Tūmatauenga

Māori god of war and progenitor/archetype of humankind.

Parentage

• parent: Ranginui
• parent: Papatūānuku

Domains

• war
• humankind

Powers

• Withstand the storm-god's assault unbroken
• Devise snares, nets and traps to subdue siblings
• Master and source of warfare

Epithets

• Tū-ka-riri maori · chantTū the Angry / wrathful one (invoked in war karakia)Elsdon Best, Maori Religion and Mythology, Part 1 (Dominion Museum Bulletin 10, 1924) (secondary)
• Tū-ka-nguha maori · chantTū the Furious / fiercely fighting oneElsdon Best, Maori Religion and Mythology, Part 1 (1924); Edward Tregear, Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), s.v. Tu (secondary)
• Tū-kai-taua maori · chantTū the Devourer of war-parties (consumer of armies)Elsdon Best, Maori Religion and Mythology, Part 1 (1924) (secondary)
• Tū-mata-whāiti mri · Tu-mata-whaiti · cultTū of the cunning, watchful faceTe Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 'Tūmatauenga' (secondary)
• Tū-whakaheke-tangata mri · Tu-whakaheke-tangata · cultTū who lays men lowTe Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 'Tūmatauenga' (secondary)

Relations

• 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: TangaroaFull 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: WhiroFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ranginui & Papatūānuku) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• equated with: KūCognate war-god (PPn *Tuu): Maori Tu(-matauenga) = Hawaiian Ku. War domain and human/chiefly patronage preserved; the Maori epithet -matauenga and Hawaiian state-cult form Kuka'ilimoku are independent local elaborations.Edward Tregear, The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891), s.v. 'Tu' (secondary); Martha Beckwith, Hawaiian Mythology (1940), ch. 1 'Ku gods' (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Grey, Polynesian Mythology (1855) (primary)