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Māui dreamed of the day that he could go fishing with his older brothers. Each time his brothers returned from a fishing trip Māui would ask, "Next time, can I come fishing with you?". But Māui's brothers would always make an excuse. "No you're much too young to come fishing with us. We need all the room in our waka for the many fish that we catch."

"I'll only take up a little bit of room, and I'll stay out of trouble, I promise," Māui would argue. The eldest brother would reply, "You're so skinny we might mistake you for some bait and throw you overboard for the fish to eat." Māui would get angry. "I'll teach them, he'd say to himself, "I'll prove how good I am!" Secretly Māui hatched a plan to prove he was a great fisherman. One night when Māui was alone he began weaving a strong fishing line from flax. As he wove he recited an old karakia to give his fishing line strength. When he was finished, Māui took a jawbone which his ancestor Murirangawhenua had given him, and bound it securely to the line.

Early the next morning, Māui took his fishing line and secreted himself in the hull of his brothers' canoe. When Māui's brothers pulled the canoe into the sea they noticed something a little different. "The canoe is much heavier this morning, are you sure you're helping?" said one. "I think you've been eating too much kumara!" said another. "Stop your bickering and get on with it!" said the eldest brother. None of the brothers noticed Māui hiding in the hull. When Māui heard his brothers drop the anchor, he knew they were too far from land to return. Māui revealed himself to his brothers' surprise. "What!" "What are you doing here?" "You tricked us!" "No wonder we have not caught one single fish!"

The brothers were angry with Māui, but Māui spoke up. "I have come to fish because Murirangawhenua said I would be a great fisherman. Let your lines down as I say my karakia and you'll catch more fish than you ever have." Māui began his karakia. The brothers threw their lines into the water and instantly began catching fish. One after another they pulled their fish into the waka. In no time the waka was full and the brothers were delighted with their catch. "We're the best fishermen ever!" the brothers congratulated each other.

"Now it is my turn to fish," said Māui. The brothers laughed when Māui pulled his fishing line from his bag. "Huh, you'll be lucky to catch a piece of seaweed with that!" "Or maybe a piece of driftwood to float home on!" The brothers couldn't contain their laughter. Māui didn't listen, instead he recited his karakia and readied his line. "Can you give me some bait for my hook?" Māui asked his brothers. But the brothers only laughed harder so Māui clenched his fist and hit himself hard on the nose. His nose bled and Māui covered his hook with his own blood. Māui then stood at the front of the canoe and whirled his line above his head as he recited his karakia. He spun his line out to sea, the line sunk deep to the ocean floor, down into the depths of the domain of Tangaroa, and instantly the hook was taken.”

Māui's line went suddenly taut. The brothers stopped their laughing and held tightly to the side of the waka as they began to speed across the ocean. "Cut the line!" a brother called, clearly quaking in his seat. "We'll all be drowned," said another. "Please Māui cut the line!" But Māui held tight to his line, and slowly a giant fish was pulled to the surface. The brothers huddled in the waka shivering with fright. The giant fish towered over their small canoe. "This is the fish that our grandmother, Murirangawhenua, said would be gifted to us," Māui said. "Guard our fish, and I'll soon return with our people."

The brothers agreed to stay, and Māui headed back to Hawaiki. However as soon as Māui had gone, the brothers began chopping greedily at the huge fish, claiming huge pieces of it as their own. When Māui returned, his people were amazed to see the giant fish. "Māui is the best fisherman ever," they marvelled. As they neared the brothers were seen still chopping and arguing over which part of the fish was theirs. The people saw them for the greedy brothers that they were. They were so greedy that they had chopped huge gullies and mountains from the fish's flesh. Over many hundreds and thousands of years, these gullies and mountains became part of the landscape of Aotearoa as we know it today. Birds, plants, animals and the people of Hawaiki populated the giant fish of Māui. And in time Māui's giant fish became known as the North Island of Aotearoa, and Māui's canoe the South island.

This is the story of Māui and the giant fish.

One evening, Māui and his brothers were making a hāngi for their evening meal. They had just finished heating the stones when the sun went down and it quickly became too dark to see. Māui was annoyed with having to eat his food in the dark. He stood in the light of the fire and addressed his people.

