Aoraki Pūrakau

Once upon a time, in the land of old, four brothers, their sister and their mother lived in the heavens above, or the sky. Rakinui, their father was constantly away from home. The children missed their father but he said he was on important business. Every time he returned their mother rejoiced but when he left not long after she would cry herself to sleep. The children all knew that she knew something that was making her so sad. However, one day their father told them ‘Children, I am marrying Papa-tüä-nuku, the earth mother.’. The children were speechless. How could their father leave their mother? ‘But father,’ Aoraki protested. ‘No. I love you, children of mine. I shall try and visit.’ The children knew that they would be lucky to ever see him again. With tears in their eyes, broken hearts and feeling as though their normally happy little worlds had turned into a dark pool of emptiness and sadness, they bid their father goodbye.

After two years of living in the heavens without seeing their father once, the boys decided to visit their father. ‘NO!’ their sister cried angrily, ‘You can’t go! Mother will be furious!’. But the boys were desperate to see their father so in secret they built a waka. The night before they left their mother was even more angry with Rakinui than usual. Ever since he had left her for the kind and gentle Papa-tüä-nuku, she had cursed him. She resented him more and more but tonight was different. This wasn’t a raging uncontrolled fury. This was the cool, calm work of a physco plotting death. Panicking the brothers left without even saying goodnight to their mother. Normally she would notice something like this but luckily she was too distracted. But their sister noticed. The boys were chatting excitedly ‘I hope mother doesn’t hurt father before we can warn him!’ said Raki-roa. As their sister chased after them she realised she could not stop them, the best she could do was distract their mother, so with a heavy heart and the feeling she would never see them again she turned around to go back to their mother. 

Once the boys reached the earth they could not find their father and his new wife. Desperate and worried their mother had beat them to it, they jumped frantically into their waka and left the island they had thought he was on. Unfortunately, they hadn’t looked properly and would have found their father if not for their frantic panic. But as the day turned to night on the heartless ocean they began to fear their lives. A vicious storm was everywhere, surrounding them, they could not find their way out of it. They tried the karakia to restore them to the heavens but it wouldn’t work. Eventually, the waka was tipped over by a giant wave the colour of greenstone. Crying, the young brothers climbed on top of the waka but the cold air turned them to stone. There sister saw them and blind with sadness left the sky to be reunited with them. She stayed their, day and night until finally she joined the brothers in their stony fate. Over the years the waka turned into a country and children turned to five mountains.

I made up this story using inspiration from the story of Aoraki. It isn't correct according to the ancient myth. 

                                                                  My artwork of Aoraki.