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    The First Woman: Hinemoa and Tutanekai

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    Lion Yang
    According to Maori legend: 1) Tane Mahuta, the god of the forest, created the first woman, Hineahuone, from red earth and breathed life into her. 2) The traditional Maori greeting of pressing noses, like Tane Mahuta did to Hineahuone, represents sharing the "breath of life". 3) Hinemoa, the daughter of a chief, fell in love with Tutanekai but their families would not approve due to his background. Hinemoa swam across Lake Rotorua at night to be with him, and when discovered they feared war but the tribes rejoiced and peace was forged between them.

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    The First Woman: Hinemoa and Tutanekai

    Uploaded by

    Lion Yang
    161 views2 pages
    According to Maori legend: 1) Tane Mahuta, the god of the forest, created the first woman, Hineahuone, from red earth and breathed life into her. 2) The traditional Maori greeting of pressing noses, like Tane Mahuta did to Hineahuone, represents sharing the "breath of life". 3) Hinemoa, the daughter of a chief, fell in love with Tutanekai but their families would not approve due to his background. Hinemoa swam across Lake Rotorua at night to be with him, and when discovered they feared war but the tribes rejoiced and peace was forged between them.

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    The first woman

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    The first woman

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    According to Maori legend: 1) Tane Mahuta, the god of the forest, created the first woman, Hineahuone, from red earth and breathed life into her. 2) The traditional Maori greeting of pressing noses, like Tane Mahuta did to Hineahuone, represents sharing the "breath of life". 3) Hinemoa, the daughter of a chief, fell in love with Tutanekai but their families would not approve due to his background. Hinemoa swam across Lake Rotorua at night to be with him, and when discovered they feared war but the tribes rejoiced and peace was forged between them.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    161 views2 pages

    The First Woman: Hinemoa and Tutanekai

    Uploaded by

    Lion Yang
    According to Maori legend: 1) Tane Mahuta, the god of the forest, created the first woman, Hineahuone, from red earth and breathed life into her. 2) The traditional Maori greeting of pressing noses, like Tane Mahuta did to Hineahuone, represents sharing the "breath of life". 3) Hinemoa, the daughter of a chief, fell in love with Tutanekai but their families would not approve due to his background. Hinemoa swam across Lake Rotorua at night to be with him, and when discovered they feared war but the tribes rejoiced and peace was forged between them.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    The first woman

    According to Maori legend, the world as we know it was formed when Tane Mahuta – the
    god of the forest – prised apart Ranginui, the father of the sky, and Papatuanuku, the mother
    of the earth. Afterwards, Tane Mahuta and his brothers slowly went about making all things
    on earth and in the sky. When they were done, they had created a dazzling and beautiful
    world, but there were no people to enjoy it.

    Tane Mahuta went about convincing the gods that they should make a woman, who could
    then go on to have children. The gods agreed, so Tane Mahuta took red earth from
    Papatuanuku, and shaped it into the form of a woman. Impressed, Tawhiri Matea, god of the
    winds, whispered “take my breath. Give her life”. And so Tane Mahuta bent over the woman
    he had created, placed his nose against hers, and breathed deeply. Her chest moved, and she
    sneezed – “Tihei!”

    The gods were ecstatic, and together they gave her the gift of life – mauriora – and the first
    woman, Hineahuone, was made.

    Today, the hongi is the traditional greeting of the Maori people. It is known as the ‘breath of
    life’, and is performed by pressing noses – just like Tane Mahuta did to breathe life into
    Hineahuone. This greeting makes the visitor at one with the tangata whenua, or hosts.

    Hinemoa and Tutanekai


    Hinemoa was a beautiful and high-ranking young maiden, the daughter of an influential
    chief. Her family lived at Owhata, on the eastern shores of Lake Rotorua. Because of her
    rank, Hinemoa was declared sacred; her family and the elders of her tribe would choose a
    husband for her when she was old enough. Many men wanted to marry her, but none gained
    the tribe’s approval.
    Tutanekai, who lived on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua, was the product of an affair
    between his married mother and a chief from another tribe.
    At one of many meetings between their two tribes, Hinemoa and Tutanekai met and
    eventually fell in love. But due to Tutanekai’s background they knew her family would never
    approve. Tutanekai would often sit on the shores of Mokoia Island and play his flute. The
    music wafted across the lake to where Hinemoa sat, sad because she knew she could never
    marry anyone but Tutanekai.
    She headed for Waikimihia, a hot pool near Tutanekai’s house, to warm up when she got to
    the island. She then remembered she was naked and was too shy to approach Tutanekai.
    Just then Tutanekai’s slave arrived to fetch water. The slave had to pass near where Hinemoa
    sat. As he passed the pool, a gruff voice called out to him ‘Mo wai te wai?’ (For whom is the
    water?) When the slave said it was for Tutanekai Hinemoa smashed the calabash on the side
    of the pool.
    When this happened again Tutanekai became angry and went to the pool himself.
    He challenged Hinemoa to show herself, but she stayed hidden beneath a rock. Tutanekai
    grabbed her by her hair and pulled her out.
    “Who are you? Who dares annoy me?” he cried.
    “It is I, Hinemoa, who has come to you,” Hinemoa answered.
    Tutanekai couldn’t believe his ears. He wrapped her in his cloak and took her home with him.
    The next morning Tutanekai’s people noticed he was sleeping in. When his father sent a slave
    to wake Tutanekai up, the slave recognized four feet and there was Hinemoa.
    “It is Hinemoa. It is Hinemoa who lies with Tutanekai,” he cried.
    No one believed him till Tutanekai stepped from his house with Hinemoa on his arm, and
    then people noticed canoes heading toward the island. Knowing it would be Hinemoa’s
    family, they feared war. But instead there was rejoicing between the tribes, and peace was
    forged. Hinemoa and Tutanekai were married and their descendants keep their story alive
    today, through the song Pokarekare Ana.

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