinities. 
A second class were also created, inferior to these, 
and employed as heralds between the gods and men. 
The third order seems to have been the descendants 
of Raa, were numerous and varied in their character, 
some being gods of war, others among the Esculapiuses 
of the nation. 
Oro was the first of the fourth class, and seems to 
have been the medium of connexion between celestial 
and terrestrial beings. Taaroa was his father. The 
shadow of a bread-fruit leaf, shaken by the power of the 
arm of Taaroa, passed over Hina, and she afterwards 
became the mother of Oro. Hina, it is said, abode in 
Opoa at the time of his birth; hence that was honoured 
as the place of his nativity, and became celebrated for 
his worship. Taaroa afterwards created the wife of Oro, 
and their children were also gods. 
After the birth of Oro, Taaroa had other sons, who 
were called brothers of Oro, among whom were the gods 
of the Areois. These were the four orders of celestial 
beings worshipped in the Leeward Islands. The diffe¬ 
rent classes only have been mentioned; an enumeration 
of the individual deities, and their ofiices or attributes, 
would be tedious and useless. 
These objects of fear and worship were exceedingly 
numerous, and may be termed the chief deities of the 
Polynesians. There was an intermediate class between 
the principal divinities and the gods of particular 
localities or professions, but they are not supposed to 
have existed from the beginning, or to have been born 
of Night. Their origin is veiled in obscurity, but they 
are often described as having been renowned men, who 
