WE are all familiar with stories about the demi-god and super hero Māui, but for the people of Ngāti Porou, he was a descending ancestor. Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga (Māui the youngest child of Taranga), as he was known, was presumed dead at birth.

His mother Taranga cast him to the care of Tangaroa, the ocean god, only for him to be washed ashore again to be found and cared for by his grandfather, Tamanui-ki-te-rangi. It was through his grandfather that Māui learnt prayers and rituals that would help him later in life, and because of this knowledge Māui was very different to his contemporaries.

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Māui grew up to be a strong and inquisitive young man who went on to achieve some extraordinary feats. He slowed down the sun, therefore extending the daylight hours to enable people to complete their work in day time, and brought fire into the world from the fingers of his grandmother Māhuika. Perhaps, though, it was his fishing exploits that really etched him into historical immortality.

Māui wasn’t a favourite among his older brothers who, most of the time, just ignored him. Therefore, when the brothers planned a fishing expedition one day, Māui was left off the invitation list. However, he managed to conceal himself in the waka and, using powerful prayers and incantations, he made the waka travel to unfamiliar parts of the ocean. Once there he revealed himself to his brothers, who still ignored him but who were feeling a little afraid because of the distance they were from shore. While happy to fish, they didn’t show any compassion to their younger brother. When they refused to give him bait, Māui drew blood from his nose which he then smeared on his hook made from the magic jawbone of his grandmother, Murirangawhenua.

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It wasn’t too long before the hook weaved its magic and to the envy of his brothers Māui snared the proverbial “big one”. He struggled to subdue the giant fish and as it emerged from the murky depths of the ocean his waka, Nukutaimemeha, was tipped upright with the tauihu (bow) submerged and only the taurapa (stern or tail end) protruding out of the water.

The waka, with Māui and its crew, became stranded on its fin — its landing place we now call Hikurangi. Being a man of principle, Māui sought out the correct karakia (incantations) and tikanga (rituals) to acknowledge the gods for his generous gift. While he was away he entrusted the temporary care of the fish to his brothers, with strict instructions not to tamper with it before the appropriate rituals were carried out. But, true to form, the brothers ignored his instructions and proceeded to hack up the fish, therefore rendering it less than ideal. The fish of course is the North Island and the hacking by the brothers is the reason for the mountainous terrain that typifies much of the island.

So while Māui has been popularised in myth and legend, the people of Ngāti Porou assert that he was a real person and through whakapapa are able to trace lines of descent back to him. In 1906 Judge J.A.Wilson promoted the theory of a “Māui Nation”, represented by Māui and his descendants who have inhabited the territories in and around Hikurangi from the time he fished up the land. But iwi and hapū of Ngāti Porou already knew this and have always claimed status to the lands they occupy through inheritance, born of birthright and occupation from the time of their tipuna, Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga.

Source: https://t-tees.com
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