Legends of Maui: Hero of New Zealand & Polynesian Mythology

Every culture has its heroes. From the world's oldest stories of heroes like Gilgamesh, to the knights in shining armor of medieval folktales, to the on-screen heroes of today, these characters, larger than life yet also surprisingly human, constantly appear. And across the Pacific Ocean, from the U.S. state of Hawaii to Samoa and New Zealand, and across the many islands in between, one hero has been spoken of more than any other. As far as stories spread across the ocean, so did the tales of the great hero Maui, whose feats include taming the sun, bringing fire to humanity, and even fishing entire islands out of the sea. More recently, the film Moana brought one vision of Maui to the rest of the world, but a careful study of older legends can tell us much about ancient values. A focus on the stories of the Maori people of New Zealand and how they tell of Maui will help us to understand just what it means to be a hero. My name is Sean. Welcome to Mythos and Logos. While many stories are told about the mischievous, marvelous, magical Maui across Polynesia, many of the best preserved ones come from New Zealand, a land that we shall see has a special connection to the hero. One such story begins at a great meeting hall, where all the people of an island are gathered in song and in dance. A woman named Haranga calls out for her children to find them in the crowd, and before the final dance, Taranga gathers her four children, named Maui Taha, Maui Roto, Maui Pae, and Maui Vaho, but finds a fifth child with them. And while this child looks strangely familiar, in fact not unlike the other four brothers named Maui, Taranga does not recognize him. Again, she calls for and counts her four children, whose names can roughly translate to Maui inside, Maui outside, Maui in between, and Maui all around, but again the fifth child comes when she calls. Taranga tells the boy to go to his family, as she already has Maui inside, outside, in between, and all around, and as their names suggest, that must account for everything. But the mysterious child does remember her. He tells how when he was born, his mother, perhaps thinking he was a stillborn, or perhaps unable to care for him, cut off the top knot of her hair, wrapped him in it, casting him out to sea. Some say that it was the god of the ocean that saved the child. Others say that he was protected by animals until he was found by an elder ancestor, but all agree that he was brought back to health and taught who he was. And so this child recites his family tree, known as his Vakapapa, from the beginning of creation all the way down the generations to Taranga, placing himself as another among the four Maui brothers. Taranga is taken back but in time remembers the child that she abandoned, recognizes that this is indeed him. And perhaps so she can never again forget the child that she cast off to sea, she names him Maui Tikitiki-a-Taranga, meaning Maui from Taranga's top knot. But from now on, we'll just call him Maui. Maui came to his family as an outsider, forgotten even when Taranga thought that she had accounted for everything inside, outside, in between, and all around. But even though he seems to be a stranger at first, Maui is welcomed by Taranga as a son. Now it is almost impossible to overstate the importance of family ties in traditional Polynesian cultures. Many can recite their family tree or Vakapapa back to ancient times. In fact, even the distinctive face tattoos of New Zealand's Maori people are actually made up of an elaborate code which tells the story of one's family back through generations for the whole world to see. And so Maui's brothers are torn, unsure as whether or not they should accept an abandoned child into their rather prestigious family. They argue until the eldest brother shares some wisdom. Let him be our dear brother. And the days of peace remember the proverb, when you are on friendly terms, settle your disputes in a friendly way. And when you are at war, you must redress your injuries by violence. It is better for us, oh brothers, to be kind to other people, promote the good of others, so that peace spreads through the world. The brothers' concern for how Maui will affect their family prestige comes from a concept known as mana. Though many listeners may recognize mana as the stuff used to cast magic spells in video games, it is in fact a deep concept that comes from the Polynesian tradition. Mana is a type of cultivated life force, often recognized in great leaders or those with particularly grand accomplishments. Mana can be inherited and passed down through the Vakapapa from generation to generation. But a prestigious family line is no guarantee. Mana can be gained or lost by anyone. So the younger Maui brothers are at first concerned that welcoming in a forgotten child may be a danger to the family's prestige. But the eldest convinces them to give Maui a chance. And as we shall see, this would only cause the mana of his family to grow. Maui goes on to earn great mana, performing a number of remarkable feats over the coming years, many of which the fans of musicals listening may find familiar. For one, days in the time of Maui's youth are short, with the sun crossing the sky in only a few hours. Because of this, work is nearly impossible. Artisans making traditional tapa cloth, for example, cannot dry it in the sun, farmers do not have enough daylight to harvest, and sailors cannot navigate by the night sky. Maui, perhaps wanting to prove himself, perhaps wanting to help, or perhaps a bit of both, goes to his grandmother, who gives him a great fish hook made of bone. The clever Maui travels west at night to find the sun's resting place, and hooks it, forcing it to