Ranginui (Rangi)
The primordial sky father in Maori cosmology. Rangi (Ranginui) lay locked in a tight embrace with Papatuanuku (Earth Mother) in the beginning, with their children trapped in darkness between them. Their son Tane Mahuta eventually forced them apart, creating the world of light. Rangi's tears fall as rain, mourning his separation from Papa. The mist that rises from the earth is her longing sighs reaching for him. Rangi and Papa's separation established the cosmic order of the Maori world, with Rangi representing the male, celestial principle overarching all creation