Animate Representatives

The inanimate symbols of the divinity could give no movement or sign to indicate his will to his followers. Man down the ages has seen omens and portents in the movements and action of birds and living things. The Polynesians shared this attitude and institutionalized matters by associating the various page 19gods with particular birds or animals. These animals were regarded as incarnations of the gods, for the gods manifested themselves through them. In Mangaia, the god Tane was incarnate in a black bird named mo'o (moho), and when a follower of Tane was being treacherously guided into an ambush, a mcto bird flew across his path making a scolding noise. This was the god Tane warning his follower not to go on. Various birds, fish, and lizards have been chosen as incarnations. There is generally a story or myth creating some connection between the deified ancestor and the animal that became incarnate. The deified ancestor Te A'ia of Mangaia was killed in a stream, and his blood was swallowed by an eel. Hence the eel became the incarnation of the god Te A'ia. The eel went out to sea and was swallowed by a shark. Hence the shark also became an incarnation of Te A'ia. Although individual worshipers could interpret some of the signs made by the incarnate animal, it was the priests who were the official interpreters and who established the particular meanings of the omens.