What is Tangaroa the god of?

In Maori and Polynesian mythology, Tangaroa is the god of the ocean. Tangaroa made laws to protect the ocean and its sea creatures “Tiaki mai i ahau, maku ano koe e tiaki”… If you look after me, then I will look after you…”

What is the legend of taniwha?

Taniwha are supernatural creatures in Māori tradition, similar to serpents and dragons in other cultures. They were said to hide in the ocean, rivers, lakes or caves. Some taniwha would eat and kill people, or kidnap women.

Who is mahuika?

Mahuika is a Māori fire deity. Generally, Mahuika is female and wife of the god Auahitūroa.

Who is Hinenuitepo?

Hine-nui-te-pō (“Great woman of night”) in Maori legends, is a goddess of night and she receives the spirits of humans when they die. She is the daughter of Tane Mahuta / Tane Tuturi and Hine-ahuone.

What is Hinemoana?

Hinemoana. Hinemoana was the second wife of Kiwa, one of the male divine guardians of the ocean. Her name literally translates to Ocean Woman and she was the ocean personified. Together, Hinemoana and Kiwa had a number of children.

Who is Tumatauenga?

Tūmatauenga was one of the great gods of Māori mythology and was treated with great respect and admiration. Tūmatauenga is the son of the sky and earth, Rangi and Papa.

Are Taniwhas real?

At sea, a taniwha often appears as a whale or as quite a large shark such as southern right whale or whale shark; compare the Māori name for the Great white shark: mangō-taniwha. In inland waters, they may still be of whale-like dimensions, but look more like a gecko or a tuatara, having a row of spines along the back.

What does ngake mean?

Ngake was a taniwha with lots of energy. He liked to race around the shores, chasing fish and eels and leaping after birds that came too close. Whātaitai was the opposite, he preferred to laze on the lake’s shores, sunbathing and dreaming taniwha dreams.

Who is Hineahuone?

Hineahuone, the first woman, was formed from clay at Kurawaka by Tāne, a son of Papatūānuku. Her name means earth-formed woman. This is just one of many tribal traditions that tell of the birth of humans from the earth.

Who is Tāwhirimātea?

In Māori tradition, Tāwhirimātea is the god of the weather. His parents were Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother), who lay close together.

Is a taniwha a monster?

1. (noun) water spirit, monster, dangerous water creature, powerful creature, chief, powerful leader, something or someone awesome – taniwha take many forms from logs to reptiles and whales and often live in lakes, rivers or the sea.

Who was Paneiraira?

Another, Pane-iraira, was a taniwha who swam with the Tainui canoe from Hawaiki. The famed east coast ancestor, Kahutiaterangi, later known as Paikea, was rescued from drowning by a taniwha in the form of a whale.

Is Wellington called Poneke?

Te Upoko-o-te-Ika is a regional name for Wellington, encompassing Horowhenua, Manawatū and the Wairarapa. But there was also Te Whanganui-a-Tara, which refers to the great harbour of Tara or Poneke, thought to be a transliteration of Port Nicholson.

What is a Kurawaka?

The name of the place where the first human being was made by the god Tāne. The god desired to have a child in order to give birth to Man.

What is Haumia-tiketike?

He is the god of wild or uncultivated foods and is strongly associated with fernroot. His brother Rongo is the God all cultivated plants.

Are taniwha evil?

However, they are not inherently evil and many Taniwha are described as guardians of the people. Several tribes have their own guardian Taniwha, in fact. If the tribe respected their Taniwha, the creature would return the favour by saving tribespeople from drowning and warning priests of approaching enemies.

Did Māori eat whale?

History. The Māori, who were the first to settle in New Zealand, appear to have hunted whales rarely, but did eat stranded whales. The earliest association of whaling with New Zealand is from December 1791, when the whaleship William and Ann called in at Doubtless Bay during a whaling voyage in the Pacific.

Who was Whatonga?

Whatonga was born in Hawaiki about 1130 and was the second son of Ruarangi and Rongaueroa. He was thus a grandson of Toi Kai Rakau. While Whatonga was competing in the regatta at Pikopikoiwhiti a sudden storm blew the canoe out to sea; Toi later undertook his famous voyage in search of his missing grandson.

What does Te Upoko o Te Ika mean?

the report from the head of the fish
The newspaper’s new name – in full, Tu Pūrongo o Te Upoko-o-te-Ika – loosely translates to ‘the report from the head of the fish’, and was given to the newspaper by members of Taranaki Whānui and Ngāti Toa.

Do Māori believe in heaven?

The Maori people stem from only one source, namely the Great-heaven-which-stands-above, and the Earth-which-lies-below. According to Europeans God made heaven and earth and all things. According to the Maori, Heaven (Rangi) and Earth (Papa) are themselves the source”.

Why are whales special Maori?

Whales possess a tapu (sacred) significance to Maori as both supernatural beings and as harbingers of personal change and spiritual growth. When whales appeared on long journeys by waka (canoe) across the Pacific ocean, they were seen by Maori as a sign that the iwi (tribe) should settle in a particular place.

Who were the first whalers in NZ?

Whaling in New Zealand The first shore based whaling stations were established in southern New Zealand in the late 1820s. From very early on Maori joined the whaling vessels as crew.

Who is Toi Kai rakau?

Toi is generally called Toi-kai-rakau (or the wood-eater) because, in his day, there were neither kumaras nor taros in the country, and page 68his food consisted of the vegetables native to the country.

Where is the Takitimu waka?

The Takitimu waka landed at Whangaōkena (East Cape), Ūawa (Tolaga Bay), Tūranganui (Gisborne), Nukutaurua (on Māhia Peninsula) and other points further south along the eastcoast. The Horouta waka was captained by Kiwa and Pāoa. It made landfall at Ōhiwa after its prow (haumi) was damaged.