Auraka
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Auraka is a region in the Keia district, on the western side of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. The Keia region contains at least two ancient burial caves, Kauvava and Piri Te Umeume, which were accessed by diagonal descents through boulder-strewn roof collapses from the top of the makatea, the limestone cliffs that form a concentric ring around the central basalt core of the island (Anton and Steadman 2003:133, 136).[1][2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Gill, an early source for the mythology of Mangaia noted a cave in Keia named Auraka, with one of its two entrances named Kauvava (1876a:71–79). However, according to Anton and Steadman (page 136), Gill's "description of the physical features of this cave does not match that of the cave currently known as Kauvava". Gill describes Auraka as a cave which is the 'last resting-place of the dead' (Gill 1876b:202, 234).
- ^ In a few sources, including Encyclopedia Mythica, Auraka is described as a Polynesian god of death. This appears to be a false assumption deriving from a misreading of Gill. These sources also claim that Auraka translates as 'all-devouring'; however, in Gill 1876b, the term 'all-devouring' is Gill's translation of the word 'maumau' from a mourning song, and clearly constitutes a poetic description of the burial cave, rather than a translation of its name. The word Auraka in Cook Islands Māori is a prohibitive adverb, with the approximate meaning 'do not'; it does not mean 'all-devouring'.
[edit] References
- S.C. Anton and D.W. Steadman, 'Mortuary Patterns in Burial Caves on Mangaia, Cook Islands'. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 13: 132–146 (2003). Source URL:[1]
- W.W. Gill, 1876a. Life in the Southern Isles. Religious Tract Society: London.
- W.W. Gill, 1876b. Myths and Songs from the South Pacific. H.S. King: London.
