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Story: Te whānau tamariki – pregnancy and birth

'Taranga'

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'Taranga'

Taranga, the mother of Māui, stands over her newborn son, who floats on the ocean. Above her the baby lies on his mother's hair. When he was stillborn she set him into the sea wrapped in her tikitiki, a topknot of hair. Māui became known as Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga. On one side of Taranga Māui, as a kererū, looks down on his father, and on her other side are Māui's brothers. In this tradition, Māui washed ashore and was raised by his grandfather.

Courtesy of Robyn Kahukiwa

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: 1983-0020-2

by Robyn Kahukiwa

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Hope Tupara, Te whānau tamariki – pregnancy and birth – Birth in Māori tradition, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/27618/taranga (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Hope Tupara, published 23 March 2011, updated 1 June 2017.