Hine-Tu-Whenua, giver of the sailing wind
By Ralf Ittermann · last reviewed on
Hine-Tu-Whenua is a goddess of Polynesian tradition.
The goddess who grants canoes a favourable sailing wind. Hine-Tu-Whenua is honoured as giver of the sailing wind that favours outrigger canoes.
Hine-Tu-Whenua is a benevolent wind goddess of the Maori and Polynesia, who brings the favourable, steady sailing wind and helps seafarers reach their destination safely.
She is the friendly counterpart to the stormy Tawhirimatea, but is far less well documented: a marginal figure of ethnographic reference works, whose influence is directed entirely towards the wellbeing of canoe travellers.
Type: Personified gentle, favourable wind
Origin: Maori and Polynesian tradition
Texts: ethnographic reference works, Best, Tregear
Period: ethnographically documented Maori tradition
Appearance: no elaborated iconography
Origin and sources
Period of the Texts
Maori and Polynesian tradition, ethnographically documented; she appears mainly in reference works and encyclopaedia entries.
Area of Diffusion
New Zealand and Polynesia: her sphere of influence is the sea, on which seafarers travel by canoe.
Sources
Sparse and marginal: Hine-Tu-Whenua is documented far less extensively than Tawhirimatea; ethnographic reference works are the main reliable sources.
Name and variants
Maori: hine means girl or daughter, whenua land or earth, also placenta; a common interpretation is daughter of the land. The variants Hine-tu-whenua and Hine-i-te-whenua both circulate; the exact form of the name and its meaning are not entirely uniformly recorded.
Appearance and behaviour
Appearance
No elaborated iconography is documented; Hine-Tu-Whenua is the personified gentle, favourable wind, with no image and no fixed form.
Effect
She brings the favourable sailing wind for canoes, the waka, and is associated with calming the sea and gentle breezes. Her addressees are seafarers and canoe travellers, whom she helps reach their destination safely.
Profile: Hine-Tu-Whenua
The most important aspects of the wind goddess at a glance.
Benevolent wind goddess of the Maori and Polynesia; the friendly counterpart to the stormy Tawhirimatea, but far less well documented.
Seafarers and canoe travellers: Hine-Tu-Whenua brings the favourable, steady sailing wind and helps them reach their destination safely.
No elaborated iconography: she is herself the personified gentle, favourable wind.
Favourable sailing wind for the waka, calming of the sea and gentle breezes on the journey.
Some secondary accounts mention prayer formulas, karakia, for a good journey; however, detailed ritual descriptions are not solidly attested in primary sources.
The Samoan breeze Fisaga and the ordinary wind Raka-maomao; the counterimage is the storm god Tawhirimatea.
A marginal figure of Maori tradition
The name combines hine, girl or daughter, with whenua, land or earth, also placenta; a common interpretation is daughter of the land. Even the form of the name varies: alongside Hine-tu-whenua, the variant Hine-i-te-whenua also circulates, and the meaning too is not entirely uniformly recorded.
Hine-Tu-Whenua appears mainly in ethnographic reference works and encyclopaedia entries and is documented far less extensively than Tawhirimatea. She is thus a marginal, weakly documented figure, whose profile derives entirely from her function: the favourable, steady wind that carries the waka safely across the sea.
Reception and classification
Her recognition is limited; she appears in lists of Polynesian wind deities and in modern spiritual and artistic adaptations.
From a religious studies perspective, Hine-Tu-Whenua is decidedly benevolent and helpful. Important clarifications: she should not be confused with other Hine figures such as Hine-nui-te-po; and the sometimes very detailed ritual descriptions found online should be treated with caution, since the reliable tradition is sparse.
Karakia for a good journey
Some secondary accounts mention prayer formulas, karakia, for a good journey, addressed to Hine-Tu-Whenua. Caution is warranted: detailed ritual descriptions in popular and aggregated sources are not solidly attested in primary sources and should honestly be treated as uncertain; the reliable tradition is sparse. What is established above all is her role as the recipient of hopes for a favourable wind.
The friendly counterpart to the storm
Hine-Tu-Whenua is functionally the benevolent counterpart to the stormy Tawhirimatea; typologically she is close to the gentle wind figures of other cultures, such as the Samoan breeze Fisaga and the ordinary wind Raka-maomao. The Hawaiian wind deity Laamaomao also belongs to this family of wind-granting figures of the Pacific, favourably inclined towards seafarers.
Frequently asked questions about Hine-Tu-Whenua
Who is Hine-Tu-Whenua?
A benevolent Polynesian wind goddess of the Maori, who brings favourable, steady sailing wind and helps seafarers reach a safe arrival.
Is she well attested?
No. She is marginal and thinly documented, considerably less so than Tawhirimatea; the main reliable sources are ethnographic collections.
What is her relationship to Tawhirimatea?
She is the benevolent counterpart to the stormy storm god: gentle sailing wind instead of gusts and storms.
Further links
Further reading:
- Tawhirimatea – the stormy counterpart among the Maori gods
- Laamaomao – the Hawaiian wind deity with the gourd
- Fisaga – the gentle breeze of Samoa
- Amulet, Protective candle, Salt – traditional protective means
Literature (selection)
Further standard works in the bibliography.
As a Polynesian wind goddess of the gentle kind, Hine-Tu-Whenua embodies what every canoe crew wished for: a favourable sailing wind that smooths the sea and carries the waka safely to its destination.
