Aitu — Mediated Wiki

{{Short description|Spirits, sickness or demons in Polynesian cultures}} In Polynesian languages the word '''''aitu''''' refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia. In the mythology of Tonga, for example, ''{{okina}}aitu'' or ''{{okina}}eitu'' are lesser gods, many being patrons of specific villages and families. They often take the form of plants or animals, and are often more cruel than other gods. These trouble-making gods are regarded as having come from Samoa.<ref>In Rotuman similar beings are also called ''{{okina}}aitu''; this may be a borrowing from Tongan which, owing to historical contact, has provided a considerable part of the Rotuman vocabulary. See http://www.rotuma.net/os/Religion.html.</ref> The Tongan word ''tangi lau{{okina}}aitu'' means to cry from grief, to lament.

In Māori mythology, the word ''aitu'' refers to sickness, calamity, or demons; the related word ''aituā'' means misfortune, accident, disaster.<ref>The -ā suffix of ''aituā'' imparts the sense ''infested with aitu''.</ref> In Tahitian, ''aitu'' (syn. atua/raitu) can mean 'god' or 'spirit';<ref>Fare vana'a dictionary ('raitu' is also an affectionate word given to a cherished child) [http://www.farevanaa.pf]</ref> in other languages, including Rarotongan, Samoan, Sikaiana, Kapingamarangi, Takuu, Tuamotuan, and Niuean, ''aitu'' are ghosts or spirits.

In Cook Islands ''Aitu'' is also the name of ancient tribes who came from the east.

{{blockquote|According to tradition, some of the Aitu tribes settled on the islands of Aitutaki, Atiu and Mangaia. At Aitutaki (Aitu-taki) they were eventually destroyed or driven away. At Mangaia they were from time to time slaughtered in order to provide sacrifice to the gods. There still exists at Mangaia the remains of a great oven named te umu Aitu where large numbers of these people were cooked after being slain.<ref>''A dictionary of the Maori language of Rarotonga'', Manuscript by Stephen Savage. Suva : IPS, USP in association with the Ministry of Education of the Cook Islands, 1983. For an etymologic interpretation of the name Aitutaki see also "Myth and songs from the South Pacific" William Wyatt Gill, London, 1876.</ref>}}

In the Samoa Islands, ''aitu'' also means ghost.<ref name=pratt>{{cite book | title = A Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language, with English and Samoan vocabulary | first = George | last = Pratt | year = 1984 | orig-date = 1893 | url = https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-PraDict.html | edition = 3rd and revised | publisher = R. MacMillan | location = Papakura, New Zealand | isbn = 978-0-908712-09-0 | accessdate = 8 July 2010 }}</ref> In other Austronesian cultures, cognates of ''aitu'' include the Micronesian ''aniti'', Bunun ''hanitu'', Filipino and Tao ''anito'', and Malaysian and Indonesian ''hantu'' or ''antu''.<ref name="funk">{{cite book|author=Leberecht Funk|editor = Y. Musharbash & G.H. Presterudstuen |title =Monster Anthropology in Australasia and Beyond|chapter =Entanglements between Tao People and Anito on Lanyu Island, Taiwan|publisher =Palgrave Macmillan|year =2014|pages=143–159|isbn =9781137448651|doi = 10.1057/9781137448651_9 }}</ref>

==Notes== <references/>

Category:Tongan mythology Category:Māori mythology Category:Polynesian mythology Category:Māori words and phrases Category:Samoan words and phrases Category:Māori legendary creatures Category:Austronesian spirituality Category:Nature spirits