Ina

deity · Cook Islands · Pacific

A beautiful Cook Islands maiden who became the lover of the moon god Marama. Ina is the Cook Islands version of the pan-Polynesian Hina/Sina figure. In the most famous Cook Islands tale, Ina was carried across the ocean on the back of a great shark (Tekea the Great, king of all sharks) to reach her lover Tinirau, the god of the ocean. During the journey, she grew thirsty and cracked open a coconut, drinking its milk. Later she struck a second coconut on the shark's head to open it, hurting the shark badly. The dent on the shark's head remains visible to this day. In some traditions, Ina eventu

Open in the interactive archive →