Uenuku (or Uenuku-Kōpako, also given to some who are named after him) is an atua of rainbows and a prominent ancestor in Māori tradition. Māori believed that the rainbow's appearance represented an omen, and one kind of yearly offering made to him was that of the young leaves of the first planted kūmara crop. He was a tribal war god invoked before battles, particularly in the northern half of the country. It was said that if a taua appeared under the arch of the rainbow, it would be defeated in battle, and likewise, if they appeared to either side of the rainbow, they would be victorious. The
Uenuku (or Uenuku-Kōpako, also given to some who are named after him) is an atua of rainbows and a prominent ancestor in Māori tradition. Māori believed that the rainbow's appearance represented an omen, and one kind of yearly offering made to him was that of the young leaves of the first planted kūmara crop. He was a tribal war god invoked before battles, particularly in the northern half of the country. It was said that if a taua appeared under the arch of the rainbow, it would be defeated in battle, and likewise, if they appeared to either side of the rainbow, they would be victorious. The Māori identified hawk feathers and a particular star called Uenuku as being sacred to him.
In Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Tahu stories, Uenuku was the Ariki of Hawaiki with 71 sons, all from different wives. In traditions from further north in the Pacific, Chief Uanuku Rakeiora and his son Ruatapu are said to have lived on Ra'iātea Island just over 27 generations ago, as descendants of Tangiia, contemporary of Iro-nui-ma-Oata (Whiro). The Aotea and Arawa tribes also have stories that relate to Chief Uenuku of Hawaiki.
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