Knowra Māori mythology Māori mythology Māori mythology comprises traditional narratives and cosmologies of the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand, including accounts of creation, divine beings, ancestors, and the natural world.
Rangi and Papa : In Māori tradition, the primordial sky father and earth mother whose separation makes room for the world. Their separation is a central creation event and the source of many atua’s stories.
Separation of Rangi and Papa : A Māori creation episode in which their children separate the sky father and earth mother. This episode explains the emergence of the world and the domains of several atua.
Māori oral tradition : The spoken transmission of Māori histories, genealogies, knowledge, and narratives across generations. Mythic narratives were carried through performance and teaching rather than a single fixed text.
Māori cosmology : Māori understandings of the structure of the universe and relationships among its beings and domains. Cosmological narratives articulate an ordered world grounded in kinship and reciprocal relations.
Māori religion : The religious beliefs and practices of Māori communities, including both ancestral traditions and later developments. Mythology is one part of a living religious landscape, not a synonym for all Māori belief.
Tāne : A Māori atua associated with forests, birds, and the separation of Rangi and Papa. He separates his parents and becomes a major ancestor of forest life and humanity.
Māui fishes up the North Island : A Māori narrative in which Māui pulls the North Island from the sea using a magical fishhook. The story links a familiar landform to a culture hero’s extraordinary deed.
Polynesian mythology : The diverse traditional narratives and cosmologies of the peoples of Polynesia. Shared figures and motifs place Māori traditions within a wider, varied Polynesian context.
Mauri : The life principle or vital essence present in people, places, and other beings in Māori thought. Narratives often portray the natural world as alive and connected, not merely as scenery.
Christianity in New Zealand : The history and practice of Christian traditions in New Zealand. Christian influence reshaped some Māori religious expression without erasing ancestral narratives.
Show all 27