Maru-te-whare-aitu

A personage who was destroyed by the demigod Māui, and who was Māui's first victim. Māui, by his magic spells, caused Maru's crops to be covered with snow, and killed all the plants. Maru retaliated by sending destructive caterpillars on to Māui's cultivation; then Māui killed him. Māui had carried off the daughter of Mara, before destroying him.

Tūna (eel), and Koiro (conger-eel), were progeny of Maru-te-whare-aitu.

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References

Sources

  • Grey, Sir George. (1855). Polynesian Mythology. Auckland: Brett, p. 20.
  • Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, p. 220.
  • White, John. (1887). Ancient History of the Maori. 6 vols. Wellington: G. Didsbury, Government Printer, p. 2:72.

This article incorporates text from Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891) by Edward Tregear, which is in the public domain.