Kea

Kea, or more properly Kearoa, was the wife of Ngātoro-i-rangi; she was carried off with her husband by Tama-te-kapua on board the Arawa canoe in the Migration. On account of Tama's adultery with Kea, Ngātoro, by his incantations, drew the Arawa into the "Mouth of Te Parata," a whirlpool (see Te Parata). From this incident comes the proverb, "Ka taka te urunga o Kea" ("The pillow of Kea has fallen"), as a warning in danger.

To Kearoa, and to Whakaoti-rangi (another chieftainess), sacrifices were offered as to ancestral spirits.

❧