the war
god of the tribes in the Lake Taupō region.
a celebrated demi-god
ancestor of some
iwi. He went with Ihinga and others of his friends to visit the dread
Miru in her abode in the underworld. There they were taught incantations, witchcraft, religious songs, dances, and certain games. One of Rongomai's men was caught, and was claimed by Miru in sacrifice, as payment for having imparted the sacred knowledge, but Rongomai and the others got safely back to the world again.
the chief of the
Mahuhu canoe in its voyage from Hawaiki to New Zealand. He was drowned when the canoe overturned, and his body was eaten by the
araara fish, since held sacred by the
Ngā Puhi and
Rarawa iwi, who claim descent from Rongomai. Until they embraced Christianity, those iwi would not eat the araara (or trevally, Caranx georianus) .
a
meteor or
comet, seen in the full light of day when in comparatively recent times, the
Ngāti Hau tribe were besieging the fortress named Rangiuru at Ōtaki, occupied by the
Ngāti Awa.Ronngomai can mean princess or sunshine said in many Māori dictionaries and the big book of names.
Notes
^In the genealogies of the Moriori people of the
Chatham Islands, Rongomai is the son of Tangaroa, and the father of Kahukura (Tregear 1891:425).