According to Maori tradition, all humans are descended from the primordial parents Rangi (Heaven) and Papa (Earth), who were locked in a tight embrace, leaving the world in darkness. Their six sons - Tane-Mahuta, Tawhiri-ma-tea, Tangaroa, Tu-matauenga, Haumia-tikitiki, and Rongo-ma tane - grew tired of the darkness and worked together to separate their parents, bringing light and space to the world.

1. Contemporary Traditional Maori Culture, part 2 "The Maori creation story: The Separation of Heaven and Earth" By Dannie Gonzalez, 2/2/12 Period 6 Culture and Geography Source: George Grey 1956, Polynesian Mythology (ed. by William W. Bird): Christchurch, Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd., 250p. (BL 2615.G843p 1956

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

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

4. "Rangi and Papa had six sons: Tane-Mahuta, the father of the forests and their inhabitants

5. Tawhiri-ma-tea, the father of winds and storms";

6. Tangaroa, the father of fish and reptiles

7. Tu-matauenga, the father of fierce human biengs

8. "Haumia-tikitiki, the father of food that grows without cultivation";

9. "and Rongo-ma tane, the father of cultivated food."

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