Question

"I can blame the darkness on my own parents. Rangi, my father, and Papa, my mother, loved each other so much that they lived in a perpetual embrace. The sky was pressed against the Earth, and there was no space for anything, not even light. When my brothers and I were created, we were trapped between our parents. My brothers loved our parents, but the embrace was so tight that they felt constricted and unhappy in the darkness."

What does the "perpetual embrace" of Rangi and Papa symbolize?

A. Union within the world
B. Death and the afterlife
C. Warring children and upset parents
D. Hugging people who are very sad
Moi

Answer 1

The "perpetual embrace" of Rangi and Papa symbolizes the union within the world, representing the interconnected precreation state in Maori mythology that was separated to allow life and light to exist.

Step-by-step explanation:

The "perpetual embrace" of Rangi and Papa symbolizes union within the world, which is a common theme in many creation myths and speaks to the interconnectedness of all entities before the world's elements were separated and defined. In Maori mythology, Rangi is the sky father and Papa is the earth mother whose embrace needed to be separated by their children so life could flourish.

This embrace can be seen as a metaphor for the state of unity that existed before separation, which allowed for the diversity of life and space necessary for growth and light.