The elements in the religion of the Tokelau people were characteristic of the religions of western Polynesia. The pantheon was comprised of a supreme deity who resided in the sky and a group of nature gods who dwelt in the world. No stone maraes or platforms were erected to the gods. Ritual was very slight and almost entirely confined to an annual ceremony to the supreme deity. Communication was held with ancestral spirits. Nature spirits abounded in the woods and sea.