Ngā Mānawa

In a tradition of the Ngāti Awa, a Māori tribe of the eastern Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island, , Ngā Mānawa was the collective name for the Fire Children, the five sons of Mahuika and Auahitūroa, whose names are the names of the five fingers of the human hand:

• 1. Takonui (thumb)
• 2. Takoroa (forefinger)
• 3. Māpere (middle finger)
• 4. Mānawa (ring finger)
• 5. Tōiti (little finger)

The names of the fire children differ in the various regions of New Zealand. To the Ngāti Kahungunu people of the East Coast of the North Island, they are:

• 1. Konui (thumb)
• 2. Koroa (forefinger)
• 3. Māpere (middle finger)
• 4. Mānawa (ring finger)
• 5. Kōiti (little finger)

Sources:

• E. Best, Maori Religion and Mythology, Part 2 (Dominion Museum Bulletin No.11. Museum of New Zealand: Wellington, 1982), 244-245.