Punga (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.

Family and mythology

Punga is a son of Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and when Tāwhirimātea made war against his brothers after they separated Rangi and Papa, the two sons of Punga, Ikatere and Tū-te-wehiwehi, had to flee for their lives. Ikatere fled to the sea, and became the ancestor of certain fish, while Tū-te-wehiwehi took refuge in the forest, and became the ancestor of lizards.

Etymology

As is appropriate for a son of Tangaroa, Punga's name has a maritime origin - in the Māori language, 'punga' means 'anchor stone' - in tropical Polynesia, related words refer to coral stone, also used as an anchor.
According to some versions, Punga is the son of Rangi-potiki and Papatūānuku and a twin brother to Here. In a version of the epic of Tāwhaki attributed by White to the Ngāti Hau tribe, Punga is named as a brother of Karihi and Hemā; however, in many versions, he is a cousin of the brothers Karihi and Tāwhaki.

Elsewhere in Polynesia

In some Hawaiian stories, Hema and Punga are sons of Aikanaka and Hinahanaiakamalama.