Tangaroa

Tangaroa
Māori atua of sea and fish,

Cook Islander god of sea and fertility

Moriori god of fish
Other namesTangaroa-whakamau-tai, Takaroa
GenderMale
RegionPolynesia
Ethnic groupMāori, Cook Islands Māori, Moriori
Genealogy
ParentsRanginui and Papatūānuku
Kāi Tahu: Temoretu
SiblingsHaumia-tiketike, Whiro, Rongo-mā-Tāne, Tāne Mahuta, Tāwhirimātea, Tūmatauenga, Rūaumoko
ConsortsTe Anu-matao
Kāi Tahu: Papatūānuku
OffspringPunga, 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.

  1. ^ Cressey, Jason (1998). "Making a Splash in the Pacific: Dolphin and Whale Myths of Oceania" (PDF). islandheritage.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2014.