As with the indigenous people of many countries, New Zealand鈥檚 M膩ori have a rich tradition of storytelling that鈥檚 been handed down through the generations. Amongst the cherished stories are myths and legends which give us an interesting and sometimes magical take on the origins of Aotearoa and the earth鈥檚 creation. This oral history is retold by elders on (M膩ori meeting house) and in classrooms around the country. One such tale is that of M膩ui and how he tamed the sun鈥�
Not enough hours in the day?
It鈥檚 a common complaint from busy students and sightseers鈥� 鈥渢here just aren鈥檛 enough hours in the day.鈥� Long before daylight savings was invented, giving us more time to enjoy the warm summer evenings, M膩ui took matters into his own hands.
The young man and his three brothers were preparing a h膩ngi for their dinner. A h膩ngi is a traditional M膩ori method of cooking that sees food cooked over heated stones, under the ground. They had only just finished up heating the stones when the sun set, making it too dark to see.
Forced to eat food he couldn鈥檛 see, M膩ui shared his frustration with his brothers, telling them of his plan to catch the sun before it rises and to force it to travel across the sky more slowly. They thought he was talking nonsense, laughed, and quickly pointed out the obvious 鈥� the sun is too hot and far too large to be caught.
A magic tool capable of amazing feats
M膩ui waited for his brothers to stop laughing before pulling out the sacred jawbone of his grandmother, Murirangawhenua. He listed all of the other impossible feats he had achieved like using the jawbone to catch the greatest fish in the world (New Zealand鈥檚 North Island) and gaining fire from Mahuika (the goddess of fire), eventually convincing his people to help him capture the sun.
The next morning M膩ui and his wh膩nau (family and community) gathered copious amounts of flax. M膩ui taught them how to weave the flax into long ropes. Five days later they had completed enough rope to capture the sun and M膩ui said a special karakia (M膩ori prayer to invoke spiritual guidance and protection) over them:
鈥淭aura nui, taura roa, taura kaha, taura toa, taura here i a Tamanuiter膩, whakamaua kia mau kia ita!鈥�
A secret journey under the shelter of night
That night, M膩ui and his brothers collected the ropes and trekked eastward in the direction of the rising sun. During the day they would hide under bushes and trees, so the sun wouldn鈥檛 notice them approaching. Along the way they collected water as part of their secret mission.
Twelve nights later M膩ui and his brothers arrived at the edge of the huge pit in the ground where Tamanuiter膩 (the sun) was sleeping. They constructed huts around the edge of the pit to hide the flax ropes and used the water they鈥檇 collected to soften the clay and build walls to shelter them from the sun鈥檚 heat. They shaped the ropes into a noose around the pit before dawn and M膩ui instructed his brothers to wait until Tamanuiter膩 raised his head and shoulders into it. He would then yell to them to pull tightly on the ropes.
A sunrise to fear
At the last minute M膩ui鈥檚 brother began to have second thoughts. Fearing for their lives they tried to leave before it was too late. But before they could, Tamanuiter膩 started to rise out of his pit. M膩ui yelled to his brothers, 鈥淧ull on the ropes!鈥� Too scared to move, the brothers stayed in the huts. 鈥淨uickly! Before it鈥檚 too late,鈥� screamed M膩ui.
Tamanuiter膩 had almost struggled out of the noose when the brothers jumped up and pulled on the ropes. Tamanuiter膩 looked down and saw M膩ui at the edge of the pit and hurled a flaming ball of fire at him in anger. M膩ui dodged the ball of fire, edged closer to the pit, raised his sacred jawbone high above his head and struck it down upon Tamanuiter膩, releasing its magical powers like a flash of lightening.
鈥淎aarrrhh! Why are you hurting me like this?!鈥� Tamanuiter膩 asked of M膩ui.
M膩ui drew his magic jawbone down on Tamanuiter膩 once again, berating him, 鈥淢y people do not have enough time in the day because you race across the sky! No longer will you dictate how long our days are. From now on, you will travel slowly across the sky!鈥�
M膩ui鈥檚 brothers released the noose and Tamanuiter膩 rose slowly into the sky, feeling tired and defeated by M膩ui and his almighty jawbone.
When M膩ui and his brothers returned to their village victorious, M膩ui鈥檚 power could never be doubted again. From that day on, Tamanuiter膩 always moved slowly across the sky and M膩ui and his wh膩nau had lots of time to collect food, fish and do their work.
How many hours of sunshine does New Zealand get?
If you鈥檇 like to see the effects of M膩ui鈥檚 bravery, check out the table of below. It looks like Blenheim takes the honour of being New Zealand鈥檚 sunniest town with an average 2487 hours of annual sunshine. For comparison, New York gets 2535 hours, Tokyo 1881, London 1481 and Beijing 2748.
Images:
Bloody Sunrise by under
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