TAMMUZ SEE DUMUZI
TANGAROA is the most important of the “departmen-
tal” gods of Polynesia. In his many cognates, he was wor-
shiped by most Polynesians as the chief god and creator of
the world. His popularity, however, depended chiefly on his
role as ruler over the ocean. Tangaroa stands as the origin
and personification of all fish; his offspring are the creatures
of the sea. Tangaroa was often appealed to by seafarers and
fisherman, and, under the title Tangaroa-whakamautai, he
was recognized by the Maori of New Zealand as the control-
ler of the tides.
MYTHOLOGICAL CONTEXT. The souls of the Polynesian an-
cestors live on in the spirit land of Hawaiki, which is the
symbolic place of origin of the Polynesian people. Ancestor
deification was probably the original form of Polynesian reli-
gion. While some of the gods’ names were common through-
out the Pacific islands, most Polynesian gods were strictly
local deities. The Polynesian deities have been classified into
four groups: supreme, “departmental,” tribal, and family.
The departmental gods were classified according to the as-
pect of nature they ruled. The major departmental gods—
Tane, Rongo, Tu, and Tangaroa—were often portrayed in
eastern Polynesian mythology as the sons of Rangi (“sky”)
and Papa (“earth”). Areas of authority were distributed
among the four departmental gods, who, together with the
tribal ancestors, constituted the pantheon of the earliest
Polynesian mythology and who were shared by many island
groups.
The parentage of these deities was often traced to ances-
tors: like the gods of Greek mythology, the Polynesian de-
partmental deities had once been living persons with human
desires and passions. The process of creating gods continued
in Polynesia until the advent of Christianity in the Pacific
islands during the early nineteenth century. In general, the
study of Polynesian myths and religious beliefs has been de-
pendent upon source materials from early missionaries, who
were not free from prejudice. The religion and mythology
of the Maori of New Zealand, however, were systematically
studied and therefore constitute an important exception.
TANGAROA’S ROLE. In New Zealand, Tangaroa appears to
have been venerated under several names, such as Tangaroa-
nui, Tangaroa-ra-vao, Tangaroa-mai-tu-rangi, Tangaroa-a-
mua, Tangaroa-a-timu, and Tangaroa-a-roto. On other
Polynesian islands, Tangaroa was known as TaDaroa, Tan-
galoa, Tanaroa, and Kanaloa. Tangaroa’s role varied because
major gods were often fused with local or family deities. Tan-
garoa did, however, continue to exist as an independent
major god in most of the Polynesian myths, and a distinct
Tangaroa cult developed in parallel to other common wor-
ship practices. This cult apparently flourished on the islands
where there was an affinity between gods and eponymous an-
cestors. On some islands, there remains only scant informa-
tion about Tangaroa, but his former importance is proven
by his appearance in many fagu (sacred) chants:
O Tangaroa in the immensity of space
Clear away the clouds by day
Clear away the clouds by night
That Ru may see the stars of heaven
To guide him in the land of his desire (Buck, 1938)
Tangaroa was portrayed as the supreme being in western and
central Polynesia, but he was worshiped as the god of the sea.
In the Samoan Islands, Tangaroa was essentially a creator—
the being who formed the islands or who raised them up
from the depths of the sea. In Tongan mythology, Tangaroa
appeared as the sky god. Tui Tonga, the founder of the Ton-
gan royal family, was respected as having descended from
Tangaroa. He was therefore held to be sacred and to possess
great powers that were attributed to semidivine chiefs.
Though Tangaroa was also referred to as the supreme being
and first cause in Samoa, the Society Islands, and Hawai’i,
the complex was almost absent from the belief system of the
Polynesian marginal islands according to E. S. Craighill
Handy (1927).
In the Cook Islands, Tangaroa and Rongo are said to
have been the twin children of the primal parents Papa and
Atea (“heaven”). Tangaroa is said to have taken a wife, Hina,
in the Cook Islands—a conjunction that was held through-
out Polynesia. On Easter Island, the Ariki Mau (“great
chief”) was the possessor of mana (“power”) that was trans-
mitted down the genealogical line from the ancestral gods
Tangaroa and Rongo. On Samoa, Rongo is said to be the
offspring of Tangaroa and Hina. Thus the roles of the gods,
as well as their names, frequently vary from region to region.
There is a striking contrast to the above in the interpre-
tation given Tangaroa in the Marquesas Islands, where Tan-
garoa was elevated into a divinity who battled Atea for su-
premacy. A creation myth of the Marquesas, however,
contains many references to Tangaroa as merely a god of the
sea and winds. It is plausible that the status of Tangaroa de-
clined under the growing influence of Christian missionaries
on the islands. In Hawaii, where he is called Kaneloa, Tan-
garoa was less important than the other departmental gods.
This lack of status may have been due to the fact that the
people of Hawaii later arranged their pantheon to conform
with the Christian triadic pattern, using Kane (Tane), Ku
(Tu), and Lono (Rongo) to form a trinity.
EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANIZATION. As might be expected, the
advent of the Europeans led to radical changes in Polynesian
religions. In the Austral, Society, Tuamotu, and Gambier is-
lands, the people still know Tangaroa as the god of the sea.
Polynesian contact with Europeans, however, and the even-
tual conversion of many islanders to Christianity destroyed
the old gods’ religious authority. Why, then, is Tangaroa the
sole “survivor” among the many Polynesian gods? The an-
swer is tied to the fact that for the Polynesians, descendants
of great seafarers, the ocean is vitally important. The music-8980 TAMMUZ