Pūrākau: The Children of Ranginui and Papatūānuku

Long, long ago, before the world had any trees, beaches, or sunshine, the sky father, Rangi, and the earth mother, Papa, held each other in a tight embrace. They were together for aeons—which is a very, very long time!

Inside the dark, cramped space between them lived their many tamariki. As the years rolled on, the space got incredibly crowded. The children were squashed! Some were bent double, others were lying flat on their faces, and some were trapped standing up. One day, a tiny speck of light—a hinātore—flickered in the darkness.

This little light started a massive kōrero among the siblings. The children split into two groups, and they spent ages arguing about what to do. The Huaki Pōuri group were the teina. They were sick of the dark and wanted to change things so they could explore the light. The Tūteaniwaniwa group were the tuakana, like Tāwhirimātea (atua of wind), Tangaroa (atua of the sea), Tūmatauenga (atua of war), and Whiro (atua of darkness). Because they were born first, they had the comfiest spots and didn’t want anything to change.

One day, Tāne, the brave atua of the forest, decided enough was enough. He prepared a big speech and went to talk to the grumpy older siblings.

It did not go well at first! The older brothers yelled and shouted abuse at Tāne, but Tāne didn’t give up. He spoke so beautifully about the future and the potential of the light that something amazing happened. Tangaroa changed his mind! He crossed over to join the younger siblings, bringing his powerful mana with him. This completely turned the tide of the argument.

With Tangaroa’s encouragement, Tāne and his siblings pushed Rangi and Papa apart, letting light flood into the world.

However, Tāwhirimātea was absolutely furious that his younger brothers had defied him. In a blind, terrifying rage, he scooped out his own eyes and threw them into the sky! His eyes became the beautiful star cluster we know as Matariki.

Now blind and angry, Tāwhirimātea started an epic war. He whipped up fierce storms and hurricanes that attacked his siblings. To survive, Rongo (atua of peace and food) and Tūmatauenga hid inside their mother, Papa.

The battle became a huge family feud. Tūmatauenga, Tāne, and Tangaroa teamed up to fight back. They built two giant spears out of wood and sharp fish scales. Tūmatauenga hurled the spears at Tāwhirimātea with all his might, but he missed! The spears shot into the sky, leaving deep gashes in Rangi, the sky father. Today, we look up and see those gashes as the Milky Way—known as Te Ikaroa and Te Mangōroa.

Eventually, Rangi begged Tāwhirimātea to stop, and the wild winds finally calmed down. But Tūmatauenga was still angry that his other siblings hadn’t helped him fight. To this day, he is still trying to test and take over mankind.

Meanwhile, there was one more brother. Rūaumoko was the pōtiki, and he was still inside Papa’s womb when his parents were separated. Everyone worried he might not survive the separation, so he was left inside the earth with a special gift to keep him warm: Te Ahi Kōmau. But as time went on, Rūaumoko felt left out. He couldn’t see his brothers and sisters, and he became lonely, sad, and very grumpy. “Why did they leave me down here?” he thought.

To show his anger, Rūaumoko started stamping his feet. He shook the ground until he exploded with Te Ahi Kōmau, bursting through the earth with volcanic eruptions, geysers, and earthquakes!

Up above, Tangaroa felt guilty for leaving his little brother behind. Now, whenever Rūaumoko starts shaking with anger, Tangaroa sends massive waves, tsunamis, rolling across the land to cool Papa down and soothe the grumpy baby brother.

Because the sea couldn’t reach everywhere, the other atua stepped up to help calm Rūaumoko down too. Te Ihorangi (atua of rain) poured water from above. His cloud children—Te Ao Tū, Te Ao Matakāka, Te Ao Hira, and Te Ao Taruaitu—shaded the earth. Hine Pūkohurangi (atua of mist) and Mata Kupenga (atua of clouds) wrapped the land in a cool, comforting blanket.

And that is why, even today, the earth still shakes, the winds still howl, and the stars shine bright in the night sky!