Genealogy
The genealogy of Tāwhaki varies somewhat in different accounts. In general, Tāwhaki is a grandson of Whaitiri, a cannibalistic goddess who marries the mortal Kaitangata (man-eater), thinking that he shares her taste for human flesh. Disappointed at finding that this is not so, she leaves him after their sons Hemā and Punga are born and returns to heaven. Hemā is the father of Tāwhaki and Karihi. Tāwhaki grows up to be handsome, the envy of his cousins, who beat him up and leave him for dead. He is nursed back to health by his wife, who feeds the fire that warms him with a whole log of wood. In memory of this incident, their child is named Wahieroa (Long-piece-of-firewood) (Biggs 1966:450). In some versions Tawhaki is the father of Arahuta. She was the cause of a quarrel between her parents, and her mother Tangotango took her to heaven, where they were afterwards joined by Tāwhaki.
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