Episode 179 – A Memory of Light – Myths Your Teacher Hated

Episode 179 Show Notes

Source: Maori Mythology

This week on MYTH, we’re heading to the days of legend for the Maori tale of creation. You’ll discover that being a clingy couple is bad for everyone’s wellbeing, that even gods get cold, and that some creatures have poorly-defined jobs. Then, in Gods and Monsters, a fiery volcano goddess will seek her new home. This is the Myths Your Teacher Hated podcast, where I tell the stories of cultures from around the world in all of their original, bloody, uncensored glory. Modern tellings of these stories have become dry and dusty, but I’ll be trying to breathe new life into them. This is Episode 179, “A Memory of Light”. As always, this episode is not safe for work.
This week, it’s time for another Maori tale but one that doesn’t involve that shapeshifting trickster Maui – though there was a different version way, way back in Episode 10 that does. This story does however involve some other gods we’ve met before. We’ll be using the version collected by Edith Howes in Maoriland Fairy Tales from 1913. In the beginning, before earth as we know it existed, Rangi the sky, father of all things, and Papa the earth, mother of all things, were the only beings in existence. Depending on which version of the story you look at, Rangi may also be known as Ranginui, Raki, Rakinui, or Tame-nui-ke-ti-Rangi; likewise, Papa may be Papatuanuku. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll stick with Rangi and Papa.
In these bygone days, the world was incredibly dark. Not because there was no sun, mind you, but because, like the most clingy, annoying couple you’ve ever met, Papa and Rangi were always all over each other. Literally, in this case. Rangi hung so low over Papa’s garden that no trees or flowers could grow. The two gods were so tightly smashed together at all times that only a species of strange, half-grown plants with flat, squashed leaves could survive where they pressed against Rangi’s arms. They were so desperately in love and co-dependent that they couldn’t bear to part even an inch for even a second and so they forgot to care for the growth of the world, of the plants, and even of their children. Like I’ve mentioned before, gods are always super fertile, and two sexy gods can’t spend all the time with their naughty bits mashed together without having a few kids – six brothers, as it happened: Tu, the father of warriors, Tane, the father of forests, Tawhiri, the father of winds and storms, Tangaroa, the father of fish, Haumia, the father of wild foods, and Rongo, the father of cultivated foods.
As you can probably expect, it was super uncomfortable for these six brothers to grow up in Papa’s garden, both physically and emotionally. They literally have to spend their days in the middle of their parents sex lives. Gross. They knew nothing of the light, even as a concept, but they did know that things were unbelievably cramped. They longed to stretch out their limbs, straighten their spines, and stand upright for the first time ever, which fair. Then one day, Rangi lifted his arms just for a moment (probably to do something kinky to his wife, given the circumstances) and the light of the sun was able to stream into the garden. For that one brief, shining moment, the brothers basked in the warmth of the sun, and it was glorious. “Hey, uh, Pops? What exactly is that burning shaft of brilliance blazing down on us? And please don’t say your penis.” Rangi shifted uncomfortably (he’d probably been planning on making that exact joke). “Oh, that? It’s nothing but light. Nothing to worry about or even think about ever again.” He lowered his arms once more. And, just as abruptly, the light was gone again as if it had never been but the memory remained.
“Wait, no, lift your arms again, Dad! That light was the most beautiful thing we’ve ever seen!” cried Tane, the eldest of the six brothers. Unfortunately, Rangi’s attention was already drifting back to his beloved Papa, and he had no more time for annoying questions from his children. “I told you, don’t worry about it. Be content as you are and just stop thinking about it.” But the six brothers couldn’t simply forget what they had seen. It haunted them in their claustrophobic existence and they were no longer content. Not that they really had been before. They began to plan amongst themselves to find a way to bring back the light. “We can’t give up on our dream of seeing the light again! If we could somehow make it stay permanently, think how beautiful our home would be! Plus, we’d be able to see and move around. I never really knew what I was missing out on before this,” said Tane. Tu, the second eldest, nodded invisibly beside him. “Agreed, brother. If our father Rangi would just move and give us some room, we’d have light and freedom of movement. Surely such a simple request must lie within the power of so great a god.” The other brothers agreed. “So wise, brothers! Let us ask him.”
