Maui And The Giant Fish

Maui And The Giant Fish

Maui dreamed that one day he could go fishing with his big brothers. Every time they came back from fishing he would ask very politely if could go with them next time. Maui’s brothers always made up an excuse. “You can’t come we need all the room in our waka as possible.

“I will only take up a tiny bit of room” replied Maui.

The oldest brother would say “you're so skinny we might mistake you for some fish bait and throw you overboard”.

Maui would get very angry “I’ll teach them” he would whisper to himself. Maui secretly crafted a strong fishing line made out of flax and sung a karakia to give the fishing line strength.Maui took a jawbone his ancestor gave him and stuck it to the fishing line. The next morning he hid in the bottom of his brother's waka.

When Maui’s brothers put the waka in the sea they noticed something a little different. “Are you sure you're helping?” said one.

“I think you’ve been eating too much kumara,” said another.

“Stop worrying and get on with it,” said the oldest brother. None of his brothers noticed that Maui was hiding in the bottom of the waka. When Maui heard his brothers drop the anchor he knew they were way too far away from land to go back. He jumped up and gave his brothers a big surprise. “What are you doing here” The brothers were angry with him but he spoke up.

“I have come because Murirangawhenua said I would be a great fisherman. Drop your lines down and you will catch more fish than you ever have. The brothers were catching fish one after the other. “We’re the best fisherman ever,” said his brothers. Maui pulled his line out of his bag. The brothers laughed “you won't catch anything with that”.

Maui punched himself in the nose and made it bleed and Maui used it for fish bait because his brothers we’re hogging it all. Maui had something “Cut the line cut the line” yelled his brothers “You will sink the waka” But Maui held tight and a giant fish came to the surface. "This is the fish that our grandmother, Murirangawhenua, said would be gifted to us," Māui said. "Guard our fish, and I'll soon return to our people"

Over hundreds and thousands of years, these and mountains became part of the landscape of New Zealand. Maui’s fish became the North Island and his waka is the South Island and Stewart Island is his anchor.

This is the story of Maui And The Giant Fish.