Tangaroa | |
---|---|
Other names | Tangaroa-whakamau-tai, Takaroa |
Gender | Male |
Region | Polynesia |
Ethnic group | Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Moriori |
Genealogy | |
Parents | Ranginui and Papatūānuku Kāi Tahu: Temoretu |
Siblings | Haumia-tiketike, Whiro, Rongo-mā-Tāne, Tāne Mahuta, Tāwhirimātea, Tūmatauenga, Rūaumoko |
Consorts | Te Anu-matao Kāi Tahu: Papatūānuku |
Offspring | Punga, Tinirau, and 9 daughters |
Tangaroa (Takaroa in South Island Māori dialect) 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.[1]
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.