Key Info

- Mother of all sea animals

Brief Bio

Hina-Oio is a goddess of the sea animals in the mythology of Easter Island. She was married to Atua-Metua and represented the mother of all animals of the sea.

Hina is a divine figure common throughout the Polynesian narrative, with prominent variants also found in Māori mythology, Samoan mythology, and Hawaiian religion. The creation chant of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island refers to Hina-Oio twice in the following passage:

Huru-au ki ai ki roto Hina-oio,

ka pu te moa.

A Hikua ki ai ki roto Hina-oio,

ka pu te uraura.

Feather by mating with Hina-oio

produced the fowl

Tail by mating with Hina-oio

produced the crayfish

— Sung by Ure-vai-ko, in Thomson 1886