Fisherman's God

A god of the Cook Islands that is identified with Tangaroa. "This fisherman’s god is easily recognised by his stature – hands clasped over his protruding stomach, legs astride and a most distinguished genital organ. Early missionaries often removed his offensive parts, but today he stands intact often decorating the lounge rooms of resorts. Tangaroa's image is minted on a special dollar coin." [Art and Crafts in the Cook Islands, ret. 03/25/2025]

Asaph Gilman had an artistic rendering of the Fisherman's God of the Cook Islands. It was atypical, with no neck, a misshapen torso, and tentacles for legs and/or arms. Gilman apparently found it suggestive of Cthulhu or the Deep Ones. [AWD Gorge]

Laban Shrewsbury also linked the Fisherman’s God, with its misshapen torso and its substitution of tentacles for legs and arms, to be a representation of Cthulhu as seen by the primitive mind. Horvath Blayne determined that the Fisherman’s God had made its appearance in one form or another as far to the south as Australia, as far to the north as the Kuriles, and between, in Cambodia, Indo-China, Siam, and the Malay States; but the incidence of its occurrence was immeasurably greater in the vicinity of Ponape. Horvath Blayne dreamed of an underwater city with images resembling the Fisherman's God. [AWD Island]

I have been unable to find any of these atypical, tentacle-adorned images of the Fisherman's God on the web. Apparently they are rare, or perhaps were misidentified by Gilman and Shrewsbury. However, the equivalent Hawaiian god, Kanaloa, is said to be associated with octopuses and squids. [Kanaloa, Occult World, ret. 03/25/2025]

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