SLJ-Day 1 Activity 1: In The Beginning

According to the mythology of Maui, he has brang great goods to his people back in his days and legend has it that he created a magical fish hook from the jawbone of his grandmother and that one day he took his hook, boarded a boat, and rode out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Aotearoa New Zealand, was formed when Maui, a powerful demigod, fished it out of the sea. Maui kept his people safe ever since then.

Maui is the gifted, clever demigod of Polynesian mythology responsible for fishing up the North Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. After a miraculous birth and upbringing Maui won the affection of his supernatural parents, taught useful arts to mankind, snared the sun and tamed fire.

1. Maui - no ordinary man:
Maui is the gifted, clever demigod of Polynesian mythology responsible for fishing up the North Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

After a miraculous birth and upbringing Maui won the affection of his supernatural parents, taught useful arts to mankind, snared the sun and tamed fire. But one of his most famous feats was fishing up the North Island.

2. Fishing up an island:
Despising him, Maui’s four brothers conspired to leave him behind when they went out fishing. Overhearing their plans, Maui secretly made a fishhook from a magical ancestral jawbone. Then one night he crept into his brothers' canoe and hid under the floorboards.

It wasn't until the brothers were far out of sight of land and had filled the bottom of their canoe with fish that Maui revealed himself. Then he took out his magic fishhook and threw it over the side of the canoe, chanting powerful incantations as he did so.
The hook went deeper and deeper into the sea until Maui felt the hook had touched something. He tugged gently and far below the hook caught fast. It was a huge fish! Together with his brothers, Maui brought the fish to the surface.

Maui cautioned his brothers to wait until he had appeased Tangaroa the god of the sea before they cut into the fish. They grew tired of waiting and began to carve out pieces for themselves. These are now the many valleys, mountains, lakes and rocky coastlines of the North Island.



3. Te Ika a Maui - Maui's fish:
To this day the North Island is known to Maori as Te Ika a Maui or Maui’s fish. Take a look at a map of New Zealand to see the fish’s head in the south and its tail in the North Island. The South Island is also known as Te Waka a Maui or Maui’s canoe, and Stewart Island or Rakiura is known as Te Punga a Maui or Maui’s anchor stone.

Maui was a great demigod for his people. If i were a demigod, it will be challenging to keep all danger away from my people. I think that being a demigod will be lots of hard work, feeding your people and keeping them super safe and comfortable.

Māui is the gifted, clever demigod of Polynesian mythology responsible for fishing up the North Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. After a miraculous birth and upbringing Māui won the affection of his supernatural parents, taught useful arts to mankind, snared the sun and tamed fire.