Tāwhaki

Genealogy

The genealogy of Tāwhaki varies somewhat in different accounts. In general, Tāwhaki is a grandson of Whaitiri, a cannibalistic goddess who marries the mortal Kaitangata (man-eater), thinking that he shares her taste for human flesh. Disappointed at finding that this is not so, she leaves him after their sons Hemā and Punga are born and returns to heaven. Hemā is the father of Tāwhaki and Karihi. Tāwhaki grows up to be handsome, the envy of his cousins, who beat him up and leave him for dead. He is nursed back to health by his wife, who feeds the fire that warms him with a whole log of wood. In memory of this incident, their child is named Wahieroa (Long-piece-of-firewood) (Biggs 1966:450). In some versions Tawhaki is the father of Arahuta. She was the cause of a quarrel between her parents, and her mother Tangotango took her to heaven, where they were afterwards joined by Tāwhaki.

Avenges his father

Hemā, while looking for a gift for his son, trespasses into the land of the Ponaturi, who are evil beings. They capture him and Urutonga, blinding Hemā in the process. While journeying to rescue his parents, Tāwhaki meets and marries Hinepiripiri, to whom is born their son, Wahieroa. Tāwhaki and his brother Karihi rescue their enslaved mother, who tells them that light is fatal to the Ponaturi. Eventually, with the help of their mother, they trick the Ponaturi, who have returned to their house to sleep. Tāwhaki and his brother hide, after having blocked up all the chinks of the house so that no light can enter. When the Ponaturi begin to think that the night is very long, Urutonga reassures them that there is still a long time until dawn comes. They then set fire to the house, and open the door. The Ponaturi are killed by the fire and the exposure to the sunlight. The only survivors are Tonga-Hiti and Kanae.