Talk:Kiwa (mythology)

tracked down some information on Kiwa
I managed to track down some information on Kiwa, who is found in the traditions of some Māori tribes. Kiwa is of course a Māori word and could not appear in that form in any other Polynesian language. My sources all have Kiwa as male so this article will need to be renamed. Kahuroa 06:14, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Re the term Te moana nui a Kiwa (The great ocean of Kiwa) for the Pacific, googling reveals a similar phrase used in Tahiti and in Rarotonga/Cook Islands where it is something like Te moana nui o Kiva. Careful research would be needed to establish whether this has arisen out of local traditions in those places or has been transferred from New Zealand. Printed material in NZ Māori, easily read and followed in the Cook Islands and to a lesser degree in Tahiti, has been available since the 1850s and may have influenced those traditions. The revival of Polynesian voyaging in the last few decades is also another possible source. There is a character called 'Iwa in some Hawaiian stories eg the story of Umi. This 'Iwa has some association with the sea but on first glance seems very different to the NZ Kiwa. Kahuroa 19:35, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Naming of Kiwa hirsuta
I received a email reply from a member of the team that named Kiwa hirsuta. I asked them why the called Kiwa 'a goddess'. Quote:


 * ''"Dear colleague, thanks for your message. We use the name Kiwa after the Encyclopedia Mythica. It was the only one available some months ago. I assumed that Encyclopedia Mythica was a serious work.
 * Regards."''

Encyclopedia mythica is, of course, on Oceanic mythology in general and on Polynesian mythology in particular, woefully unreliable. I guess this shows how important it is to get things right on the web. Kahuroa 10:04, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

And further to this, the team member writes in a subsequent message that they are taking steps to correct the incorrect etymology as much as is practical:


 * In fact we have already clarified the etymology in some recent press comments. Unfortunately, most press releases were made before the mistake was detected. I will try to modify the etymology in the web site (MBARI, IFREMER, etc,).

I am pleased with this attitude Kahuroa 10:40, 12 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Do you have any access to these press releases? IFREMER has not updated this info, I quote:
 * from Kiwa, the goddess of shellfish in the Easter Island Polynesian mytology


 * Here is the link the researchers depended on.


 * I found a book on google print, I will update the page now. Travb (talk) 12:57, 11 December 2006 (UTC)