Editing Tangaroa (section)

{{Short description|Māori sea and water body god}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2020}}
{{other uses}}{{Infobox deity
| type = Polynesian
| name = Tangaroa
| region = [[Polynesia]]
| god_of = [[Māori people|Māori]] {{lang|mi|[[atua]]}} of sea and fish,<br />
[[Cook Islanders|Cook Islander]] god of sea and fertility<br />
[[Moriori]] god of fish
| image =
| caption = Cook Islands carving of Tangaroa at [[Te Papa]] Museum Wellington, New Zealand.
| gender = Male
| ethnic_group = [[Māori people|Māori]], [[Cook Islanders|Cook Islands Māori]], [[Moriori]]
| parents = [[Rangi and Papa|Ranginui]] and [[Rangi and Papa|Papatūānuku]]<br />
[[Ngāi Tahu|Kāi Tahu]]: Temoretu
| siblings = [[Haumia-tiketike]], [[Whiro]], [[Rongo|Rongo-mā-Tāne]], [[Tāne|Tāne Mahuta]], [[Tāwhirimātea]], [[Tūmatauenga]], [[Rūaumoko]]
| offspring = [[Punga (mythology)|Punga]], [[Tinirau]], and 9 daughters
| other_names = Tangaroa-whakamau-tai, Takaroa
| consorts = Te Anu-matao<br />
Kāi Tahu: Papatūānuku
}}
'''Tangaroa''' ([[Māori language|Māori]]; '''Takaroa''' in the [[South Island]] dialect; cognate with [[Tagaloa]] in [[Samoan language|Sāmoan]]) is the great [[atua]] of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures that live within them, especially fish, in [[Māori mythology]]. As '''Tangaroa-whakamau-tai''', he exercises control over the [[tide]]s. He is sometimes depicted as a whale.<ref>{{cite web|title=Making a Splash in the Pacific: Dolphin and Whale Myths of Oceania|url=http://islandheritage.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/RNJ_12_3_Cressey.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140923210805/http://islandheritage.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/RNJ_12_3_Cressey.pdf |archive-date=2014-09-23 |url-status=live|last=Cressey|first=Jason|date=1998|website=islandheritage.org}}</ref>

In some of the [[Cook Islands]], he has similar roles, though in [[Manihiki]], he is the fire deity that [[Māui]] steals from, which in Māori mythology is instead [[Mahuika]], a goddess of fire.