Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

306 Tatqa’hicninTatqa’hicnin (root man)Vegetation spirit. Koryak [southeastern Siberia].A vaguely defined being who is chthonic and livesunder the ground, presumably controlling edibleroots and their availability.Taumata-AtuaVegetation god. Polynesian (including Maori).He presides over the fields and may be thegod Rongomatane under an alternative name. InMaori culture Taumata-Atua, like all deities, isrepresented only by inconspicuous, slightlyworked stones or pieces of wood and not by thelarge totems, which are depictions of ancestors.TawaCreator god. Pueblo Indian [USA]. The apotheosisof the sun and father of the tribe.TAWERET (the great one)ORIGIN Egyptian. Goddess of childbirth.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP probably circa 2500BC until the end of Egyptian history circa AD400.SYNONYMS Thoueris (Greek).CENTER(S) OF CULT no obvious cult centers, butrepresented in the Karnak complex at Thebes.ART REFERENCES a favorite subject for amuletsand perforated vases.LITERARY SOURCES generally in texts includingmagical spells.Taweret is a goddess who enjoyed popularityamong rank-and-file Egyptians and whose protectionwas sought particularly by women inpregnancy. She is depicted either in human formor as a hybrid with the head of a hippopotamus,human breasts and swollen belly, leonine limbsand a crocodile tail. This unusual aspect isintended to frighten off malignant forces beforeand during childbirth. Taweret often holds theSA symbol of protection clasped over her vulva.Talismanic vases are fashioned in the shape of thegoddess, with holes at the nipples through whichmilk could be poured during rites.Her benign nature contrasts with that of SETH,often depicted as a male hippopotamus, an animalwhose destructive behavior in the river and adjacentfields was well known.TawhakiHeroic god. Polynesian and Maori. A descendantof the creator god Rehua and grandson of Whatitiri,the goddess of thunder, Tawhaki is the thirdchild of Hema and Urutonga. He is the youngersibling of the goddess Pupu-mai-nono and thegod Karihi. In some Polynesian traditionsTawhaki is thought of as a mortal ancestor whoseconsort was the goddess Tangotango on whom hefathered a daughter, Arahuta. Tawhaki’s fatherwas killed during tribal warfare with a mythicalclan known as the Ponaturi and he himself wasthe subject of jealous rivalry concerning the goddessHine-Piripiri. During this time attemptswere made to kill him. He fathered children byHine-Piripiri, including Wahieroa, who is generallyperceived as being embodied in comets.TawhirimateaGod of winds. Polynesian (including Maori). Oneof the children of the prime parents RANGINUI andPAPATUANUKU. He was uniquely opposed to theseparation of his mother and father, sky and earth,at the time of the creation of the cosmos, and inconsequence spends his time harassing and troublingmankind. In Maori culture Papatuanuku, likeall deities, is represented only by inconspicuous,slightly worked stones or pieces of wood and not bythe large totems, which are depictions of ancestors.