Story: Traditional Māori religion – ngā karakia a te Māori

'Te wehenga o Rangi rāua ko Papa'

This mural depicting the separation of heaven and earth is by Cliff Whiting, an artist of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descent. The figures are Tangaroa (left), god of the sea, Haumia, god of uncultivated foods, Rongo, god of cultivated foods, Tūmatauenga, god of war and people, Tāne, god of the forest, and Tāwhirimātea, god of the wind. These atua (gods) are all children of Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother). Tāne is separating Rangi and Papa.

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National Library Gallery
Mixed media by Cliff Whiting

Permission of the National Library Gallery, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Basil Keane, 'Traditional Māori religion – ngā karakia a te Māori - Ngā atua – the gods', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/30771/te-wehenga-o-rangi-raua-ko-papa (accessed 18 April 2024)

Story by Basil Keane, published 5 May 2011