Tū-te-wanawana is an ancestor of the ngārara, the reptiles, counted among the descendants of Tāne and holding the creatures of the forest floor. Other tellings trace reptiles through the line of Punga, son of Tangaroa. Tellings differ between iwi, hapū and whānau.
That second thread links to a widely told story. When Tāwhirimātea made war on his brothers after the separation, Tangaroa's descendants were split. Ika-tere led the fish into the sea. Tū-te-wehiwehi led the reptiles inland to shelter in the forest. Ever since, Tangaroa has been at odds with Tāne for sheltering them. Kupurā tells that story under Tū-te-wehiwehi and Punga.
What is told of Tū-te-wanawana himself is brief. The creatures he holds, tuatara (ancient reptile of Aotearoa) and moko, move close to the earth and are seen far less often than the birds above them. Tuatara are among the oldest living creatures on earth, and the places where they are found have often been treated with care.
A lizard appearing suddenly, on a path, in a house or somewhere it had no reason to be, has long been read as a tohu, a sign worth stopping for rather than a pest to brush aside. The ngārara (reptiles / creeping things) are not asked to be liked. They are asked to be taken seriously.
Little more is told, and the gap is left open rather than filled.
Hei whakaaro (reflect / thought): think of the small, quiet sign you have been brushing aside. What might it be asking you to notice?
Hei whakaaro · something to sit with
He tohu te ngārara; me aro, kaua e pana atu.
Quiet signs are easy to miss until the moment they matter.
What small sign have you been brushing aside?