Hawaii: Legend of the great Maui

The tale of Māui-a-kalana, a hero in Hawaiian culture, is well known throughout the islands. Maui was the youngest of Akalana and Hina’s four sons.

Māui was blessed with a quick wit, a mischievous nature, and a magic makau, or fish-hook. Some say Maui was not an accomplished fisherman but he always found ways to capture the fishes from his brother’s lines before they were pulled into the boat.

One day, during a fishing trip with his brothers, Māui hooked the ocean floor by mistake. He told his brothers that he had caught a great fish and needed them to row with all their might. They paddled so intensely that they lifted the great islands of Hawaii up from the depths of the seas.

Maui was not pleased that the islands were separated in the ocean, so he decided to draw them together. Unfortunately, he pulled too tight with his fishing line, breaking off pieces of land at the small western island of Kaula and the big eastern island of Hawaii.

If you would like to hear more of Māui’s great adventures, our villagers would love to share!