Tāwhaki

Say it: TAH-fah-kee

The one who climbed. Tāwhaki is what happens when beauty, patience and lineage are all tested at once — and lightning is his flash of anger and glory.

Te Kāwai (Line of descent)

Te Kore → Te ira tangata → Tāwhaki

Te Kōrero (the story)

Beaten and left for dead by jealous brothers-in-law, Tāwhaki recovered and called down floods upon them. He climbed the vine into the heavens to seek his wife Tangotango and their child, warned not to look down or boast. Lightning is said to flash from his armpits when he moves in the sky.

Te Whakapapa (the genealogy)

Grandson of Whaitiri, the thunder ancestress; husband of the celestial Tangotango; kin to Karihi his brother, who fell from the vine; associated with Ranginui's realm.

Ngā Mana (domains and influence)

Uira — lightningThe ascent between the worldsHealing after being broken

Kei Kōnei Rātou (they are present here)

Lightning on the horizon before you hear the thunder.
The pull to climb — a hill, a ladder, a hard qualification.
Recovering from something that was meant to finish you.

Ngā Huarahi Hono (ways to connect)

The first lightning of a storm

Say his name once and stay put. Don't photograph it before you've watched it.

Starting a long climb, literal or not

Take the first step without announcing it. His warning was against boasting on the way up.

A Common Misunderstanding

This profile holds one telling of Tāwhaki. Pūrākau and whakapapa can differ between iwi and whānau, so it should not be read as the only account.

Ngā Uara (values)

Determined

A quality carried in the kōrero of Tāwhaki.

Proud

A quality carried in the kōrero of Tāwhaki.

Careful with words

A quality carried in the kōrero of Tāwhaki.

Marked by injury

A quality carried in the kōrero of Tāwhaki.

Ngā Pūrākau (the traditional stories)

Told in full, the way they would be shared out loud. Versions differ between iwi (tribe), hapū (sub-tribe) and whānau (family).

Te pikinga ki ngā rangi — the climb to the heavens

A man broken almost to death climbs a vine into the sky to find his wife, and is warned not to look down.

About 5 min read

Te uira — lightning before the thunder

What it means that Tāwhaki's mark on the world is a flash you see before you hear anything at all.

About 5 min read