Tangaroa

Carving from a war canoe.

In Māori mythology, Tangaroa (also Takaroa) 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 storms, and forced to hide in the sea.[1] Tangaroa is the father of many sea creatures. Tangaroa's son, Punga, has two children, Ikatere, the ancestor of fish, and Tu-te-wehiwehi (or Tu-te-wanawana), the ancestor of reptiles. Terrified by Tawhirimatea’s onslaught, the fish seek shelter in the sea, and the reptiles in the forests. Ever since, Tangaroa has held a grudge with Tāne, the god of forests, because he offers refuge to his runaway children (Grey 1971:1–5).

Tangaroa are sometimes depicted as a whale.[2]

The contention between Tangaroa and Tāne, the father of birds, trees, and humans, is an indication that the Māori thought of the ocean and the land as opposed realms. When people go out to sea to fish or to travel, they are in effect representatives of Tāne entering the realm of Tāne's enemy. For this reason, it was important that offerings were made to Tangaroa before any such expedition (Orbell 1998:146-147).

Another version of the origin of Tangaroa maintains that he is the son of Temoretu, and that Papa is his wife. Papa commits adultery with Rangi while Tangaroa is away, and in the resulting battle Tangaroa’s spear pierces Rangi through both his thighs. Papa then marries Rangi (White 1887–1891, I:22-23).

In another legend, Tangaroa marries Te Anu-matao (chilling cold). They are the parents of the gods ‘of the fish class’, including Te Whata-uira-a-Tangawa, Te Whatukura, Poutini, and Te Pounamu (Shortland 1882:17). In some versions, Tangaroa has a son, Tinirau, and nine daughters (1891:463). As Tangaroa-whakamau-tai he exercises control over the tides.

In the South Island, his name can take the form Takaroa.

Elsewhere in the Pacific

Tangaloa is one of the oldest Polynesian deities and in western Polynesia (for example, Samoa and Tonga) traditions has the status of supreme creator god. In eastern Polynesian cultures Tangaroa is usually considered of equal status to Tāne and thus not supreme.

A legendary figure named Tagaro also features in the Melanesian cultures of north-eastern Vanuatu. In the beliefs of North Pentecost island, Tagaro appears as a destructive trickster,[5] while in other areas, he is an eternal creator figure, and names cognate with Tagaro (such as Apma Takaa) are applied nowadays to the Christian God.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. In the traditions of the Taranaki region, it is Tangaroa who forcibly separates Rangi and Papa from each other (Smith 1993:1–2). In the traditions of most other regions of New Zealand, Rangi and Papa were separated by Tāne, god of the forest.
  2. http://islandheritage.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/RNJ_12_3_Cressey.pdf
  3. Rarotonga & the Cook Islands by Errol Hunt, Nancy Keller (2003)
  4. The History of Mankind by Professor Friedrich Ratzel, Volume I, Book II, Section A, Religion in Oceania page 308, MacMillan and Co., published 1896 accessed 16 Feb 2011.
  5. J P Taylor 2008, The Other Side: Ways of Being and Place in Vanuatu
  6. Gray 2013, The Languages of Pentecost Island

References

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