In Polynesian languages the word aitu refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent.
In the mythology of Tonga, for example, ʻaitu or ʻeitu are lesser gods, many being patrons of specific villages and families.
atua/raitu) can mean 'god' or 'spirit';[3] in other languages, including Rarotongan, Samoan, Sikaiana, Kapingamarangi, Takuu, Tuamotuan, and Niuean, aitu are ghosts or spirits.
There still exists at Mangaia the remains of a great oven named te umu Aitu where large numbers of these people were cooked after being slain.
[5] In other Austronesian cultures, cognates of aitu include the Micronesian aniti, Bunun hanitu, Filipino and Tao anito, and Malaysian and Indonesian hantu or antu.