List of Māori deities
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of Māori deities
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Maori mythology
Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...
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- AoAo (mythology)In Māori mythology, Ao is one of the primal deities who are the unborn forces of nature. Ao is the personification of light and the ordinary world, as opposed to darkness and the underworld. He is spoken of under many forms or manifestations, including Aotūroa, “enduring day, this world,”...
– personification of light and the world of the living - ĀrohirohiArohirohiIn Māori mythology, Ārohirohi is the goddess of mirages and wife of Tama-nui-te-rā. She created Mārikoriko, the first woman, from a mirage and then asked Paoro to give her a voice....
– goddess of mirages - AuahitūroaAuahituroaAuahitūroa is a personification of comets, and the origin of fire, in a legend of the Ngāti Awa, a Māori tribe of the eastern Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. The name can be translated 'long standing smoke', a fitting description for a comet. Auahitūroa is a son of Tama-nui-te-rā...
– personification of comets, and the origin of fire - Haumia-tiketikeHaumia-tiketikeIn Māori mythology, Haumia-tiketike is the god of wild or uncultivated foods. Haumia was a son of Rangi and Papa, and agreed to the forced separation of his parents. Because of this he was subjected to the fury of his brother Tāwhirimātea, god of winds and storms, who would have killed him if...
(Haumi) – god of wild or uncultivated food - Hine-nui-te-pōHine-nui-te-poHine-nui-te-pō is a goddess of night and death and the ruler of the underworld in Māori mythology. She is a daughter of Tāne. She fled to the underworld because she discovered that Tāne, whom she had married, was also her father. The red colour of sunset comes from her.All of the children of Rangi...
– goddess of night and death, and ruler of the underworld - Ika-RoaIka-RoaIn Māori mythology, Ikaroa is the long fish that gave birth to all the stars in the Milky Way or the Mother Goddess of the all the stars - ornaments of the Sky God. Ika-Roa is also an alternative name for the Milky Way. Ika-roa was also called Mangōroa or Mangōroa i ata .-References:* E...
– the fish that gave birth to all the stars in the Milky WayMilky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky... - IkatereIkatereIn Māori & Polynesian mythology, Ika-tere or Ikatere is a fish god, the father of all the sea creatures including mermaids. He is a son of Punga and his brother is Tū-te-wehiwehi....
– fish god; father of all sea creatures - KiwaKiwa (mythology)Kiwa is one of several male divine guardians of the ocean in the traditions of some Māori tribes of the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand.A poetic name for the Pacific Ocean is Te moana nui a Kiwa...
– divine guardian of the ocean - KuiKui (Maori mythology)Kui was a chthonic demigod and the wife of Tuputupuwhenua in Māori mythology. They supposedly live underground and when a new house is built, a tuft of grass is offered to them....
– chthonic demigod - MahuikaMahuikaMahuika is a Māori fire deity. Generally, Mahuika is female. In some versions, she is the younger sister of Hine-nui-te-pō, goddess of death. It was from her that Māui obtained the secret of making fire. She married Auahi-Turoa and together they had five children, named for the five fingers on the...
– fire goddess - MakeatutaraMakeatutaraIn Māori mythology, Makeatutara is the father of Māui. His wife is Taranga. He is a guardian of the underworld. Makeatutara made mistakes as he recited the dedicatory incantations over Māui, which made it inevitable that Māui would die. As a result, humankind is mortal .-References:*E.R...
– father of Māui and guardian of the underworld - MaruMaru (mythology)Maru is a Maori war god, especially well known in southern New Zealand where he replaces Tūmatauenga, the war god of the rest of New Zealand. Maru is the son of Rangihore and the grandson of Māui. Maru's image was brought to New Zealand by Haungaroa.-References:*R.D. Craig, Dictionary of...
– god of war - MāuiMaui (Maori mythology)In Māori mythology, Māui is a culture hero famous for his exploits and his trickery.-Māui's birth:The offspring of Tū increased and multiplied and did not know death until the generation of Māui-tikitiki . Māui is the son of Taranga, the wife of Makeatutara...
– demigod and culture hero - PapatūānukuRangi and PapaIn Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world. In some South Island dialects, Rangi is called Raki or Rakinui.-Union and separation:...
(Papa) – primordial earth mother - PūhaorangiPuhaorangiAccording to Māori mythology, Pūhaorangi is a celestial being who descended from the heavens to sleep with the beautiful maiden Te Kuraimonoa. From this union came the revered ancestor Ohomairangi....
– celestial god - PungaPunga (mythology)In Māori mythology, Punga is a supernatural being, the ancestor of sharks, lizards, rays, and all deformed, ugly things. All ugly and strange animals are Punga's children. Hence the saying Te aitanga a Punga used to describe an ugly person...
– ancestor of sharks, lizard, rays and all things ugly - RanginuiRangi and PapaIn Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world. In some South Island dialects, Rangi is called Raki or Rakinui.-Union and separation:...
(Rangi) – primordial sky fatherSky fatherThe sky father or heavenly father is a recurring theme in mythology all over the world. The sky father is the complement of the earth mother and appears in some creation myths, many of which are Indo-European or ancient Near Eastern. Other cultures have quite different myths; Egyptian mythology... - RehuaRehuaIn Māori mythology, Rehua is a very sacred personage, who lives in Te Putahi-nui-o-Rehua in Rangi-tuarea, the tenth and highest of the heavens in some versions of Māori lore. Rehua is identified with certain stars. To the Tūhoe people of the North Island he is Antares. Others say he is Betelgeuse,...
