Ranginui: the great sky father
Ranginui is the great father of the sky… he’s the vast expanse of the endless heavens while his wife Papatuanuku is the earth mother. The two have been married since forever… originally they were locked in a loving embrace that blocked out all light. Ranginui held tight to his beloved Papatuanuku. They had many children, all of whom lived in the tiny space between their parents. It was very dark and very cramped… nobody was exactly happy with the situation. As the children grew up they became even more annoyed at the living conditions. But Ranginui and Papa would not break their embrace.
Soon the children gathered deep in the darkness to discuss the problems of living in such conditions. Tangaroa was very keen to separate his parents but felt he was not nearly strong enough to complete such a task. Tawhirimatea apposed any talk of separation and threatened his brothers with eternal war if they even attempted to break them up. Tumatauenga scoffed at his brother’s emotional outburst and demanded their parents be separated immediately. Otherwise he would kill them himself. Rongo and Haumia were vegetarians… they didn’t want any killing or bloodshed… and Ruaumoko wasn’t even born.
Then Tane-Mahuta stood up, “Calm down - Let me try” he said. Tane thought for a while then lay with his back braced against his mother. He raised his feet up and placed them on his father. He took a deep breath then pushed his feet up as hard as he could. Tane strained with all his might and eventually he was able to pry his parents apart. Little by little they began to separate. Just then Tawhirimatea roared with anger then rushed off past Tane and the others to join Rangi. AS he left… he vowed to wage war on all his brothers and ever since then Tawhiri has sent hurricanes and storms to wreak havoc upon his family. Meanwhile the light flooded into the world… it spread quickly into every corner of the land… and life, as we know it, was born.
This is Te Ao Marama (the world of warmth and light)… and the true beauty of Papatuanuku could at last be seen. Her gorgeous green cloak, her impressive snow topped mountains, her abundant valleys, her lush rivers and her generous beaches simply confirm her as the mother of absolutely everything. Ranginui also looked magnificent as the rich blue of his skin soaked up the light. An exhausted Tane shook the beads of sweat from his body… they flew into the air and became the many stars of the night sky. Tangotango, a son of Tane Mahuta, then placed his own children Ra (sun) and Marama (moon) into the sky so we could differentiate between night and day. Thus the ever changing cloak of Ranginui is impressive at anytime… the sun, the moon and the stars all hang like taonga from the sacred korowai of the 12 heavens.
Sometimes Rangi weeps for his beloved Papa… sometimes he smothers her with his warmth and light… every day is different… but their love affair will never ever end.. MAURIORA
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