Hine-tītama

"Dawn Maid." Dawn Maid. A name for Hine-nui-te-pō, as "the first-born. Hine-tītama was a woman of surpassing charm. Thus it was that when the men beheld a woman of great beauty, they quoted an old Māori saying: Ko Hine-tītama koe, matawai ana te whatu i te tirohanga, "You are like Hine-tītama, the eye glistens when gazing upon you."

Hine-tītama was by this name the ancestress of the Māori people (see Rapuwai).

She is also mentioned as the wife/daughter of Tāne-matua.1 Their offspring was a deformed generation. These were disobedient to Rangi and would not obey his commands, but persisted in evil, and were swept by Rangi down to the Pō; and by them mankind are drawn into the lower worlds.

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From titama for timata, "to begin."

References

Notes

  1. White 1887, p. 1:29.

Sources

  • Best, Elsdon. (1924). The Maori. Wellington: Harry H. Tombs, pp. 119, 120.
  • Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, p. 72.
  • White, John. (1887). Ancient History of the Maori. 6 vols. Wellington: G. Didsbury, Government Printer, pp. 1:117, 3:123.