Ao (daylight) is one of the primal deities who are the unborn forces of nature in Māori mythology.
Ao is the personification of light, clouds, and the ordinary world, as opposed to darkness (Pō) and the underworld.
[1]: 14 With his companions Ata (morning) and Whaitua (space) Ao resists the forces of darkness.
[1]: 667 Aonui, Aoroa, Aopouri, Aopotango, Aowhetuma, Aowhekere, Aokahiwahiwa, Aokanapanapa, Aopakakina, Aopakarea, and Aotakawe were also the names of the atua who were the storm clouds, the children, of Tāwhirimātea, which were sent to punish his brothers after the separation of his parents, Rangi and Papa.
[4] In Tahiti, Aonui was Tāne's residence in the sky, and Aoaomaraia was the discoverer of fire; a similar role is taken on by Māui in other parts of Polynesia.