Kame-tara

A Māori who took an ogress for his third wife. The ogress invited the senior wife on a fishing trip and tricked her into diving into the water to free the anchor. When the other woman had been down for some time, the ogress cut the rope and quickly paddled away. By the time the senior wife reached the surface, the canoe was very distant from her. She set to work to karakia (or invoke) the tāniwhas to come help her and convey her to shore. One came and took her on its back and landed her at another end of the island, which was uninhabited. There, she gave birth to twin boys and when they grew up they built a canoe and set out to find their father. They found their homeland and rescued the remainder of their family, but left left Kame-tara to his ogress wife.

References

Source

  • Whetu, Karipa Te. (1897). "Kame-Tara and His Ogre Wife." Journal of the Polynesian Society 6:97-106.