A. Sutherland- AncientPages.com – Through storytelling, from generation to generation, Maori (Māori) people passed down legends and stories revolving around mythical creatures, stars, nature, war, and Maori gods.
Left: Tāne Mahuta – ‘Lord of the Forest’ – the trunk of over 4 meters (13 ft) in diameter is almost 18 meters (59 ft) tall, the overall height of the tree is over 51 meters (167 ft). This massive tree, the largest kauri in the world, contains about 517 cubic meters (18,300 cu ft) of wood. Image credit: Pseudopanax – Public Domain; Right: A carving of Tane (Tāne) nui a Rangi, a Maori god, sited at the entrance to the forest aviary at Auckland Zoo. Carving by Bernard Makoare, Manos Nathan, and Lyonel Grant – CC0 1.0 DEED
One of them is Tane (Tāne Mahuta), the tree and forest deity, who is the Polynesian god, but plays a particularly important role in Maori mythology.
He is one of seventy children of the first parents – Rangi (god of the sky) and Papa (Papatuanuku, goddess of the Earth). Maori Legends tell us that Rangi and Papa embraced each other all the time, protecting their children in their arms.
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