Tangaroa (Māori; Takaroa in the South Island dialect; cognate with Tagaloa in Samoan language) is the great atua of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures that live within them, especially fish, in Māori mythology. As Tangaroa-whakamau-tai, he exercises control over the . He is sometimes depicted as a whale.
In some of the Cook Islands, he has similar roles, though in Manihiki, he is the fire deity that Māui steals from, which in Māori mythology is instead Mahuika, a goddess of fire.
Māori traditions
Tangaroa is son of Ranginui and Papatūānuku,
Sky and
Earth. After joining his brothers
Rongo, Tū,
Haumia, and Tāne in the forcible separation of their parents, he is attacked by his brother Tāwhirimātea, the atua of storms, and forced to hide in the sea.
Tangaroa is the father of many sea creatures. Tangaroa's son, Punga, has two children, Ikatere, the ancestor of fish, and Tū-te-wehiwehi (or Tū-te-wanawana), the ancestor of reptiles. Terrified by Tāwhirimātea's onslaught, the fish seek shelter in the sea and the reptiles in the forests. Ever since, Tangaroa has held a grudge with Tāne Mahuta, the atua of forests, because he offers refuge to his runaway children.
The contention between Tangaroa and Tāne Mahuta, the father of birds, , 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 Mahuta, entering the realm of Tāne Mahuta's enemy. For this reason, offerings need to be made to Tangaroa before any such expedition.
The Kāi Tahu version of the origin of Takaroa maintains that he is the son of Temoretu and that Papatūānuku is his wife. Papatūānuku commits adultery with Rakinui while Takaroa is away, and in the resulting battle on the beach, Takaroa's spear pierces Rakinui through both his thighs. Papatūānuku then marries Rakinui.
In another legend, Tangaroa marries Te Anu-matao (chilling cold). They are the parents of the atua ‘of the fish class’, including Te Whata-uira-a-Tangawa, Te Whatukura, Poutini, and Te Pounamu.
Cook Islands
-
In Rarotonga, Tangaroa is god of the sea and fertility. He is the most important of all the departmental gods. Carved figures made from wood carvings are very popular on the island today.
-
In Mangaia, Tangaroa is a child of Vatea (daylight) and Papa (foundation) and the younger twin brother of Rongo. Rongo and Tangaroa share food and fish: Tangaroa's share is everything red (the red taro, red fish and so on). Tangaroa is said to have blond, and when Mangaians first saw Europeans, they thought they must be Tangaroa's children.
-
In Manihiki, Tangaroa is the origin of fire. Māui goes to him to obtain fire for humankind. Advised to reach Tangaroa's abode by taking the common path, he takes the forbidden path of death, infuriating Tangaroa, who tries to kick him to death. Māui manages to prevent that and insists that Tangaroa give him fire. Māui kills Tangaroa. When his parents are horrified, Māui uses incantations to bring him back to life.
Moriori
In the mythology of the
Moriori of the
Chatham Islands, Tangaroa is a fish
atua alongside
Pou.
Elsewhere
Polynesia
Tangaloa is one of the oldest Polynesian deities. In Western Polynesian traditions such as Samoa and Tonga, Tangaloa is considered the supreme and
creator deity. In Eastern Polynesian cultures, however, he is usually considered of equal status to Tāne and thus not supreme.
-
In Easter Island tradition, Taŋaroa was killed at the bay of Hotu-iti and was buried in the surrounding area.
-
In Ra'iātea, a legend reported by Professor Friedrich Ratzel in 1896
-
In Hawaii, the god of ocean, healing, and long travels is called Kanaloa, the cognate term in the Hawaiian language
-
In Sāmoa, the god Tagaloa is the almighty sky-father deity, the creator of the universe.
-
In the Marquesas Islands, the equivalent deities are Tana'oa or Taka'oa.
-
In the Rennell Island and Bellona Island Islands in the southern Solomon Islands, Tangagoa is a sea god who stayed on the coastal cliff of East Rennell known as Toho and flew in the night with a flame in the sky. Tangagoa was believed to take the spirits of the dead, so the sparkling fire would be seen at night when someone was near death. Some can still recall when this god appeared in the night as a flame in the sky, and there are many tales of it. Tangagoa started disappearing in the 1970s and early 1980s when Christian missionaries visited the cliff and reportedly 'cast' him out.
Melanesia
A legendary figure named Tagaro is also featured in the Melanesian cultures of northeastern
Vanuatu. In the beliefs of northern Pentecost, Tagaro appears as a destructive trickster,
[J P Taylor 2008, The Other Side: Ways of Being and Place in Vanuatu] while in other areas, he is an eternal creator figure, and names cognate with Tagaro (such as
Apma language Takaa) are applied nowadays to God in Christianity.
[Gray 2013, The Languages of Pentecost Island]
See also
Notes
Sources
External links
