Miru
Encyclopedia
In the Polynesian mythology
of the Cook Islands
, Miru is a goddess who lives in Avaiki
beneath Mangaia
. She intoxicates the souls of dead people with kava
and then burns them eternally in her oven (also called Avaiki). The Tapairu
are her daughters. Also see Tau-Titi
.
Polynesian mythology
Polynesian mythology is the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia, a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian triangle together with the scattered cultures known as the Polynesian outliers...
of the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
, Miru is a goddess who lives in Avaiki
Avaiki
Avaiki is one of the many entities by which the people of Polynesia refer to their ancestral and spiritual homelands.-Samoa, Hawaii, Cook Islands:By no means certain, but certainly possible, is an origin in the large islands of Samoa, namely Savaii...
beneath Mangaia
Mangaia
Mangaia is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga.-Geography:...
. She intoxicates the souls of dead people with kava
Kava
Kava or kava-kava is a crop of the western Pacific....
and then burns them eternally in her oven (also called Avaiki). The Tapairu
Tapairu
In the mythology of Mangaia in the Cook Islands, the Tapairu are elves or fairies, who are named after the four daughters of Miru, the deformed goddess of the underworld. They were said to have been present when mortals danced in honor of their brother, Tau-Titi. They were also associated with the...
are her daughters. Also see Tau-Titi
Tau-Titi
In the mythology of Mangaia, Tau-Titi is a son of Miru. A nocturnal dance dedicated to and named after him was practised, occasionally with the Tapairu, Tau-Titi's sisters. As soon as the dawn arrives, the Tapairu returned to their home in Avaiki....
.