Maui: A Hawaiian Demigod

Aloha mai,

Tomorrow the live action film of Moana releases. When Moana came out in 2016, I was part of many conversations with friends and family. A lot of people were learning for the first time that Maui the demigod is a legend found across many Polynesian islands.

This week I thought I would pull the curtain back on a version of Maui from Hawaii. I cannot cover the entire story in one email, so if you are interested I can summarize it over the next few newsletters. You decide.

There was more than one Maui, but the one you have heard of was called Maui-akalana. It is no surprise that Maui the kupua (demigod) is connected to the island of Maui. He was the son of Hina (the mother) and Malo (the father).

The story begins with Hina making kapa (tapa cloth) in a cave located below Oheo, a famed stream with cascading waterfalls. She grew hungry for limu (seaweed) and gathered her belongings to make her way to the kahakai (beach).

Hina was of the alii (chief) class, and it was common for her servants to gather limu on her behalf, but this time she went herself. The first kahakai she visited had little limu, so she made her way to the kahakai of Kaanomalo. When she arrived she found a malo ula (red loincloth) and fashioned it into a pa-u (skirt) for herself.

It was then that she was overcome with hiamoe (sleep) and fell to the ground. As the sun went down she jolted awake and realized she never got the limu she had set out for. She made her way home where her concerned servants asked where she had been, and she relayed everything that had taken place.

Time passed and Maui was born and grew into a man. In those days, food was eaten raw because they had no ahi (fire). Maui asked how their food could be cooked and Hina told him it would be by fire. Maui asked, "Aia la hoi ia wai ke ahi" (who possess the fire)? Hina answered, "Aia i ka Alae ula ke ahi" (The fire is possessed by the Alae Ula).

Wanting to please his mother, Maui asked if he should be the one to obtain the ahi. Hina wisely counseled him that when he had adequate strength and speed he would have the ability to obtain it. She also warned him not to look for the large Alae (Hawaiian mudhen), as the ahi would be found with Alae-iki (the small Alae).

Aole i pau (the story continues)

Should I pick this up again next week? Let me know. For those who want to read the story in Hawaiian, here is the first issue of Ka Moolelo o Maui.

Mahalo no ka heluhelu ana,
Maluhia