Tūmatauenga (''Tū of the angry face'') is the primary god () of war and human activities such as hunting, food cultivation, fishing, and cooking in

Māori mythology Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori people, Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern tales of supernatural events relating to the origins of what was the ...

. In creation stories, Tū suggests to kill his parents to allow light into the world. After they are instead separated. One of his brothers

Tāwhirimātea In Māori mythology, Tāwhirimātea (or Tāwhiri) is the god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms. He is a son of Rangi and Papa, Papatūānuku (Earth goddess, earth mother) and Rangi and Papa, Ranginui (sky father ...

was not happy with this and had declared war against his brothers and Tū was the only one who fought while the other brothers hid away avoiding the fight. Because of his brothers actions and having to fight Tāwhiri alone, he wars with his brothers and becomes the origin of humanity's activities, and the reasons for their behaviour when interacting with the creations of his brothers. As the god of war, all were dedicated to him and he was treated with the greatest respect and awe. Tūmatauenga inspires the

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

's Māori name: where all soldiers are deemed of the same ''iwi'' ("tribe") under the deity's patronage regardless of racial heritage. The

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

is often considered the – fiery ovens of Tūmatauenga – the realm of Tūmatauenga, whereas all areas where battles take place become – the battle domain of Tūmatauenga.

Names and epithets

After his victories over his brothers, Tū assumed many names; one name for each of the characteristics he displayed in his victories over his brothers, including: *Tū-kā-riri (Tū the angry) *Tū-ka-nguha (Tū the fierce fighter) *Tū-kai-tangata (Tū who destroys humankind) *Tū-kai-taua (Tū the destroyer of armies) *Tū-mata-whāiti (Tū the cunning) *Tū-mata-uenga (Tū of the angry face) *Tū-tawake (Tū who hastens) *Tū-te-ngaehe (Tū who tears apart) *Tū-whakaheke-tangata (Tū the demoter of personages) *Tū-whakamoana-ariki (Tū who enriches the sea)

Earth's creation

A traditional creation story tells that all the children of

Rangi and Papa In Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa (or Ranginui and Papatūānuku) appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world and the Māori people (though there are many different versions). In some South Island dialects, Ran ...

, the

sky father In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a "father", often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The conc ...

and

earth mother A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, a ...

, lay in a tight embrace together, their children forced to crawl in the darkness between the two. One day, their children become so sick of this that they discuss a plan to separate them and allow light into the world. Tū advises his brothers to kill their parents, but the kinder proposal of Tāne is accepted and he instead forces the primordial pair apart. In a

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

version, Tū thinks about the actions of Tāne in separating their parents, and makes snares to catch the birds, the children of Tāne, who can no longer fly free. He then makes nets, and traps the children of

Tangaroa Tangaroa (Māori; Takaroa in the South Island dialect; cognate with Tagaloa in Sāmoan) is the great atua of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures that live within them, especially fish, in Māori mythology. As Tangaroa-whakamau-tai, he exercis ...

. He makes holes to dig the ground, capturing his brothers Rongo-mā-Tāne and

Haumia-tiketike Haumia-tiketike (or simply Haumia) is the god of all uncultivated vegetative food in Māori mythology. He is particularly associated with the starchy rhizome of the '' Pteridium esculentum'', which became a major element of the Māori diet in fo ...

, heaping them into baskets to be eaten. Of all the children of

Ranginui In Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa (or Ranginui and Papatūānuku) appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world and the Māori people (though there are many different versions). In some South Island dialects, Ran ...

and Papatūānuku,

fought Tūmatauenga to a standstill and forced him to withdraw, making him the only brother that Tūmatauenga cannot subdue completely, whose storms and hurricanes attack humankind to this day because of his indignation at the actions of his brothers. Although Ranginui and Papatūānuku were not human in form, Tūmatauenga and his brothers were.

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

kind – the descendants of Tūmatauenga – increased upon the earth, until the generation of

Māui Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl ...

and his brothers. Tūmatauenga's actions against his brothers provide a pattern for human activities. Because Tūmatauenga defeated his brothers, people can now, if they perform the appropriate rituals, kill and eat birds (the children of Tāne), fish (the children of Tangaroa), cultivate and harvest plants for food (the children of Rongo-mā-Tāne and Haumia-tiketike), and generally harness the resources of the natural world. Tūmatauenga is also the originator of warfare, and people make war now because Tūmatauenga provided the example. When rituals were performed over warriors before a battle, or when an infant was dedicated to a future role as a fighter, Tūmatauenga was invoked as the source of their duty. The body of the first warrior to fall in a battle was often offered up to Tūmatauenga. While Tūmatauenga is the origin of war, powerful local deities such as Kahukura, Maru, or

Uenuku Uenuku (or Uenuku-Kōpako, also given to some who are named after him) is an atua of rainbows and a prominent ancestor in Māori tradition. Māori believed that the rainbow's appearance represented an omen, and one kind of yearly offering made ...

were also called upon during times of war.

In popular culture

A song by Alien Weaponry, "" (''eat people''), from the album constantly refers to Tūmatauenga, as the god of war; cannibalism was a part of warfare for the

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 ...

. also referred to the ''people eaters'' – or groups of men tasked with fighting and gathering food.Archived a
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and th
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In addition, Kaitangata was a mortal who was taught how to fish.

References

External links

Tūmatauenga by Cliff Whiting

Tūmatauenga by Adam Williams and Joshua Watene

Tūmatauenga at Eden Park by Boydie Te Nahu, October 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tumatauenga Hunting gods Māori gods Māori mythology War gods

Names and epithets

Earth's creation

In popular culture

See also

References

External links