Matuatonga
deity earth Māori single tradition · 1
Matuatonga is a Māori agricultural god, specifically the god of growth. He is one of two figures carved on a famous stone sculpture that serves as an atua kumara (agricultural god) and was traditionally involved in rituals connected to the sowing of the annual kumara (sweet potato) crop. The sculpture belongs to Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangiteaorere, and other tribes of Te Arawa.
When
- First attested
- 1350 CE
- Attested period
- 1350 – 2020
- Historical notes
- According to tradition, brought to New Zealand from Hawaiki c. 1350; sculpture buried in 1820s and exhumed in 1866.
Relationships
- sibling of
- Matuatehe
- syncretized with
- Uenuku-kopako
Mentioned by
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“Matuatonga, as god of growth, was often contrasted with another atua, Matuatehe, god of decay...tribes around Lake Rotorua would travel to the location where Matuatonga stood on Mokoia Island each year during the planting season for the kūmara”
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