TAME
Real Name: Tu-mehutaOccupation: Chieftain of the Oceanic Gods, god of trees and forests, patron god of canoe-builders, protective deity of birds
Legal Status: Citizen of Celestial Hawaiki
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Tame except as a mythological deity. He is well-known in Hawaii.
Other Aliases: Tane, Kame, Kane (Polynesian name), Io (Maori), Ihohio (Tahitian name), Rehua (Samoan), Tame-metua (alternate spelling), Nobu (Hervey name), Quat (Melanesian name),
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Papa (father), Gaea (mother, alias Rangi), Tangaroa, Tawhiri, Rongo, Tu (brothers), Haumea (sister/wife), Hina-ahu-one, Pele, Lala, Polivah, Namaka, Hiiaka (daughters), Hina-nui-te-po (daughter by Hina-ahu-one), Kai-Tangata, Tinirau, Wahieroa (sons), Mahina, Sina, Tara (nieces), Marama, Oru, Tama (nephews), Baiame (possible cousin), Maui (descendant, possibly deceased)
Group Affiliations: The Kahunas (The Oceanic gods), The Council of Godheads
Base of Operations:
First Appearance: Thor #300
History: Tame is the chieftain of the Kahunas, an extra-dimensional race of beings who were worshipped as gods by the ancient Oceanic aborigines of the Pacific Islands. While the exact origin of the Oceanic gods is unrevealed, as compared to other pantheons of gods such as the Olympians and the Anunnaki, it is believed the Kahunas, also known as the Atua, might have originated somewhere in the vicinity of the Fiji Islands, later extending their worship through Polynesia, Micronesia and the Australian continent. Most of modern-day worship of the Oceanic gods is felt and centered around the Hawaiian Islands believed to have been created by the goddess Pele.
Tame is one of the sons of the primeval earth-goddess, Gaea, known to the Polynesian aborigines as Rangi and her mate, Papa, the ancient sky-father, whose essence filled the biosphere of the earth's atmosphere just as Gaea had infused her life essence into the Earth itself. Papa so loved Rangi that he held her within a tight embrace and refused to let her go. As a result of this tight embrace, clouds and darkness covered the earth and all living things remained stifled between sky and earth. Realizing that nothing on earth would survive unless they could separate sky and earth, each of Tame's brothers took turns trying to separate their parents, but they were largely opposed by their brother, Ku, the war-god. Finally, Tame cleaved a great axe from divine materials and used it to break apart Rangi and Papa, rising his father into a lofty place in the heavens decorated by stars and adorning his mother with trees that reached to the sky. In doing so, Tame reportedly established day and night and the calendar and became ruler over his fellow gods.
When it came time for Tame to claim a wife, he took his sister, Haumea, the food-goddess, to serve by his side over the other gods. His decision was met by dissension by the sea-god, Tangaroa, who possibly desired Haumea as his own. Tangaroa attacked Tame by stirring great storms and winds to lash at the land and wash it away, but he could not keep these storms going consecutively. As he rested, Tame armed mortal man with the ability to create canoes, spears, hooks and nets to invade the sea to catch fish and deplete the life-forms of the sea. Tangaroa continued to attack Tame from time to time over the years until Tame tried to placate his brother by offering him his daughter, Hiiaka, the sea-goddess, as a bride. Tangaroa's anger to his brother was placated by the offer and he took Hiiaka as his wife, but there is still some enmity toward Tame by Tangaroa, who still feels slighted for not being able to be ruler of the gods and storms still lash at the Pacific islands from time to time.
At some point, Tame seduced his daughter, Hina-ahu-one, the dawn-goddess. According to some stories, he had created her from sand to be his lover, but when she discovered he was her father, she fled from the earth and descended down into Po, the underworld, to become goddess of the dead. Her daughter, Hina-nui-te-po, became goddess of death, responsible for escorting mortal souls into the underworld. Hina-ahu-one eventually took Tawhaki, the thunder-god, as her husband and co-ruler of the underworld.
Tame became a kind and beneficent god to his worshippers and imparted wisdom and knowledge to his worshippers, showing them how to create and build homes and tools from trees. Around 1000 AD, he was approached by Odin, monarch of theAsgardian Gods to meet with the heads of the other pantheons of gods who were once worshipped by mortals on earth to discuss the threat of the Third Host of the Celestials. The Celestials were a cosmic extra-terrestrial race which had influenced the evolution of mortal man on earth, and Tame had to pledge along with the godheads not to interfere with the plans the Celestials had with humanity after they had threatened to seal off the gods’ interdimensional passageways connecting the gods’ dimensions with earth. Odin also extracted a pledge from Tame to help defend humanity should the Celestials ever prove to be a threat to earth, and after the Asgardian gods lost their life-forces in battle with the Celestials, Tame granted a portion of the life-energies required to Thor in order to restore the Asgardians to life.
Tame has not been active on earth as much, preferring his leisure time traveling from modern mortal travel spots through the Pacific Islands, particularly near Hawaii where his daughter Pele has often been felt.
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 445 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Strength Level: Tame has superhuman strength to an unknown degree; in his youth, he was capable of Class 100 level strength, enabling him to lift (press) over a hundred tons. In recent times, he might be equal to such gods as Odin and Zeus and can lift (press) only around 80 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Tame possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Kahunas or Oceanic gods. Like all Kahunas, he is extremely long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Olympian gods. He has aged at an extremely slow rate since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means, but he is not entirely immune to death. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Baiame, Tangaroa or Tawhiri for a number of Oceanic gods of equal power working together to revive him. Tame also possesses superhuman strength and his Kahuna metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Kahuna flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Oceanic Gods.)
Tame also has abilities to tap into and manipulate mystical energies for feats of magic. His exact level of power is unknown, but it is believed he is equal to such as gods such as Thor and Odin, capable of controlling the weather, casting spells on ordinary objects, traversing dimensional worlds and altering his form. Despite his great age, he is physically powerful and has the appearance of an old man on earth, but regains his youthful guise in Celestial Hawaiki, the home of the Oceanic gods.
Abilities: Tame is a kind and beneficent god with the ability to create and carve things from wood. His expertise in crafts is not up to the proficiency of other artisan-gods.
Weapons: Tame carries a sacred axe with the power to rattle the earth and cut through dimensional barriers.
Pets: Tame is the protector of birds, namely sea-going birds like albatross and sea gulls. He protects all birds whether they are native to the ocean or not.
Base of Operations: Tame rules over the realm of Celestial Hawaiki, named for the ancient name of Hawaii. Resembling a large asteroid floating in other-dimensional space, it resembles an island with regular intervals of night and day protected by an undefined force that protects the edges of it from eroding away. The sea around Celestial Hawaii is connected with the oceans of earth; the sea-gods such as Tangaroa are capable of rowing back and forth between realms. In fact, this realm seems to be adjacent to Earth; an inter-dimensional nexus between both worlds exists on Ayer's Rock (Uluru) in Australia. Celestial Hawaiki is populated by a number of other beings such as the Menehune, which resemble the elves of Asgard and Otherworld, and a race of lizard men descended from both gods and mortals.
Comments: This bio involves Tame in the Marvel Universe; he has not been seen in the DC Universe.
In Oceanic mythology, Papa is the name of Mother Earth and Rangi is the Sky Father; When Gaea claimed to be Rangi in Thor #301, the writers had switched the genders of the primeval parents.
Last updated: 06/07/07
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