Papa
Polynesian Pantheon
The Earth Mother, wife of Rangi the Sky Father. Papa lay in eternal embrace with Rangi until their children separated them, bringing light into the world. She remains the foundation upon which all life exists.
Papa existed from the beginning, one half of the primordial pair. She lay in eternal embrace with Rangi until their children, desperate for light and space, forced them apart. She became the foundation of the world, the earth upon which all life depends.
Papatuanuku is the primordial earth goddess of Maori tradition, one half of the original divine couple whose embrace held the universe in darkness. She is the land itself, the soil from which all life grows, the mother of gods and ancestor of humanity.
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