Maui’s Fishhook Is The Greek Scorpius Constellation
Māui (Hawaiian mythology)
The following information is from Wikipedia:
In Hawaiian religion, Māui is a culture hero and ancient chief who appears in several different genealogies. In the Kumulipo, he is the son of ʻAkalana and his wife Hina-a-ke-ahi (Hina). This couple has four sons, Māui-mua, Māui-waena, Māui-kiʻikiʻi, and Māui-a-kalana. Māui-a-kalana's wife is named Hinakealohaila, and his son is named Nanamaoa. Māui is one of the Kupua. His name is the same as that of the Hawaiian island Maui, although native tradition holds that it is not named for him directly, but instead named after the son of Hawaii's discoverer (who was named after Māui himself).
Contents
1 Legendary exploits
1.1 Hauling up islands of Hawaii
1.2 Restraining the Sun
1.3 Fisherman
1.4 Lifting the sky
1.5 Defeating the Long Eel
2 Contemporary Hawaiian Art
2.1 In popular culture
2.2 Contemporary Art in Hawaii
3 See also
4 Notes
4.1 Bibliography
5 References
6 External links
Legendary exploits
Hauling up islands of Hawaii
The constellation Scorpius is known in Polynesia as Māui's fishhook.
The great fish-hook of Māui is called Manaiakalani, and it is baited with the wing of Hina's pet bird, the ʻalae. Māui is said to have created Hawaii's islands by tricking his brothers. He convinced them to take him out fishing, but caught his hook on the ocean floor. He told his brothers that he had caught a big fish and told them to paddle as hard as they could. His brothers paddled with all their might, and being intent with their effort, did not notice the island rising behind them. Māui repeated this trick several times, creating the Hawaiian Islands (Tregear 1891:236).[1]
Another tradition states that as Māui planted his hook at Hamakua to fish up the god of fish, Pimoe, Māui ordered his brethren not to look back, or the expedition would fail. Hina, in the shape of a baling-gourd, appeared at the surface of the water, and Māui unwittingly grasped the gourd and placed it in front of his seat. Suddenly, there appeared a beautiful woman whose beauty none could resist, and so the brothers looked behind them to watch the beautiful water-goddess. The line parted, Hina disappeared, and the effort to unite the chain of islands into one solid unit failed.
Restraining the Sun
Māui's next feat is to stop the sun from moving so fast. His mother Hina complains that her kapa (bark cloth) is unable to dry because the days are so short. Māui climbs to the mountain Hale-a-ka-lā (house of the sun) and lassoes the sun’s rays as the sun comes up, using a rope made from his sister's hair.[2] The sun pleads for life and agrees that the days shall be long in summer and short in winter (Pukui, Elbert, & Mookini 1974:36).[3]
In another version, Hina sends him to a big wiliwili tree where he finds his old blind grandmother setting out bananas and steals them one by one until she recognizes him and agrees to help him. He sits by the trunk of the tree to rope the sun (Beckwith 1970:230). The constellation Māui's fishhook (known in the West as Scorpio) is named after this.
Fisherman
Māui would go fishing in the broken coral reefs below Haleakala with his brothers. Māui was a poor fisherman; even though he had a magical hook that could catch anything, he did not use it for ordinary tasks. Māui's brothers would sometimes tease him for the small amount of fish that he would bring in, but Māui would get them back by playing tricks on them.
Maui’s Fishhook Is The Greek Scorpius Constellation
Māui (Hawaiian mythology)
The following information is from Wikipedia:
In Hawaiian religion, Māui is a culture hero and ancient chief who appears in several different genealogies. In the Kumulipo, he is the son of ʻAkalana and his wife Hina-a-ke-ahi (Hina). This couple has four sons, Māui-mua, Māui-waena, Māui-kiʻikiʻi, and Māui-a-kalana. Māui-a-kalana's wife is named Hinakealohaila, and his son is named Nanamaoa. Māui is one of the Kupua. His name is the same as that of the Hawaiian island Maui, although native tradition holds that it is not named for him directly, but instead named after the son of Hawaii's discoverer (who was named after Māui himself).
Contents
1 Legendary exploits
1.1 Hauling up islands of Hawaii
1.2 Restraining the Sun
1.3 Fisherman
1.4 Lifting the sky
1.5 Defeating the Long Eel
2 Contemporary Hawaiian Art
2.1 In popular culture
2.2 Contemporary Art in Hawaii
3 See also
4 Notes
4.1 Bibliography
5 References
6 External links
Legendary exploits
Hauling up islands of Hawaii
The constellation Scorpius is known in Polynesia as Māui's fishhook.
The great fish-hook of Māui is called Manaiakalani, and it is baited with the wing of Hina's pet bird, the ʻalae. Māui is said to have created Hawaii's islands by tricking his brothers. He convinced them to take him out fishing, but caught his hook on the ocean floor. He told his brothers that he had caught a big fish and told them to paddle as hard as they could. His brothers paddled with all their might, and being intent with their effort, did not notice the island rising behind them. Māui repeated this trick several times, creating the Hawaiian Islands (Tregear 1891:236).[1]
Another tradition states that as Māui planted his hook at Hamakua to fish up the god of fish, Pimoe, Māui ordered his brethren not to look back, or the expedition would fail. Hina, in the shape of a baling-gourd, appeared at the surface of the water, and Māui unwittingly grasped the gourd and placed it in front of his seat. Suddenly, there appeared a beautiful woman whose beauty none could resist, and so the brothers looked behind them to watch the beautiful water-goddess. The line parted, Hina disappeared, and the effort to unite the chain of islands into one solid unit failed.
Restraining the Sun
Māui's next feat is to stop the sun from moving so fast. His mother Hina complains that her kapa (bark cloth) is unable to dry because the days are so short. Māui climbs to the mountain Hale-a-ka-lā (house of the sun) and lassoes the sun’s rays as the sun comes up, using a rope made from his sister's hair.[2] The sun pleads for life and agrees that the days shall be long in summer and short in winter (Pukui, Elbert, & Mookini 1974:36).[3]
In another version, Hina sends him to a big wiliwili tree where he finds his old blind grandmother setting out bananas and steals them one by one until she recognizes him and agrees to help him. He sits by the trunk of the tree to rope the sun (Beckwith 1970:230). The constellation Māui's fishhook (known in the West as Scorpio) is named after this.
Fisherman
Māui would go fishing in the broken coral reefs below Haleakala with his brothers. Māui was a poor fisherman; even though he had a magical hook that could catch anything, he did not use it for ordinary tasks. Māui's brothers would sometimes tease him for the small amount of fish that he would bring in, but Māui would get them back by playing tricks on them.