Tawhaki- Polynesian DemigodDemigod"Lightning Hero"

Hema's Murder

Tawhaki's grandmother was Whaitiri, the thunder goddess who had come down from the heavens to marry the mortal Kaitangata. Their son Hema inherited something of both worlds, and Tawhaki inherited more. But before he could claim any of it, his father was taken from him. In George Grey's account, Hema was killed by jealous relatives who resented his standing. They fled beyond ordinary reach, and no human pursuit could find them. To avenge his father, Tawhaki would have to go where mortals do not go.

The Vine to Heaven

A vine hung between earth and sky. Tawhaki and his brother Karihi both attempted the climb. Karihi grabbed the vine carelessly and swung from side to side, the tendril whipping him back and forth until he lost his grip and fell to earth. Tawhaki climbed steadily, hand over hand, not looking down.

At the summit he found his grandmother Whaitiri, blind and counting her food by feel. She kept miscounting. Tawhaki sat beside her, quietly slipping extra taro into her pile. When she realized someone was there, he restored her sight. Grey records that she wept when she saw her grandson's face.

In the celestial realm, Tawhaki received the knowledge and power he had come for. Elsdon Best recorded in Maori Religion and Mythology that the sacred incantations Tawhaki brought back from the heavens became part of the priestly tradition. He descended the vine carrying what no mortal had carried before.

Vengeance and Lightning

Tawhaki returned to earth transformed. He found his father's killers and destroyed them with the power he had gained in the heavens. The story does not linger on the killing. What lasts is what Tawhaki became. When lightning cracks across the sky, that is Tawhaki: the celestial force he brought back from above, still flashing over the Pacific centuries after the vine was climbed.