Maui

Of all the heroes and mythological figures of Polynesia, Maui is the
best known. His strifes are like the great Greek epics, and they make
excellent tales of daring that elders loved to relate to youngsters
around the evening campfire. Maui was abandoned by his mother Hina of
Fire, when he was an infant. She wrapped him in her hair and cast him
upon the sea, where she expected him to die, but he lived and returned
home to become her favorite. She knew then that he was a born hero and
had strength far beyond that of mortal men. His first exploit was to
Òlift the sky.Ó In those days the sky hung so low that men had to crawl
around on all fours. A seductive young woman approached Maui and asked
him to use his great strength to lift the sky. In fine heroic fashion
this big boy agreed if the beautiful woman would, euphemistically,
"give him a drink from her gourd." He then obliged her by lifting the
sky.

The territory of man was small at that time, and Maui then decided that
more land was needed and he conspired to "fish up islands." He
descended into the land of the dead and petitioned an ancestress to
fashion him a hook out of her jawbone. She obliged, and created the
mythical hook Manai ikalanai. Maui then secured a sacred bird, the alae
that he intended to use for bait. He bid his brothers to paddle him far
out to sea, and when he arrived at the deepest spot, he lowered Manai
ikalani baited with the sacred bird. His sister, Hina of the Sea,
placed it into the mouth of "Old One Tooth" who held land fast to the
bottom of the waters. Maui them exhorted his brothers to row, but
warned them not to look back. They strained at the oars, and slowly a
great land mass rose. One brother, overcome by curiosity, looked back,
and when he did so, the land shattered into all of the islands of
Polynesia..

Maui desired to serve mankind further. People were without fire and the
secret was held by the sacred alae, who had learned it from Maui's
beneficent ancestress. She had given Maui her burning fingernails, but
he oafishly kept dropping them into streams until all had fizzled out,
and he had totally irritated this generous relative. She pursued Maui
trying to burn him to a cinder. Maui desperately chanted for rain to
put out her scorching fires.  When she saw her fires being quenched she
hid her fire in the barks of special trees and informed common mud hens
where they could be found, but first made them promise never to tell
men. Maui learned of this, captured a mud hen, and threatened to wring
its neck unless it gave up the secret. The bird tried trickery and told
Maui to rub together the stems of sugar cane, then banana and even
taro. None worked, and Maui's determined rubbing is why these plants
have hollow roots today. Finally, with Maui's hands tightening around
the mud hen's neck, the bird confessed that fire could be found in the
hau tree and also the sandalwood, which Maui named ili aha (fire bark).
Maui then rubbed all the feathers of the mud hen's head for being so
deceitful, and that's why their crown is featherless today.

Maui's greatest deed, however, was snaring the sun and exacting a
promise that it would go slower across the heavens. The people had
complained that there were not enough daylight hours to fish or farm.
Maui's mother could not dry her tapa cloth because the sun rose and set
so quickly. When she asked her son to help, Maui went to his blind
grandmother for assistance. She lived on the slopes of Haleakala and
was responsible for cooking the sun's bananas that he ate in passing
every day. Maui kept stealing his granny's bananas until she agreed to
help. She told him to personally weave 16 strong ropes and to make
nooses out of his sister's hair. Some say these weavings came from her
head, but other versions insist that it was no doubt Hina's pubic hair
that had the power to hold "Sunny Boy." Maui positioned himself, and as
each of the 16 rays of the sun came across Haleakala, he snared them
until the sun was defenseless and had to bargain for his life. Maui
agreed to free him if he promised to go more slowly. The sun agreed,
and Haleakala ("The House of the Sun") became his home.