Een kleine aanvulling op jouw kapitteltje...
"In the beginning, there was the infant god Ta'aroa. He lived in the shell Rumia, which was Upset. He broke open the shell and stared at the empty space around him. No other creatures existed then, so he grew another shell around himself to shut out the cold of the void. Ta'aroa grew to be a young boy, and was aware of his power. He broke through this second shell in order to create other beings like himself.
Ta'aroa used the shell he had just broken as stratum rock to form the earth. He dwelt in Rumia, the dome of the sky. The only other living creature was Tumu-rai-fenua (the Foundation of the Heavens and the Earth), the Great Octopus, who held the sky close to the earth with his four legs, North, South, East, and West. On the earth, the land became firm.
Ta'aroa then created Tumu-nui (Great Foundation) and Paparaharaha (Stratum Rock) in order to create life, but they would not wed. As a result, Ta'aroa created Atea, Bright Expanse, who lived in Rumia with him. By Papa-tuoi (Thin Earth), she was the mother of children who were artisans for Rai-tupua-nui (Great Sky Builder). These children helped him build ten heavens, the highest being the Sky of Sacred Omens of Tane.
Atea then married Rua-tupua-nui, Source of Great Growth; they were the parents of all celestial beings. Then she took a third husband, Fa'a Hotu (Make Fruitful), and the two deities switched genders. Atea then looked into the eyes of his wife Hotu, and the two had a son (Ra), who divided the world into North, East, West, and South.
The world was still in darkness, though, and the gods became discontent. They schemed to kill the octopus in order to raise up the sky. Rua-tupua-nui succeeded in killing the octopus, but the arms still held fast to the earth. Artisans came, but they were afraid of the wrath of Sky-Father Atea, so they would not separate the earth and sky. Ra was the first one to succeed in raising the sky up. He raised Rumia to the top of the mountain Moua-raha on Porapora, but he became humpbacked and had to stop.
The hero Maui-ti'i-ti'i thought of hacking off the arms of the octopus, and managed to then raise Rumia up to the tops of the highest mountains. He then flew up to the highest heaven, and asked Tane for help. Much disorder existed on earth, but Tane fixed it and raised the sky. Reeds bearing red blossoms were placed along the horizon to help support the sky, and can still be seen at sunrise, at sunset, and in the Aurora Australis."
Met dank aan Raf Van de Vreugde.