In Hopi mythology, Tawa is the sun spirit.
Tawa is also described in many Hopi creation accounts as a creator figure. In one influential version, Tawa forms the First World from Tokpella, the endless expanse of space, and sends Spider Grandmother to guide its inhabitants toward later worlds. Hopi traditions vary, however, and not every account gives Tawa exactly the same creative role.
The Hopi emergence story commonly describes several successive worlds. Early beings live unhappily underground before Spider Grandmother helps lead them onward; in one account, the beings gradually become people as they move into the Third World. Tawa’s association with the sun therefore connects him with creation, order, blessing, and life—not merely with daylight.
A common mix-up is Spider Grandmother, who is a guide and intercessor, rather than the sun spirit. Masauwu is associated with death, the earth, fire, and the entrance to the Fifth World. Tawa is also sometimes written Taiowa in descriptions of Hopi cosmology.