Iri Ani The Witch's Blog

Te Ika a Maui

Maui's elder brothers were jealous of him because their mother showered her potiki with her love. When they went fishing they used to leave early while he was sleeping but one day Maui outwitted them by rising even earlier and concealing himself in the bilges of the waka (canoe) until they were well out to sea. The brothers wanted to return Maui back home but when they turned around to look the shore was far away already; they had paddled out further than they realised. Maui then offered to bail the waka for them so in the end they consented to his presence.

Then they arrived at their usual fishing grounds but before they could drop anchor Maui said, "the fishing is better further out", so they paddled on. At the next fishing grounds the eldest brother said "let us drop anchor and fish here", but Maui said, "no, the fishing is better further out", so they paddled on.

At last they reached open sea having quite lost sight of land. Finally they start fishing and lo they hardly had to let down their hooks and they found themselves pulling fish into the canoe. Very soon they had more than enough fish and were ready to paddle home but Maui said, "wait, let me throw my hook into the sea". Whereupon he lowered his baited hook (carved from his grandmother's jawbone) down into the ocean depths until he felt a jolt and a pull on the line. Maui had to pull hard and then harder and then harder again, "this must be the heaviest fish," he thought and chanted a powerful incantation, a hiki, to bring the fish to the surface.

Then suddenly the huge fish broke to the surface of the sea rolling back waves just as an island might break through the surface of the water and Maui's brothers screeched in shock and struggled to keep their waka the right way up amidst the turmoil of the wake.

Now Maui realised that because he had landed such a large fish, (it was in the shape of a stingray), he needed to make thanksgiving offerings and perform certain rituals. He told his brothers not to touch the fish until he got back. However greed and avarice and impatience overcame Maui's brothers who started quarrelling over the fish and hacking into its flesh. Maui's fish (te Ika a Maui or the fish of Maui), writhed in agony in it's death throes and lashing it's tail and fins into the sea.

This is the reason that Te Ika A Maui (the North Island of New Zealand) is so rough and uneven with hills and valleys, mountains and gorges. Thus the myth not only condemned the cutting up of the fish as an offence against the gods but also is a reminder of the need to conduct appropriate rituals of thanksgiving for the gifts of nature. The failure to respect nature brought its own evil consequences.

Maui and Hinenuitepo, the Goddess of Death

Readers will hopefully remember the ill omen of Maui's tohi due to his father Mateatutara's error in the ritual (in the previous post). It came to pass that Maui must encounter the goddess of death Hinenuitepo whom he hoped to vanquish.

The task Maui hoped to accomplish was to enter Hinenuitepo through her vagina while she was sleeping and pluck out her heart, then by emerging from her mouth he would have effectively reversed the process of birth and won immortality for himself and the rest of humankind. This was the most dangerous task Maui had ever undertaken especially since Hinenuitepo was equipped with formidable weapons of vaginal teeth made of obsidian.

Unfortunately when Maui was only halfway into the birth passage of Hinenuitepo, the ludicrous sight of his legs thrashing around outside made a fantail (tiwakawaka) which was flitting by, burst out laughing. This woke Hinenuitepo who crushed Maui to death. Thus death came to humankind forever.