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it, he immediately threw it into a
stream. Maui repeated his request
and again threw the firebrand away.
When Maui asked for fire a third
time, Mauike gave him live coals on
a piece of dry wood, which Maui
also threw into a stream. His
insolent behavior was calculated to
provoke Mauike, who snapped when
Maui asked for flame a fourth time.
He ordered Maui to leave,
threatening to toss him in the air.
Maui stood his ground, and
cheekily replied that he would relish
a trial of strength. Mauike went
inside his house to don his war
maro (loincloth). When he returned,
he was shocked to find that Maui
had magically grown larger. Mauike
seized Maui and tossed him to the
height of a coconut tree, but in mid-
air, Maui made himself so light that
the fall did not hurt him at all.
Mauike threw Maui even higher.
Once more, Maui used magic to
ensure he would be unharmed.
Exhausted from his efforts, Mauike
panted for breath. Maui then threw
the fire god high into the air twice,
causing him grave injuries.
As Maui prepared for a third
throw, Mauike begged him to stop,
fearing another fall could be fatal.
Maui relented on condition that he
be taught the secret of fire. Mauike
agreed and led Maui into his house.
He showed Maui some bundles of
dry coconut fiber and dry sticks.
Mauike gathered some of them
together and rubbed two smaller
sticks over the pile. This started a
fire that quickly became a mighty
blaze. Maui, still angry at having
been tossed in the air, spitefully
allowed it to burn down Mauike’s
house. The flames then spreadMAUI OF A THOUSAND TRICKS
Clouds cannot stay over Hawaiian
islands for long. Legend says that if
they do, Maui will hurl them away
so far that they never return.across the Underworld. Maui
grabbed the two fire sticks and ran
back to his mother’s house, where
Akaotu was still waiting for him,
lacking some of his beautiful
feathers. Repairing his tail, Maui hid
inside the bird again, grasped a fire
stick in each claw, and flew back to
the upper world before returning the
pigeon to Tane.
Meanwhile, flames from the
great fire in the Underworld had
now spread to the upper world, and
people began using them to cook
their food. Like Maui, they found
they preferred hot meals. Once
the fire had been put out, however,
there was no one in the upper world
who knew how to make flames—no
one except Maui, who kept a fire in
his house. The people went to Maui
and asked him to share his secret,
which he did.Maui raises the sky
At this time, the sky, which was
made of solid blue stone, was about
6½ feet (2 m) above the ground. This
did not leave much space for
humans. Maui’s father, Ru, planted
stakes in the ground, which raised
the sky just enough for all humans to
walk unimpeded. Maui, however,
was unimpressed and impudently
asked his father what he was doing.Maui fishes for
the islandsOne of Maui’s greatest feats
was pulling up land from the
ocean floor using his magic
fish hook, thereby creating the
islands of the South Pacific.
The magic hook was fashioned
from the jaw of one of Maui’s
ancestors, according to Maori
mythology, and helped the
god to create New Zealand.
While out fishing with his two
brothers in a canoe, Maui
baited the hook with blood
from his nose and hauled up
a fish that became the land
mass that formed North
Island, known in Maori as
Te Ika-a-Maui (“The Fish of
Maui”). The South Island was
formed from Maui’s canoe; it
is known as Te Waka-a-Maui
(“The Canoe of Maui”). In
Hawaiian myth, Maui is
credited with hauling up the
Hawaiian Islands, while in the
Cook Islands, he is said to
have brought up Manihiki
from the briny depths.Maui hooks the fish that became
New Zealand’s North Island. Maori
legend has it that Maui’s brothers
squabbled over parts of the fish,
creating mountains and fjords.US_320-323_Maui.indd 322 05/12/17 4:17 pm
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Ru was in no mood for Maui’s
insolence and threatened to throw
him into oblivion. Maui persisted in
annoying his father, who angrily
flung him up into the sky.
Maui transformed himself into
a bird and flew to safety. He then
returned to Ru in the form of a giant
human. Placing his head between
his father’s legs, he raised himself
to his full height, thrusting Ru up
above him. He did this with such
force that the sky moved far from
the Earth, creating the present great
distance between them. Ru became
stuck—his head and shoulders got
caught up in the stars. Unable to
move, Ru eventually died, and his
bones fell to earth as the pumice
stones that litter the volcanic
landscapes across Polynesia.A last battle with the sun
Maui still had one great task to
achieve. The sun god, Ra (short for
Tama-nui-te-ra, “great god of the
sun”), was unreliable, appearing at
erratic times during the day and
night and making it difficult to get
work done. No one had been able to
persuade him to appear regularly.OCEANIA
Maui’s greatest battle was with
the sun, called Tama-nui-te-ra in Maori
mythology. Here, his brothers hold the
ropes tight and Maui forces the sun to
give his people longer days.Maui resolved to remedy this. He
made six ropes of strong coconut
fiber and fashioned them into
nooses. He went to where Ra rose
from the Underworld and placed a
noose there. Maui then positioned
the other five nooses along Ra’s
customary path.
When Ra rose up, the first noose
tightened around his feet. As he
moved, the other nooses trapped his
knees, hips, waist, underarms, and
neck. Maui then tied the sun god to
a rock, pulling the ropes so tight that
Ra could barely breathe. Fearing
death, Ra agreed to help the peopleby appearing more regularly. Maui
then released him, but kept the
ropes attached, so the sun could be
raised up and down in the sky.
Maui’s bold feats became well
known and admired across all
Polynesian cultures. Through his
masterful cunning, he was able to
outwit all other gods, to the great
benefit of humanity. ■From that memorable
day all the dwellers
in this upper world
used fire-sticks with
success, and enjoyed
the luxuries of light
and cooked food.
Myths and Songs from
the South PacificUS_320-323_Maui.indd 323 05/12/17 4:17 pm