"Every day we have to rush to do our chores and gather our food before the sun sets. Why should we be slaves to the sun? I will catch the sun before it rises, and teach it to travel slowly across the sky!" But one of the brothers was quick to criticise, not believing Māui could possibly do such a thing. "It would be impossible to catch the sun, he's much bigger than any bird you've ever caught!" "The heat and flames would surely burn you to death," said another. "I think he's got sunstroke," another added, and they all laughed.

When they had quietened down, Māui took the sacred jawbone of his ancestor from his belt and waved it in the air. "I have achieved many things that were thought impossible – gaining fire from Mahuika, catching the greatest fish in the world, descending to the underworld, and many more. With this magic jawbone, gifted by Murirangawhenua, and with your help, I will succeed in conquering the sun!". The majority of the people agreed that Māui had achieved many great feats, they decided to help Māui in his quest.

The next day Māui and his whānau collected a huge amount of flax, Māui then taught them how to make flax ropes, a skill he learnt when he was in the underworld. They made square shaped ropes, tuamaka, flat ropes, paharahara, and twisted the flax to make round ropes. After five days the ropes were completed and Māui said a special karakia over them. "Taura nui, taura roa, taura kaha, taura toa, taura here i a Tamanuiterā, whakamaua kia mau kia ita!".

During the night, Māui and his brothers hoisted the ropes and travelled towards the east to where the sun first rises. They hid under trees and bushes during the day, so the sun wouldn't see them approaching. They collected water in calabashes as they travelled, which Māui said was necessary for their task ahead.

On the twelfth night Māui and his brothers arrived at the edge of a huge, red-hot pit, dug deep into the ground. Inside the pit Tamanuiterā, the sun, was sleeping. The brothers were silent, terrified at what might happen if he awoke. Māui immediately ordered his brothers to build four huts around the edges of the pit to hide their long ropes. In front of the huts they used water to soften the clay and build a wall to shelter them. Māui and his brothers then spread their flax ropes into a noose, only just finishing before dawn, when the sun was due to wake. "When Tamanuiterā rises and his head and shoulders are in the noose I will call for you to pull tight on the ropes," Māui instructed his brothers.

One of the brothers became worried and wanted to run while he still had time."Why are we doing this?" he asked another. "It's madness!" "We'll be burnt alive, if we run now we might escape with our lives!" The two brothers tried to sneak away but Māui caught sight of them through the corner of his eye. "If you run now the sun will see you when he rises from his pit. You will be the first ones to die. There is no turning back!"

The brothers had no time to answer. The sun had begun to wake and was rising from the pit. They quickly ran back to their huts grabbed hold of their ropes and hid behind the wall of clay, trembling as they waited for Māui's orders. Māui hid and watched.

Tamanuiterā slowly emerged from the deep pit, not knowing that a trap was set for him. His head went through the noose and then his shoulders. Māui suddenly jumped from his hut and yelled to his brothers, "Pull on the ropes, now!" At first the brothers were too scared to come out. Māui yelled again, "Quickly, before it's too late, and we are scorched to death!". Just then the sun peered down to the edges of the pit and saw Māui standing before him. Tamanuiterā was furious. He hurled a ball of fire towards Māui, but Māui ducked, holding tightly to his rope and once more chanting his karakia: "Taura nui, taura roa, taura kaha, taura toa, taura here i a Tamanuiterā, whakamaua kia mau kia ita!".

The brothers jumped from their hiding places, grabbing their ropes just before Tamanuiterā could free himself from the noose. "Aaaarrrhhh!" the sun roared in anger. Māui fought off the intense heat and moved to the edge of the pit. He raised his magic jawbone above his head and brought it down hard on the sun. The magic forces from the jawbone flashed like a bolt of lightening. "Why are you doing this to me?" Cried Tamanuiterā."

From now on you will travel slowly across the sky, never again will the length of our day be dictated by you," Māui replied. Tamanuiterā tried to struggle free, but again, Māui showed him the power of his magic jawbone. And Tamanuiterā finally gave up the fight. Māui instructed his brothers to let go of their ropes. Tamanuiterā travelled slowly up into the sky, tired and beaten.

The days became longer for Māui and his people, giving them plenty of time to fish, gather food and do their chores. Māui's power and ability could never be questioned again, he had succeeded in taming the sun. From that day until this, Tamanuiterā has always travelled slowly across the sky. And this is the story of how Māui slowed the sun.

