ATUA. Across Polynesia the word atua (or its cognate form) is commonly interpreted as "god," "deity," "supernatural," or "spirit" entity. According to Torben Monberg (1966, p. 36) the atua were anthropomorphic (shaped like humans), anthroposocial (able to perceive what humans were doing and to communicate with them), and anthropopsychic (relations were conducted with them as though they had human ways of thinking). E. S. Craighill Handy (1927, p. 88) defined atua as personified concepts that embodied desires, needs, hopes, and dreads, or as individualized elements and forces observed in nature.

In some Polynesian groups (e.g., Tokelau, Samoa) a loose distinction is made between atua (gods) and aitu (spirits). Monberg (1966, p. 58) uses the term aitu to refer to lesser gods, while Raymond Firth (1970, pp. 66–69) uses the term atua to refer to all supernatural beings. A summary of usages of the word disguises the variations found between island groups. However, a summary can...