ORIGIN: Polynesian {Hawaiian]
TYPE: Mother Goddess
INFORMATION: She is the daughter of Papatuanuku, the primordial earth mother, and is revered by many people of Polynesia and by the Maori of New Zealand. Her more notable children include Pele, the volcano goddess of Hawaii, and Hi'aika, the goddess of the dance. As a deity responsible for birth, Haumea possesses a magical wand that she used at the time of creation to engender fruit trees and fish. From time to time she uses it to replenish stocks. Mythology also identifies her as a heroine who saved herself and her consort from enemies at the time of creation by hiding in a breadfruit tree and fending off the attackers with poisonous sap and wood splinters.