In Polynesian mythology (specifically: Samoa), Atonga is a culture hero, half-mortal and half-spirit. Polynesian mythology is the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia (meaning "many islands" in Greek a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean A culture hero is a Mythological Hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, etc He invented canoes and the songs traditionally sung by the rowers. A canoe is a small narrow Boat, typically human-powered though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors He taught birds their songs. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs.
References
- Some Samoan Legends: The Canoe of Lata
- Hawaiian Mythology by Martha Beckwith, University of Hawaii Press, 1970. Pages 268, 368.