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Writer's picturejamespederson5

The Maori Origin Story and Throwback to Bionicle

As per my ongoing process of resurrecting my Mythology Worlds drawings from the digital ashes of the Great Vanishing, I present yet another reimagining of mythology.


This is the origin story of the Maori, the indigenous Polynesian people of

New Zealand.


The gist of the story is that Papa (Mother Earth) and Rangi (Father Sky) are locked in an embrace, when their son Tane (the god of the forest) pushes them apart.

This leads to conflict between Tane and his five brothers.


Maori and other Polynesian mythologies provided inspiration for my favorite toys growing up:

Lego Bionicle


The Bionicle story revolves around teams of six warrior heroes known as Toa.

("Toa" is actually the Polynesian word for warrior)


Throughout the 2000s (when Bionicle was active), the members of the different Toa teams always had a defined color scheme:

Red, Blue, Black, Brown (later Yellow), Green, White


Hence, for this iteration of mine, I figured that since Papa and Rangi have six sons, they may as well follow that same color scheme...in accordance to their elements:


Tu, the god of war, is red (the color of blood)


Tangaroa, the god of the sea, is of course a watery blue


Haumia, the god of wild plants; and Rongo, the god of cultivated plants, are black and brown (colors of the soil where plants grow)


Tane, the god of the forest, is green (the color of the trees in spring)


Tawhiri, the god of winds, is white (the color of the clouds)



For this artistic depiction of the Maori origin story, I have hearkened back to the toy franchise of my childhood...which was inspired by the culture depicted here.

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