Tangaroa’s Gift
Te Koha ā Tangaroa
Adapted by Louise Judd
Tangaroa is the god of
the sea
.
Once upon a
time, there
lived a sad
and lonely
old Paua. He
could not
find a
friend.
Suddenly a
great wall of
water pulled
away the
seaweed.
“Paua, why are
you so sad?”
It was
Tangaroa, the
god of the sea.
“Oh Tangaroa,
I am so lonely.
Aue, tōna
tangi.”
“Look at Snapper with his bright colours.
Tāmure makes me jealous when he glides
past.”
“Stingray lies down on the bottom of
the sea or flies past me so fast.
Pākaurua is graceful and smooth.”
Tangaroa thought for a moment. “I love bright
colours so I will make you my brightest star in the
sea. I will ask Tane to give me green from the
forest.”
“I will ask Rangi the sky father to give me
mawhero sunset and tawa sunrise.”
Tangaroa
was very
whakahihi
proud of his
beautiful
designs.
The other sea creatures were jealous and became
angry with Paua’s beautiful new shell. They tore at it
until it lay all over the sea floor. Paua wondered why
they were so harawene?
Tangaroa was very pōuri that Paua
was so very sad.
o Paua got his beautiful shell to have in secret.
He keeps it mea ngaro - all to himself.
Only at the end of his life do we get to see what
he has been hiding.
A beautiful multi-coloured taonga.
A beautiful taonga or treasure.