Ranginui, often shortened to Rangi and called Raki in Kāi Tahu usage, is the sky parent in Māori cosmological traditions. He and Papatūānuku are ancestors whose separation creates the space in which light and life can develop. Tribal accounts differ in names, partners, and the order of events.
The close embrace
Rangi and Papa hold one another while their children are confined in darkness. The children discuss whether to kill or separate them. Tāne succeeds in raising the sky, despite opposition from Tāwhirimātea, who remains with his father and later attacks the other siblings.
Rain, mist, and grief
Poetic explanations describe rain as Ranginui’s tears and mist as Papatūānuku’s sighs rising toward him. These images express continuing attachment after separation. They belong within whakapapa, where weather, landscape, atua, and people are related rather than merely personified objects.
Many lines of descent
Some traditions give Ranginui several partners or earlier generations, and Kāi Tahu narratives use Raki within a distinctive southern genealogy. A single family diagram assembled from different iwi can create false certainty. Sources should identify whose account is being told.