Tangaroa

Māori sea deity and progenitor of fish. Accounts differ over his parentage and partners; Tregear records both the sky-and-earth genealogy and the Te-more-tu account.

Parentage

Recorded default; alternative parentage accounts are listed separately below.

• parent: Ranginui
• mother: PapatūānukuEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)

Parentage accounts

Each account is a separate source claim. The parentage and children listed outside these accounts use the recorded default. Selecting an account in the interactive app updates its lineage, descent classification and inherited-power candidates. Linked pedigree accounts are selected together; other records retain their recorded parentage. Claims of ancestry are not proof of biological descent or attested powers.

• Sky and earth parents (Te Ara)

  deity by descent in this account.

  • father: RanginuiPaul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing, Tangaroa, god of the sea (2012), opening genealogy (secondary)
  • mother: PapatūānukuPaul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing, Tangaroa, god of the sea (2012), opening genealogy (secondary)
  Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing, Tangaroa, god of the sea (2012), opening genealogy (secondary)
• Te more tu account

  deity by descent in this account.

  • parent: Te-more-tuEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
  Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Rangipotiki second wife

  deity by descent in this account.

  • father: Rangi-potikiEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
  • mother: PapatūānukuEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
  Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)

Children in alternative accounts

• Poutini: Tregear fish classEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Punga: Sea progeny: Tangaroa (Te Ara)Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing, Tangaroa, god of the sea (2012), opening genealogy (secondary)
• Rua-te-hihiko: Tregear daughtersEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Rua-te-mahara: Tregear daughtersEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Rua-te-pupuke (Tangaroa entry): Tregear daughtersEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Te Pounamu: Tregear fish classEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Te Whata-uira-a-Tangawa: Tregear fish classEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Te Whatu-kura: Tregear fish classEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Tinirau: TregearEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)

Names and tradition associations

• Kanaloa Hawaiian · resolvedRoland B. Dixon, Oceanic Mythology (1916), Part I, ch. I, pp. 11–13 (secondary)
• Ta'aroa Tahitian · resolvedRoland B. Dixon, Oceanic Mythology (1916), Part I, ch. I, pp. 11–13 (secondary)
• Tanaoa Marquesan · resolvedRoland B. Dixon, Oceanic Mythology (1916), Part I, ch. I, pp. 11–13 (secondary)
• Tagaloa Samoan · resolvedIsland-specific comparison in Tregear; this navigation does not transfer family, powers or cult.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Tangaroa Mangaian · resolvedIsland-specific comparison in Tregear; this navigation does not transfer family, powers or cult.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Tangaroa-tui-mata Manihiki · resolvedIsland-specific comparison in Tregear; this navigation does not transfer family, powers or cult.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Tagaloa (fishing account) Tongan · resolvedIsland-specific comparison in Tregear; this navigation does not transfer family, powers or cult.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• Tui Tokelau Tokelauan · resolvedIsland-specific comparison in Tregear; this navigation does not transfer family, powers or cult.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)

Variant accounts

• source review correctionRetain the Māori Takaroa variant. Tangaloa belongs to separately identified island portrayals and is presented through explicit counterpart links, not as an unqualified Māori alias.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• source review correctionReplace the unverified Tangaroa-whakamau-tai attribution with the phrase printed in the reviewed Te Ara passage. The previous claim remains in correction history pending its cited Best passage.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary); Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing (2012), Tangaroa, god of the sea, opening genealogy and proverb (secondary)
• source review correctionThe cited Te Ara genealogy does not support the former catalogue of whale, shark, stingray and eel manifestations. Retain those superseded assertions for review and replace them with a specific credited depiction.Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing (2012), Tangaroa, god of the sea, opening genealogy and proverb (secondary); Te Ara, Tangaroa artwork caption, work by Adam Williams and Joshua Wātene (secondary)
• source review correctionAttach the reviewed passage to each domain and omit native lexical terms that were not verified in that passage.Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing (2012), Tangaroa, god of the sea, opening genealogy and proverb (secondary)
• source review correctionRecord the explicitly narrated transformation. Fish ancestry belongs to genealogy; the reviewed pages do not support automatic inheritance of powers or the former animal-transformation catalogue.Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing (2012), Tangaroa, god of the sea, opening genealogy and proverb (secondary); Brett Graham, Whakairo – Māori carving (2017), Legendary origins of carving, East Coast account (secondary)
• source review correctionRecord the weapon attested in the specific alternative account without inventing a native object name.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• source review correctionThe earlier claim of a securely verified reconstructed form and internal derivation exceeded the passages reviewed. Preserve its POLLEX attribution in history while distinguishing comparative forms from established etymology.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• source review correctionClassify the reviewed rite, offering and named offering place separately; no annual festival or divine ownership of the nearby anchor stone is inferred.Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing (2012), Traditional practices, Religious rites, First fish and Talismans (secondary)

