View Te Ara in

Story: Ranginui – the sky

Tāne raising the sky

Tāne raising the sky

This carving of the god Tāne is part of a larger work by Cliff Whiting, called ‘Te wehenga o Rangi rāua ko Papa’. Tāne is shown separating his parents, Ranginui and Papatūānuku, by standing on his head and pushing up with his feet. He then used posts to hold up the sky.

About this item

National Library of New Zealand
Mixed media by Cliff Whiting

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

How to cite this page:

Rāwiri Taonui. 'Ranginui – the sky', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 2-Mar-09
URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ranginui-the-sky/1/3