And so they did. At first, Rangi tried to simply ignore them. When they persisted, he told them no. Repeatedly. “I have no wish to move. I am happy here, with my wife, skin to skin. My place is beside the earth mother and I will not leave her side for anyone, including you.” The brothers understandably didn’t take this refusal well. Tu, as the father of warriors, was the fiercest of the brothers and had a suitably warrior-like solution to their troubles. “Fuck it, we ball. I say we kill him. Hell, let’s kill them both and take over the place, rule in their stead, brothers.” The other five shifted uncomfortably at the suggestion. They wanted to have light and freedom of movement again, sure, but they weren’t ready to jump straight to double murder. Tawhiri, father of winds, was the only one comfortable with their current compressed existence, and so he advocated for just rolling with the status quo, but his brothers weren’t any more on board with that plan either. They argued for a long time before Tane suggested a plan that everyone eventually got on board with – simply shoving the two gods apart. “It’s by far the simplest solution, no one has to die, and if it doesn’t work, we can always try something else.”
The six brothers were nothing if not competitive and so, rather than working together, they decided to each take turns to see who could pull off this incredible feat of strength. Thus Rongo, father of cultivated foods, shifted awkwardly until he could get his feet on his mother and his shoulders on his father and heaved with all his might. The two celestial beings didn’t so much as budge. He had failed. Haumia, father of wild foods came next, but he had no more luck than his younger brother. Tu, father of warriors, tried his hand next but failed just as spectacularly, Likewise Tangaroa, father of fishes, was unable to separate the super-clingy parents despite all his efforts. Tawhiri, who had no desire to separate his parents at all, sulked at the attempts and refused to take his turn, so it was left to Tane, father of forests.
Teeth clenched and muscles straining, Tane pushed against his father’s chest and shoved against his mother’s. And, inch by painful inch, they began to spread apart. Every muscle burned with the exertion and the weight felt like it would crush him to dust, but Tane refused to relent. “The light! We can see the light! Push, Tane! Keep pushing – don’t give up!” Encouraged by his brothers’ calls, he did so. Higher and higher rose the father of the sky, helpless against the might of his son. Below, Papa wept loudly as her beloved Rangi was torn away from her.
At last, Tane reached the end of his strength and was forced to pause. He relaxed his efforts slightly and was gratified to find that his father only sunk a little back towards the earth mother before stabilizing into place. Rangi was less thrilled about this particular turn of events. “Tane, you cruel child! You have hung me out to dry on these wickedly sharp mountain peaks! They are tearing into my flesh! Oh how could you be so vicious to your own father?” Never mind that said father had been totally content to crush his offspring forever with no concerns for their well-being. And looking up, Tane could see that this was indeed the case. Moreover, he was surprised to find that he had grown into a giant (much like the towering trees of his domain). This might be why his brothers called encouragement to him instead of helping once Rangi started moving – none of the rest were tall enough to reach the sky.
Now Tane was not actually a cruel god and he had never intended to hurt his father (unlike bloodthirsty Tu). He was moved to pity by his father’s plight, but he was also unwilling to lower him back down and crush the world into shadow again. He was determined to make things better for the world without making them any harder than necessary on Rangi and Papa. Thus, he lifted the sky god up just enough and, quick as thought, he raced up the mountainsides to bind up his father’s wounds, before catching him once more. His parents were not impressed by this show of compassion. “Why are you punishing us? What did we ever do to deserve such awful treatment? What crime have we committed to be treated so cruelly?” The sky and the earth really have no sense of perspective, do they?
Tane looked over to his brothers. “This is better than before, but I don’t think it’s enough yet. I’m going to kick him so high that he will never be able to come back down again. We will have light and space for the rest of time.” Shifting carefully, the young god turned around so that he was standing on his head and hands with his feet braced against his father’s chest. With a single mighty shove, he launched Rangi up into the heavens where he hangs to this very day. And thus were the heavens and the earth separated at last. No more clingy, co-dependent power couple. In some versions, the very first people stumble out of the revealed caves and wandered blinking into the sunlight.
Freed from this awful burden at last, the six brothers looked around at Papa’s desolate garden. They were still awed by the mere presence of the light, but it did reveal how empty and barren their surroundings were. Fortunately, these were young gods themselves, so they decided to do something about it. “This is much better,” said a satisfied Tane. “Now we shall make this garden beautiful.” He looked around and saw four faces smiling and nodding in agreement. Tawhiri, the lord of winds, was the only sour countenance among them. “I did not want our parents separated, and you all did so anyway against their wishes and mine. I will not help you further desecrate them. I will go and join Rangi. Peace out, assholes.” And with a scowl, Tawhiri (who had always been jealous of his brothers though why is not at all clear) soared up into the sky. The others watched their brother vanish into the heavens with Rangi until he was lost to sight. “Well, his loss I guess. Everyone else good with staying here on our earth mother? Good. Let’s get to work.? I’ll start. I’ve got this great idea.”
