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Maori Religion and Mythology Part 2

Shellfish

Shellfish

Te Arawaru Hine-kuku
Pauatere

These beings represent shellfish, some species of which are the offspring of Te Arawaru and Kaumaihi. Hine-kuku represents mussels, a female personification, while Pauatere represents the shellfish Haliotis. When the Takitimu migrants ran out of sea stores they called upon Pauatere and Hine-kuku to come to their assistance, and those obliging creatures came in myriads, and so saved the lives of the voyagers. In this curious fable Pauatere is gifted with the faculty of speech. In the quaint fable concerning the shark and shellfish Pipi (cockle) and Kuku (Mussel) are used as proper names. These are members of the "whanau a Te Ara wanu", or offspring of Te Arawaru.

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