The Eyes of Tāwhirimātea / NGĀ MATA O TE ARIKI A TĀWHIRIMĀTEA
Share
In the beginning ranginui, the sky father, and papatūānuku, the earth mother, were locked in a tight embrace. So tight, that their children were forced to live in the dark and cramped space between their parents. The children could not bear it and yearned to see the light. All but one, Tāwhirimātea, were in agreement that the primordial mother and father would need to be separated.
Each brother tried to tear the two apart, and then together they tried, but nothing would break the loving embrace of papatūānuku and Ranginui. Finally, after many attempts, Tāne mahuta, god of forests and birds, forced his parents apart. He lay down on his back and reached down into the soil of his mother for leverage, thus growing roots, and used his legs to push against his father with all his might. With cries of grief, shock, and pain, Ranginui and papatūānuku were torn apart.
All but one of the children embraced their newfound freedom, but it was not all they thought it would be. The great empty and cold expanse of space they found themselves in quickly flooded with the tears of their parents. There was lightning and great winds turned the rain into stinging projectiles. From the chaos of wind and rain a figure of dread emerged, it was Tāwhirimātea, the god of wind and storms, he was furious seeing the pain of his parents. He vowed to his brothers that from then on, they would know his vengeful anger. He then flew up to join his father Ranginui, in the sky and carefully lay his plans and fostered his numerous offspring into an army.
The children of Tāwhirimātea attacked the brothers relentlessly. Great winds of all kinds blew up a mighty dust cloud that ravaged the great forest trees of Tāne. His mighty trees were smashed under the attack and fell to the ground, food for decay and the insects. Then Tāwhirimātea turned to the oceans of Tangaroa, huge tsunamis and dangerous whirlpools formed under the mighty winds and Tangaroa fled in a panic. Tāwhirimātea sought revenge on his brothers one by one, until all but one were defeated or hidden away. The last brother, Tūmatauenga, god of warfare and humanity, stood his ground and an epic battle ensued. Tāwhirimātea used all his strength to defeat him but he could not prevail and finally was defeated.
In one final act of defiance, and to be sure his brothers never forgot their betrayal of their parents, Tāwhirimātea tore out his eyes and crushed them in his hands. He sent the shattered pieces into the heavens. Tāwhirimātea gave one final promise to his brothers, he vowed his children would cause chaos and destruction forever, and to this day the children of Tāwhirimātea can be felt in their wrath, through his storms and hurricanes. When we look to the sky, we see the eyes of Tāwhirimātea, Ngā mata o te Ariki o Tāwhirimātea, or Matariki as we now know it by.
1 comment
Are u selling this in book form please