ORIGIN: Polynesian (Maori)
TYPE: God of Light
INFORMATION: One of the children of the prime parents Ranginui adn Papatuanuku. Also god of trees, forests and boat builders, his consort is the goddess Hine-Ahu-One and he is the father of HIne-Ata-Uira who descended into the underworld to become the goddess of death, Hine-Nui-Te-Po. In other traditions he is the consort of Hine-Nui-Te-Po, whom he joins each evening when he descends to the underworld. It was he who proposed that his parents should be pushed apart rather than slaughtered. In Maori culture Tanemahuta, like all deities, is represented only by inconspicuous, slightly worked stones or pieces of wood and not by the large totems, which are depictions of ancestors. Also Kane (Hawaiian).