The Polynesian Gods

The pantheon in this game is meant to be a reasonable approximation of Polynesian Mythology, primarily based on the Maori version. It also includes gods from other Polynesian islands like Tahiti and Hawaii, brought in to flesh out a pantheon built for a TTRPG.

In the beginning, Papa (mother earth) and Rangi (father sky) were locked in an eternal embrace, with the world between them stuck in darkness. Their children grew tired of the darkness and lack of space and discussed what should be done. First a suggestion to slay their parents was raised, but in the end the siblings, all but Tawhiri, agreed to rend them apart. One by one their children tried, and failed, until Tane with the strength of his forests reaching into the sky broke his parents’ eternal embrace. The gods listed below form the major gods of this Pantheon.

Tane. Tane is associated with forests and birds.

Rongo. Rongo is associated with cultivated food.

Haumia. The father of uncultivated food.

Tangaroa. Fish and reptiles.

Tawhiri. The father of winds and storms.

Ku. Ku is the god of war in Hawaiian mythology.

Hina. Goddess of the Moon, associated with fertility, and mother of Maui.

Hine-Nui-Te-Po. The mother of death.

Lesser gods. Stories from Polynesian mythology are filled with hundreds of minor gods, and I imagine thousands more have been lost to time. While many of these minor gods may represent some small aspect or explain a narrow natural phenomenon two related broad patterns emerge.

The first pattern is the progeny of the major gods are all associated with more narrow aspects of their broad domain. The Maori creation myth provides one type of example of how these gods relate to the major gods. To exact vengeance on his siblings, Tawhiri created minor gods, of the four directions of the winds of squalls, and fierce storms, and so on as he assaulted his siblings. Tane similarly created the god of fish and of reptiles, and so on with each aspect in their domain being progeny of their creation.

A second pattern is slightly harder to disambiguate. Many of the gods themselves have many aspects, and compound names to represent them. One particularly profound example from Hawaiian mythology is Hina,

In other Polynesian mythologies, the gods themselves have various names of their many aspects. Hina of Hawaii has dozens of names each an aspect of who they are. Some examples for Hina are Hina-puku-iʻa (Hina-gathering-seafood) the goddess of fishermen, and Hina-ʻopu-hala-koʻa who gave birth to all reef life. For the sake of this setting and the game mechanics, we separate out these aspects even if a more faithful replication of the stories and legends would have them be a single god.