Tāwhaki

In Māori legend, Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with lightning and thunder. In some versions he is a son of Hema and Urutonga; in others, with Hinepiripiri, he is the father of Matuku and Wahieroa. Hema was killed by the Ponaturi, and Tāwhaki and his mother, Urotonga, and his brother, Karihi, killed them all but two in revenge. They tricked the Ponaturi into entering a house, and then locked them in, claiming there was still time before the dawn. They then opened the door after the sun was up, the Ponaturi died at the exposure to sunlight. The survivors were Tonga-Hiti and Kanae. In some accounts, Tāwhaki was shown a vine to heaven by Whaitiri (his grandmother) and he climbed it, meeting first his ancestors, then Maru (war-god), who taught him weaponry and spells which, when chanted, would paralyze his enemies. He eventually reached the sixth of twelve heavens, Ngā Atua, and was reunited with his late lover, Tangotango, and their daughter Arahuta. Tāwhaki was an expert at building houses and making floor mats.

Arawa version

In an 1850 version of Tāwhaki by Hohepa Paraone of the Arawa tribe of Rotorua, Tāwhaki is a mortal man who is visited each night by Hāpai, a woman from the heavens. Each day she returns to her home in the sky. When Hāpai becomes pregnant, she tells Tāwhaki that if their child is female, he must be the one who washes her. After their daughter Puanga is born, Tāwhaki washes her, but expresses disgust at the smell. Offended, Hāpai takes the child, climbs onto the roof of the house, and disappears into the sky.

After some months, Tāwhaki decides to go and find Hāpai and Puanga. He sets off, accompanied by two slaves. He warns the slaves not too look at the fortress of Tongameha as they pass by. One of the slaves looks, and Tongameha gouges out his eyes. Tāwhaki and the remaining slave go on, and come upon an old blind woman, Matakerepō, guarding the vines (or ropes) that form the pathway up into the heavens. Matakerepō is an ancestress of Tāwhaki's. As Matakerepō counts out her ten taro tubers, Tāwhaki removes the tenth taro when she has reached nine. She counts again, and Tāwhaki removes the ninth tuber.

Matakerepō, aware that someone is deceiving her, begins to sniff the air, and her stomach distends, ready to swallow the stranger. She sniffs towards the south, and towards all the winds. When she sniffs towards the west she catches Tāwhaki's scent and calls out 'Are you come with the wind that blows on my skin?' Tāwhaki grunts, and Matakerepō says, 'Oh, it is my grandson Tāwhaki.' Her stomach begins to shrink. Had he not been from the west wind, she would have swallowed him.

Matakerepō asks Tāwhaki where he is going. He tells her that he is searching for his wife and daughter; his wife is a daughter of Whatitiri-matakamataka (or Whaitiri) and has returned to the heavens. Matakerepō shows him the pathway, and advises him to set off in the morning. Tāwhaki's slave prepares a meal. Tāwhaki takes some cooked food and rubs it on the eyes of the old woman. Matakerepō is instantly cured of her blindness. In the morning, Tāwhaki presents his slave to Matakerepō, who recites an incantation to help him as climbs into the sky. When he reaches the heavens, Tāwhaki disguises himself as an old slave and assists his brothers-in-law to build a canoe. Each night, the brothers-in-law return to their village, where Tāwhaki's wife and daughter are living. Pretending to be too old and slow to keep up with them, Tāwhaki lets the brothers-in-law go on ahead, and returns to work on the canoe, arriving at the village much later. The next morning, Tāwhaki and the brothers-in-law return; when they see the canoe, the brothers-in-law are surprised by all the work that has been done. Each evening, Tāwhaki sits in the special seat of Hāpai, despite the protests of the villagers. These deeds of Tāwhaki bring him to Hāpai's attention, and she questions him about who he is. Tāwhaki resumes his true appearance and is recognised by his wife. He performs rituals of dedication over their daughter.

Sources:

• H. Paraone, 1850. Legend of Tawhaki. (GNZMMSS 64, manuscript in Grey collection, Auckland City Library, Auckland), 345-352.
• J. White, The Ancient History of the Maori, Vol I (Government Printer: Wellington, 1887), 115-119 (English translation), 100-105 (Māori text).(White unaccountably attributes this Te Arawa story to the Ngāi Tahu tribe of the South Island; he also has 'Pihanga' instead of 'Puanga' for the name of Tāwhaki's daughter).