According to Maori tradition, all humans are descended from the ancestral pair Rangi and Papa, also known as Heaven and Earth. In the early days, Heaven and Earth were closely entwined and all was darkness. Rangi and Papa had six sons - Tane Mahuta who was the father of forests, Tawahiri-ma-tea who was the father of winds and storms, Tangaroa who was the father of fish and reptiles, Tu-matauguenga who was the father of fierce humans, Haumia-tikitiki who was the father of uncultivated food, and Rango-ma-tane who was the father of cultivated food. For a long

1. Contemporary Traditional Maori Culture,part2 "The Maori Creation Story :The Separation of Heaven and Earth" By Nancy Mendoza Jan.13,2012 Period 1 Culture and GeographySource: George Grey, 1956,Polynesian Mythology (ed.by William W.Bird) Christchurch, Whitcombe and tombs ltd.,250p(BL2615.G8481956)

2. 12.(According to Maori tradition) "All humans are descended from one pair of ancestors, Rangi and Papa, who are also called Heaven and Earth."

3. 3."In those days, Heaven and Earth lung closely together and all was darkness."

4. 4."Rangi and Papa had six sons :(1) Tane Mahuta, the father of the forests and their inhabit ants";

5. 5.(2) Tawahiri-ma-tea, the father of winds and storms ";

6. 6.(3)Tangaroa,the father of fish and reptiles";

7. 7.(4) Tu-matauguenga, the father of fierce human beings";

8. 8(5) Haumia-tikitiki, the father of food that grows without cultivated food. "

9. 9.(8) and Rango-ma-tane, the father of cultivated food."

10. 10."In the beginning these six sons and all other biengs lived in darkness for an extremely long time, able only to wonder what light and vision might be like.