Io Matua Kore is often understood as the supreme being in Polynesian native religion, particularly of the Māori people.
[2]: 106, 669 Io was first known generally with the publication in 1913 of Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury's book,[citation needed] translated by Percy Smith as The Lore of the Whāre-wananga.
[4] The Io tradition was initially rejected by scholars including prominent Māori scholar Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck), who wrote, "The discovery of a supreme God named Io in New Zealand was a surprise to Māori and Pākehā alike.
"[5] Buck believed that the Io tradition was restricted to the Ngāti Kahungunu as a response to Christianity.
[6] Others such as James Cox argues that this "pre-Christian" understanding of a supreme god may in fact be due to the earlier Mormon missionary activities.