Makemake (also written as Make-make or MakeMake; pronounced 
[ˈmakeˈmake] (help·info) in Rapanui[1]) in the Rapa Nui mythology of Easter Island, was the creator of humanity, the god of fertility and the chief god of the "Tangata manu" or bird-man cult (this cult succeeded the island's more famous Moai era).
He is a frequent subject of the island's Petroglyphs.
The trans-Neptunian dwarf planet, originally designated 2005 FY9, is named Makemake in an allusion to the shared connection of the dwarf planet and Easter Island with Easter. (The dwarf planet was discovered shortly after Easter 2005; the first European contact with Easter Island was on Easter Sunday 1722.) [2][3]
References
- ^ Robert D. Craig (2004), Handbook of Polynesian Mythology, ABC-CLIO, p. 63, http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LOZuirJWXvUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA63&dq=makemake&ots=xyXfFytGAc&sig=9Bgeo5m2_e3gzZb4ZnD0VpEdyWo
- ^ Blue, Jennifer (July 14, 2008). "(136472) 2005 FY9 Named Makemake". http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?/archives/337-136472-2005-FY9-Named-Makemake.html. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ^ Mike Brown (2008). "Mike Brown's Planets: What's in a name? [part 2]". CalTech. http://www.mikebrownsplanets.com/2008/07/whats-in-name-part-2.html. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- Alfred Métraux. [1940] 1971. Ethnology of Easter Island. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 160. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press.
- Katherine Routledge The Mystery of Easter Island 1919 ISBN 0-9328 1 3-48-8
- VAN TILBURG, Jo Anne. 1994. Easter Island: Archaeology, Ecology and Culture. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
 |
This article relating to a myth or legend from Oceania is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
