PERE

[Polynesian] The Polynesian goddess of the waters of the ocean that surround the islands. One day she wanted to travel, so her mother gave her the ocean in a jar to take with her, and later her royal yacht. In the very beginning there was no ocean at all, so wherever Pere wanted to go she poured water from the jar. At first she carried the jar on her head, and later, when she had emptied the jar, the ocean carried her in her divine ship. Pere's mother is variously given as Tahinariki or Haumea, or Papa. Her husband is Wahie Roa.