MYTHOLOGY. 
135 
the ruru, owl ; and karu karu, the film which shades its 
eye from the light, was also an atua ; male and female 
spirits presided over dreams, and were regarded as atnas 
Ko nga atua moe moea o te r poko, the gods of dreams ; 
Tunui a rangi, a male, Pare kewa , a female deity, both 
were prayed to as gods ; the atua kore and atua kiko kiko, 
were inferior gods. The Atua ngarara , or reptile gods were 
very abundant, and were supposed to be the cause of all 
diseases and death,* being always ready to avail themselves 
of every opportunity of crawling down the throat during 
sleep, and thus preying upon the lives of unfortunate crea- 
tures. Atuas, or spirits of the deceased were thought to be 
able to revisit the earth and reveal to their friends the cause 
of their sickness. 
Everything that was evil or noxious was supposed especially 
to belong to the gods ; thus a species of euphorbium, whose 
milk or juice is highly poisonous, is called wai u atua , the 
milk of the gods. 
After Maui came a host of gods,f each of which had his 
* Arama Karaka Tinirau being very much troubled with boils said, “ Ko 
toku atua he whewhe,” his god or plague was a boil. 
f These were some of the creative fathers : — 
1 Tane was the parent (by some the mother) of the tui, of birds in general 
and trees ; he is also called Tane Mahuta. 
2 Ru, the father of lakes and rivers. 
3 Rupe , of the pigeon. 
4 Tangaroa, of fish. 
5 Irawaru , of dogs. 
6 Nga rangi-hore , of stones. 
7 Mauika , of fire. 
8 Maui , of the land. 
9 Mumuhanga, of the Totara ; also called Tukau moana, hence the proverb, 
Ko te maramara o tu kau moana. 
10 Paruri , of the Tui. Tane and Parauri were married. 
1 1 Papa , of the Kiwi. 
12 Owa, of the dog ; he was also the father of Irawaru. 
13 Pahiko , of the Kaka. 
14 Punga Matua , of the shark, tuatini, lizard, and tamuri. 
15 Tute maona, of the Kahikatoa. 
ifi Hina-moki , of the rat. 
1 7 Tuwairore , of the Kahikatea and Rimu. 
18 Haere-azva-awa , of the Weka. 
