Tiki (mythology)

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In New Zealand's Māori mythology , Tiki is the first person, a man.

Versions

There are innumerable versions of this story in the details:

The first person in the East Coast traditions of New Zealand's North Island is a woman. In other legends, Tāne first created a man, Tiki, and then created a woman for him. In some versions of the west coast, Tiki himself was a son of divine parents Rangi and Papa and mixed his blood with clay , and Tāne then created the first woman. Sometimes Tūmatauenga , the god of war , also created Tiki.

In another story, the first human is a woman named Marikoriko, and in some traditions Tiki is the penis of Tāne.

In any case, Tiki is very closely related to the first act of procreation .

history

This is one of the variants:

Tiki was lonely and longed for company. One day he saw the reflection of himself in a small pond, he thought he had found someone, and jumped in. But the picture disappeared and Tiki was very disappointed. He filled the pond with earth, and the pond gave birth to a woman. Tiki lived with her in innocence until one day the woman was very aroused by an eel . This excitement jumped over to Tiki and the first act of procreation took place.

Names and epithets

There are other names called tiki, perhaps manifestations of tiki

  • Tiki-tohua, the forefather of birds
  • Tiki-kapakapa, the forefather of fish and a bird, the Tui
  • Tiki-auaha, the forefather of man
  • Tiki-whakaeaea, the forefather of the Kūmara

Elsewhere in Polynesia

In the legends of Hawaii , the first person is called Kumuhonua . He was created by Kāne, or by Kāne, Kū and Lono together. His body was made of red earth and saliva. He was shaped in the image of Kāne, who obtained the earth from all four corners of the world. A woman was then created from one of his ribs. Kanaloa watched as Kāne created this first human and wanted to imitate him. However, he could not bring his creation to life, and in anger he said to Kane: "I will take your human being, and he will die." So mortality came upon humanity.

In Tahiti the first person is called Ti'i. The diacritical mark 'marks a very short end of the larynx, a so-called voiceless glottal plosive and replaces the k in some Polynesian languages . Ti'i was made from red earth, and Ivi, the first woman, from one of Ti'i's bones.

Traditions vary in the Cook Islands as well. On Rarotonga , Tiki is the guardian of the entrance to the Avaiki underworld . He had to be given presents so that the dead could enter. On Mangaia , Tiki is a woman, Veetini's sister who was the first person to die naturally. The entrance to Avaiki is called the Tiki Gorge .

See also

literature

  • Te Rangi Hiroa (Sir Peter Buck): The Coming of the Maori. Whitcombe and Tombs, Wellington 1949 (2nd edition, reprinted. Ibid 1974).
  • Margaret Orbell: A Concise Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch 1998, ISBN 0-908812-56-6 .
  • AW Reed: Treasury of Maori Folklore. AH & AW Reed, Wellington et al. 1963.
  • Edward Shortland: Maori Religion and Mythology. Longmans, Green & Co., London 1882 (Reprinted. AMS Press, New York NY 1977, ISBN 0-404-14437-3 ).
  • Edward Tregear : The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Lyon and Blair, Wellington 1891 (Reprinted. Cadsonbury Publishing, Christchurch 2001).
  • John White: The Ancient History of the Maori. 6 volumes. Didsbury, Wellington 1887-1891.