How Maui Tamed the Sun

Maui is a trickster hero of the Maori, the native islanders of New Zealand. The youngest of five brothers, his birth itself was a miracle and he went on to have many adventures.

Maui was the fifth child of his mother Taranga. But he was born premature and half-formed, and his mother, thinking him dead, wrapped him in a tuft of hair and threw him into the sea.

Entangled in seaweed, the baby floated along in the waters and the kind sea god Tangaroa, who spotted the unfortunate thing, nursed him and brought him up. When he grew up and found out how he came to be, Maui decided to seek out his family.

Maui made his way to the shore where great celebrations were taking place, with dancing and music. He saw his four brothers and his mother there. Hiding behind his brothers, he followed them home.

Every night, Taranga would count all her sons before they went to bed. So she began counting as usual. ‘One, Maui mua, two, Maui roto, three, Maui taha, four, Maui pae . . .’ This translates to ‘Maui first, Maui middle, Maui side and Maui edge’.

‘And who are you? Why are you here?’ she asked the one small boy remaining. ‘I’m your son too,’ he said hoping she’d recognize him. But the woman chased him out. ‘Get out of my house! I know of no other child that is mine!’

‘But I’m your fifth child,’ said the boy. ‘Remember, you wrapped me in a tuft of hair and threw me into the sea? After that, the seaweed took care of me. It was Father Tangaroa who nursed me back to life and brought me up. And now I return to you. I’ve been watching you all along.’

Taranga was amazed. She did indeed throw away a half-formed child. And now he was back, as if by magic. ‘Yes, I remember,’ she said slowly. ‘The child I abandoned in a tuft of hair. You’re my boy too. And you shall be Maui tikitiki a Taranga—Maui born of Taranga’s topknot.’

Embracing him warmly, she made him sleep in her bed that night, all wrapped up in blankets. His brothers didn’t like it, of course. Who was this strange boy? They’d never seen him around. And where had he come from? But they did not dare say anything.

‘There’s no point fighting. You know what happened to the children of the great gods Rangi and Papa who once talked of even killing their parents. Let’s accept him, for he has some powers for sure,’ said Maui mua, the eldest, and his younger siblings agreed. That was how Maui tikitiki came back to live with his family.

Maui would perform many magic tricks and could turn himself into all kinds of birds that lived in the forest, much to the amusement of his brothers, who kind of got used to having him around.

One day, he heard his mother complain that the bark skin they wore was not yet dry because the day had been too short. Yes, the day had been short because the sun had raced across the sky to the west and nightfall had come quickly. Just as the evening meal was cooked and the brothers sat down to eat, it became very dark. ‘How can I eat my food in the dark?’ scowled Maui.

‘What can we do, little brother? The sun sets very fast and we can’t finish the day’s chores so quickly,’ his oldest brother said patting him on the head.

‘Well, in that case, we have to slow him down. Let’s trap him first!’ Maui’s brothers looked at each other and then agreed for they knew that he would have a plan.

‘Let’s get some flax to make ropes first,’ he told his brothers and after they had gathered some, he taught them to braid it into ropes. It took them five days and then Maui chanted some magic words over them.

Taking an enchanted jawbone that belonged to their ancestor, as well as the flax ropes, Maui and his brothers set off eastwards, where the sun would begin his morning journey.

It took them many days to reach the east and they travelled by night, lest the sun see them during the day. Maui also told his brothers to collect water in calabashes.

On the twelfth night, they reached the east, where there was a red-hot pit, inside which the sun lay fast asleep. The pit was like a furnace inside as the hot rays of the sun burnt everything around it. Maui wet the earth around the pit with the water they’d brought along. Then they built a mud wall and hid behind it.

‘Make a noose with the rope and when the sun rises in the morning, his head and shoulders will be caught in it.’

‘Is this such a good idea? What if the sun catches us? We’ll be scorched to death!’ argued two of the brothers, who were beginning to get cold feet.

‘Don’t be foolish! If you run now, he’ll see you as soon as he’s up and that would the end of your story. Now go hide behind the wall and pull as he rises!’ Maui sounded so confident that his brothers obeyed.

At dawn, the sun began to rise from his pit. As he came out, head and shoulders first, they slipped the noose around him. ‘Now pull!’ shouted Maui and his brothers pulled as he kept chanting magic words.

As the sun rose over the pit, he saw Maui standing there and angrily threw fireballs at him. But Maui ducked and kept chanting, all the while tightening the noose.

The sun realized he was trapped and tried to break free. At that point Maui took out the enchanted jawbone and began to hit the sun with it.

‘Owww . . . Don’t hit me!’ cried the sun but Maui continued to beat him until he was really weak and feeble.

‘Please let me go, boy! What is it that you want from me?’ he asked. ‘Don’t rush through the day like you do. We have no time to finish our chores!’ shouted Maui.

‘All right, I will slow down. In any case, I can’t go fast after the thrashing you’ve given me,’ replied the sun weakly as he rose painfully up. Maui and his brothers released him from the noose and from that day on, the sun travelled across the sky slowly and everybody could finish their work in the course of the day.