Io Matua Kore is often understood as the supreme being in Polynesian native religion, particularly of the Māori people. Io does seem to be present in the mythologies of other Polynesian islands including Hawai‘i, the Society Islands, and the Cook Islands. [1]

Io-te-waiora — Signifies that Io is the source of all welfare, all life. Io-tikitiki-o-rangi — He is the supreme one of the heavens, and above all. Io-matakana — He is Io the Vigilant.

In this extract from The lore of the whare-wananga (1913), ethnologist S. Percy Smith dismisses suggestions that Māori traditions about Io, the supreme being, were derived from Christian teachings, and emphasises that their origins are ancient.

1. (personal name) supreme being - some tribes have a tradition of a supreme being, which may be a response to Christianity. However, Io occurs in a number of traditions from Polynesian islands, including Hawai‘i, the Society Islands and the Cook Islands. This suggests a more ancient tradition. (Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 40-42;)

Io – supreme god. There has been debate about whether there was a supreme god in Māori tradition, centred around a god known as Io. Io has many names, including Io-matua-kore – Io the parentless one.

IO, THE SUPREME GOD, AND OTHER GODS OF THE MAORI. By Te Haupapa-o-Tane. [OUR "Memoirs," Vol. III., a volume of 200 pages, half Maori, half English, is devoted to the beliefs of the Maori people of the East Coast of New Zealand, and to a lesser extent to those of other parts. These "Memoirs" were derived from the written

Io has been translated as ‘The Supreme Being’, and the ‘Unknown Creator’. By and large, Io has been translated in the literature as a male entity, though on closer scrutiny all other aspects of Māori mythology embody a duality of divinities, the male and the female.

1. (personal name) Io-the-parentless-one - one of the names for the supreme being, Io. See also Io-matua-te-kore. 1. (noun) spirit, soul - spirit of a person which exists beyond death. It is the non-physical spirit, distinct from the body and the mauri.

The presence or absence of a supreme being, known as Io, is one of the distinguishing features of different versions of Māori creation traditions. The notion of a godhead in Māori society and culture is the subject of great debate.

This pouihi represents the realm of Io-Matua Kore, kei tua, (the realms beyond all other realms) and the sacred vine Tāne ascended to reach the upper realms. Through this pathway, knowledge and wisdom was gifted and brought down to mankind.