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Story: Te Waonui a Tāne – forest mythology

Meeting house

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Meeting house

This diagram shows a wharenui (meeting house). The roof represents Ranginui (sky) and the ground Papatūānuku (earth). The posts separate earth and sky, as Tāne did in the Māori creation tradition.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Tane-nui-a-Rangi. Auckland: University of Auckland, 1988

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How to cite this page

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, Te Waonui a Tāne – forest mythology – Rituals of the marae, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/13158/meeting-house (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, published 1 March 2009.