The deities and mythological characters of the islands in the Pacific ocean (aka Oceania), which are sorted by tribal groups.
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Polynesian
Across all of Polynesia
Māui
Māui is a culture hero and ancient chief who appears in several different genealogies. In the Kumulipo, he is the son of ʻAkalana and his wife Hina-a-ke-ahi (Hina). This couple has four sons, Māui-mua, Māui-waena, Māui-kiʻikiʻi, and Māui-a-kalana. Māui-a-kalana's wife is named Hinakealohaila, and his son is named Nanamaoa. Māui is one of the Kupua. His name is the same as that of the Hawaiian island Maui, although native tradition holds that it is not named for him directly, but instead named after the son of Hawaii's discoverer (who was named after Māui himself).
- Bad with the Bone: He famously wielded a hook fashioned from the jawbone of his divine grandmother, Ina or Hina.
- Hooks and Crooks: Maui's trademark weapon and prized item of possession was his magical fish hook.
- Trickster God: Among his achievements were stealing fire from the Underworld (the island goddess Te Fiti's heart in Moana), fishing out New Zealand (and the Hawaiian Islands, and basically every island Polynesians live on) from the ocean, and lassoing and beating the living crap out of the Sun until it agreed to slow down and not streak across the sky so quickly.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Wouldn't be a trickster without such an ability.
Tama-nui-te-ā (Maori)/Kā-lā (Hawaiian) (probable proto-Polynesian root *laqaa)
The personified sun. He is rather consistently and ubiquitously portrayed largely due to his role in Māui's stories (namely, getting beaten up by him until he lengthens days).
Hawaiian
Kāne
Kāne is considered the highest of the four major Hawaiian deities, along with Kanaloa, Kū, and Lono, though he is most closely associated with Kanaloa. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives life associated with dawn, sun and sky. No human sacrifice or laborious ritual was needed in the worship of Kāne.
- Top God: While there were four supreme Hawaiian gods, Kane was above all others.
Kū
Kū is another of the four great gods. The other three are Kanaloa, Kāne, and Lono. Some feathered god images or akua hulu manu are considered to represent Kū. Kū is worshiped under many names, including Kū-ka-ili-moku (also written Kūkaʻilimoku), the "Snatcher of Land". Rituals for Kūkaʻilimoku included human sacrifice, which was not part of the worship of other gods.
Lono
Lono is associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, music and peace. In one of the many Hawaiian stories of Lono, he is a fertility and music god who descended to Earth on a rainbow to marry Laka. In agricultural and planting traditions, Lono was identified with rain and food plants. He was one of the four gods (with Kū, Kāne, and Kāne's twin brother Kanaloa) who existed before the world was created. Lono was also the god of peace. In his honor, the great annual festival of the Makahiki was held. During this period (from October through February), war and unnecessary work was kapu (forbidden).
Kanaloa
Kanaloa is a god symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne. It is also an alternative name for the island of Kahoʻolawe.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Like Hades/Pluto he rules the Underworld, while imposing and potentially dangerous when angered overall he isn't evil.
- Tentacled Terror: He is associated with octopuses, however the "terror" part is downplayed.
Pele
Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and fire and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands. Often referred to as "Madame Pele" or "Tūtū Pele" as a sign of respect, she is a well-known deity within Hawaiian mythology and is notable for her contemporary presence and cultural influence as an enduring figure from ancient Hawaii. Epithets of the goddess include Pele-honua-mea ("Pele of the sacred land") and Ka wahine ʻai honua ("The earth-eating woman").
- Jerkass Gods: Maybe not that jerkassery per se, but too often her volcanic temperament gets the better of her, and you then better stay away ten miles from her hothead until she has blown off steam.
- Living Lava: A volcanic goddess who embodies the main volcano, who knows when incautious visitors have taken away rocks from her sacred place and left the island with them. There are stories of the volcano goddess's vengeance manifesting in bad luck and ill-fortune to such people — until the stolen rocks are returned. The relevant authority in Hawaii testifies that it regularly receives parcels of volcanic rock, anonymously, to be returned to the volcano goddess with apologies.
Kāmohoaliʻi
Kamohoaliʻi is a shark god and a brother of Kāne Milohai, Pele, Kapo, Nāmaka, and Hiʻiaka.
- Shark Man: Polynesian legends believed in sharks that could take human form and even have shapeshifting kids with human wives.
- Threatening Shark: Averted, the sea gods are usually portrayed as benevolent shark-shaped guardians of the sea. Hawaiian mythology goes one step further and refers to tiger sharks as "na 'aumakua", benevolent ancestor spirits.
