The day the light was let in

Press, 2 August 1983, Page 14

The day the light was let in

When the world was young, Papa the Earth Mother and her husband Rangi, the Sky Father, clung closely to each other. No light could come between the two, and the world was in darkness.

The earth and the sky were so close that the people who walked the earth — the children of Rangi and Papa — had to move about with their backs stooped and were unable to stretch their limbs.

They grew weary of the darkness and the smallness of their world. Most would do nothing to change their environment, for the world was as they had always known it. But some of the children of Rangi and Rapa thought differently. They longed for light and freedom of movement, and the idea of separating the earth and the sky crept into their minds. The people of the world were gods, as their parents were, and felt strong enough to push the sky high above the earth. A few of them tried but failed. The embrace of Rangi and Papa was very strong. So they asked their brothers and sisters to help them. They told them how wonderful it would be to

stand upright and stretch their bodies in a world filled with light. One by one, all the children of Rangi and Papa agreed. They gathered together and braced their backs against the sky. With their feet firmly in the soft earth they pushed and strained until the embrace of Rangi and Papa was broken. With a great cry Rangi was thrust high into the heavens. Light poured into the world and his sons and daughters rejoiced in their success. They danced and stretched as they had never been able to before, and marvelled at the light that now lit the earth. And the birds — the tui, the fantail, and the robin — flew up into the vastness of the sky. But Papa and Rangi grieved for each other. Rangi wept for his wife, and his tears fell from the sky as drops of rain. The tears of Papa rose from the earth as dew and soft mists. And as the mists drifted up towards Rangi they formed clouds in the sky. When the children of Rangi and Papa tired of rejoicing, they sat down to rest and looked about them. In the new light • the land and the sky looked bare and sad.

So they began to decorate their world. First, they made the sun, and lit it so it would blaze in the sky and keep them warm. As they set the sun high in the sky it began to move slowly from east to west, throwing off small burning fragments as it travelled. These pieces were caught by the people of the earth, who called them stars and used them to decorate the sky at night when the sun was resting. To complete their work in the sky, they created the moon as a companion for the stars.

Gazing at the sky, the children of Rangi and Papa saw he was now beautiful, both by night and by day. But Papa, their mother, was still bare.

So they covered her with grass, flowers and bushes. The insects which crawled beneath the grass provided food for the birds, but the birds were without a place to build their homes and to rest during flight. The people drew on all their strength and created trees. One made the rimu, another the totara, and others the rata and the giant kauri.

The roots of the trees held firmly in the soil of Papa, and their branches stretched upward towards Rangi. Seeing the bareness of the

branches, the people covered them with leaves and flowers. Then they added berries as food for the birds. The birds gathered joyfully in the trees, where they perched among the twigs and built nests for their families. Then, opening their beaks, they chirped and sang in appreciation. Every time Rangi grieved for Papa, he wept again, and the rains filled the lakes, the rivers and the oceans.

The people drank from the streams, and the rain fed the plants. Just as Rangi nurtured the world with water, Papa nurtured it with rich, fertile soil. For they had looked at the world and judged it beautiful.