Maui and the giant fish

                           

Mahuika was a woman storyteller in a Maori village about the time that Britain was trying to colonise Aoteraroa (New Zealand) in early 1800's This is one of her stories she gave to the village children. It is part a long series of about a number of characters I created in the village!

Maui had aquired the jawbone of his grandmother and he fashioned fishhooks out of the bone. He often went fishing with his brothers but this time he let them fish in the their own way but they were out of luck. After some hours the brothers had hardly caught enough for one person to eat let alone all of their families. They turned to Maui and called out "Why do you not help as well Maui?"

Maui shrugged but bent down and picked up a line and fastened one of his bone hooks on. Then suprised them all by striking himself on the nose causing it to bleed, He staunched the bleeding with some flax fronds and threaded these on to his hook then threw it in the water. He played out his line and sat waiting giving it a gentle tug now and then. Thinking that a fish was now on the hook he tugged it hard and felt the resistance. So he gradually pulled in the line which took enormous effort and violently rocked their canoe. Maui wouldn't give up but fought and played his catch for hours until they all could see he had snared a giant fish called Hahau-Whenu. 

The fish was so big it was like another land. There were fires burning and strange creatures walking on its back. As Maui's brothers started to bring it alongside it began to struggle. All the rest of the day the brothers tried to land the fish which thrashed back and forth altering its shape and became folded and wrinkly. It was so large that a new land was created to the north of their own island. The land that was created from this fish is now known as Te Ika-a-Maui or the fish of Maui, and it is covered with mountains and valleys. The belly of the giant fish as it transformed into land grumbled and rumbled and formed volcanoes. These mountains are the Taupo and Tongariro mountains which still grumble today telling us that it is not happy as it preferred living in the ocean.

Word count 361

Illustration found of  the Tongariro mountains at www.traveldig.com