Ko te moemoea a Maui kia haere ngatahi ai ratou ko ona tuakana ki te hii ika. I te hokinga mai o ona tuakana ki tatahi, ka kii atu a Maui, “ka taea e au te haramai i to koutou na taha ki te hii ika?” Engari, ko te whakautu o ona tuakana ki a ia ano, “Kao, he rangatahi noa iho koe. Kaore he wahi mau kei te waka nei, na reira me noho tau ki tatahi ke”.

Ki ta Maui e kii ai, “Kaore au e whakahoha i a koutou, ka noho hei karetao noa iho, koinei taku whakapono ki a koutou.” Ko te whakautu o te tuakana, “Na to hiroki ka pohehe matou he kai noa iho ma nga ika”. Ka riri haere a Maui. “Maku e whai kaha, whai mana hei whakamana i ahau ano”, noku te mana hei whakaarahi i oku tuakana. Ka whakaritea e Maui he tatai hei whakamanahia i ona ake pukenga mo tenei mea te hii-ika. I tetahi po i a Maui e noho tau ana, ka timatahia e Maui ki te rarangahia he rakau hii-ika. I a ia e rarangahia e waiatatia e Maui tetahi karakia tawhito hei whakakaha i te rakau hii-ika. I te mutunga o tona mahi, i tangohia he kauae raro na tona tupuna i a Murirangawhenua i hoatu ki a ia. I te atatu o te ata, i kawea e Maui tona rakau hii-ika, a, ka huna a Maui ki te kei o te waka o tona tuakana.

Ka tohea ki uta te waka e nga tuakana, engari ahua rereke te ahua o te waka. Ka kii mai, “Kei te ahua taumaha te waka nei, kei te hoe tahi tatou, kao ranei?” Ka kii atu tetahi, “na to kaha kai i nga kumara te take” Ka kii atu tetahi ano, “Katia to korua mahi whakatoi”. I to ratou taenga atu ki te wahi taunga ika, ka puta mai a Maui, aue ko te ohorere o ona tuakana! “He aha.” “He aha tau?” “To mahi hianga e Maui.” “Ko koe te take e kore ai matou e whiwhi ika ana, ko koe ke”

Kei te taka riri nga tuakana ki a Maui, heoi ano ka karanga atu a Maui, “konei ahau i runga ano i te karanga o Murirangawhenua, nana i kii mai, he toa mo te hii-ika e hika, na reira, i ahau e karakia ano, whakararo ou rakau hii-ika, kaore e kore ka rapuhia e koe te tini, te mano o nga ika.” I karawhiua nga tuakana a ratou rakau hii-ika ki a Tangaroa, a, ka rapuhia e ratou nga ika, ka rawe. A, ka poto haere te wa, ka whakakiia te waka e nga ika, a, ka harikoa katoa nga tuakana. Ka kii mai ratou, “kaore he hunga hii-ika tua atu i a tatou”, a, ka timatahia e Maui ki te hii-ika, ka kata mai nga tuakana ki a ia, “ka rapu noa iho koe ki tetahi rimu noa iho, ki tetahi porotawhao ranei!”

Ka kata nga tuakana! Engari kaore a Maui i whakarata i a ratou mahi whakatoi ki a ia, a, ka karakia a Maui. Ka kii atu ia ki ona tuakana, “purua a koutou toto koa ki taku rakau hii-ika?” Ka kata haere nga tuakana i te tono nei i a Maui, a, ka riri haere a Maui, ka patua ia ki tona ihu, ka rere iho ai te toto, ka taupokihia ki te kauae raro. Ka a Maui ki te kei o te waka, purua te rakau hii-ika ki a Tangaroa, ka tau te raro, a ka tangohia te rakau hii-ika e tetahi mea!

Ka katia nga tuakana i te katakata, ka pupurihia ratou ki te waka, parahuithuti haere te rere o te waka, ka kii atu tetahi, “katia te rarangi”, kei te mataku haere ia, a ka kii atu tetahi ano “ki te kore ka toromi ai tatou, e Maui, katia te rarangi koa!” Engari ka mau tonu ana a Maui ki te rarangi, ka utaina te rarangi ki uta, a, ka puta mai he ika nunui rawa. Ka kii atu a Maui, “He ika i homaitia e Murirangawhenua hei koha ma tatou. Tiakina to tatou ika, ka hoki atu au ki tatahi kia whakamohio atu tenei kaupapa ki te iwi.” Ka whakaaetia e nga tuakana ki to Maui tono. Engari na te mahi kikino o nga tuakana ka timata ratou ki tapahia te ika hei koha, hei kainga mo ratou ake."

