Talk:Ta'aroa

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Wooden sculpture of Ta'aroa

This article used to feature File:Polynesian Idol Taaroa.jpg which claims to be a representation of Ta'aroa. However, this (very famous) statue is actually of A'a, and it even has its own Wikipedia page (Statue of A'a from Rurutu). The confusion appears to come from William Ellis, whose 1829 book Polynesian Researches called it "Taaroa, the supreme deity of Polynesia" (and indeed, the file linked in this article appears to be a scan from that book) but the British Museum that currently houses the statue questions that evidence; see [1], under "Curator's comments" (expand the "More"):

It became the prize trophy of the London Missionary Society, being featured on the front of 'Missionary Sketches XXIV', January 1824, and on the frontispiece of volume II of William Ellis's 'Polynesian Researches' - on both occasions with a modest waist wrap, even though it had been emasculated (see above, p.66). Ellis, (Ellis, W., 1829, 'Polynesian researches,' 2 vols, London: Dawsons of Pall Mall: II: 220) referred to it as 'Taaroa, the supreme deity of Polynesia', but on what evidence is unclear.

(Emphasis mine). So, given this, I have removed the picture, although some picture would definitely be nice. Eniagrom (talk) 14:30, 12 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting. I'm glad the curator and museum are aware of the alternate identification by Ellis and the questioning of his identification. --KAVEBEAR (talk) 21:58, 12 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]