What culutral ties do Maori have with whales?

The Maori have always been in awe of whales. Popping up in lots of their legends, they were considered "the people of the sea". There are also two main myths about them. The first is of a beached whale, the Maori then come to take what they could from it when it turned into the war god Atua and cursed them. The second is of Tinirau and his pet whale. The whale gets killed by a man and he seeks revenge. According to myth, whales are related to the ocean god, Tangaroa. Because of this, they were thought of as supernatural and the Guardians of the ocean, saving sailors from death. Before the Europeans came the Maori never hunted whales , though if they encountered them beached they would claim that its a gift from the gods.