I te hokinga mai a Maui me tona iwi, ka noho ohorere ratou, ka kii ratou, “Ko Maui te Rangatira mo nga mahi hii-ika.” A ka kitekite ratou i nga mahi kikino o nga tuakana, ka noho riri etahi hunga, ka noho pouri etahi hunga i nga mahi whakakohuru a nga tuakana.

I nga tau maha kua pahure ake nei, ka taea tonu te kite i nga mahi kikino o nga tuakana penei i nga maunga, nga awa, koinei nga ahuatanga o Aotearoa whanaui. A, ka nohoia ki konei ko nga manu, nga hunga tangata me era mea katoa, ko te ingoa o tenei e kiia ai, ara ko Te Ika a Maui.

I tētahi ahiahi, e whakareri ana a Māui me ōna tuākana i tētahi hāngi, hai hākari mā rātau. Kātahi anō ka mutu ake te whakawera i ngā kōhatu, ka tō te rā, ka pōuri rawa mō rātau. Ka hōhā a Māui ki te kai i ana kai i roto i te pōuri, ka tū a ia ki te mura o te ahi, ka kōrero atu ki tōna iwi.

"Ia rā me tere tonu tātau ki te mahi i ā tātau mahi, ki te rau ake i ā tātau kai i mua i te tōnga o te rā. He aha i pēnei ai tātau? Māku e hopu te rā i mua i tōna maranga ake, māku tonu e tohutohu te rā, kia āta haere noa tōna ara whakawhiti i te rangi!" Ā, tere tonu tētahi o ngā tuākana rā ki te whakapae atu, i runga i tōna kore whakapono ka oti i a Māui tēnei mahi. "He mahi uaua kē tēnā ki te hopu i te rā, he nui ake i ngā manu kua mau i a koe!" "Ka rongo koe i tōna wera, i ōna mura, ka mate rā koe," ka kī atu tētahi. "Te āhua nei kua pakapaka ōna whakaaro i te rā," te kī a tētahi atu, me tā rātau kata anō.

I te wahangūtanga o te iwi, ka tīkina atu e Māui te kauae a tōna tipuna mai i tana tātau, me tana piupiu haere. "He maha ngā mea i kīia kāore e taea, ēngari i taea e au, te tiki i te ahi mai i a Mahuika, te hopu i te ika nui o te ao, te heke atu ki Rarohenga, me ētahi atu mahi hoki. Mā tēnei kauae tapu, i kohangia mai ki a au e Murirangawhenua, me ō koutou āwhina, ka taea noatia te whakaeke i te rā!" Whakaae katoa ana te iwi ki ngā mahi a Māui, ki ana mahi mīharo hoki, ka whakaaro ake rātau ki te āwhina i a ia.

I te rā o muri ake, ka haere a Māui me tōna whānau ki te kohi i ngā harakeke katoa, ka whakaakongia e Māui tana whānau ki te whiri taura harakeke, i akona e ia i a ia i Rarohenga. Ka hangaia e rātau he tuamaka, he pāraharaha, ka kōwirihia e rātau ngā taura kia noho porowhita ai ngā taura. Ka pau ngā rā e rima ka reri ngā taura, ka rere ngā karakia a Māui ki runga i ngā taura nei. "Taura nui, taura roa, taura kaha, taura toa, taura here i a Tamanuiterā, whakamaua kia mau kia ita!"

I waenganui pō ka kawea e Māui me ōna tuākana ngā taura rā ki te rāwhiti ki te wāhi e ara mai ai te rā. Ko ngā rākau me ngā whakatipu ā rātau wāhi huna, kia kore ai rātau e kitea mai e te rā, nā, i runga i te kī a Māui ka whakakīkīhia e rātau ā rātau tahā ki te wai, mō te mahi nei. I te pō tuangahuru mā rua, ka tae ake a Māui me ōna tuākana ki tētahi rua whānui rawa ake, ā, he whero kē, he wera hoki, me tōna hōhonu anō. Ā, i roto hoki a Tamanuiterā e moe ana. Ka noho wahangū ngā tuākana, me tō rātau mataku hoki ki te oho mai te tipuna rā.

