Rongo-ma-tāne

The god of the kumara, the sweet potato, also known as Rongo-marae-roa, Rongo-i-tua, Rongo-i-amo — all epithets of the god Rongo. Rongo brought the kumara from Hawaiki to New Zealand in his waist-belt, which appears to have been the rainbow.

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References

Sources

  • Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, pp. 424-425.
  • White, John. (1887). Ancient History of the Maori. 6 vols. Wellington: G. Didsbury, Government Printer, pp. 3:98-117.