Ngā Mānawa, in a

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

of the

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

, a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

tribe of the eastern

Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty Region is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the Bay of Plenty, marine bight of that same name. The bay was name ...

in New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, was the collective name for the Fire Children, the five sons of

Mahuika Mahuika is a Māori fire deity and consort of the god Auahitūroa. Myths In some versions, she is the younger sister of Hine-nui-te-pō, goddess of death. It was from her that Māui (in some versions he is her grandson) obtained the secre ...

and

Auahitūroa Auahitūroa is a Māori god, the son of Tama-nui-te-rā, personification of comets, and the origin of fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reacti ...

. The names of the Fire Children are the names of the five fingers of the human hand: # Takonui (thumb) # Takoroa (forefinger) # Māpere (middle finger) # Mānawa (ring finger) # Tōiti (little finger) The names of the fire children differ in the various regions of New Zealand, simply because the name of the fingers differ. For example, to the

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...

people of the East Coast of the North Island, they are: # Konui (thumb) # Koroa (forefinger) # Māpere (middle finger) # Mānawa (ring finger) # Kōiti (little finger)

References

* E. Best, ''Māori Religion and Mythology, Part 2'' (Dominion Museum Bulletin No.11. Museum of New Zealand: Wellington, 1982), 244–245. Legendary Māori people {{Māori-myth-stub