Deities

Rongo

RAWNG-oh

Also Known As Rongomatane

Polynesian Deities

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Rongo." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/deities/rongo.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Rongo. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/deities/rongo

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-rongo,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Rongo},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/deities/rongo},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Rongo, in fuller form Rongomatane, is the Maori and wider Polynesian atua of cultivated food, above all the kumara, the sweet potato that is offered first to him at harvest before the rest of the crop may be eaten. He is one of the sons of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother, of the generation Te Ara, the New Zealand government's own encyclopedia, groups together as the departmental gods: Tane of the forest, Tangaroa of the sea, Tu of war, Rongo of cultivated food and Haumia of uncultivated food, each taking a portion of the world once their brother forced their parents apart and let in the light. Rongo's association with peace, alongside plenty, grows out of this settled, cultivated character, standing against the wildness of Haumia's fernroot and the violence of Tu's war, and a gathering held to make peace is still conducted under his name in Maori tradition today.

Facts

Belief

Theology

Polytheistic: many gods 2

Origins

Origin of the Name

Rongo descends from Proto-Polynesian roŋo, to hear, a root that also gives peace and report. The same word surfaces across the Pacific as Hawaiian Lono, and the god's association with peacemaking and with the harvest grows directly from a name that means being attended to and heard. 2

Identity

Gender

Male 1

Attestation

Veneration Today

Actively venerated in a living tradition 1

Historicity

Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 2

Function

Domain / Function

Agriculture and harvest 1

Attributions

Mythic Association

The first kumara of a harvest is traditionally offered to Rongo before the rest of the crop is eaten. 1

Correspondences & Relations

Pantheons

Polynesian

Cross-Tradition Connections

Child Of

Papatuanuku

Source Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand RaceGeorge Grey

Ranginui

Source Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand RaceGeorge Grey

Opposed By

Tawhirimatea

Source Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New ZealandManatu Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Related To

Lono

Lono is the Hawaiian cognate of the same name, and the two traditions are related without being the same; each account belongs to the people who hold it.

Sources

1. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Manatu Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand Government, 2005Nga atua, the gods: Rongo among the departmental godsView the Source

2. Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race

George Grey, John Murray, 1855on Rongo as one of the sons of Ranginui and Papatuanuku and god of cultivated foodView the Source

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