Te Timatanga mai o te Ao: The Beginning of the World

Michael Reilly

Introduction

How did the world begin? Who are we? Where did we come from? Why do we live the way we do? What are the origins of our beliefs and values? Every human society and culture requires satisfactory answers to these existential questions. Maori tohunga responded with a series of creation traditions that established the foundational cultural themes and practices that gave meaning to the day-to-day lives of the ancestors, and continue to do so for their descendants.

This chapter selects three key clusters of creation texts that describe important moments in the Maori genesis, and explores some of the key themes and ideas these works conveyed to subsequent generations. The first group of traditions concerns Io, who initiated the creative process according to certain Maori iwi. The second group, arguably the best known of the three, describes the creation of the world as a consequence of the separation of Rangi-nui (Rangi) and Papa-tu-anuku (Papa). The final group relates to the creation of the first human beings by the atua (ancestor of ongoing influence, spirit being, creative power). Following the retelling of these traditions, the chapter discusses some of the important ideas these traditions convey to subsequent generations.

Io

Io, as a high or supreme atua, is controversial. Many scholars consider Io a later tribal tradition developed by tohunga after they became familiar with Christianity, arguing that such a tradition is inauthentic as it was intentionally created in response to foreign ideas. However, others argue that traditions adapt to changes in the surrounding society and culture and that Io was a modification of existing indigenous beliefs by certain tohunga who wanted to provide a counterweight to Christianity's inroads. In order to strengthen their interpretations, these tohunga intentionally focused on those traditional elements that had the most similarity to Christian ideas. In contrast, other equally respected authorities believe that Io has long been part of tribal traditions for Ngapuhi and Ngati Kahungunu, amongst others. They particularly point to the appearance of Io in karakia texts as indicating this atua's antiquity. Karakia are formulaic chants accompanying ritual acts addressed to the atua that use archaic language appropriate to works inherited from the ancestors (see also Chapter 2).

This controversy prompts a few additional observations. Firstly, it is worth remembering that Christianity was incorporated by Maori into their existing beliefs system, creating 'a distinctively Maori brand of Christianity', which for many included the recognition of other atua. Secondly, the key question in respect of Io (or any other tradition or traditional character or facet) is whether it is accepted by particular Maori communities and taught by tohunga, either in the past or today. If so, then it is authentic. Thirdly, traditions differ between iwi, hapu and even individual tohunga, just as people speak distinctive dialects of the Maori language. Each tradition is valid for its community: none is truer or possesses more authority than another. The following section sets out the traditions concerning Io according to those tohunga and scholars who accept that atua's place as a significant creative power.

In Ngapuhi traditions Io is known by a series of epithets or extensions to his base name, which reveal this atua's priority and importance in relation to other spirit beings (see Figure 1.1). According to the Ngapuhi tohunga, Maori Marsden, Io existed eternally in Te Korekore, 'the realm of potential being'. There Io encompassed all states of being: passive, negative, positive and active. Out of a conjunction of all these elements, Io initiated creation through a process of genealogical recitation or naming (see Figure 1.2).

At the head of this coming-into-being of the cosmos stood Io. This generation process moved on to a series of principal epochs, including Te Korekore (The Void), Te Kowhao (The Abyss) and Te Po (Night). Each of these domains generated further sequences (see Figure 1.2). Together these realms formed 'the seed-bed of Creation' or 'the essential foundations of the universe'. Then Io caused the state of being to come into existence, first as a seed in Te Kore and Te Kowhao, and then as a steadily growing plant, which expanded and developed in what Michael Shirres describes as 'an insensate movement towards being and self-realization'. This growth was driven by the mauri which Io had placed in the first seed, and led through a series of organic stages from Te Pu (The Taproot) down to Te Aka (The Vine), which in turn generated an active growing process starting at Te Rapunga (The Seeking) and ending with Te Hihiri (Elemental and...