Io Matua Kore: The God Without Parents

“For me it is important, imperative the Māori expressions of spirituality are up front, that also the Christian elements are properly accounted for and so bring the emphasis that every culture has had their own Creation stories. It seems that the Grecian myths and legends have survived and still guide many of our social philosophies.

On that note, considering the Māori cultural beliefs are only of recent times, to me it is timely to get people to appreciate this. Not a question of imposing or substitution, simply a fact. Unfortunately I, or, there are no one of my generation left to converse and share with. A lonely journey with many unseen obstacles. However I always keep in mind, I think it is the O. T. Prophet Jeremiah’s words for people like me, who sometimes, circumstances leave stranded in a strange place, who said something like this ‘I take when one is confused or uncertain what next.’

‘Stand ye in the ways, the cross roads. Look intently and ask of the old ways. Where is the good way, and walk therein and find peace for your mind.’”

– John Klaricich, CNZM, QSO, Chair of the Te ua o te Kawariki Trust, Senior Kaumātua of Ngāpuhi

In the beginning there was nothingness until the parentless first being, Io Matua Kore, created the god Ranginui (Rangi), the sky-father. Rangi then mated with Papatūānuku (Papa), the Earth-mother, to have children. Those children became the guardians of the realms and soon filled the world with their creations...

Before white men arrived in New Zealand, Māori already had gods. The supreme being Io Matua Kore is the pre-Christian entity of God for the Polynesian people. Analogous to Christianity, where followers identify comprehensible pillars in order to interpret their larger faith, Māori, the people of Polynesian descent who inhabit New Zealand, harness their own spiritual touchstones.

While Māori acknowledge Io Matua Kore as the paramount figure of their faith, they engage most often with the guardians of each realm. While those guardians, the children of the gods, are still massive concepts, they are easier to understand than the colossal presence of Io Matua Kore. For example, Tāne (also called Tāne-mahuta or Tāne-nui-a-Rangi) is the son of Rangi and Papa known for being the god or father of the forests and birds. Tāne acts as Io’s representative in that role just as Christ and Muhammad, in their roles as prophets, are the representatives of God in Christianity or Allah in Islam.

There are plenty of variations held by prominent religious groups regarding creation. Science has the big bang theory, Christianity and Judaism have biblical creation as told in Genesis, and in Islam, the Qur'an states that Allah created the sun, the moon, and the planets. Māori hold their own version.