Ta'aroa (Tangaroa), the Creator, has a shell so everything has a shell. The sky is a shell that is endless space... man's shell is a woman... woman's shell is woman... One cannot enumerate the shells of all the things that this world produces.

In the beginning it was said that Ta'aroa developped himself in solitude, he was his own parent and he dwelt quite alone in his shell which has the name Rumia, Upset. The shell was like an egg revolving in endless space, with no sky, no land, no sea, no moon, no stars. At last Ta'aroa gave his shell a flip and slipped out, but all was silent and dark and he was alone. He retreated to a new shell and spent many aeons in contemplation. At last he took the new shell to be a foundation and the old shell to be the dome of a sky. He identified himself with Te Tumu, The Source, and began the task of creation.