Tangaroa

In Māori and Polynesian beliefs, Tangaroa is the god of the sea and ancestor of fish. He is one of the children of the Sky Father and Mother Earth. Like many other cultures, the Māori people have an extensive belief system including gods and spirits of the natural world. Their stories explain creation, natural events such as rain and earthquakes, and other elements of society and life such as survival skills.

Background

The Māori are the Indigenous people of New Zealand, which they call Aotearoa. Their ancestors arrived on the islands before 1300 CE from other Pacific islands by waka hourua, canoes used for long voyages, from Hawaiki, the mythical Polynesian ancestral homeland. Other Polynesian peoples include Hawaiian Māoli, Samoans, Cook Islands Māori, and Tongans. The Māori of New Zealand share many of the same beliefs and stories as other Polynesian peoples. For example, Maui, a trickster demigod, is well-known for creating fire, raising the sky, and causing the cycle of day and night by capturing the sun. New Zealand’s South Island is described as Maui’s waka, or canoe; the North Island is a fish Maui caught; and Stewart Island, or Rakiura, is his anchor or punga.

The first Māori of Aotearoa lived on the coasts, where they hunted seals and other creatures. They began to grow food and moved into the forests, where they lived in small groups. They believed in many gods of the natural world and referred to their ancestors in nature. The Ngāi Tūhoe people, for example, believed they descended from Hinepūkohurangi, the mist that shrouds the valleys of the Urewera mountains. As descendants of the earth and sky, they considered humans to be cousins to all living things.

Many cultures have mother-father creation myths. In the majority, the mother is the earth, and the father is the sky. Scholars believe that ancient peoples were mystified by birth and the growth of plants and linked them because of the similarities between the two processes. The parents in these myths usually come into existence after a period of nothingness, darkness, or chaos. In the language of the Māori, pō is a verb meaning “to set,” such as the sunset, and a noun meaning “night, darkness,” or “the place of the dead.” The Māori, like people of many other cultures, see the natural world as being interconnected. Everything is part of a family. The creation beliefs include the parents and their offspring, who are spirits of nature such as the forests, the fish, and the weather. The Māori believe that all life began in the sea, and that people evolved from fish.

While the stories of tribes may vary in some ways, the creation stories of the Māori all describe moving from the nothing or the void (Te Kore) to the darkness (Te Pō), which lasted a long time. Creation next progresses to light, Te Ao Mārama. From there the story describes the separation of earth and sky, or Te Wehenga, and the creation of the elements of the natural world, which fell to the atua, or gods and spirits.

Ranginui is the sky father, and Papatūānuku is the earth mother. When they first appear, they are joined as one. Their seven children, or tamariki, are born between them: Tāne Mahuta, Tūmatauenga, Tangaroa, Haumia-tiketike, Rūaumoko, Rongomātāne, and Tāwhirimātea. (Some stories say they produced many dozens of children.)

The life of the children is dark, cramped, and uncomfortable. The children are aware of a pinprick of light that intrigues them. Some of the children discuss how to gain access to the light; some stories say they are encouraged by the sun or moon. Ideas include killing their parents or separating them, but some of the children wish to do nothing. When the parents are parted, the children go from darkness to light, Te Ao Mārama. The separation is achieved by Tāne, who lay on his back and pushed his parents apart using his legs. Ranginui and Papatūānuku (or Papa) grieve for one another. Far above, Ranginui wept—this is the rain. Tāne, the god of forest and humankind, did not wish for his mother to see his father’s sadness, so he turned her downwards and covered her in trees and plants. He clothed Ranginui in the beads of sweat he shed, which became the stars in the night sky.

Overview

Tāne’s brothers are gods of the natural world as well. Tūmatauenga is the god of war. He is also the god of hunting, fishing, and growing and cooking food. Haumia-tiketike is the god of wild food and fern root. Rūaumoko is the god of earthquakes and geothermal activity. Rongomātāne is the god of peaceful pursuits. Tāwhirimātea is the god of weather. Tangaroa is the god of sea, lakes, and waterways and all creatures that live within the waters. The children of Ranginui and Papatūānuku had many children.

When Tangaroa’s parents were separated, Rangi’s tears pooled and formed seas, lakes, and rivers. Tangaroa had a son, Punga, who had two children, Ikatere and Tūtewehiwehi. Ikatere and his children went to the sea, where they became fish. Ikatere is the ancestor of the fish in the sea while Tūtewehiwehi and his children turned into amphibious reptiles. He is the ancestor of the fish and amphibious lizards of the inland waters. Some stories say Tinirau, a son of Tangaroa, is the guardian of fish. Some stories say Tangaroa fled to the sea when his parents were separated, but others say he chose to live in the ocean so he could protect his children and their descendants.

Although Tangaroa is described as a god or spirit, he is more often described as the energy of the water. It can be calm or dangerous and can give life in the form of food and other necessities. It can also be destructive and take life and land.

Some traditions say that Tangaroa and his brother Tūmatauenga, the god of war, fought. Humans are the descendants of Tūmatauenga, so when people go fishing, they are continuing the war against Tangaroa’s descendants.

Some tribes have very different beliefs about Tangaroa. The Mangai tribe do not believe that Rangi is Tangaroa’s father. They say he is the child of Papa and Vatea, the daylight, and has a twin, Rongo. The Manihiki believe that he is the brother of Maui, who begs him for fire to help humans. Tangaroa is angered because Maui visits him by a forbidden path, the way of death, and tries to kill him, but Maui fights him off. Tangaroa refuses to give him fire, so Maui kills Tangaroa, but this angers their parents. Maui brings his brother back to life and steals away with the fire.

Bibliography

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“The Polynesian Expansion Across the Pacific: Mythology and Folklore.” Scots PGC College Library, scotspgc.libguides.com/c.php?g=949230&p=6881056. Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.

Rjabchikov, Sergei V. “The Gods Tinirau and Tangaroa in Polynesian Life: A Fresh Portion of Facts.” Academia, 2019, www.academia.edu/40019804/The‗Gods‗Tangaroa‗and‗Tinirau‗in‗Polynesian‗Life‗More‗Details. Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.

Royal, Te Ahukaramū Charles. “Kaitiakitanga—Guardianship and Conservation—Understanding Kaitiakitanga.” Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 24 Sept. 2007, teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/11542/gods-of-the-natural-world. Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.

Royal, Te Ahukaramū Charles. “Tangaroa—The Sea.” Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 12 June 2006, teara.govt.nz/en/tangaroa-the-sea. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023.