Tangaroa


Tangaroa 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 tides. 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 a son of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, Sky and Earth. After he joins his brothers Rongo, , 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, 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, 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 Mahuta, entering the realm of Tāne Mahuta's enemy. For this reason, it was important that offerings were 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. They are the parents of the atua ‘of the fish class’, including Te Whata-uira-a-Tangawa, Te Whatukura, Poutini, and Te Pounamu. In some versions, Tangaroa has a son, Tinirau, and nine daughters.

Cook Islands

Tangaloa is one of the oldest Polynesian deities and in western Polynesia 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, while in other areas, he is an eternal creator figure, and names cognate with Tagaro are applied nowadays to the Christian God.