Oceanic Mythologies: Australian Aborigine and Polynesian

Polynesian Creation and Flood Myths

Are there Polynesian flood myths?

There are many Polynesisan flood myths. In Tahiti the sea god became enraged when a fisherman’s fish hooks caught in his hair. He sent a flood to cover the whole world except for the tops of the highest mountains. The Samoans say that a flood occurred when the gods of fire and water fought each other. The Maori tell of Ruatapu, a woman who became angry at the nobility and lured their children into a canoe and then sank the canoe in the ocean. Only a man named Paikea somehow survived. Now Ruatapu got the gods to send a huge flood to destroy the world. Paikea, an archetypal flood hero like Noah, was saved on a mountain top with the help of a goddess.



Close

This is a web preview of the "The Handy Mythology Answer Book" app. Many features only work on your mobile device. If you like what you see, we hope you will consider buying. Get the App