Mock up of story based upon Maori stories.

Roughs for the creation story based on the Ideas believed by Maori.

I worked them up into a laparello style booklet.

Decision made

After lots of research over the past few weeks on the other types of Creation stories i settled on two more (Chinese Pan Ku) which i drew a small layout for. But I also found another which was very interesting but quite longwinded . It was Ethiopian based on god like beings Orishas and Obatala the the Orisha who created the earth and people out of clay. I started  to try and condense it, to put it into a rough storyboard, but it became too as it was a very long detailed story. It didn't seem to be following the path i wanted to go down. So I have chosen to stick with one of the first stories I came across of the Maori creation story of father sky and mother earth, as this fits better within my brief.


I will begin the next few weeks researching the environment and other aspects of New Zealand both the North and South Island. Making visual notes drawings, sketches etc of what i find.

Maori story as finalist

I decided to look into the Maori creation story in more depth, as i thought it was visually more interesting and felt it was a strong finalist for the picture book along with the Chinese story of creation.

I would have to simplify some parts by maybe generalising the children because of the length of the picture book. But maybe use colours to identify their differences.

The Chinese story could be simplified by colour also, but would need serious consideration over the parts where his body becomes blood, land etc..

Maori view of their natural world

Maori origins are traced back to the beginnings of creation -- Te Kore (total darkness). There was no life, only potential. Papatuanuku (the Earth Mother) and Ranginui (the Sky Father) were clasped together, stifling all growth. Their children, desperate for light, devised a plan whereby one of them, Tane Mahuta (God of the Forests) would separate his parents. Binding to his mother below, he pushed upwards with his legs with all his strength and thrust his father apart from the earth.

Into the light sprang the raging winds of Tawhirimatea (God of the Winds), the swirling seas of Tangaroa (God of the Sea), and the towering forests of Tane Mahuta. Tane Mahuta fashioned the first human, Hine-ahu-one, from the clay of his mother; and so developed the spiritual home of Maori, the home of their gods and of creation.

The Maori name for indigenous peoples is Tangata Whenua -- the peoples of the land. The Moriori people of Rekohu (Chatham Islands) claim to have sprung from the earth (no ro whenua ake). Legends tell of waka (canoes) arriving on Rekohu and Aotearoa from ancient homelands in the Pacific Islands.

Like other indigenous peoples, Maori have a unique relationship with their natural world. They view themselves as one with the natural world. The people, the land, the sea, the forest, and all living creatures are members of the same family. Maori have a direct whakapapa (genealogical) connection through their ancestors.

In order for Maori to survive and prosper from the land and sea, the reciprocity of respect and caring is central. Karakia (blessings) are spoken before cutting down a tree or taking fish from the sea. In turn, the needs of Maori are satisfied.

Article copyright Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine, Inc. December 2000

https://teara.govt.nz/en/papatuanuku-the-land/page-1 accessed 17 October 2017