slow down. And the great Polynesian navigators, who charted thousands of miles of ocean, say that one can still see this every night, as Maui's fish hook travels west with the stars across the night sky. Though today it is often called the constellation Scorpius. And if you follow Maui's hook on its journey across Polynesia, you will reach the shores of New Zealand. In doing so, you'll follow the path set by Maui as he sails with his brothers to the edges of the sea on a most peculiar fishing trip. As Maui casts his hook deep, he pulls up something far more remarkable than any standard fish, the north island of New Zealand, called Te Ika a Maui, meaning Maui's fish. Now that leads to the question, if Maui is a man who could fish up islands, and the hook that he carried rests among the stars, what boat could possibly carry someone like him? Well, to answer that, just look to the name of the south island, Te Ika a Maui, Maui's boat. Maui, being the clever trickster that he is, goes on to make his mark on the world in many ways. Sometimes, like when he steals from the goddess of fire and traps her flame in trees, his actions benefit humanity, who can rub the sticks together in order to gate the flame from them. That said, some stories say that Maui went to save a village that had run out of fire. Others say that Maui extinguished the fires himself, so he could go on a mission for glory. And other times, like when out of anger he transforms his rival into the first dog, Maui's benefits to humanity are a bit more questionable, because as much as we love our pets today, that man's family was less than pleased, to put it lightly. And in the end, Maui's cleverness goes to his head, as he tries to trick the goddess of death with predictably disastrous consequences that end his story. In the end, Maui is remembered both for his great victories and for his great defeats. A reminder that just as mana can be gained, it can also be lost. Maui, who was born a forgotten child and went on to live as a hero, is certainly a remarkable figure. But this is equally true for those of us without shape-shifting abilities, divine fish hooks, or the strength needed to raise an island from the sea. And looking at New Zealand Maori culture through its stories of Maui provides a strong reminder that yes, where we come from matters, but where we are going matters even more. Maui went from the margins of society to being central to cultures across the world's largest ocean, and he went from being abandoned, forgotten, left for dead, to being remembered and living on for centuries. With this in mind, we can come to better view others as potential heroes, as Maui's brother did. And knowing that we will have ups and downs, we can still put in the work to become heroes ourselves. Stay tuned through the message to hear some comparisons of Maui's representations in stories traditionally and in pop culture today. I thank you so much for listening to this story. The culture of the Maori and other peoples across the Pacific who share this story was really very new to me and uncharted territory, but in this research I came out with a much deeper appreciation for peoples that I really didn't know that much about beforehand. So I thank you to those who requested, the viewers in New Zealand who asked, and I hope that all of us, whether Kiwi or elsewise, were able to learn something and appreciate this tale. If this is your first time here, I have a feeling you enjoyed it if you've made it this far, so be sure to leave a subscribe if you haven't yet. And anyone returning or new, if you can leave a like and a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If this is a story that sounded familiar to you, a little different from what you've heard, or if it was brand new. Now that said, let's look at a few representations of Maui. So overall, the background of the Disney film Moana mythologically is not exactly accurate to the traditional Polynesian mythologies. That said, there's a lot of really great points. So in the background of how there's a mother goddess figure that comes from nothingness, that's actually very different in that traditionally sky and sea are married as the father and mother of all creation. And it's only when their children on the land break them apart that the rest of us come. But again, you can see that importance of family that across the Pacific, prestigious dynasties can trace themselves all the way back to Rangi and Papa, the first two parents. That said, Maui himself in Moana was actually handled quite well. He is a shapeshifter, he is clever and a trickster, trying to use wit to get himself out of sticky situations, as well as catching that backstory of him being abandoned. In this case of the traditional story, his parentage was a little more divine, whereas in Moana, he was a mortal who was taken in by the gods. But the stories of his hook and the various feats he mentions throughout the song You're Welcome are really great, accurate, not all appearing in the Maori New Zealand tradition, but many appearing in Hawaii, in Samoa, Tahiti, across the Pacific. My favorite representation of Maui in media, though, has probably become the incredibly catchy song Maui Hawaiian Superman by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, a.k.a. Iz, the Somewhere Over the Rainbow guy. Check out the song Maui Hawaiian Superman, where he tells a few of the stories of Maui that we've heard today, coming from a very cool perspective. I think you'll enjoy it. Especially, I'm just happy in whatever way these stories are being shared. Yes, things change over time, and every island has a slightly different story of Maui, so it only makes sense that the stories today would be different, too. I wonder what stories you'll tell.