Welcome to the Tiki Central 2.0 Beta. Read the announcement
Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / Tiki Carving / Tiki Meaning Good Health?

Post #557930 by Paipo on Tue, Oct 5, 2010 3:00 PM

You are viewing a single post. Click here to view the post in context.
P
Paipo posted on Tue, Oct 5, 2010 3:00 PM

Tawhirimatea is the god of storms - I'm not sure where the other name you found came from but it's not one I'm familiar with, and it also seems incongruous that he would be associated with healing.
Rongo is the god most associated with healing in Maori culture, being the traditional god of crops and food, and the name has been adopted for Maori healing practice & medicine in modern times. I have seen some carved images of this god in museums but some are not very distinctive in detail as they were usually made from softer porous volcanic stone. These are often called "Kumara Gods" as they were placed in the gardens to ensure a successful crop. The Hawaiian counterpart to Rongo is Lono.