The Story Of Papatūānuku - The Land
In the Māori world view, land gives birth to all things, including humankind, and provides the physical and spiritual basis for life. Papatūānuku, the land, is a powerful mother earth figure who gives many blessings to her children.
Papatūānuku – mother earth
In Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the land. She is a mother earth figure who gives birth to all things, including people. Trees, birds and people are born from the land, which then nourishes them. Some traditions say that the land first emerged from under water.
Creation story
In the Māori creation story, Papatūānuku had many children with Ranginui, the sky father. Their children pushed them apart to let in the light. The children had more children, including birds, fish, winds and water. They became the ancestors of everything in the world today.
Papatūānuku And Ranginui
Stories of the land
In some tribal stories, humans were born or made directly from the earth. There are many stories about people and the land. In one story, the lakes of the Southern Alps were dug out by Rākaihautū, an ancestor of the Waitaha tribe. Many places are named after people’s actions, or parts of their body.
Whenua – the placenta
Whenua, the word for land, also means placenta, the organ that nourishes a baby in the womb. Islands are seen as placentas from Papatūānuku’s womb. Traditionally, when a baby is born, the placenta and umbilical cord are buried in a special place. People who have authority over an area of land are called tangata whenua (people of the land).
Women and land
Women are associated with the land, because the land gives birth to people, and so do women. In tribal history, women have had influence over land and men.
Whakapapa
Whakapapa is knowledge about the world. It includes stories about ancestors, and explains the origins of fish, birds, trees, rocks, people and all other things. Whakapapa is the recitation of genealogies or stories which create a base or foundation of meaning for people. As whakapapa can include genealogies or stories about the entire world, whakapapa are ways by which people come into relationship with the world, with people, and with life.
Tūrangawaewae – a place to stand
Tūrangawaewae means a place to stand, where a person feels strong and at home. A person’s tūrangawaewae may be their marae (open space or courtyard where people gather, generally in front of a main building or meeting house), a mountain or river.
Papatūānuku Sleeping