How Maui Found the Secret of Fire

We have been reading about and talking about a range of Māori myths and legends.  We have been learning to retell Maori legends.  Read our writing . . .

Maui Finds Fire

Maui was curious about what would happen if all the fires went out. Maui got told to go to the cave of Mahuika his aunty to get some fire for the pā Maui's only friends came with him. Maui made excuses, I sneezed and blew it out. I dropped it. A taniwha trod on it. The wind blew it out. Mahuika rose in flames and she chased Maui away.

Mahuika hid the flame in a kaikomako tree. “Maui told the god of rain to make rain” and he did so that Mahuika can't chase him away. Maui went back to find the flame. He got two bits of wood and rubbed them together and a and a flame came and they never needed to worry about fire again.

By Brett

Maui Finds the Secret of Fire

One day Maui got two cartons of water and tipped them on all the fires in the pā. The next morning his friends said what the heck?! Maui go to the volcano you stupid nuisance!

So he did his friends the birds came with Maui to the volcano. When they got to the volcano mahuika was standing inside furiously with her firey finger nails. She gave one to Maui but he threw it into the steam and came back with different excuses Mahuika got down to her last flame.

And she got so mad that she almost killed Maui and she made a humungous ball of flames Mahuika threw it at Maui but  she missed him. She threw it into a nearby forest. Maui escape and went back to the Pā Maui got two sticks and one rock and rubbed them together and made the secret of fire and no one worried about the fire going out again!

By Luke

Maui wanted to go fishing but his brothers would never let him go fishing so he hid on their waka. When his brothers came and started padding away from the village  Maui the trickster jumped up from his hiding place and scared his brothers. They jumped up both in fear and anger  at Maui. Then it started to rain and they were starving so they started to fish. All of Maui's brothers caught fish. When it was Maui's turn his brothers would not let him have any bait so Maui hit his nose with the hook. He squirted blood everywhere  then he threw it into the water. After a while maui pulled up the North Island. Maui said to his brothers, "stay here." Maui went to get his hook when maui was done his brothers already had made mountains.

BY DYLAN   

Maui the trickster was curious what would happen if all of the fires in the pa went out. With no fire there would be nothing to cook  the food with or keep warm. Maui gazed at the blazing fire as it flickered he poured bottles of water on to all of the fires as he saw the sparks sink down into the ink black burnt wood. When all of the people in the pā woke up they were furious with mischievous Maui. Maui was sent to the volcano were his aunty, Mahuika, the goddess of fire lived.

Nobody wanted to go with him because of the horrid habit he had. But he wasn't alone nature always trailed him. The birds, tui, huia, piwakawaka, kiwi and pukeko wanted to come too. The insects trailed his footprints as well. Maui spotted a triangle shape in the distance. One single stream streaking with the strongest possible force. That must be the volcano Maui thought. Gazing at the lonely dry triangular shape. As he walked closer he noticed a rocky crack in the volcano front. He climbed through the crack carefully trying not to move any of the fragile rocks.

Aunt Mahuika was sitting on a burnt piece of wood mumbling some type of spell. Mahuika looked up. Her eyes swirled a firey orange. A warning look lunching towards Maui. Her cape reminded him of the pā the blazing fire with flames bursting upwards. Being flung back by the force of the blazing fire in front of her.

"May I have some of your fire" asked Maui bravely. Mahuika razed her warm burnt hand. On each finger nail was a flame. Blazing with effort. In her crackly firey voice Mahuika nattered "although I only have ten fingernails I may give you one of my finger nails. Mahuika inspected her fingernails. "Just one Maui"she says "just one".

Maui took the fire and dropped it in the stream as the force washed the flame out and away. Going back inside the volcano Maui asked Mahuika for again another finger nail. "On my way back it rained". Every time he wasted a finger nail he had a different excuse. I tripped and the flame went out. A bird swooped down and took it and a lot other excuses.

When Maui was down to his last flame Mahuika screamed in rage “I will not give you my last flame”. She through her last flam at the kaikomako tree. Maui said his karakia to turn into a kia. As he flew away he saw the sparks burn down. He flew down and snapped a few twigs of the kaikomako tree. He went back to the village and rubed two kaikomako twigs together and made fire.

From then on his village didn’t have to worry about fire again.

By Yuki

One pitch black night a night without a moon there were fires blazing all through the pā that lite the pā easily. That night Maui wondered how fire was made because he had only ever seen a fire lite from another fire. He found two gourds of water and with them sploshed water on all of the fires there by putting out every fire in the pā. In the morning when people found out that Maui had put all the of the fires out they were furious so the sent him to the deadly volcano to get some fire from his aunty.

The volcano was very far away and it was very deadly. No one came with him until the birds were none other than his oldest friends: tui, piwakawaka and Huia. Pukeko and kiwi came too. Finally they were there at the volcano. It was blood red even the cracks. Maui told the birds to wait for him. A flicker of light came through a gap just big enough to squeeze through. Maui slipped through it and there she was his aunty Mahuika.” Aunty aunty I need help” called Maui “ all of the fires have gone out in the pā. May I have some of yours?”. “ Okay” replied aunt Mahuika “but remember these are precious”. So Maui went out to the birds and told them “ l have some magic fire but I still don't know how it is made”. So Maui dropped it in the stream where it flickered then died. He returned to his aunt and moaned “ aunty the flame went out because the wind blew it out. May I have another?”. “ Okay take better care of this one Maui” replied Aunt Mahuika. One after another Maui came back with a different excuse: it started raining and the flame vanished, he tripped, a rani what trod on it, a eel stole it, the bridge was wobbly it tipped sideways and slipped out of my hands.

“That's enough Maui I’m not letting you have my last flame” raged Mahuika. Maui thought oh no I’d better run.

Maui ran and he chanted a karakia and turned into Kaha the hawk. He was chestnut brown with pale yellow dots all over him. Kaha puffed his chest out and flew. Mahuika threw her last flame into the tree then the next moment she was sinking into the ground. The kaikomako tree was still on fire. Once the fire had gone out Maui swooped down grabbed some twigs from the tree and brought them back to his village. He rubbed the twigs together with a piece of Mahon wood. Out of the wood burst a tiny flame but it grew until it was enormous. After that the village never had to worry about the fire going out again.

By Rachael J