Tane, god of the forest, used his head and feet to separate his parents.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Corel Corporation

Papa

According to the Maori people of New Zealand, Rangi was the Sky Father and his wife was the Mother Earth, Papa. At the beginning of time, Rangi, the male sky, and Papa, the female Earth, were entwined in a steady embrace. Rangi wanted this embrace to prevent the creation of the world.

Several gods, the offsprings of the Sky Father and of the Mother Earth could not escape from the close embrace. The trapped gods tried in vain several times to separate their parents. When some of them suggested the only way to be free was to kill their parents, the god of forest, Tane, refused, and attempted again to split his parents. Pushing away his father with his head and his mother with his feet, he finally succeeded.

Once separated the sky and the Earth assumed their present position. Once free, one of the divine children, the storm god Tawhiri was inexplicably upset with Tane for having separated their parents. He expressed all his wrath by creating storms and hurricanes, ravaging the forests which represented the domain of Tane. Tawhiri, thereafter, established his authority over the sky and his siblings.

The god of war, Tu, did not want to submit to the storm god. According to Maoris, the islands of the Pacific Ocean were created by the struggle between Tu and Tawhiri, which represents the beginning of warfare. It is strikingly surprising to discover how similar this creation story is with that of Uranus and Gaea in the Greek mythology and that of Nut and Geb in the ancient Egyptian mythology!

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Rangi

According to the Maori people of New Zealand, Rangi was the Sky Father and his wife was the Mother Earth, Papa. At the beginning of time, Rangi, the male sky, and Papa, the female Earth, were entwined...more

Hurricanes (also known as Tropical Cyclones)

As a strong hurricane heads towards a vulnerable coast, people take precautions - boarding up houses, packing the car, and evacuating. These massive storms can spell disaster for people in hurricane prone...more

Nut

Nut was the Egyptian sky goddess. She was depicted as a giant, naked woman who was supporting the sky with her back. Her body was blue and covered by stars. Ancient documents describe how each evening,...more

Ahsonnutli

Ahsonnutli was the sky father and chief deity of the Navajo Indians. He created heaven, Earth, and the sky. Each of the four cardinal directions was supported by a giant. Each direction was also associated...more

Amphitrite

Amphitrite was one of the fifty Nereids, the attendants of the sea-god Poseidon. Poseidon (Neptune) had fallen in love with Amphitrite after seeing her dancing on the island of Naxos. Amphitrite rejected...more

Aphrodite

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was known to the Romans as Venus. There were actually two different Aphrodites, one was the daughter of Uranus, the other the daughter of Zeus and...more

Apollo

In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Jupiter(in Greek Zeus) and Leto (Letona). He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and healer. Leto travelled all over Greece...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA