What is "tawa"

Tawa may refer to:

• Tava, a cooking implement used in South Asia, Western Asia and Central Asia
• Tawa (tree), after which the New Zealand suburb is named
• An early variation on the name of the Ottawa tribe
• Tawa (mythology), a solar deity in Pueblo mythology; see also List of solar deities
• Tawa (dinosaur), a dinosaur named after the Pueblo sun god, considered synonymous with Dromomeron

Tawa (named after the Hopi word for the Puebloan sun god) is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic period. The fossil remains of Tawa hallae were found in the Hayden Quarry of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, USA. Its discovery alongside the relatives of '' Coelophysis ''and Herrerasaurus supports the hypothesis that the earliest dinosaurs arose in Gondwana during the early Late Triassic period in what is now South America, and radiated from there around the globe. The specific name honours Ruth Hall, founder of the Ghost Ranch Museum of Paleontology.