Tangaroa: Creator of All Things

Originally, Tangaroa was a creative force, coming out of the mussel shell he materialized in, and creating the world, the gods, and all living beings. However, once Tane, the god of forests and woodcraft, became the popular deity, Tangaroa’s wrath unfurled upon him and all those that sided with him. Because his brother's wooden spears, fishhooks, and wood-fiber nets killed shoals of the fish Tangaroa loved, he commanded the sea to sink canoes, swallow the trees and forests, and eradicate the beaches with lapping waves.

Tangaroa’s curse introduced Death into the world when this occurred, and still Tangaroa strives to undermine all of Tane’s creative efforts.

Tangaroa has changed from his origins as a creative god to be more directly associated with the sea, and with death by it. He is the god of fish, reptiles, winds, air, and waves. Sometimes, he was even associated with plants, vegetation, and house building (though his brother most often got the credit for these).

The god of woodcraft more-or-less ignores his jealous brother, accepting what the sea-god does and tolerating it, and making tools to get around it. Tangaroa has major “turf” issues with his brother, who has staked a claim on his ownership of vegetation and house buildng, which Tangaroa was partially associated with through his connection to weather and rain. Their areas of control overlap in some regions, and this is reason enough to give spite to each other, even if Tane didn’t try and weasel around Tangaroa’s control every chance he got. This means that, although Tangaroa is a creator god, he mostly no longer serves that purpose, being instead a destroyer of what Tane has wrought. And what Tane has wrought tends to be good for the folk who can't breathe water.

Tangaroa not only introduced death as a curse, and caused it within his domain, his oceans are also the land of the dead, where the souls of those killed go for their final resting place, beneath the waves stirred by a vengeful Creator.

The sea-god is a grumpy one, never really forgiving his brother, and seeming obsessed with eradicating him for much of the time. He sometimes goes into new areas, to create a new fish or invite some storm upon someone, but mostly stays focused on Tane’s downfall. He can be rather personable if he doesn’t see you siding with the Forest Lord at all, but the merest hint of sympathy for Tane will get his ire up, and likely get you drowned, crushed, or devoured by sharks and whales.

Tangaroa is often quite distant from other gods, brooding in his undersea palace, unable to concentrate on much beyond the thwarting of Tane. Despite the cause of this hatred being turf issues, Tangaroa doesn't seem to mind gods from other pantheons much, unless they side with Tane...and then they're hated with unmitigated passion. The reason seems to be because of his focus. Other sea gods don't kill his subjects, and other woodland gods aren't his brother doing this cruel act.

Their credo is that all things begin and end with the sea, and so the sea is the holiest of places. Many of their rituals and prayers take place near or within the sea, and their holy water is almost always salt water. They hold a special reverence for sea creatures, and will never eat them -- though they're usually more than happy to snack on anything harvested from Tane's forests.