Maui

Also known as: Maui the infant / Maui-i-tiki-tiki-a-taranga / Maui-mua / Maui-potiki / Maui-roto / Maui-waho / Sun God Maui / Sun-god / the Evening Sun / the Morning Sun · Role: the hero of the Maori people, the god of the Sun · First appears: Chapter III · The Poi-dance

In Chapter III · The Poi-dance, Hine-nui-te-po devours Maui “as the Darkness nightly devours the Sun.” Chapter V · The Chant of Rangi-nui also tells that Maui entered Hine-nui-te-po trying to kill her, but died. Chapter VII · The Fight of Night and Day describes Maui-roto creating Earth and Maui-waho nourishing it with his blood as the Evening-glow. In that chapter, Maui-mua, the Evening Sun, is captured and pressed to death by Hine-nui-te-po; then Maui-potiki, the Morning Sun, steals the sacred fire of his ancestress Mahuika and returns to set fire to Hine-nui-te-po.

In Chapter VIII · Maui--The Creation of New Zealand · Part 2, Taranga gives birth to Maui by the sea and casts him into the surf. Tangaroa’s waves nurture him, giving him strength, wisdom and power, and Tama-nui-ki-te-Rangi becomes his father and rears him to manhood. At last, Maui sets out to find his parents and brothers; he reveals himself to Taranga as her youngest son, and in Part 3 she recognizes him as Maui-i-tiki-tiki-a-taranga, the child she cast into the sea. He lives with his people, takes the sacred jawbone of his grandfather Muri-Rangi-whenua and makes it into a fish-hook. In Part 4, after his brothers leave without him, Maui changes into a bird and flies to their canoe, then returns to human form and catches Te-ika-a-Maui, the land, from the sea.

Chapter IX · Mahuika tells Maui’s story again: after following Taranga to Hawaiki and being recognized by her, he enters the Lower World to steal fire from Mahuika, deceives her, and is pursued by fire before emerging as a flying sun-eagle and hurling himself into the ocean. Chapter X · Maui and Mahuika recounts his dealings with Mahuika and his battle with Te Ra: Maui and his brothers catch the Sun in ropes, and Maui beats and wounds him, breaking his wing before Te Ra escapes. Te Ra reveals his great name, Tama-nui-ki-te-Ra; from then on, he travels more slowly and the days grow long again. Chapter XI · The Death of Maui says Maui compelled Tama-nui-ki-te-Ra to prolong the days and cheated Mahuika out of her flames, but Hine-nui-te-po kills him with her teeth and takes him into everlasting darkness.

In Chapter XIII · Maui and Irawaru: A Tradition, Hupene sings of Maui and Irawaru going fishing: when Maui catches nothing and Irawaru catches many, Maui grows angry, entangles the fish-lines and presses down the canoe on Irawaru. He then changes Irawaru into a dog.