Domains

• sea
• fish

Powers

• Transforms Manuruhi into a carved figure

Epithets

• Tangaroa ara rau MāoriThe proverb calls Tangaroa “of many paths”.Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing (2012), Tangaroa, god of the sea, opening genealogy and proverb (secondary)

Relations

• counterpart of: KanaloaCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• counterpart of: TagaloaCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• counterpart of: Ta'aroaCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• counterpart of: Tangaloa 'Eitumatupu'aCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• counterpart of: TangaroaCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• counterpart of: TangaroaCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• counterpart of: TakaroaCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• counterpart of: TanaoaCross-island counterpart comparison. This link does not identify the portrayals as one individual or transfer genealogy, cult, powers or objects.Comparative Polynesian mythology: reflexes of the same ancestral deity across the island groups (E. Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, 1891; R. D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, 1989) (secondary)
• sibling: Haumia-tiketikeFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ranginui & Papatūānuku) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• sibling: RongoFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ranginui & Papatūānuku) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• sibling: TāneFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ranginui & Papatūānuku) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• sibling: TāwhirimāteaFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ranginui & Papatūānuku) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• sibling: TūmatauengaFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ranginui & Papatūānuku) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• sibling: WhiroFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ranginui & Papatūānuku) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• comparative identification: KanaloaTregear compares the island traditions under Tangaroa. This is a comparative counterpart identification, not an assertion that Māori Tangaroa and Hawaiian Kanaloa share one biography or family. Beckwith separately questions Christianized portrayals of Kanaloa.Edward Tregear, The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), s.v. 'Tangaroa' (secondary); Martha Beckwith, Hawaiian Mythology (1940), ch. 4 'Kane and Kanaloa' (secondary); Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary); Martha Beckwith, Hawaiian Mythology (1940), ch. V, pp. 60–66 (secondary)
• son: PungaPunga is a son in the sea-progeny account; his default lineage follows a different account.Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing, Tangaroa, god of the sea (2012), opening genealogy (secondary)
• parent: Te-more-tuEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• counterpart of: Tui TokelauEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• spouse: Te Anu-mataoEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• father: Rangi-potikiEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• mother: PapatūānukuEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• daughter: Rua-te-pupuke (Tangaroa entry)Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• daughter: Rua-te-hihikoEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• daughter: Rua-te-maharaEdward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• spouse: PapatūānukuTe-more-tu account: Papa is Tangaroa’s wife before becoming Rangi’s wife; this is independent of the sky-and-earth parentage account.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• lover: Papa (third wife of Rangi-potiki)The third-wife account reports this liaison and the ensuing fight with Rangi-potiki.Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)
• grandson: RuatepupukeBrett Graham, Whakairo – Māori carving (2017), Legendary origins of carving, East Coast account (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Grey, Polynesian Mythology (1855) (primary)
• Māori sea deity and progenitor of fish. Accounts differ over his parentage and partners; Tregear records both the sky-and-earth genealogy and the Te-more-tu account.: Paul Meredith, Te hī ika – Māori fishing (2012), Tangaroa, god of the sea, opening genealogy and proverb (secondary); Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), pp. 463–464, Tangaroa entry (secondary)