Other crops cultivated by Māori in traditional times included taro, yams (uwhi), cordyline (tī), and gourds (hue).

In the creation story of the tribes of the Arawa canoe, Rongo, with his brothers Tū, Tāne, Tangaroa, and Haumia-tiketike, agreed that the primordial parents Rangi and Papa needed to be separated to allow daylight into the world.

Rongo and Haumia, the god of wild food, took refuge in the body of Papa, mother earth, who hid them until the storm passed (Grey 1956:7, Tregear 1891:424, Orbell 1998:121).

[10] In southern Cook Islands mythology, Rongo was the god of agriculture and one of the children of Vatea (sky father) and Papa (earth mother).

[12] In Mangaian society, the ritual system to become the principal chief, Te Mangaia, emphasized the worship of Rongo.

At the Orongo marae a human sacrifice was laid on a smooth block of limestone or sandstone in front of Rongo's image.