– star god with the power of healing - RoheRohe (mythology)In a tradition of the Moriori people of the Chatham Islands, Rohe is the wife of the demi-god Māui. Beautiful Rohe was a sister of the sun, and her face shone. A quarrel arose after Rohe remarked that Māui's face was ugly. Māui then decided that they should change faces. Afterwards Māui used magic...
– goddess of the spirit world and wife of Māui - RongoRongoIn Māori mythology, Rongo is a major god, the god of cultivated food, especially the kūmara, a vital food crop. Other food crops cultivated by Māori in traditional times include taro, yams , cordyline , and gourds . Because of their tropical origin, most of these crops were difficult to grow except...
– god of cultivated food - RongomaiRongomaiIn Māori mythology, Rongomai refers to several entities:* a deity by whose assistance Haungaroa traveled from Hawaiki to New Zealand as she went to tell Ngātoro-i-rangi that he had been cursed by Manaia....
– the name of a number of separate beings - RuaumokoRuaumokoIn Māori mythology, Ruaumoko is the youngest son of Rangi and Papa, god of volcanoes and seasons. He has never been born and remains inside his mother's womb. His movements are considered the cause of earthquakes. These earthquakes in turn are responsible for the change of seasons...
– god of volcanoes, earthquakes and seasons - Tama-nui-te-rāTama-nui-te-raIn Māori mythology, Tama-nui-te-rā is the personification of the Sun.Māui decided that the days were too short and caught Tamanui-te-rā with a snare, then beat him to make him travel more slowly across the sky. In some legends Tama-nui-te-rā is the husband of Ārohirohi, goddess of mirages...
– personification of the sun - TāneTaneIn Māori mythology, Tāne is the god of forests and of birds, and the son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, the sky father and the earth mother, who lie in a tight embrace...
– god of forests and birds - Tane-roreTane-roreIn Maori mythology, Tane-Rore is the personification of shimmering air as deity Tanerore performs a haka for his mother Hine Ruamati.Tama-nui-te-ra had two wives, Winter maid Hine-takurua and the Summer maid Hine-raumati...
– personification of shimmering air - TangaroaTangaroaIn Māori mythology, Tangaroa is one of the great gods, the god of the sea. He is a son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, Sky and Earth. After he joins his brothers Rongo, Tūmatauenga, Haumia, and Tane in the forcible separation of their parents, he is attacked by his brother Tawhirimatea, the god of...
– god of the sea - TangotangoTangotangoIn Māori mythology, Tangotango was a celestial woman who fell in love with the great hero Tāwhaki and came to earth to become his wife. After bearing him a daughter, Arahuta, they quarreled and she returned to heaven. Tāwhaki and his brother set out on a great adventure to find her....
– celestial goddess - TāwhakiTāwhakiIn Māori mythology, Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with lightning and thunder.-Genealogy:The genealogy of Tāwhaki varies somewhat in different accounts. In general, Tāwhaki is a grandson of Whaitiri, a cannibalistic goddess who marries the mortal Kaitangata , thinking that he...
– supernatural being associated with thunder and lightning - TāwhirimāteaTawhirimateaIn Māori mythology, Tāwhirimātea is the god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms. He is a son of Papatūānuku and Ranginui...
– god of weather, thunder, lightning, rain, wind and storms - Te UiraTe UiraIn Māori mythology, Te Uira is a personification of lightning and a great-grandparent of Whaitiri . Te Uira's child Te Kanapu, grandparent of Whaitiri, is also a personification of lightning....
– personification of lightning - TinirauTinirau and KaeIn Māori mythology, Tinirau is a guardian of fishes. He is a son of Tangaroa, the god of the sea. His home at Motutapu is surrounded with pools for breeding fish. He also has several pet whales....
– guardian of fish - TūmatauengaTumatauengaIn Māori mythology, Tū or Tūmatauenga is one of the great gods, and the origin of war. All war-parties were dedicated to him, and he was treated with the greatest respect and awe. He is usually a son of the primordial parent, sky and earth...
– god of war - Tū-te-wehiwehiTū-te-wehiwehiIn Māori mythology, Tū-te-wehiwehi is the father of all reptiles. He is a son of Punga and brother of Ikatere....
– father of all reptiles - UenukuUenukuIn Māori mythology, Uenuku is the god of rainbows. He is particularly special to the Tainui Māori.-Legend:The legend of Uenuku is similar to many other vanishing lover tales such as Cupid and Psyche or Beauty and the Beast....
– god of rainbows - WhaitiriWhaitiriIn Māori mythology, Whaitiri is a female deity, a personification of thunder, and the grandmother of Tāwhaki and Karihi. Whaitiri is the granddaughter of Te Kanapu, and the great-granddaughter of Te Uira, both of whom are personified forms of lightning...
– personification of thunder - WhiroWhiroIn Māori mythology, Whiro is the lord of darkness, or the embodiment of all evil. He inhabits the underworld and is responsible for the ills of all persons....
– lord of darkness and embodiment of evil