Introduction

The trouble with Oceanic legends is that there are more islands and peoples than fishes in the sea. And every culture has its own twist on the legendary themes. Gods from one island pop up in another. They change their names. They hide and sneak about. They impersonate one another. It’s a nightmare for dedicated Godcheckers.

Where do we start? Well, we have already cut Australian Mythology adrift because that is a whole continent with its own Gods and traditions. We have tried to keep track of all the Oceanic Gods, even if we have to nail them to the seabed. Every time we see waving palms we wave back and examine the coconuts. Maps have been flapped and boundaries have been pushed with lots of skirting and scouting involved.

Oceanic mythology makes a little more sense when divided into Melanesian Mythology, Micronesian Mythology and Polynesian Mythology which includes the famous Maori Mythology. The Gods may have taken to their canoes in a series of bewildering journeys but at least you can have fun tracking them all down.

Once upon a time it was just the South Seas and a setting for ripping yarns involving pearls, buried treasure, typhoons, a thrilling battle with a giant octopus and escape from sacrifice and the cannibal cooking pot as a volcano erupted.

How was it the white heroes always escaped whilst the ‘savages’ perished? How we longed for Captain Cast-iron to be rent asunder by the Octopus, his parts cooked in volcanic ash, and then thrown away as being totally tasteless...

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Options

Introduction to Oceanic Mythology.

Use our Godbrowser™ to explore the Gods of Oceanic Mythology.

View the Oceanic pantheons. Family trees coming soon!

Consult Godchecker’s complete alphabetical list of Oceanic god and goddess names.

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