Tāwhirimātea

Tāwhirimātea (often shortened to Tāwhiri) is the primordial deity of the winds, storms, hurricanes, clouds and meteorological phenomena in the Māori tradition of Aotearoa. Born from the union of Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother), he was the only son who categorically rejected the proposal to separate his parents during the gods' deliberation about the beings imprisoned in the original darkness. After the violent separation carried out by Tāne, Tāwhirimātea rose to the heavens to console his father, establishing himself in the celestial refuges where he begot a formidable lineage of cardinal winds, furious whirlwinds, stormy clouds and torrential showers. Moved by anger at the offence committed against his parents, he descended upon the earth in impetuous whirlwinds: he broke the giant trunks of Tāne's forests, lashed the oceans governed by Tangaroa to the point of scattering his descendants, and forced Earth Mother to bury Rongo and Haumia beneath the protective soil. When he confronted Tūmatauenga, he met immovable resistance, for the human god held his ground in the clash without retreating. Because Tūmatauenga could neither defeat him nor reduce him to cooked food (noa), Tāwhirimātea remained the eternal cosmic antagonist of humanity, lashing communities and ocean voyages with storms and gales. In the oral tradition of Aotearoa linked to the Māori New Year, the star cluster Matariki (the Pleiades) literally represents the eyes torn from Tāwhirimātea, which he crushed in tears of rebellion and hurled against the chest of the firmament.

9 min read · Reviewed on September 28, 2026 · How we research

The winds, the storm clouds, the lightning and the hurricane

Primary sources

• Grey, Sir George, Polynesian Mythology, and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race. translation: London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1855. read
• Whatahoro, H. T. / Smith, S. Percy (trans.), The Lore of the Whare-wānanga (Te Kauwae-runga: Celestial Teachings). translation: New Plymouth: Polynesian Society, 1913. read
• Shortland, Edward, Maori Religion and Mythology: With Notes on the Land Tenure of the New Zealanders. translation: London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1882. read

Studies

• Keane, Basil, Tāwhirimātea – the weather – Origins of the weather. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2022. open
• Tregear, Edward, The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington, N.Z.: Lyon and Blair, Lambton Quay, 1891. open
• Best, Elsdon (Dominion Museum), The Maori As He Was: Early Culture. Wellington: Dominion Museum, 1924. open