| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Goddess name "Tawhaki" | Polynesian / Maori | Heroic god. A descendant of the creator god Rehua and grandson of Whatitiri, the goddess of thunder, Tawhaki is the third child of Hema and Urutonga. He is the younger sibling of the goddess Pupu-mai-nono and the god Karihi. In some Polynesian traditions Tawhaki is thought of as a mortal ancestor whose consort was the goddess Tangotango on whom he fathered a daughter, Arahuta. Tawhaki's father was killed during tribal warfare with a mythical clan known as the Ponaturi and he himself was the subject of jealous rivalry concerning the goddess Hine-Piripiri. During this time attempts were made to kill him. He fathered children by Hine-Piripiri, including Wahieroa, who is generally perceived as being embodied in comets.... |
| God name "Tawhirimatea" | Maori | God of winds. Maori |
| Deities name "Tawhirimatea" | Polynesian / including Maori | God of winds. One of the children of the prime parents RANGINUI and PAPATUANUKU. He was uniquely opposed to the separation of his mother and father, sky and earth, at the time of the creation of the cosmos, and in consequence spends his time haråśśing and troubling mankind. In Maori culture Papatuanuku, like all deities, is represented only by inconspicuous, slightly worked stones or pieces of wood and not by the large totems, which are depictions of ancestors.... |
"Te Kore (the void)" | Polynesian / including Maori | Primordial being. The personification of the darkness of chaos before light came into being. Usually coupled with TE PO, the unknown night.... |
"Te Po" | Polynesian / including Maori | Primordial being. The personification of the night which existed in chaos before the creation of light. Usually coupled with TE KORE, the void.... |
| Deities name "Tiki" | Polynesian / including Maori | Creator god. One of the children of RANGINUI and PAPATUANUKU who created mankind. In some Polynesian traditions he is represented as the first man, akin to Adam. The word is also incorporated in tikiwananga or god stick, which describes the wooden or stone images of deities that are usually minimally worked and stand about 19.5 inches tall. Only thirty or so examples of these are known, most having been destroyed by Christian missions. The celebrated large Maori totems are depictions of ancestors who appear as human / bird or reptile hybrids. Also Ki'i (Hawaiian).... |
| God name "Tumatauenga" | Polynesian / including Maori | God of war. One of the children of the prime parents RANGINUI and PAPATUANUKU, he proposed the slaughter of his parents when it was decided to separate them as sky and earth. He was subsequently given charge over mankind (tangata), which he imbued with his lust for the warfare and violence that was a characteristic part of Maori culture. Also Kumatauenga (Hawaiian).... |
"Whaitiri" | Maori | A personification of thunder, and the grandmother of Tawhaki and Karihi, who married a mortal chief. She invented the toilet, showed humans how to use it, and returned to the sky, where she still lives. Maori |
| God name "Whatu" | Maori | The Maori God of Hail. |
| God name "Whiro" | Oceanic | The Maori god of mischief and evil. Oceanic |
| Deities name "Whiro" | Polynesian / Maori | God of death. Regarded as an errant son of the creator deities, RANGINUI and PAPATUANUKU, Whiro stands as the chief antagonist of TANEMAHUTA, the creator god of light. He is, therefore, the personification of darkness and evil. During the time of creation from chaos, Whiro is said to have fought an epic battle against Tanemahuta in the newly formed heavens. He was vanquished and forced to descend into the underworld where he became ruler over the dead and chief among the lesser underworld deities who are responsible for various forms of disease and sickness. In the temporal world the lizard, a symbol of death, embodies him, and various creatures of the night, including the owl and the bat, are earthly representatives from his kingdom, as are such malignant insect pests as the mosquito. This deity is not to be confused with the legendary human voyager and adventurer of the same name whose traditions have, in the past, often been muddled with those of the god.... |
Table of Gods
Your guide to the World gods, spirits,
demons and legendary monsters
1996 - 2024 Copyright © Godfinder.org
