Tane — God of Forests and Birds

Tane separated his parents. Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) lay locked in each other's embrace, leaving their children in darkness between them. Tane pushed his father up into the heavens, letting light into the world. Then he clothed his mother in forests, filled those forests with birds, carved the first woman from the earth, and breathed life into her. Tane is the creator of the living world — the trees, the birds, the fish of the sea, and human beings themselves. The kiwi bird is his messenger. The kauri tree is his body. Every forest in Aotearoa is a temple.

These signs carry the kauri tree, the kiwi, the carved figure of Tane, and the light that entered the world when he separated the sky from the earth.