A Maori Creation Myth

Rangi and Papa were created from two primal beings.

In the beginning there was nothing but Te Po (night) and Te Kore (emptiness).  From that void came Rangi (Father Sky) and Papa (Mother Earth).

Rangi and Papa. Source: Wikipedia

For more than one million years, Rangi and Papa were locked in an inseparable embrace.  From that union came many offspring, including numerous gods. Conditions were cramped.  The children lived between the bodies of Rangi and Papa.  There was no light.  As the number of children swelled conditions became intolerable.

Six of the gods held counsel to decide what to do. The first to speak was Tu, the god of war and father of mankind. He suggested they should kill Rangi and Papa.  Then followed an eloquent speech by Tane, the father of the forest.  He suggested that they separate the parents. Then, the children could live on the earth and be nourished by the mother earth while the skies looked upon. It was convincing.  All the gods agreed to the plan, except for Tawhiri, the father of the winds.  He roared his disapproval.

Try as they might, the gods could not separate Rangi and Papa.  Rongo, the father of agriculture, was the first to try. He pushed against Rangi’s chest to no avail.  Tangaroa, the god of the ocean, tried and failed. Tu, the father of mankind, and Haumiatikiti, the god of wild plants were unsuccessful.

Tane, the father of the forest, was the next to try.  He rested his leafy head on the breast of Papa, twisted his root like legs around the body of Rangi and thrust upwards.  When the inverted forest began to grow it wrested the two parents apart.  Small creatures, the siblings of the gods fell from the body of Rangi and dispersed throughout the world. This explains the origin of the animals, and of mankind.  

Sadness overtook the lives of Rangi and Papa. They had been together for so long.  Once he saw their  grief Tawhiri commanded a great fury and vowed to avenge his brothers. He counselled and comforted his parents then moved into the skies alongside Rangi.  There he had many children.  The four winds and the many clouds were of his seed.  His progeny were chosen carefuly, he marshalled an army of wind and ferment of every kind.

Tawhiri vents his anger at his siblings.  When he faces Tane, the father of the forest,  great forests are laid waste in fearsome gales. When he faces Tangora, the father of the ocean, the oceans are driven back by great winds and waves.  When he faces other gods there is pestilence.  For thousands of years the gods have cowered in his wrath.  

Tu depcited in a house carving. Source Wikipedia

Tu, the god of war and the father of mankind is the only god that does not cower in the presence of Tawhiri.  Try as he might, with special grievance remembering Tu’s intent to kill his parents, Tawhiri can not intimidate Tu.

Tu and Tawhiri are locked in a perpetual battle in which Tawhiri blows hurricanes and storms across the land and sea. Some say the mists and the rain are tears of grief from Rangi who is separated from his loved one.

here is no love lost between Tawhiri and Tu, the god of war and the father of mankind. Tawhiri has  remembered Tu’s intent to kill his parents and hurls special fury towards Tu.