HINE-TITAMA
goddess of the dawn
Hine-titama, mother of the Maori people ( said Hin-eh-tee-tar-mar)
She is haloed by a spiral representing the ten underworlds.
The skeletion is that of her husband and deceiver, the child represents her human children, and the lizard the form Maui took when he tried to become immortal through Hine.
Hine-titama was the Goddess of the Dawn, the gateway between night and day. Then she left the world of light for Po, the underground. There she became Hine-nui-te-Po, the Goddess of another gateway, the mother who welcomes the souls of the dead.
(Above painting by Robyn Kahukiwa)
Gods and Goddesses of AOTEAROA
Deities of Aotearoa include Tane-mahuta (lord of the forest) and Tangaroa (Polynesian ocean god), and the supreme being Io. All living things descend from the gods, and are usually embodied in rivers, lakes, and mountains, etc.
HINE was the first mortal woman, created by Tane, god of the forest. She later became Tane's wife, and her children were the first of the Maori peoples.
MANAIA is a half-bird, half-human deity. It has a bird's head and a human form.
MARAKIHAU is half-fish and half human with a tube-like tongue.
MATAAHO is the god of the secrets hidden in the earth.
PAPATUANUKU (Papa) was the mother earth goddess in the Maori tradition. Her husband was Rangi, the Sky Father. This couple had many powerful children, including the gods of the sea, forest and winds. Papa's grandchildren were the first of the Maori peoples.
RANGINUI (Rangi) was the Sky Father, and the husband of Papa, the Earth. He was the father to the first gods and grandfather of the Maori race. His love for his wife almost destroyed his children and prevented the creation of the world of the Maoris.
RONA was the daughter of the Sea God Tangaroa. She became the goddess of the tides, controlling the movement of her father's empire. She was later kidnapped by the moon as she was out with her water bucket. According to the Maori beliefs, there is a woman with her bucket in the moon, still visible today. Since she continued to do her work from the moon, the moon has a great influence on the tides. RUAMOKO is the god of earthquakes and volcanoes.
TANE MAHUTA was the god of the forests, the second son of Rangi the Sky and Papa the Earth. He was mainly responsible for the creation of the Maori world, set the Sun and Moon in their places in the sky and created the first woman, Hine, whom he married.
TANGAROA was the first son of Rangi and Papa, and god of the sea.
TAWHIRI MATEA was the third son of Rangi and Papa, and the god of the winds. He was the only child of the Earth and the Sky who did not want his parents to be separated and often sent fierce hurricanes to punish his brothers. The first reptiles were created due to one of his storms- reptiles were once fish that escaped the waters in terror from one of Tawhiri's storms
