OCEANIC GODS
Official Names: The Kahunas
Nicknames: Oceanic gods, Polynesian gods, Gods of Polynesia, Gods of Fiji, Hawaiian gods, Gods of Hawaii, Aborigine gods, et al.
Former Aliases: The Atua
Other Current Aliases: None known
First Appearance: Thor #300
==Origin==
Dimension of Origin: Celestial Hawaiki
Habitat: Tropical
Gravity: Earth-like
Atmosphere: Earth-like
Population: 300-500 range
Other Associated Dimensions: Celestial Hawaiki is a large land mass floating in inter-dimensional space resembling an asteroid with a large island surrounded by sea and experiencing periods of night and day. It is protected by an unexplained force which keeps the other edges from eroding and its seas from completely vanishing; these seas dimensionally interfaced with different regions of the Pacific Ocean on earth. Part of this land mass is known as Bullima, a gathering place for a branch of the Oceanic gods worshipped by the Australian aborigines. There is also the underworld of Po, the land of the dead set aside for the shades of mortals who have died.
==History==
The Kahunas or Oceanic gods are a race of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings worshipped by the ancient Polynesian and Maori tribes of Polynesia and Australia since around 2000 BC into recent times. The exact connection between the Polynesian and Australian gods is rather undefined, but some connection exists between the two groups suggesting they share a common ancestor or that one pantheon is originated from the other. The Maori people carried their gods throughout the islands of the Pacific Ocean and into Australia; the Australian gods are usually considered a separate pantheon, but there are enough links to suggest both groups of gods are in fact part of a larger splintered pantheon of gods connected by common origins.
The Kahunas dwell in Celestial Hawaiki, a small "pocket" dimension adjacent to Earth; an interdimensional nexus between Hawaiki and Earth exists near Ayer's Rock (also known as Uluru) in Australia whereas the Australian gods dwell in the more arid plains of Bullima, named for a sacred meeting place on Earth. The Kahunas' human worshippers in Polynesia called these gods by different names than those by which the gods were known in the later Hawaiian Islands: for example, the Polynesians called the king of the gods Kane, whereas the Hawaiians called him Tame. The Oceanic gods are still worshipped on earth through the Pacific Islands, most notably in Polynesia, Micronesia, Hawaii and in Australia, but they no longer traffic earth as much as they once did in ancient times.
The precise origin of the Oceanic gods, like that of all of Earth's pantheons of gods, is shrouded in legend. According to ancient myths, the earliest gods were Papa and Rangi, the primeval parents of all the later Oceanic gods. It is believed that Rangi was actually Gaea, the primordial earth-mother, known as Eingana to the Australian aborigines, who had survived the destruction of the Elder Gods of Earth by infusing her life into the life-giving essence of the Earth. Many of the Elder Gods had degenerated into demonic status and were destroyed by Atum or had fled Earth for other planes of existence. Atum had been born from Gaea by mating with the sentient biosphere of the Earth known as the Demiurge. Atum later departed the earth after shedding the excess demonic energies of the Elder Gods he had slain; some of these energies becoming demonic beings like Mephisto, Surtur, Satannish and Mikaboshi, who became the eternal enemy of the Japanese Gods.
According to ancient myths, Rangi mated with the primal sky-god, Papa, and bore him the Atua, the first generation of the Oceanic gods. Papa so loved Rangi that he held her in a tight embrace, resulting in clouds and darkness on earth suppressing all life on earth. In order to save the earth, their sons took turns trying to separate them, opposed only by Tu, the war-god, who cared for nothing else over the gods themselves. Eventually, the young god, Tame, reached maturity and used an enchanted axe to sever the ties connecting earth and heaven, cleaving the two halves and raising his father to a lofty place in the sky. Designating stars to adorn the heavens, he then decorated earth with trees to lift the vault of heaven. Tame became the most revered of the Oceanic gods and became ruler of the pantheon.
It is from some combination of these deities that the later Australian gods were descended. The ancestors of the Australian gods are believed to have visited Australia at a mythical period of time known as the Dreamtime. (According to all Australian tribes, all history exists in three different time periods. The modern age exists in Real Time when mankind exists, the memories of our ancestors taught to their descendants exist in Past Time and then there is a period of time before mankind existed which is called the Dreamtime. Some references inaccurately refer to Celestial Bullima, the land of the Australia gods, as the Dreamtime.) During the Dreamtime, the ancestors of the Australian gods cleaved mountains and rivers and created trees and forests out of the inhospitable territory to make it suitable for mortals. (Later myths even claimed they created man and animals from the rocks of the earth.) Later Australian gods such as Baiame, Bunjil and Nurunderi became the tutelary deities of the Maori ancestors of the Australian tribes with Baiame becoming lord over all. The exact names of the ancestral Australian gods are unrevealed.
Neither Tame nor Baiame objected to the power or sovereignty of the other, and both of them became beneficent and powerful gods who only saw the potential of human beings on earth. They both became members of the Council of Godheads, formed byOdin, Chieftain of the Asgardian gods, to share information on the threat of the Third Host of the Celestials to earth among other potential threats. Both Tame and Baiame also donated portions of the life-energies to Thor required to restore the Asgardians to life after the destruction of the Destroyer melted during the Fourth Host of the Celestials.
The Oceanic gods still have worshippers on earth, but not as many as they had in ancient times due to the presence of religions such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism carried by invaders through the islands since the 16th Century.
==Characteristics==
Body Type: Humanoid
Avg. Height: 6' 0"
Eyes: Two
Hair: Normal
Skin: Normal
Limbs: Two
Fingers: Five with opposable thumb
Toes: Five
Special Adaptations: The Kahunas or Oceanic gods are exceptionally long-lived, but they are not immortal like the Olympian gods; they age very slowly upon reaching adulthood, but they are not invulnerable to death. They are physically more durable than human beings; their skin, bone and tissue being three times more durable and dense than similar tissue in human beings.
==Powers==
Avg. Strength Level: All of the Oceanic gods are superhumanly strong with the average male being able to lift (press) about 30 tons under optimal conditions and the average female being able to lift (press) about 25 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Powers: The Oceanic Gods possess superhuman strength, stamina
Known Abilities: All the Oceanic gods are capable fighters, hunters and sailors capable of living and existing well without the use of their mystical powers.
==Miscellaneous==
Type of Government: Tribal
Level Of Technology: Magic
Cultural Traits: The Oceanic Gods were worshipped as gods in Ancient Polynesia and Pacific Islands well into Australia. Part of their influence might have extended into the Incan gods of South America.
Names of Representatives: Baiame, Bunjil, Daramulum, Gnowee, Haumea, Hina, Pele, Rangi/Eingana, Tame, Tangaroa, Tawhaki, Tu, Whiro, et al.
Names of Allies: Maui
==Trivia==
- Ayer's Rock in Australia's Northern Continent is believed to be the world's largest monolith. It rises 1,100 feet above the land around it and five miles across its base. Known as Uluru to the native aborigines, the mystical site is composed of conglomerate and changes colors with the position of the sun.
- Mythologies of the World by Max Shapiro and Rhoda Hendricks
- World Mythology by Roy Willis
- Aboriginal Myths by A. W. Reed
- Pacific Gods by James Parent
- Hawaiian gods at the Appendix to the Marvel Universe
- Australian gods at the Marvel Universe Database
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