How the world was made — an insight in Maori mythology
In almost every culture people tried to explain phenomena which were hard to grasp by developing myths. Thus, there are hundreds of different stories about how the world was created and what happens to dead people’s souls, for instance. Since I am slightly fascinated by the Maori way of perceiving our world, I am going to give you a little insight in their mythology.
In Maori thinking there is a story behind every little thing they are surrounded by. So there naturally also exists a myth about how the land mass of what we now call New Zealand came to existence:
That story follows Maui, a trickster demi-god, who possessed magic powers. When still being a kid, his elder brothers would not allow him to go out fishing with them. Thus one day, clever Maui hid in the bottom of his brothers' boat and was only found by them when they had already gone too far to take him back to the shore. The demi-god then dangled his magic fishhook over the side of the boat and after a while, he felt an extremely strong tug so that he called his brothers for assistance. After much straining and pulling, it turned out that it was not an ordinary fish on the hook but - wait for it - the North Island of New Zealand!
Not too bad, Maui. Well, with a little imagination you might also come to think that the shape of the upper island ressembles that of a fish. Plus, if you happen to have any siblings, it won’t surprise you that the brothers started to argue about whom this new land should belong. When fighting, they were paying so little attention that the boat capsized. And have a guess what the trunk of the boat might represent. Indeed, the South Island - plus the keel symbolizing the Southern Alps.
Let’s take a look at what Maoris think about afterlife, a spiritual concept shared by many cultures. The Maori analogy to what Christians refer to as heaven is called Hawaiki and it is also known as their place of origin. Their ancestors are said to have sailed to New Zealand from there. In Maori mythology, it is home to the supreme being Io, who created the world as well as its first people. It is the place from which every person comes and where each will return at some point.
What appeals to me is the belief that the northernmost point of the North Island is where the spirits begin their journey to Hawaiki. The spirits are said to travel up the coast to the headland, named Cape Reinga, then descend into the underworld (reinga) and travel under water to the so called Three Kings island, where they bid their last farewell, before returning to the land of their ancestors, Hawaiki.
Standing on that cliff, at the very north of New Zealand, feeling the wind rushing through your hair and having that breathtaking landscape in front of you, you easily get the impression that there is something special about that place — even when not being terribly religious. It is not at all surprising that Cape Reinga represents the most spiritually significant place in Maori culture.
