Tu or Tumatauenga is one of the great gods, and the origin of war. All war-parties were dedicated to him, and he was treated with the greatest respect and awe. He is usually a son of the primordial parent, sky and earth. In a Te Arawa version, Tumatauenga advises his brothers to kill their parents Rangi and Papa in order to allow light and space into the world, but the kinder proposal of Tane is accepted and instead the primordial pair are forced apart. Tumatauenga thinks about the actions of Tane in separating their parents, and makes snares to catch the birds, the children of Tane, who can no longer fly free. He then makes nets, and traps the children of Tangaroa. He makes hoes to dig the ground, capturing his brothers Rongo and Haumia-tiketike, heaping them into baskets to be eaten. The only brother that Tumatauenga cannot subdue completely is Tawhirimatea, whose storms and hurricanes attack humankind to this day because of his indignation at the actions of his brothers. Although Rangi and Papa were not human in form, Tumatauenga and his brothers were. Humankind - the descendants of Tu - increased upon the earth, until the generation of Maui and his brothers. Tumatauenga's actions provide a pattern for human activities. Because Tumatauenga defeated his brothers, people can now, if they perform the appropriate rituals, kill and eat birds (the children of Tane), fish (the children of Tangaroa), cultivate and harvest food plants (the children of Rongo and Haumia-tiketike), and generally harness the resources of the natural world. Tumatauenga is also the originator of warfare, and people make war now because Tumatauenga 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, Tumatauenga was invoked as the source of their duty. The body of the first warrior to fall in a battle was often offered up to Tumatauenga. While Tumatauenga is the origin of war, powerful local deities such as Kahukura, Maru or Uenuku were also called upon in time of war.
Keywords: maria cacao goddess moon inanna human culture maria cacao ouranos uranus goddess kermeese greek apollo lord balarama white magic maiden calls voodoo curse rune stones voodoo masters
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