Māui-of-a-thousand-tricks was a name given the hero by people who admired him. But his brothers, who went fishing with him, did not like his tricks. “When Māui is with us we do the work and he pulls in the fish.” That was what the brothers said to each other, and they left Māui at home.
One day Māui made a fishhook. It was carved from bone, and as he shaped it, Māui prayed. He prayed to the gods to make this a hook of mighty power.
Next morning he asked his brothers to let him go fishing with them. “No,” they answered as they launched their canoe. Māui scrambled onto the stern, but the brothers pushed him off. “Swim ashore, tricky one,” they said and paddled away.
That night when they returned Māui met them. “Did you catch many fish?” he asked.
“The sea is empty,” they answered. “We caught nothing but a shark, and it is a kind not good for food.”
“You should have taken me,” said Māui.
“You could catch fish where there are no fish?” his brothers asked, laughing at him.
“Take me tomorrow and you shall see,” Māui told them.
The next day they let him enter the canoe. The brothers fished, but caught nothing. As for Māui, he tied the hook of power to his line, but did not cast it in the ocean. “Why don’t you fish?” the brothers asked. “You boasted that you could pull something from this empty sea. Why don’t you do it?”
“Not here!” Māui replied. “Paddle farther out.” The brothers did. At last they said, “This is our offshore fishing ground. Now let us see you fish.”
“Paddle farther,” Māui repeated.
“But this is far enough. This is our offshore fishing ground, we tell you.”
“If I am to catch fish you must paddle farther,” Māui answered. The brothers did. They paddled so far from their island that they could no longer see the line of surf breaking on rocks and beaches.
“This is far enough,” Māui said at last. “Now listen to my words. Turn the canoe and paddle back toward home. You will know when I have caught a fish, for you will feel its pull. Then dig your paddles into the sea with all your strength. Paddle toward home, and don’t look back. Remember, don’t turn to look back!”
The brothers headed the canoe toward home and paddled. They knew when Māui caught a fish. They knew by its mighty pull that seemed to be carrying them away from land. They dug their paddles into the water with all their strength.
Māui was playing his fish. As he struggled he panted to his brothers, “Paddle! Paddle! Don’t look back!”
“What kind of a fish has Māui caught?” the brothers wondered. “What can it be that pulls so mightily?”
Filled with wonder, one turned to look. “Brothers!” he shouted. “It is land Māui has caught. He is pulling up islands!”
Everyone stopped paddling and turned to stare.
“See what you have done!” cried Māui angrily. “I was going to pull up a great land, but because you stopped paddling I have only these islands!”
And that, so the story says, is the way our Hawaiian Islands came above the ocean.
From Māui, the Demi-god by W. D. Westervelt