The Gods of the Ancient Maori World The Maori gods of pre-European times, and the stories of their deeds, are rather remote from us now. Yet much of the riches of our Maori literature can be appreciated only by studying the ancient Maori beliefs as to the nature and meaning of things. Their view of the world was essentially a religious one. According to their beliefs the nature of the world and its inhabitants was primarily determined by the events that took place during its creation. These events were the work of the gods, each of whom was responsible for certain aspects of existence. Accounts of the nature and activities of the gods are therefore a key to an understanding of the complexity and underlying unity of the ancient Maori vision of the world. The account published here was written by a member of Ngati Hau tribe of Wanganui, and is among the manuscripts collected by John White which are in the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. The manuscript reference is MS Papers 75, ‘Ancient History of the Maori’ vol. VIII (Maori) pp. 87–92. The translation is based upon White's one. The writer refers to the separation of Rangi the Sky and Papa the Earth at the beginning of the world, but does not actually tell the story. The best-known and most vivid account of the separation of Rangi and Papa is in George Grey's classic collection, ‘Polynesian Mythology’. Both the incantations given here are similar to others which have been recorded. The one for the separation of husbands and wives was recited when one of the partners wished the tohunga to take away his or her feelings of love and grief. In the incantation the husband and wife are identified with Rangi and Papa. Nga Atua me Rangi Ko ngā atua ngā mea kua noho ake i mua atu i te putanga mai o Rangi, ā, ko ngā atua ngā mea tautōhito mai o ngā mea katoa. Nō te Pō ngā atua, ā, ko ērā kua noho noa mai i te pōuri. Nō muri mai ko ngā atua o te ao, ko Whatitiri mā, ko Maru mā, ko Tangaroa mā, ko ngā atua kikokiko hoki, ko ēnei e ngau kino nei i te tangata, ā, e kōngenge nei te tangata, ā, ka mate, ā, ko ngā atua pōtiki. Nō muri iho ēnei i te hanganga i te tangata, i a Rumoko mā, i a Uruta mā. Kei ngā rangi i runga nei aua atua nei e noho ana, arā, ko ō rātou wāhi e noho ai i mua i te wā o te oroko hanganga o rātou i runga i ngā rangi ngahuru, arā i ngā rangi tuarea, i ngā rangi maha noa atu, ko ngā rangi e kīia nei he tuarea. Ko te rangi tuatahi i runga ake i a tātou nei he rangi pīwata noa iho, kāore e pōuri; e mārama ana ki te titiro atu i raro nei, ā, kei raro mai o taua rangi tuatabi nei te ara o te rā me te marama e rere haere ai. A, te rangi i runga atu o taua rangi nei, ko te rangi The Gods and Rangi The gods were in existence before Rangi came forth; the gods were of old, before all things. Their origin was in the primal darkness; for a long time they existed in darkness. After this there appeared the gods of light, the gods of this world: Whatiri, Maru, Tangaroa and their companions, and the gods who rule the flesh, those who attack and devour men so that they die of disease, also the gods which are the spirits of dead infants; these came into existence after man was created, and after Rumoko, Uruta and the other gods. These gods dwell in the heavens above us, in the place where they were living before the time of the first creation, that is in the ten heavens, the many heavens, the multitude of heavens—those heavens above us which are spoken of as being a multitude. The first of the heavens above us has many chinks and cracks and is not dark; when we look up from below here, we can see the light shining through the open spaces. Below this