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by Micha F. Lindemans

The Polynesian goddess of light, wife of the moon-god Marama. She is the daughter of the old, blind earth-god Kui. She lives in the sky in daytime, when her husband is rarely visible. Ina makes tapa (bark cloth) from the trees that grow on earth. As soon as a piece of bark cloth is well beaten she hangs it out on the blue sky where it sits like a cloud, white and gray. The pieces are fixed with large stones and when she removes a piece the stones roll away, causing thunder. She also taught the women the art of plaiting baskets. Her daughter is Aroture. On Samoa she is called Sina.