Inspired by his own massive growth and the experience of pushing upwards into the sky, Tane concentrated his will and caused the very first trees to sprout from the earth. Like he himself had been when he pushed Rangi away, their heads were buried in the earth and their feet stuck up into the sky. He liked the way that they looked so much that he followed up with bushes, flowers, moths, butterflies, and songbirds. The bright sun fell on the new forest and everything grew tall and strong. Tane sat back, pleased with his work. Rongo joined in, calling forth all of the food plants that grow in the gardens of the world. Haumia added the wild food plants, the ones that must be sought beyond civilization. Tangaroa criss-crossed the earth with streams, rivers, lakes, and the sea and filled them all with an abundance of different fishes. And thus did Papa become the lush, verdant place we know today.
“Isn’t that better, mother? Weep no more for Rangi (who isn’t all that far away when you think about it). Be happy for your garden instead, which thrives for the first time.” Papa’s tears muffled her voice as she spoke. “Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love that you did all this for me. Your love and kindness touches my heart deeply, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss my beloved Rangi. It doesn’t matter how far away he is if he’s too far for me to touch. And I can’t help but imagine how cold he must be up in the bitter chill of the heights. He is not dressed for that terrible, freezing climate.” Tane looked up into the sky where Rangi now dwelt and saw that it was true.
“Very well, mother. I cannot stand to see you weep so, nor do I wish for my father to suffer. Therefore, I will clothe him better.” And so Tane went and fashioned an enormous cloak of glowing red for Rangi, as wide as the sky and as cozy as a night inside with a fire when it’s raining. It was nearly complete, but something was missing. The young god considered his creation. “Of course, it needs a clasp! I will fasten it with stars – they are the most beautiful things I have ever seen, fit for a sky god.” Up until now, the gods have mostly been able to just stretch out their hands and kind of do whatever they wanted at will. The stars, however, are not their creation and so are beyond easy grasp. Tane was determined to do this thing right though, so he went to see the Star Goblin. What’s a star goblin? No idea. I doubt very much that ‘goblin’ is really the right translation, but alas it’s the one we have.
“Star Goblin, I need your help. I need stars to finish making a great cloak for Rangi.” “I can help you , Tane, but I’m afraid that I don’t have them to simply give. The stars you require lie at the peak of a mountain towering at the far end of the sky. You’ll need to undertake a long and perilous journey to retrieve them. I can tell you the way, but the task itself will be up to you.” This seems like an awful lot of work for some bling to add to a mostly-finished cloak, but as we’ve seen, Tane isn’t one to do things by halves. “Thank you for your help, Star Goblin. I will go and find this mountain.” The guardian of the location of the stars told Tane the way and he set out for the far end of the sky.
The path was every bit as long and dangerous as the Star Goblin had indicated, but Tane was brave and determined. He strode boldly over the peaks of lesser mountains and through the dark, wild lands of night that lay in the valleys between. In some stories, this journey would be the focus but we’re just going to skip over it apparently. At last, Tane came to the mountain at the end of the sky and climbed all the way to the tippy top of its towering peak. As promised, gleaming stars lay piled on the rocky crags and precipices there. He spent a little time sifting through the collection for the largest, brightest, and sparkliest, taking a great number of the twinkling stars with him. Once he was satisfied that he had all he needed, the young god returned back along the same road once more without any real trouble or complications.
Back in the garden of Papa, Tane climbed to the top of the more typical mountains to place the stars in the sky cloak he’d woven for Rangi. It was only as he stepped back to admire his handiwork that he noticed a pretty big problem – the stars were vastly outshone by the sun, rendering them invisible on the daytime cloak. Tane thought for a moment before deciding to make a second, nighttime cloak. This one was as dark as the void, so the twinkling stars showed up nice and bright. They looked brilliant and lovely in the night sky and so there they have stayed ever since.
Papa looked up at Rangi’s spectacular new cloaks and was very pleased with her child’s handiwork. “They truly are lovely cloaks, and they look quite warm, but I still can’t quite shake my anxiety about my beloved husband’s safety. He’s so very high up in the sky now. What if he falls? From such a great height as that, even one as mighty as he would surely be gravely injured.” Tane considered this for a bit before smiling. “I can prevent that as well, mother. Give me a moment.” The lord of forests fashioned white fluffy clouds into towering pillars. These, he used to wedge Rangi safely in place and prop him up. “There, now he won’t go anywhere. Father is now safe from falling mother, and you can at last be at peace.”
