The Mythology Book

323

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 people

by 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 Pacific

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