How Māui Slowed the Sun is a 1982 New Zealand children’s book by
Peter Gossage
Peter Gossage (22 October 1946 – 30 July 2016) was a New Zealand author and illustrator. Known for his children's picture books based on Māori mythology, Gossage published over 20 books with deceptively simple storytelling popular inside and ...
, a
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
author. The book is a retelling one of the many stories about the mythical culture hero,
Māui
Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl ...
. The book follows Māui as he proposes the idea to catch the sun and slow it down because daylight time is not long enough causing working and eating to be cut short.
Plot summary
The book begins with the issue of Te Ra, the sun, who moved across the sky too quickly causing shorter days for everyone. Māui gathers his four brothers and suggest they catch the sun and slow him down. Some of the brothers disagreed but helped him regardless. They made strong ropes out of
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
to snare the sun where it rises. The brothers travelled to where the sun rises but only moving at night to ensure he didn't know they were coming. They found a pit in the ground where the sun had yet to rise and using clay, they built a wall of earth to hide themselves behind. When the sun rose, the light nearly blinded the brothers but Māui muttered a ''here'' (a
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
charm). The brothers threw ropes over the sun which tangled in Te Ra's hair and looped around his body. Māui then leapt onto the wall and hit the sun of the head with the magic jawbone from his grandfather. Despite the fight, Māui told Te Ra he wasn't going to kill him but that he'd just make him move more slowly. The harsh ropes on his body caused Te Ra to feel tired and weak so when the brother's released him, he slowly floated through the sky.
Characters
*
Māui
Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl ...
– the hero
*Te Ra – the Sun
Mythology
This book was inspired by
Māori mythology
Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori people, Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern tales of supernatural events relating to the origins of what was the ...
. Oral storytelling is important to promulgate cultural traditions and values. Like many native people, the culture of the Māori was highly oratory. Maui's capture of Te Ra is a story that’s been handed down through the generations, to not only educate but entertain.
The book and the myth are similar with some differences. In the myth, Māui and his brothers decide to slow down Te Ra when they were making a hāngi for their evening meal and had just finished heating the stones, when the sun went down, and it quickly became too dark to see. Māui was annoyed with having to eat his food in the dark and hence the idea was put forth. Something else that is in the myth but not in Gossage's book is how collecting flax to create the ropes was a collective contribution, as the whole village helped. Māui also chanted a ''
karakia
Karakia are Māori incantations and prayer used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection.Maunga Hikurangi for the world’s first sunrise. Maunga Hikurangi is the highest peak in the Raukumara Range and is recognised as the first point on the New Zealand mainland to greet the morning sun. Māori legends from the tribe native to this region,
Ngāti Porou
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...
, say that when Māui fished up the
North Island
The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
of New Zealand, Mount Hikurangi was the first point to emerge from the se Up on the mountain stands nine ''
Whakairo
Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone.
History
Timber was formed into houses, fencepoles, pouwhenua, containers, taiaha, tool handles and waka (canoe). Carving ...
'' (Māori carvings) depicting the legends of Māui and his whanau. The centrepiece represents Māui himself, while the other eight carvings are positioned to mark the points of the traditional compass. Created in 1999, under the
tutelage
Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
of Derek Lardelli, to celebrate the new millennium, the whakairo stand as a tribute to the cultural heritage of Ngāti Porou, and as a legacy for future generations.
Awards
In 2013, Gossage won the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a much-loved book.{{Cite web , title=Peter Gossage , url=https://www.penguin.co.nz/authors/peter-gossage , access-date=2024-01-23 , website=www.penguin.co.nz , language=en
See also
*
Māui
Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl ...
*
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
*
Te Ara
''Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' is an online encyclopedia established in 2001 by the New Zealand Government's Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The web-based content was developed in stages over the next several years; the first s ...