Mahuika is a
Māori fire deity and consort of the god
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 ...
.
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 secret of making
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
.
She married Auahitūroa and together they had five children, named for the five fingers on the human hand, called collectively
Ngā Mānawa. The symbolism of this connection between toropuku (fingers) and fire is revealed in the stories where Māui obtains fire from Mahuika by tricking her into giving him her fingernails one by one.
She is also said to have played a role in the formation of
Rangitoto Island, asking
Rūaumoko, god of earthquakes and eruptions, to destroy a couple that had cursed her.
In some parts of New Zealand, Mahuika is a male deity. This is also the case in some parts of tropical Polynesia; for instance, in the
Tuamotu archipelago and the
Marquesas, Mahu-ika is the fire god who lives in the underworld in addition to being the grandfather of Maui. Maui wrestled him in order to win the secret of making fire.
In other parts of Polynesia, similar deities are known as
Mafuiʻe, Mafuike, Mahui'e or Mahuike.
Modern appearances
*
Mahuika crater was a hypothesized
impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
named after her.
*She was depicted on coins issued in New Zealand in 2019.
*A notable figure in the video game Genshin Impact, the Pyro Archon hailing from Natlan, was named after/inspired by her.
See also
* ''
How Māui Found the Secret of Fire''
References
* E. Best, ''Maori Religion and Mythology, Part 2'' (Dominion Museum Bulletin No.11. Museum of New Zealand: Wellington, 1982), 244–245.
* R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 148.
* J.F. Stimson, ''Legends of Maui and Tahaki'' (Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press, 1934), 17–23.
Legendary Māori people
Polynesian goddesses
Fire goddesses
Māori goddesses
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