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17 The Mythological Context
The ancient link between the Cosmogonic Tree and tree worship has been
replaced in Te Arawa traditions by a more philosophical perception of the evolution
of the universe. The Cosmogonic Vine, empowered by ten breaths of Io, is seen as
the power holding the universe together. This philosophical view is integrated with
the later Eastern Polynesian form of Creation myth, with Tane in the role of divine
Creator. In the esoteric teaching, however, Io is seen as the supreme parentless God,
the Self-Born, Eternal God who appeared “before the beginning of time” (p. 19).
As though preserved like an insect in amber, the simpler Moriori myth of the
Cosmogonic Tree and the rituals based on this seem far older than their elaborate
younger Te Arawa cousin. The Te Arawa version has expanded beyond the Lapita
stage, preserved by Moriori, where it provided the mythical basis for tree worship
and preserved the notion of the Tree of Life as the most potent force in the universe, whose power could be called upon by a tohunga. Te Arawa evolved myth has
become the focus for a philosophical understanding of the Creation and of the nature
of the universe with the primacy of Io, “the Superior over all the Heavens” central to
that understanding. Tane is a powerful god able to separate Heaven and Earth and to
create man from clay and even to facilitate the creation of the Cosmogonic Vine. But
at the encoded level of the myth there is the assertion that something akin to Tane’s
power, an echo of that power, is directly accessible to man. Tane is a model for the
tohunga. The tohunga no longer has to call upon the Cosmogonic Tree for power,
like the Moriori and perhaps their Lapita ancestors. Like Tane, the later tohunga
can wield power of his own. This power was built on traditional knowledge and
intense practical training, granted only to the few. Te Arawa migrants believed that
this knowledge, encoded in myths associated with the Cosmic Vine, once mastered,
empowered tohunga to exercise practical shamanic control. Robinson shows us how
the evolution of Creation myths led to a fusion of sophisticated philosophical exegis
with practical training in shamanism.
In contrast, the Moriori’s geographical and cultural isolation appear to have led
to the preservation of the archaic forms of the Lapita Creation myths and a culture
based on these. The cultural history and evolution implicit in the comparison of
Moriori and Te Arawa Creation myths suggests the oldest indigenous mythologies
and traditions of New Zealand and the Chatham Islands could reflect their original
Lapita form. Study of two ancient Moriori genealogies in Chapter 20 provides evidence for a settlement of the Chatham Islands from New Zealand about 800 BC. It
would seem that the archaic Creation myths and rituals preserved in the Chathams
came with the Lapita-age colonists to New Zealand almost 600 years before that,
carried directly to New Zealand by Lapita-age colonists nearly three and a half
thousand years ago.
We have chosen a specific cultural context – that of tree worship (clearly part
of the Lapita cultural complex) and the associated totemic Creation myth of the
Cosmogonic Tree or Tree of life which underlie Lapita tree worship, to argue for
a direct Spice Island cultural origin for the indigenous myths and rituals in the
Chatham Islands. Translocations of the sacred Benjamin fig to the recognized Lapita
colonies and the association of these sacred trees with mortuary sites and meeting
grounds suggest that tree worship was a significant part of what archaeologists term
17 The Mythological Context
The ancient link between the Cosmogonic Tree and tree worship has been
replaced in Te Arawa traditions by a more philosophical perception of the evolution
of the universe. The Cosmogonic Vine, empowered by ten breaths of Io, is seen as
the power holding the universe together. This philosophical view is integrated with
the later Eastern Polynesian form of Creation myth, with Tane in the role of divine
Creator. In the esoteric teaching, however, Io is seen as the supreme parentless God,
the Self-Born, Eternal God who appeared “before the beginning of time” (p. 19).
As though preserved like an insect in amber, the simpler Moriori myth of the
Cosmogonic Tree and the rituals based on this seem far older than their elaborate
younger Te Arawa cousin. The Te Arawa version has expanded beyond the Lapita
stage, preserved by Moriori, where it provided the mythical basis for tree worship
and preserved the notion of the Tree of Life as the most potent force in the universe, whose power could be called upon by a tohunga. Te Arawa evolved myth has
become the focus for a philosophical understanding of the Creation and of the nature
of the universe with the primacy of Io, “the Superior over all the Heavens” central to
that understanding. Tane is a powerful god able to separate Heaven and Earth and to
create man from clay and even to facilitate the creation of the Cosmogonic Vine. But
at the encoded level of the myth there is the assertion that something akin to Tane’s
power, an echo of that power, is directly accessible to man. Tane is a model for the
tohunga. The tohunga no longer has to call upon the Cosmogonic Tree for power,
like the Moriori and perhaps their Lapita ancestors. Like Tane, the later tohunga
can wield power of his own. This power was built on traditional knowledge and
intense practical training, granted only to the few. Te Arawa migrants believed that
this knowledge, encoded in myths associated with the Cosmic Vine, once mastered,
empowered tohunga to exercise practical shamanic control. Robinson shows us how
the evolution of Creation myths led to a fusion of sophisticated philosophical exegis
with practical training in shamanism.
In contrast, the Moriori’s geographical and cultural isolation appear to have led
to the preservation of the archaic forms of the Lapita Creation myths and a culture
based on these. The cultural history and evolution implicit in the comparison of
Moriori and Te Arawa Creation myths suggests the oldest indigenous mythologies
and traditions of New Zealand and the Chatham Islands could reflect their original
Lapita form. Study of two ancient Moriori genealogies in Chapter 20 provides evidence for a settlement of the Chatham Islands from New Zealand about 800 BC. It
would seem that the archaic Creation myths and rituals preserved in the Chathams
came with the Lapita-age colonists to New Zealand almost 600 years before that,
carried directly to New Zealand by Lapita-age colonists nearly three and a half
thousand years ago.
We have chosen a specific cultural context – that of tree worship (clearly part
of the Lapita cultural complex) and the associated totemic Creation myth of the
Cosmogonic Tree or Tree of life which underlie Lapita tree worship, to argue for
a direct Spice Island cultural origin for the indigenous myths and rituals in the
Chatham Islands. Translocations of the sacred Benjamin fig to the recognized Lapita
colonies and the association of these sacred trees with mortuary sites and meeting
grounds suggest that tree worship was a significant part of what archaeologists term