Kamapuaʻa
Kamapuaʻa ("hog child") is a hog-man fertility superhuman associated with Lono, the god of agriculture. The son of Hina and Kahikiula, the chief of Oahu, Kamapuaʻa was particularly connected with the island of Maui.
- Destructive Romance: A trickster demigod having romance with Pele, the goddess of fire. Their fighting almost destroyed both of them.
- Pig Man: A human who could shapeshift into a pig or a humanoid boar.
Nāmaka
Nāmaka (or Nā-maka-o-Kahaʻi, the eyes of Kahaʻi) appears as a sea goddess in the Pele family. She is an older sister of Pele-honua-mea.
- Elemental Rivalry: With Pele- lava and water don't mingle together very well.
- Lord of the Ocean: She is one of the many deities that govern the ocean, another being Kanaloa.
Poliʻahu
Poliʻahu ("cloaked bosom" or "temple bosom") is one of the four goddesses of snow, all enemies of Pele. She was thought to reside on Mauna Kea, which if measured from the seafloor is the world's tallest mountain.
- An Ice Person: Yes, you read that right- Hawaii and Polynesia have actual snow.
Laka
Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology. (In other parts of Polynesia they are known as Rātā, Rata, Lata, Ata, or Lasa). Lengthy legends of their exploits extend throughout the islands, and the kings of Tahiti and Hawaiʻi claimed them as their ancestors.
- Love Goddess: The Hawaiian goddess of hula, beauty and love. Sometimes confused with her sisters Pele and Hi'iaka.
Hiʻiaka
Hiʻiaka is a daughter of Haumea and Kāne, and a sister of Pele. She's the goddess of hula dancers, chants, sorcery and medicine.
Lilinoe
Lilinoe is a goddess of mist and thin rain.
- Happy Rain: The goddess of it who gets worshipped alongside Lono for good crops.
Hina
Hina is the name assigned to a number of Polynesian deities. The name Hina usually relates to a powerful female force (typically a goddess or queen) who has dominion over a specific entity. Some variations of the name Hina include Sina, Hanaiakamalama, and Ina. Even within a single culture, Hina could refer to multiple goddesses and the distinction between the different identities are not always clear. In Hawaiian mythology, the name is usually paired with words which explain or identify the goddess and her power such as Hina-puku-iʻa (Hina-gathering-seafood) the goddess of fishermen, and Hina-ʻopu-hala-koʻa who gave birth to all reef life. Hina continues to be a figure worshiped in many of the Polynesian religions and her stories serve as traditions that unite Polynesia, specifically the Hawaiian Islands.
Kanehekili
Kanehekili is the brother Pele and Hiʻiaka (among others) by Haumea. He is the god of thunder.
- God of Thunder: His sister is by default a goddess of volcanoes but she is also an example of this trope. Probably runs in the family.
Haumea
Haumea is the goddess of fertility and childbirth in Hawaiian mythology. She is the mother of many important deities, such as Pele, Kāne Milohai, Kāmohoaliʻi, Nāmaka, Kapo, and Hiʻiaka, among many others. Haumea is one of the most important Hawaiian gods, and her worship is among the oldest on the Hawaiian islands.
Kalamainuʻu
Kalamainu'u (alternate spelling Kalanimainu'u) was a lizard goddess.
- Lovable Lizard: She isn't malicious at all, though she did once get into trouble with two men.
Pakaa
Pakaa is the god of the wind and the inventor of the sail.
- Blow You Away: The sails of boats and winds are his domain, since the former requires the latter to function.
Wākea
Wākea, the Sky father weds Papahānaumoku, the earth mother. The two are considered the parent couple of the ruling chiefs of Hawaii. Wākea was the eldest son of Kahiko ("Ancient One"), who lived in Olalowaia, and grandson of Welaahilaninui that is considered a god or the first man, the forefather of all Hawaiians.
- The Old Gods: He is the second generation of Hawaiian deities and is the father of most of the pantheon but is no longer taking part in his children's lives.
Papahānaumoku
Papahānaumoku — often simply called Papa — is a goddess and the Earth Mother. She is mentioned in the chants as the consort of the sky god Wākea. Papa is still worshipped by some Hawaiians, especially by women, as a primordial force of creation who has the power to give life and to heal.
- Mother Nature: Just like Gaia she birthed most of the pantheon but she rarely (if ever) takes action towards anything so preferably she remains in the background.
Maori
Whiro
The Maori god of death and the underworld. He threatens to kill everyone by gaining power from devouring the dead; this motivated the Maori practice of cremation, since he cannot gain strength from the ashes.
- Everybody Hates Hades: He is explicitly evil and wants to kill everyone, so pretty justified.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Associated with the tuatara, New Zeland's archaic reptile. Though in recent times Maori have instead dissassociated it from Whiro, in order to motivate its protection.
