Motoro

{{Short description|God in Polynesian mythology}}

Motoro is a god in Polynesian mythology, the tribal god of the Ngariki of Mangaia.{{cite book|author=William Wyatt Gill|title=Myths and Songs from the South Pacific|url=https://archive.org/details/mythsandsongsfr00mlgoog|quote=Motoro.|year=1876|publisher=H. S. King & Company |page=19}}{{cite book|title=The Journal of the Polynesian Society|url=https://archive.org/details/journalpolynesi18zgoog|quote=Motoro.|year=1911|publisher=Polynesian Society. |page=143}} He is the son of Tangiia and the brother of Ruanuku, Kereteki and Utakea.{{cite book |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucMangi-t1-body-d2-d5.html |title=Mangaian Society |author=Te Rangi Hiroa |page=22 |via=NZETC}} While travelling to Mangaia he argued with his two eldest brothers, was thrown into the sea, and devoured by sharks. His spirit then floated to Mangaia on a piece of hibiscus. He was known as i'o ora ("god of the living") because his followers could not be used as human sacrifices.{{cite book |title=Myths & Legends of the Polynesians |author=Johannes C. Andersen |publisher=Tuttle |location=Tokyo |year=1969 |page=349}}