Ngā Mānawa, in a tradition

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...

 of the Ngāti Awa

Ngati Awa

Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand.Ngāti Awa comprises 22 hapu , with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns on the Rangitaiki Plain, including Whakatane, Kawerau, Edgecumbe, Te...

, a Māori tribe of the eastern Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

, was the collective name for the Fire Children, the five sons of Mahuika

Mahuika

Mahuika 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...

 and Auahitūroa. The names of the Fire Children are the names of the five fingers of the human hand:

1. Takonui (thumb)
2. Takoroa (forefinger)
3. Māpere (middle finger)
4. Mānawa (ring finger)
5. Tōiti (little finger)

The names of the fire children differ in the various regions of New Zealand, simply because the name of the fingers differ. For example, to the Ngāti Kahungunu

Ngati Kahungunu

Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke’s Bay and Tararua and Wairārapa regions....

people of the East Coast of the North Island, they are:

1. Konui (thumb)
2. Koroa (forefinger)
3. Māpere (middle finger)
4. Mānawa (ring finger)
5. Kōiti (little finger)