Papa did feel better with all of these new foundational elements of the world in place, and it did soothe her but she never fully stopped grieving. Nor did her beloved Rangi. They have forever longed to be reunited into their original clinging embrace (which would of course be cataclysmic for all of us). At night, Rangi’s tears often fall upon Papa’s garden forming the fresh dew that coats the world in the morning. The sun and the moon are the sky god’s eyes, and at least one is always in the sky so that he may gaze down upon his beloved earth goddess. In response, Papa sends up gentle sighs of soft mists to tell him of her never-dying love and her burning wish to hold him once more. Tane is not cruel as I mentioned, so the two are not entirely separated. Their outstretched hands join together far out on the distant horizon. It was about as good a compromise as could be hoped for.
The world was bright and thriving and the five brothers were at last satisfied and happy with their work. The sixth, jealous Tawhiri, alone refused to have peace. He was still furious that his brothers had forcibly separated their parents and then reshaped their mother’s garden to their own will. Was it objectively better for pretty much everyone involved except the co-dependent couple? Sure. Did he care? Not a whit. Thus, Tawhiri added his own creation to the world – the great winds and storms that come raging off the seas. He set them at opposite ends of his home in the sky. Once all was ready, he declared open war on the surface world of his brothers.
Tawhiri sent winds to scour the earth from all directions along with storms, hurricanes, rain, hail, and lightning. Riding a black, thunderous stormcloud, the storm god led the charge. He fell first upon Tane’s magnificent trees, ripping them up at the roots and tossing them around like toys. Tane saw this too late to save his beloved trees, but he raced back to warn his brothers about the oncoming storm of war. Rongo and Haumia, terrified of their vindictive brother, changed themselves into roots and buried themselves deep in the earth along with their children, one in the garden and one in the forest. This is why farmers today must use spades and ploughs to cultivate and harvest Rongo’s food and why they must go in search of hidden Haumia’s food. Tangaroa turned himself into a fish and leapt into the sea with half of his creations, where he has lived ever since. Tane braced himself with the other half of Tangaroa’s children, the animals of the forest (and possibly the humans who had emerged from the caves) and tried to bolster what plant life survived. He did his best, but like his trees he was battered and broken, totally unable to stand up to raging Tawhiri. Instead of fighting, he tried to simply endure.
Did you notice how, when everyone was creating things to add to the world, we kind of skipped over one brother? Well that’s because Tu isn’t much of a creator. He’s the lord of warriors and this was his time to shine. He was frustrated with his brothers for turning tail and hiding at the first fucking sign of danger. The young god called together the people who were hiding with Tane. Later, he showed them how to make spears and traps for animals, how to make nets for fish, how to plow the fields, how to forage in the wild, and how to make axes to chop down the trees of the forest. In this way, he punished each of his brothers for hiding instead of standing by his side.
But for now, he led the people up to a high place where the floodwaters of Tawhiri’s wrath could not reach them. There, he waited for his jealous brother to arrive personally. “Watch and learn, people. This is how you fight.” As soon as the god of storms came down within reach, Tu leapt up and yanked him off of his cloud, slamming him hard into the earth. They fought bitterly but, without the chariot of the winds to give him speed and maneuverability, Tawhiri was no match for his brother. Thunder crashed with each blow but soon enough it was over and Tawhiri lay beaten on the ground. “I will spare your life because you’re my brother, but you must promise to stay in the sky from now on and leave the world below in peace.”
Begrudgingly, Tawhiri did so. Bruised and angry, he returned to the sky where he super didn’t keep his promise. He never really intended to. For the storm god, the war has never ended and never will as long as the earth and sky remain separated. On the other hand, he’s far too afraid of his brother Tu to bring the kind of massive, all-consuming fury he did in that first battle. Thus do we still have storms and hurricanes and floods, but nothing as apocalyptic as the battle between the brothers at the beginning of the world.
With creation more or less safe again, Tane emerged from the broken forest and replanted his trees. They grew once more into mighty forests, and the rest of the garden and the seas began to flourish as well. Humans took the lessons of Tu and created the Maori civilization. Their population swelled and it is from these first scared humans who stood against a god that we are all descended. It’s not super clear where they came from in the first place. Given that they emerged from caves in the anthropomorphic embodiment of fertility and the earth, I imagine that it was Papa herself who gave birth to them, both literally and symbolically. We are the last offspring of her and Rangi, lesser than the gods but trained in the arts we need to survive by them. And so, with the earth and sky separated for good and the war with the winds kind of over, it’s time for Gods and Monsters. This is a segment where I get into a little more detail about one of the gods or monsters from this week’s pantheon that was not discussed in the main story. This week’s vengeful goddess is Pele.
