Mangarevan narrative (or Mangarevan mythology) comprises the legends, historical tales, and sayings of the ancient Mangarevan people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian narrative, developing its own unique character for several centuries before the 1830s. The religion was officially suppressed in the 19th century, and ultimately abandoned by the natives in favor of Roman Catholicism. The Mangarevan term for god was Etua.
Prominent figures and terms in Mangarevan narrative
Tu, principal god
Atu-motua
Atu-moana
Atea-Tangaroa
Maui, among the principal gods
Tagaroa, among the principal gods
Tangaroa-Hurupapa, probably synonymous with Tagaroa
Edward Tregear, Royal Society of New Zealand (1899). A Dictionary of Mangareva (or Gambier Islands). J. Mackay, Govt. Print. Off.
R. D. Craig (1989). Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology. New York: Greenwood Press.
Peter Henry Buck (1938). Ethnology of Mangareva. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin. Vol. 157. Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
Peter Henry Buck (1964). "15. On the Trail of the Rising Sun". Vikings of the Sunrise. Whitcombe and Tombs Limited.
S. Percy Smith (1918). "Notes on the Mangareva, or Gambier group of islands, eastern Polynesia". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 27. Polynesian Society: 115–131.
Vincent Ferrier Janeau (1908). Essai de grammaire de la langue des îles Gambier, ou Mangaréva. Impr. Zech.