Entry #70

The Ropes of Māui
by Wavemancali


Suddenly, Māui-waho’s cry of pain echoes through the forest. Anxiously, he says to his brother “Help me Māui, for I have twisted my ankle and cannot walk. The day is almost done and if we are caught in the forest without light surely we will be eaten by a grue.”

Māui says,”Brother, what shall we do?”

Māui-waho explains,”You must rope the sun again so I can hold it in place, then fly home and tell Māui-taha, Māui-roto and Māui-pae where I am so that they can help carry me.”

Māui fashions the rope as he was taught by his ancestors and captures the sun. He hands the rope to his eldest brother, hoping he has learned enough to be able to hold it, for the sun is stubborn and wants to continue its walk through the sky. Promising a speedy return he transforms into a wood pigeon and takes flight.

True to his word Māui returns quickly with his other brothers.

Together they lift Māui-waho and rush home before the sun can walk too far and the grues become emboldened by its absence.

Māui tells his brothers, “Today we could have lost Māui-waho because of the darkness in the forest. Tomorrow I will go and seek out Mahuika so we can once again have fire to keep the grues at bay.”

But that tale is for another day.

Sometime, if you look in the clearing where Māui-waho fell, you can still see the ropes Māui left tied to the sun.