the sun

Role: the sun · First appears: Chapter IV · Maui Snaring the Sun · Part 1

In Chapter IV · Maui Snaring the Sun · Part 1, the Tongan legend says Vatea threw part of the child into the heavens, where it became the sun. In the Society Islands version, a demon in the west ate the sun, causing night, then released it. In the Hawaiian version, Maui planned to capture and punish the sun for neglecting mankind.

In Chapter IV · Maui Snaring the Sun · Part 2, Maui caught the sun with ropes, tied him to a tree, and wounded him with a magic stone axe. The sun cried, “Give me my life.” They agreed on a regular course with longer days and alternating faster and slower journeys; another version says Maui let him continue, and he went more slowly. In Part 3, the New Zealand legend says Maui and his brothers snared and beat the sun, then released him weakened and moving slowly.

In Part 4, the Hervey Islands legend says Maui snared the sun and made him promise to travel more slowly. In the Society Islands version, Maui used his sister Ina-ika’s hair to snare him, and the sun promised to cross the sky more slowly. In the Samoan legend, the woman lived with the sun and bore Child of the Sun; later, she snared him and made him give her a basket of blessings for the child’s marriage.

In Chapter X · Oahu Legends of Maui · Part 1, Maui broke one of the sun’s legs, and the sun agreed to go slowly for six months and faster for six. In Chapter XII · Hina of Hilo · Part 2, Maui lassoed the sun, broke some of its rays, and struck its face with a magic club; wounded and weary, the sun promised to go slowly forevermore.