Tāwhaki: The deeds of a demigod

by Hirini Moko Mead

This is the Māori language edition of Tā The Deeds of a Demigod. The book recalls the miraculous life of Tāwhaki. Similar to Māui, Tāwhaki was a demigod who possessed mighty powers. Tāwhaki almost died at the hands of his brothers-in-law but was found by his wife Hine-piripiri and revived. This near-death experience revealed Tāwhaki's status as a demigod, and from this point Tāwhaki continued to use his powers and gifts to help those around him in ways no human could. This book explores many of these stories, including those of Tāwhaki restoring sight to his blind grandmother and climbing the heavens to find his wife and child.

85 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

AKA Sydney Moko Mead

Reviews

[Julia Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Isa Rive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retelling of traditional tales of Tāwhaki, a Māori demigod associated with lightening and knowledge around prayer. There are different accounts of Tāwhaki from different tribes but the author Hirini Moko Mead’s waka is Mataatua so this recording is based on his iwi’s version and would be most useful for teens-adult age range.
I love the attention grabbing cover which draws readers into the stories of his life. Ten levels of heaven are introduced and family trees shown in diagrams. Tāwhaki has remarkable adventures. I found reading the introduction again after the book helped bring better understanding.

[Penny Geard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was still good to learn about some more Māori mythology but this wasn't my favourite Māori mythology story. It set out to convince me that Tāwhaki was as interesting as Māui and I was not convinced...