Beginnings

Te Po, The long dark night

At the beginning of the world there was the long dark night, ruled over by Rangi, the sky father, and Papa, the earth mother. Their eldest son was Tane, god of the forests. Tane pulled himself free of his parents in the darkness and pushed them apart. He decorated his father, Rangi, with the sun, moon and stars and his mother, Papa, with plants and animals. The world was flooded with light and colour, but Rangi's sadness at being separated from his mate caused him to weep, flooding Papa's surface with oceans and lakes.

In Hawaiiki, the mythical ancestral home of the Mauri, there lived the demi-god Maui, who possessed secret magic powers. One day two of Maui's older brothers went out fishing in their waka, or boat, and Maui hid in the bottom of the waka so he could go with them. When the brothers discovered Maui they tried to return to shore, but Maui had cast a spell making the land seem further away than it was and so the brothers continued out to sea. The brothers wouldn't let Maui fish, so he took out his own special fish-hook made from his grand-mother's jawbone and cast it into the sea whilst chanting his magic. When his line pulled he held strong and with the help of his brothers (as the tug was stronger than any fish) brought to the surface Te Ika a Maui, the fish of Maui, now known as the North Island of New Zealand. The South Island is known as Te Waka a Maui, the waka of Maui, and Stewart Island Te Punga a Maui, Maui's anchor.

Maui was concerned the gods may not be happy with him having caught this fish, and went to make peace with the gods, leaving his brothers instructions not to touch the fish. However, Maui's greedy brothers fought over the fish and started chopping and pounding at the magnificent catch with their weapons. The blows they made created the mountains and valleys of the North Island.

Pretty magical huh.