Ka tīmata te tohutohu a Māui i ōna tuākana, ki te hanga whare kia whā, huri noa i te rua hei huna i ngā taura. I mua i ngā whare nei ka whakamahia e rātau ngā wai, ki te whakangāwari i te uku, hei hanga pakitara, hei ārai i a rātau. "Ka ara ana te upoko me te tinana o Tamanuiterā i te tāwhiti o te taura, ka karanga ake ahau kia kukumehia ngā taura kia kikī tonu," ngā tohutohu a Māui ki ōna tuākana. Ka puta ake te āwangawanga ki tētahi o ōna tuākana, ka pīrangi a ia ki te oma atu. "Kei te aha kē tātau?" Tana pātai ki tētahi atu. "Nā te pōrangi tēnei mahi! Ka tahuna rā tātau, ki te oma tātau i nāianei, ākene ka ora tonu tātau!

E mea ana ngā tuākana e rua rā ki te whakamoho atu, ka kitea rāua e ngā kanohi koi a Māui. "Ki te oma kōrua i nāianei, ka kitea mai kōrua e te rā i tōna aranga ake i tōna rua. Ko kōrua tonu ngā mea tuatahi ki te mate. E kore a muri e hokia!" Kāore tonu ngā tuākana i whai wā ki te whakautu atu. Kua oho kē te rā, ā, e ara mai ana i tōna rua. Tere tonu tā rāua hoki atu ki ō rāua whare me te hāpai ake i ngā taura, ka huna ki muri i ngā pakitara uku, e wiriwiri ana i a rāua e tatari ana mō te karanga a Māui. Ka huna a Māui, me tana whātaretare anō. E āta haere mai ana a Tamanuiterā i tana rua hōhonu, kāore i aro ki te kati i whakataungia mōna. Ka whakawhiti atu tana upoko i te tāwhiti, kātahi anō ōna pakihiwi. Kātahi ka peke atu a Māui, me tana karanga ake ki ōna tuākana. "Kumea mai ngā taura, i nāianei!"

I te tuatahi he mataku rawa ngā tuakana ki te puta ake. Ka rere anō tana karanga. "Kia tere, i mua i tōna aranga ake, kei tahuna tātau, ā, mate noa!" I taua wā tonu ka tiro ake te rā ki ngā tahataha o te rua, ka kite i a Māui e tū ana i mua i a ia. Ka pukuriri atu a Tamanuiterā, ka whiua e ia tētahi poro ahi ki a Māui, ka karo a Māui, ka mau tonu ki tana taura, me tana karakia anō. "Taura nui, taura roa, taura kaha, taura toa, taura here i a Tamanuiterā, whakamaua kia mau kia ita!

Ka peke mai ngā tuākana rā mai i ā rātau wāhi huna, i mua tonu i te maunutanga mai o Tamanuiterā i te tāwhiti. "Aaaaiii eee!" Te umere mai o te rā. Kāore noa iho a Māui i aro ake ki te kaha o te wera, ka hīkoi atu ki te pito tonu o te rua, ka hikina atu tana patu kauwae ki runga ake i tana māhunga, kātahi ka kurua e ia te rā. Ka wheriko ake te uira mai i te mauri o taua patu kauwae rā. "He aha koutou e pēnei mai ana ki au?" Te tangi a Tamanuiterā. "Atu i tēnei wā ka tōmuri tō whakawhiti i te rangi, e kore hoki te mana whakatau i te rangi e riro i a koe," te whakahoki a Māui.

E koemi ana a Tamanuiterā, me i kore ka maunu mai ngā taura, ka kurua anō e Māui. Ka pau te hau a Tamanuiterā, ka mutu tana whawhai atu. Ka karanga a Māui ki ōna tuākana kia tukuna ngā taura. Ka āta haere atu a Tamanuiterā ki te rangi, e māuiui ana, e mamae ana hoki. Ka roa ake ngā rā mō Māui me tana iwi ki te hao ika, ki te rau ake hoki i ngā kai, me te mahi i ngā mahi ā-rangi nei. E kore hoki e puta ake te rangirua mō ngā mahi ka tarea e Māui, nāna i whakarata te rā. Mai i taua rā ki tēnei he āta haere noa te au a Tamanuiterā i te rangi. Koia nei te pūrākau mō Māui me te rāi.