Māui Slows the Sun

Māui Slows the Sun Story

Long ago in New Zealand, the days were much too short.

The Sun raced across the sky so quickly that people could hardly finish their work. Morning came, but before the sweet potatoes were planted or the cooking stones hot enough to cook the evening meal, the Sun had already disappeared beyond the edge of the world.

People stumbled about in the darkness and the elders shook their heads beside the fires. “There is never enough daylight,” they said.

Māui heard their complaints. He watched his family hurry from one task to another, always trying to beat the fading light. One evening, the Sun disappeared before the food was ready, and Māui sat with his brothers staring into the fire.

“This is no good,” he said. “The Sun moves too quickly.”

His brothers looked at him. “The Sun has always travelled quickly,” said one.

“That does not mean he should,” replied Māui.

Another brother laughed. “And what will you do? Stand in the sky and tell the Sun to slow down?”

Māui smiled. “No. I will catch him.”

His brothers stopped laughing.

“You cannot catch the Sun,” said one. “He is too hot.”

“And far too strong,” added another.

Māui leaned towards them. “Then we shall need very strong ropes.”

Māui’s Plan

Māui explained his idea. They would make ropes, then travel to the place where the Sun rose each morning. Before the Sun could race into the sky, they would trap him and make him slow down.

His brothers stared at him as though he had suggested catching the wind in a basket.

“What if the ropes break?” one asked.

“Then we will make them stronger,” said Māui.

“What if the Sun burns us?”

“Then we will hide until the right moment.”

“And what if he refuses to slow down?”

Māui’s eyes gleamed in the firelight. “Leave that to me.”

The next morning, Māui and his brothers began their work. They gathered long flax leaves, stripped the fibres, twisted them together and plaited them into thick ropes. Again and again, Māui tested them.

“Pull harder,” he told his brothers.

They leaned backwards with all their strength, but the ropes held firm.

All day they twisted and plaited until their hands ached. At last, great coils of rope lay on the ground beside them, ready for the task ahead.

Then Māui took out the powerful jawbone of his ancestor. It was no ordinary object. It carried great mana, and Māui knew he would need its power when he faced the Sun.

The Journey to the Rising Sun

Before dawn, Māui and his brothers set out. The stars still shone above them as they travelled across the land, carrying the heavy ropes between them.

They crossed rough ground and climbed over stony ridges, making their way towards the eastern edge of the land where the Sun rose each morning.

At last, they reached the great place from which the Sun climbed into the sky.

Māui looked around carefully. “We need somewhere to hide.”

Together, the brothers gathered stones and earth and built a low wall where they could crouch unseen. Then they arranged the ropes and checked every knot.

“Listen carefully,” Māui whispered. “When the first rays appear, throw the ropes over the Sun’s rays. Hold on and do not let go, no matter how hard the Sun pulls.”

His brothers nodded and crouched behind the wall.

For a while, everything was dark and still. Then a faint glow appeared in the east. The grey sky turned pink, then gold, and the rocks around them began to shine.

Māui raised his hand. “Get ready.”

The glow grew brighter.

Then the Sun began to rise.

Catching the Sun

Blazing rays burst above the horizon.

“Now!” shouted Māui.

His brothers leapt up and threw the ropes.

One loop flew over a fiery ray. Another wrapped around a second. Then another and another, until the thick ropes were wrapped around the Sun’s blazing rays.

The Sun roared. “Who dares to trap me?”

He pulled with enormous force, dragging the brothers forwards across the ground.

“Hold tight!” cried Māui.

They dug their heels into the earth and pulled back. The Sun twisted and struggled as the ropes creaked and the stones beneath their feet grew hot. The air shimmered around them, but still they held on.

“Let me go!” thundered the Sun.

Māui stepped forward. The heat struck him like the breath of a great fire, and sweat ran down his face, but he did not retreat.

“I will not let you go,” he called.

The Sun struggled harder. “Who are you to stop me?”

“I am Māui.”

The Sun blazed even brighter. “Why have you done this?”

“Because you race across the sky too quickly,” Māui replied. “The people need time to tend their gardens, gather food, fish and cook. You disappear before the day’s work is done.”

“I am the Sun!” he roared. “I travel as I please!”

Māui tightened his grip on the jawbone. “Not anymore.”

The Sun pulled once more, and the brothers groaned with effort.

“Māui!” one cried. “We cannot hold him much longer!”

Māui rushed forward and struck the Sun’s blazing rays with the jawbone of his ancestor. The sky flashed, and the Sun roared.

Māui struck again.

The Sun twisted and fought, but the ropes held. Slowly, his wild strength began to fade until at last he stopped struggling.

“Enough!” he cried.

Māui lowered the jawbone. “Will you slow your journey across the sky?”

The Sun was silent for a moment while the brothers kept hold of the ropes. Finally, he answered, “Yes.”

“Promise,” said Māui.

“I promise. I will travel more slowly.”

Māui turned to his brothers. “Release him.”

Carefully, they loosened the ropes, and the Sun climbed higher into the sky. Everyone watched closely, wondering if he would suddenly race away.

But he did not.

Instead, the Sun moved slowly and steadily across the heavens.

A Longer Day

Māui and his brothers stood together and watched the morning spread across the land. Birds called from the trees, and the sea glittered in the distance.

People stepped from their homes and looked up in surprise.

The Sun was still there.

For the first time, the morning did not disappear in a rush. There was time to tend the sweet potato gardens, fish, gather food, mend nets and prepare meals before darkness fell. Children had time to play while their families worked nearby.

The whole day seemed wider and brighter.

That evening, Māui sat with his brothers beside the fire. They were tired, dusty and sore from their great struggle, but the evening meal had been prepared while there was still daylight.

One brother nudged Māui. “You really did catch the Sun.”

Māui grinned. “I told you we only needed strong ropes.”

“And a very bold idea,” said another.

They laughed together as the Sun sank slowly towards the horizon after his long journey across the sky.

From that day onwards, the Sun no longer rushed as wildly as before. And when people saw the Sun’s long rays stretching across the heavens, they remembered the great ropes, Māui and his brothers, and the morning they slowed the Sun.