FeathersThe first fruit of the forestKavaA tree planted
Invocation Approach
Tone
Tall and clear
Address
TaneTane-mahutaFather of the Forest
Relationship
The one who pushed the sky away
Warning
He separated his parents and the cost was rain
Resonance
Those who plant those who keep the forest
Symbols
The treeThe birdThe separating poleThe first womanThe light
Mythology Summary
Tane is the Maori god of the forest and birds, Tane-mahuta, the son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku who led his brothers to separate their parents and so let light into the world. He is Tane-nui-a-Rangi, and he formed the first woman, Hine-ahu-one, from earth and gave her life. The tradition is recorded in Grey's Polynesian Mythology (1855) and in Maori oral tradition, and the forest has its own protocols (rahui, kaitiakitanga). The Hawaiian Kane is a cognate name but a distinct figure.
Modern Practice
Tane is honoured in the forest with feathers, the first fruit of the forest, kava and a tree planted, and his practice is the care of the forest and the rāhui. The planting is the offering. The birds are his, and the forest is a person in the tradition.