Atua Wahine - Hineteiwaiwa

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastI am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068Kia ora! This week I wanted to share about Hineteiwaiwa. I have come across a great korero of her seeking out Whakatau to help her avenge the death of her tamaiti. I've linked to the English and Maori sources to if you wanted to check it out.Hineteiwaiwa & Whakatau (English Version) [ George Grey, Polynesian Mythology pg.71] Hineteiwaiwa & Whakatau (Maori Version) [ George Grey, Nga Mahinga A Nga Tupuna pg 59.]Below is also a quick introduction to Hineteiwaiwa, from the great author, Margaret Orbell.Hineteiwaiwa:"The powers and responsibilities of women were established in beginning by Hineteiwaiwa. This early ancestor is the woman that who provided the pattern that women now follow. All girls were dedicated to her at birth.Women in childbirth were aided by the recitation of a ritual chant believed to have been repeated for the first time when Hineteiwaiwa was giving birth to her so Tuhuruhuru. This chant associates the woman with Hineteiwaiwa who provided the precedent and has the power now to help her.Hineteiwaiwa was one of the ancestors who gave a girl strength when her lips were being tattooed. She was often thought to have introduced the art of weaving (though other women more specialised figures, were also associated with this.)She was sometimes believed to have been the first woman to act as a ruahine, a role performed by a high-ranking woman when taking part in a ritual to remove an excess of tapu. In removing much of the tapu of a new house so that people could safely live in it, Hineteiwaiwa established a precedent that has been followed ever since." [Margaret Orbell, A concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg.41-42]Whakatauki - He ko te aruhe ka taea e te tangata kotahi te amo; te whawhai, na te tokomaha. [Te Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 155]