Arohirohi
Encyclopedia
In Māori mythology
, Ārohirohi is the goddess of mirage
s and wife of Tama-nui-te-rā
. She created Mārikoriko
, the first woman, from a mirage and then asked Paoro
(Echo) to give her a voice.
Maori mythology
Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...
, Ārohirohi is the goddess of mirage
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French mirage, from the Latin mirare, meaning "to look at, to wonder at"...
s and wife of Tama-nui-te-rā
Tama-nui-te-ra
In Māori mythology, Tama-nui-te-rā is the personification of the Sun.Māui decided that the days were too short and caught Tamanui-te-rā with a snare, then beat him to make him travel more slowly across the sky. In some legends Tama-nui-te-rā is the husband of Ārohirohi, goddess of mirages...
. She created Mārikoriko
Marikoriko
In a Māori legend attributed by White to the Ngāti Hau tribe, Mārikoriko is the first woman, created by Ārohirohi from the heat of the sun and the echoing cliff. She married Tiki, the first man, and gave birth to Hine-kau-ataata ....
, the first woman, from a mirage and then asked Paoro
Paoro
The name Paoro appears in John White's English translation of a Māori story attributed by him to the Ngāti Hau tribe, as a personal name meaning 'Echo'. However in the Māori language original which White also supplies, the name Paoro does not appear – instead the word used is 'pari-kārangaranga',...
(Echo) to give her a voice.