Ponaturi
Encyclopedia
In Māori mythology
, the Ponaturi are a group of hostile creatures (goblins) who live in a land beneath the sea by day, returning to shore each evening to sleep. They dread daylight, which is fatal to them. They appear in a number of stories, including:
kill all the Ponaturi, in revenge for the death of Hemā, but the mullet escapes by leaping again and again until it gets back to the sea (Craig 1989:99, Grey 1855:40, Tregear 1891:122).
In the story of Ruapupuke (or Rua-te-pupuke), the kanae is associated with similar creatures, the horde of Tangaroa
, which are not overtly named as Ponaturi:
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...
, the Ponaturi are a group of hostile creatures (goblins) who live in a land beneath the sea by day, returning to shore each evening to sleep. They dread daylight, which is fatal to them. They appear in a number of stories, including:
- a story of TāwhakiTāwhakiIn Māori mythology, Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with lightning and thunder.-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 , thinking that he...
. The Ponaturi kill Tāwhaki's father HemāHema (mythology)-Māori:In Māori mythology, hema is a son of Whaitiri and Kaitangata and the father of Tāwhaki and Karihi. In North Island stories, he was killed by the Ponaturi, evil creatures who live by day in the water. Tāwhaki, Karihi and their mother trick the Ponaturi into entering a house, and then locked...
, and carry his body away. They also capture UrutongaUrutongaIn the mythology of some Māori tribal groups, Urutonga is the wife of Hemā, and the mother of Tāwhaki and Kahiri.Hema was killed by the Ponaturi, and Urutonga and her sons, Tāwhaki and Karihi, killed them all but two in revenge. They tricked the Ponaturi into entering a house, and then locked them...
, Tāwhaki's mother, whom they put to work as the doorkeeper of their house Manawa-Tāne. In revenge, Tāwhaki and Urutonga block up all the holes of the house to make the Ponaturi think that it is still night. They then suddenly let in the rays of the sun, and all the dreadful creatures are destroyed (Tregear 1891:206, 350).
- a story of the hero RātāRata (Maori mythology)In Māori mythology, accounts vary somewhat as to the ancestry of Rātā. Usually he is a grandson of Tāwhaki and son of Wahieroa. Wahieroa is treacherously killed by Matuku-tangotango, an ogre...
. The Ponaturi carry off his father's bones and use them to beat time when as they practice their magical arts. Rātā hides himself, learns their incantations, and recites a more powerful spell called Titikura. He then attacks them, kills their priests, and recaptures his father's bones. The Ponaturi regroup and chase Rātā, but with the aid of his warriors and his powerful incantations he defeats and kills a thousand of them (Tregear 1891:350).
Kanae
The kanae (or grey mullet) is represented as a companion of the Ponaturi in another version of Tāwhaki (Grey 1956:51). When the Ponaturi come up out of the water to their house Manawa-Tāne, Kanae comes with them. Tāwhaki and KarihiKarihi
In Māori mythology, Karihi is a brother or cousin of TāwhakiIn one story, Hema was killed by the Ponaturi, and Karihi, with his mother and his brother Tāwhaki, killed them all but two in revenge. They tricked the Ponaturi into entering a house, and then locked them in, claiming there was still time...
kill all the Ponaturi, in revenge for the death of Hemā, but the mullet escapes by leaping again and again until it gets back to the sea (Craig 1989:99, Grey 1855:40, Tregear 1891:122).
In the story of Ruapupuke (or Rua-te-pupuke), the kanae is associated with similar creatures, the horde of Tangaroa
Tangaroa
In Māori mythology, Tangaroa is one of the great gods, the god of the sea. He is a son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, Sky and Earth. After he joins his brothers Rongo, Tūmatauenga, Haumia, and Tane in the forcible separation of their parents, he is attacked by his brother Tawhirimatea, the god of...
, which are not overtly named as Ponaturi:
- Ruapupuke is a chief who lives by the sea. Ruapupuke's young son is drowned. Tangaroa takes the child to the bottom of the sea and makes him into a tekoteko (carved figure) on the ridge-pole of his house, above the door. The father dives to the bottom of the sea, and finds the house, but it is empty. He meets Hinematikotai, a woman who tells him that the inhabitants will return at sunset to sleep, and that if he lets in the daylight it will kill them. So the inhabitants are killed, and Ruapupuke burns the house, taking some of the carvings back with him to use as a model for carving in the human world (Tregear 1891:350)
- In another version Rua-te-pupuke's child is a daughter named Te Manu-hauturuki. Rua, following Hinematikotai's advice, blocks up the crevices of the house, the 'hordes of Tangaroa' are killed not by sunlight but by the burning down of the house. Only two fishes escape: the kanae (mullet) to the brackish water, and the maroro (flying fish) to the ocean. Again, Rua takes away some of the carvings of the house to serve as models (Best 1982:286).