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Origin of the World.
According to the Maori cosmogony the world grew from primal chaos, darkness, and nothingness. The genesis or growth of the world has been likened to that of a tree. Names are given of primal beings who brought forth offspring of a like nature, even until Rangi and Papa (heaven and earth) were born or came into existence. It would, however, appear probable that these primal names represent periods of time rather than beings of an anthropomorphous type. From Te Pu (the very origin) sprang Te More (the tap-root). From Te More sprang Te Weu (the rootlets or fibrous roots). Then came Te Aka (the creeper or vine). Then Te Rea (the increase). Then Te Wao-nui (the great forest or tree). Then followed Te Kune (the forming, the conception). Then Te Whe or Wheke, which represented sound. Then Te Kore (void) and Te Po (darkness).
Born of the void and darkness were Rangi and Papa, the Sky Father, the Earth Mother. From these sprang Tane, Tu, Rongo, Wainui, and Tangotango, Tane is the origin of forests, the tutelary deity of birds and trees. Tu is the supreme god of war, while Rongo presides over the food-pro-ducts and the arts of peace. Tangotango is the cause or origin of night and day, while Wainui is the mother of waters, the origin and personification of streams, lakes, and the great ocean.
From Tangotango sprang the sun, the moon, the stars, and phosphorescent light. Tangaroa, the Polynesian Neptune, is
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said by some to have been born of Rangi and Papa, by others to have been the offspring of Tane and Hine-rauamoa. Another child of Tane was Hine-te-iwaiwa, who was the origin of the art of weaving, and is patroness and tutelary deity of the Whare Pora, or weaving-house. She is also invoked in matters connected with childbirth.
Another wondrous being of the misty past was Ruaumoko. He is the origin or cause of earthquakes and the change of seasons. When the descendants of the Sky and of Mother Earth quarrelled and were separated and dispersed, then Ruaumoko was sent below to the under world, where he still is. When he turns over, that is the origin of earthquakes, and he changes the seasons by turning the warmth or cold uppermost. Should a Maori feel an earthquake, say towards the close of winter, he will say, “The warmth has been turned uppermost; warm weather is coming.”