Polynesian Pantheonsacred baskets
Ngā Kete o te Wānanga
- Knowledge of ritual and the sacred
- Knowledge of evil and harm (to be guarded against)
- Knowledge of the world and its arts
The three baskets of knowledge that, in Māori tradition, were brought down from the uppermost heaven: most often credited to Tāne, and in other tribal traditions to Tāwhaki.
About Ngā Kete o te Wānanga
Three baskets
Māori tradition tells of three kete (baskets) of knowledge brought down from the highest of the heavens so that people could learn. Their names and contents vary between iwi (tribes) and between the scholars who recorded them, but a common set is te kete tuauri, te kete tuatea, and te kete aronui: knowledge of ritual and the sacred, knowledge of harmful arts that must be guarded against, and knowledge of the world and the arts that help people.
Who brought them
In many accounts, especially those recorded from the Tūhoe and Ngāti Kahungunu schools of learning, Tāne climbs through the heavens, overcomes his brother Whiro who tries to stop him, and returns with the baskets and with two sacred stones. Other tribal traditions credit the ascent to the hero Tāwhaki. Some of these accounts, especially those that place a supreme being Io at the top of the heavens, were recorded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and scholars debate how old and widespread the Io teachings were.
A living image
The three baskets remain a central image in Māori education today, used in the names and mottos of schools, universities, and libraries.
Origin
Obtained by Tāne (or, in some traditions, Tāwhaki) from Io or the guardians of the highest heaven, after an ascent through the heavens.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- John White, The Ancient History of the Maori, Vol. 1
- Elsdon Best, Maori Religion and Mythology, Part 1
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.