Handbook of Polynesian Mythology

An accessible concise reference source on Polynesia''s complex mythology product of a culture little known outside its home.Encounters with the West introduced Polynesian mythology to the worldand sealed its fate as a casualty of colonialism. But for centuries before the Europeans came that mythology was as vast as the triangle of ocean in which it flourished as diverse as the people it served and as complex as the mythologies of Greece and Rome.Students researchers and enthusiasts can follow vivid retellings of stories of creation death and great voyages tracking variations from island to island. They can use the book''s reference section for information on major deities heroes elves fairies and recurring themes as well as the mythic implications of everything from dogs and volcanoes to the hula Easter Island and tattooing (invented in the South Pacific and popularized by returning sailors).