Māui-pae- Polynesian FigureMortal
Also known as: Maui-pae
Description
When Māui hauled a great fish from the ocean, his brother Māui-pae could not wait. He and the other brothers began hacking at the catch before the proper rituals were performed, and the fish's thrashing created the mountains and valleys of the North Island.
Mythology & Lore
The Great Fishing
Māui-pae was one of the older brothers of Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga. In the traditions recorded by George Grey, the brothers accompanied Māui on his ventures but lacked his supernatural power. They were audience and assistants, never the ones who performed the feat.
Their one consequential act came during the fishing up of the North Island. In Grey's account, Māui cast his enchanted fishhook, made from the jawbone of his ancestress Murirangawhenua and baited with his own blood, into the deep ocean. He hauled up an enormous fish: Te Ika a Māui.
Māui left to perform the proper rituals of thanksgiving. John White records what happened next. The brothers could not wait. They began cutting and hacking at the fish while it still lived. The fish thrashed in agony, and its writhing carved the rugged mountains and valleys of the North Island. Had the brothers held back, the land would have been smooth and flat.
Relationships
- Family