Ro'o- Polynesian GodDeity"God of Cultivation"

Crops and Prayers

In the Tahitian religious order compiled by Teuira Henry in Ancient Tahiti, Ro'o governed the growth of cultivated plants. Breadfruit and taro, the staples that fed island communities, answered to his favor. Farmers directed their prayers to him at every stage: before planting, they consulted the lunar calendar and performed the chants prescribed for each crop. The fields were prepared with ritual attention, and priests at stone marae received offerings on his behalf.

Other gods commanded war and the open sea. Ro'o commanded the soil. Without him, the breadfruit trees bore nothing and the taro rotted in the ground.

The First Fruits

At harvest, the first breadfruit pulled from the branch and the first taro drawn from the earth were set aside. No one ate until Ro'o received his portion. Henry and Handy both recorded these first-fruits ceremonies as central to the Tahitian agricultural calendar. The offerings were brought to the marae, where priests presented them with prescribed chants.

When the harvest failed, Ro'o's favor had been lost. Ritual remedy followed: additional offerings and renewed prayers, with priests consulted to identify what had gone wrong.