Hi everyone!
Tonight is our very first meeting of our writing group, Writing for Change!
I hope you are all as excited as I am.
Below you will find the zoom link to join, we begin at 630pm and finish at 830pm.
There will be a comfort break around the mid point.
Please bring: paper, pen, passion.
Please light a candle if you want to or are able to.
Notes from the meeting and a place to continue the discussion, keep in touch, share ideas and writing over the next month, will be sent out tomorrow morning (Friday).
Tonight we will read a story together as part of the session, which you can also read below. I have put it above the paywall as a gift to those of you who are receiving this email but are not currently paid subscribers.
The link you will need to join is below the paywall. If you would like to join tonight, please subscribe to gain access. See you there! Milli x
Maori Creation Story
At the creation, the Earth goddess, Papa, and her husband Rangi, the sky god, were so much in love that they hugged each other and would not let go. This meant that the earth and the sky were always joined solidly together, and no light could come into the world.
They had many children who lived in the darkness between them. They were stuck between their parents and could not escape. These children grew and discussed amongst themselves what it would be like to live in the light. Tu-matauenga, the fiercest of the children, said, “Let us kill our parents and then we can live always in light.”
But Tane Mahuta his brother disagreed. “No there is no need to kill them, we can just push them apart, then our Father the Sky can be above to watch over us, and our Mother can be below to nurture us.”
All the other children agreed to this except Tawhirimatea, the son who was in charge of Storm and Wind - he was sad at the idea that his parents would be torn apart.
The others put their plans into action. Rongo-ma-tane, the god of cultivated crops and food, tried to push his parents apart. Then Tangaroa the god of the sea and his sibling Haumia-tikitiki, the god of food which grows without being cultivated, joined him. In spite of their joint efforts, Rangi and Papa remained close in a loving embrace.
Finally, Tane Mahuta, the god of forests and insects tried. He folded himself up very small and slipped between his parents, and instead of standing upright and pushing with his hands as his brothers had done, he lay on his back and pushed with strong feet. With his feet against Rangi and his shoulders against Papa, he pushed. He pushed for hours, he pushed for days, he pushed for weeks, he pushed for years and years.
And very, very slowly Tane managed to uncurl his body, straighten himself, and finally, with cries of grief and surprise, Rangi and Papa were prised apart. Light came into the world, and for the first time since the world was created, plants started to grow.
Rangi and Papa were so sad to be apart that they cried and cried. Tawhiri-matea could not bear to hear the cries of his parents, nor see the tears of the Sky Father at the parting, so he created great storms and winds and promised his siblings that from now on, they would have to contend with his wrath. He joined his father in the sky from where he periodically punishes the earth and sea with his violent storms.
Papa and Rangi continued to mourn their loss, and Rangi’s tears ran into rivers. They became a sea. They even threatened to flood the whole world. Something had to be done. Tawhiri-matea turned Papa over so that Rangi could not see her face. Now he doesn’t cry so much.
Rangi and Papa still grieve for each other to this day. Rangi’s tears fall towards Papa to show how much he loves her. Sometimes Papa heaves and strains and almost breaks herself apart to reach her beloved partner but it is to no avail.
You can still see Rangi’s tears every morning; they are the dewdrops on the grass.
And when the mist rises from the forests, these are Papa’s sighs as the warmth of her body yearns for him and continues to nurture humankind.