Pūrākau are usually described as stories that relate to the deeds and activities of ngā atua Māori (the gods & demi-gods of Māori), and are generally focussed on creation and pro-creation.
The word ‘pū-rākau’ gives some insight into its relationship with this era:
Te Pū: origin, source, base, foundation
Rākau: tree - a metaphor for creation is imaged as a living, breathing tree, growing over periods of time and space.
Jayne Matenga-Kohu in her descriptive of ‘time/creation’ writes:
‘The era of Te Pū established the root, the foundation. Te More, Te Weu and Te Aka followed, planting and generating the taproots, thin long rootlets and fibres. These allowed for the period of extension, expansion and growth – Te Rea. Here life gained movement.
Te Waonui issued the era of long standing time, a moment where [the] ancient forest is slowly growing. Here, creation as permanent and self-promoting moves into the time of Te Kune followed by Te Whē, the introduction of sound – tree branches creaking’.
The following periods, Te Kore and Te Pō, describe eras of sterility and barrenness where a great emptiness consumes the universe [Te Kore]. In the period of darkness and its various stages [Te Pō] creation is rejuvenated so that a season of birthing can occur. It is from this season that Papatūānuku and Te Ranginui come into being and from them their children, ngā atua tamariki – the gods of Māori creation.
Whilst today the ‘pūrākau’ of Ranginui and Papatuanuku is used as a given Māori creation narrative, it must be stressed that not all tribes from Aotearoa New Zealand believe that this is their descent path. This is but one narrative that also has variations in ‘its telling’.
The word ‘pū-rākau’ gives some insight into its relationship with this era:
Te Pū: origin, source, base, foundation
Rākau: tree - a metaphor for creation is imaged as a living, breathing tree, growing over periods of time and space.
Jayne Matenga-Kohu in her descriptive of ‘time/creation’ writes:
‘The era of Te Pū established the root, the foundation. Te More, Te Weu and Te Aka followed, planting and generating the taproots, thin long rootlets and fibres. These allowed for the period of extension, expansion and growth – Te Rea. Here life gained movement.
Te Waonui issued the era of long standing time, a moment where [the] ancient forest is slowly growing. Here, creation as permanent and self-promoting moves into the time of Te Kune followed by Te Whē, the introduction of sound – tree branches creaking’.
The following periods, Te Kore and Te Pō, describe eras of sterility and barrenness where a great emptiness consumes the universe [Te Kore]. In the period of darkness and its various stages [Te Pō] creation is rejuvenated so that a season of birthing can occur. It is from this season that Papatūānuku and Te Ranginui come into being and from them their children, ngā atua tamariki – the gods of Māori creation.
Whilst today the ‘pūrākau’ of Ranginui and Papatuanuku is used as a given Māori creation narrative, it must be stressed that not all tribes from Aotearoa New Zealand believe that this is their descent path. This is but one narrative that also has variations in ‘its telling’.
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