In Hawaiian mythology, Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and fire. Given that combination, it should come as no surprise that she is also often considered the creator of the Hawaiian islands (at least when Maui isn’t being given that honor). In the most common stories, Kilauea on the big island is said to be inhabited by a family of gods. Pele presides over her brothers Moho and Kamakaua and her sister Hi’iaka. In some stories, there are as many as five brothers and eight sisters. These siblings encompass a number of different deities tangentially associated with Pele including wind, rain, fire, ocean waves, and clouds.
Pele is known for her power and passion, but also for her jealous and capricious nature (which is to be expected from a volcano god). There are several versions of her arrival in what would become Hawaii. In one, Pele grows bored with living with her parents and longs to travel to new places. Thus she goes to her brother Ka-moho-ali’i for aid, bringing with her a little sister who was born as an egg named Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele (literally in the armpit of Pele). He is sympathetic and gives her the canoe of their brother Pu-ahiuhiu (Whirlwind) and sends Ke-au-lawe and Ke-au-ka (Tide and Current) with her. Seems a little rude to be giving away his brother’s shit without asking, but maybe they’re tight like that. He promises to follow after her later with other members of the family.
Pele visits a number of islands along the way, many of which are inhabited by other gods who welcome her with open arms and entertain her. Most important among these were Ni-ihau, island of the chiefess Ka-o-ahi (fire-thrower) and Kauai. On the latter, which she visits in the guise of a stunningly beautiful maiden, Pele discovers a hula festival in full swing. Pele is also often considered the goddess of the hula, and her sister is said to have been the first to ever dance it. During the proceedings, she falls desperately in love with the young chieftain Lohiau and decides that she must have him as her husband. Of course, she first needs a home to take said husband to, so she sets out in search of a proper island. She visits several, attempting to dig a hole in each without striking water (anathema to her as a fiery volcano goddess). When she arrives at the big island of Hawaii, she is finally successful and makes her home there.
In another version, Pele doesn’t leave by choice so much as she is kicked the fuck out for sleeping with her sister’s husband. In an alternate version, she becomes too enamored of Lono-makua, the fire god, and their combined presence sets everything on fire. Either way, her older sister the sea goddess Na-maka-o-kaha’i tells her to take a hike and don’t look back. Once again carrying her little sister under her armpit, she sets out with several of her brothers in a canoe and sails to Hawaii. In some versions, her sister doesn’t kick her out, she relentlessly pursues her, intent on deicide. They eventually meet on Maui. Unable to run any farther, Pele tries to defend herself but is torn limb from limb. The fragments of her bloody form are piled up to form the hill called Ka-iwi-o-pele (the bones of Pele), but her soul escapes and takes refuge on Hawaii.
In still another version, Pele is happily married with a son and daughter until another woman with a very similar name (Pele-kumu-honua) seduces him away. Pele sets out in search of her missing husband, bringing the sea with her in her fury. It floods the islands worse than anyone has ever seen before. Her brothers chant about how the sea is drowning the islands to try and get her to stop. Three times the waters rise and recede again before finally settling back to a safe level. It’s not stated whether she ever found her missing husband but, since he isn’t usually included in the list of deities in the volcano, my guess is no.
There are many different variations on these major themes, with Pele going through all sorts of different trials and tribulations along her journey including monsters, dangerous beasts, and cruel spirits. In all of them, Pele eventually makes her way to her home on Hawaii, where she is to this very day. Her volcano is still a very, very active one, so if you ever find yourself there, be respectful of this fiery goddess. And keep an eye out for a mysterious figure of a beautiful young woman or an elderly woman with white hair, both dressed in a red muumuu. Urban legend says that the goddess sometimes appears in these forms to warn of impending eruptions of the volcano.
That’s it for this episode of Myths Your Teacher Hated. Keep up with new episodes on our Facebook page, on iTunes, on TuneIn, on Vurbl, and on Spotify, or you can follow us on Instagram as MythsYourTeacherHatedPod, on Tumblr as MythsYourTeacherHated, and on Bluesky as MythsPodcast. You can also find news and episodes on our website at myths your teacher hated dot com. If you have any questions, any gods or monsters you’d want to learn about, or any ideas for future stories that you’d like to hear, feel free to drop me a line. I’m trying to pull as much material from as many different cultures as possible, but there are all sorts of stories I’ve never heard, so suggestions are appreciated. The theme music is by Tiny Cheese Puff.
Next time, we’ll sit down with Scheherazade as she continues the epic voyages of the great Sinbad the Sailor. You’ll learn that marriage can be murder, that drugs are bad mmkay, and that island paradises aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Then, in Gods and Monsters, a man will journey through the Valley of the Angel of Death, which is exactly as dangerous as it sounds. That’s all for now. Thanks for listening.