In Māori mythologyMāori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided. The rituals, beliefs, and the world view of Māori society were ultimately based on an elaborate mythology that had been inherited from a Polynesian homeland and adapted and developed in the new setting (Biggs 1966:448).Māori mythology, Haumia-tiketike is the god of wild or uncultivated foods. Haumia was a son of Rangi and PapaIn Māori mythology, the primal couple Rangi and Papa (or Ranginui and Papatuanuku) appear in a creation myth explaining the origin of the world.This article is based largely on the writings of a Te Arawa chief, Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikāheke, who is the author of much of the material in George Grey’s Nga Mahi a nga Tupuna (Grey 1971), originally published in 1854 and later translated ...Rangi and Papa, and agreed to the forced separation of his parents. Because of this he was subjected to the fury of his brother TāwhirimāteaIn Māori mythology, Tāwhirimātea (or Tāwhiri) is the god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms. He is a son of Rangi and Papa. In his anger at his brothers for separating their parents, Tāwhirimātea destroyed the forests of Tāne, drove Tangaroa and his progeny into the sea, pursued Rongo and Haumia-tiketike till they had to take refuge in the bosom of their mother Papa, and only found in Tūmatauenga a worthy opponent ...Tāwhirimātea, god of winds and storms, who would have killed him if their mother had not hidden him in her body, that is, in the ground. While he escaped from Tāwhirimātea, he was later discovered by TūIn Māori mythology, Tū or Tū-mata-uenga (Māori: 'Tū of the angry face') is one of the great gods, and the origin of war. All war-parties were dedicated to him, and he was treated with the greatest respect and awe. He is usually a son of sky and earth, the primordial parents (see Rangi and Papa). In a Te Arawa version, Tū advises his brothers to kill their parents Rangi and Papa in order to allow light and space into the world, but the kinder proposal of Tāne is accepted and instead the primordial pair are forced apart. Tū ...Tū, god of war (here representing humankind, who saw Haumia's hair sticking up out of the earth. Haumia contrasts with his brother RongoIn Māori mythology, ‘’’Rongo’’’ is a major god, the god of cultivated food, especially the kūmara, a vital food crop. Other food crops cultivated by Māori in traditional times include taro, yams (uwhi), cordyline (tī), and gourds (hue). Because of their tropical origin, most of these crops were difficult ...Rongo, the god of the kūmaraThe sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), commonly called a yam in parts of the United States (especially in the southern and western portions of the country; this terminology causes some confusion with true yams) is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet tasting ...kūmara and all cultivated plants (Grey 1956:7-10, Orbell 1998:29, Tregear 1891:54).

Haumia is particularly associated with fernroot or aruhe, the starchy rhizome of the brackenBrackens (Pteridium) are a genus of about ten species of large, coarse ferns, in the family Hypolepidaceae. The genus has probably the widest distribution of any fern genus in the world, being found on all continents except Antarctica and in all environments except for hot and cold deserts. Therefore it is considered to have a cosmopolitan distribution. In the past, the genus was commonly treated ...bracken fern Pteridium esculentum, which formed a major element of the Māori diet in former times. Food-quality rhizomes were only obtained from bracken growing in deep, moderately fertile soils. Bracken became abundant after the arrival of Māori, "mainly a result of burning to create open landscapes for access and ease of travel" (McGlone et al, 2005:1). Aruhe was dug in early summer and dried for use in the winter. Although it was not liked as much as kūmara, it was appreciated for its ready availability and the ease with which it could be stored (Orbell 1998:29).