'Oro

'Oro is a god of the Polynesian pantheon. The veneration of Oro, although practiced in varying intensity among the islands, was a major cult of the Society Islands in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially Tahiti and Raiatea. On Tahiti 'Oro was the main deity and the god of war. The secret society of Arioi was closely linked because of its rites. On the Marquesas Islands, 'Oro bore the name Mahui.

Four main gods were venerated on the Society Islands: Ta'aroa, originally the god of the sea and fishing, Tane, god of the forest and handicrafts, Tu, the old god of war and Ro'o, god of agricultural products and the weather. These main gods were also venerated on the other Polynesian islands.

The colonists who settled as part of the Polynesian expansion spread their religion amongst the various islands. Over the centuries the continual movement and developments of the original society groups brought about local differences and adaptations of the cult within the Polynesian Triangle.

On the island of Raiatea the priests elevated the god Ta'aroa from the role of sea god - already an important function in a maritime society - to the god responsible for creating the world. A possible explanation for this is that the ariki, the hereditary chiefs and members of the highest noble ranks on Raiatea, could trace their lineage directly to Ta'aroa. A further development of this cult was the veneration of Oro, the son of Ta'aroa and Hina tu a uta, to whom the marae Taputapuatea in the Opoa valley on Raiatea is dedicated. According to tradition, Taputapuatea is the mythical birthplace of Oro. The cult of Ta'aroa also spread to the Cook Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago and Mangareva. Large islands, such as New Zealand and Hawaii, remained unaffected by the cult and its developments and Ta'aroa retains his original function there as god of the sea. Similarly, on many of the other islands of the south Pacific Oro did not have the same superior function as on Tahiti and Raiatea.

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