Myths and Legends

Stories are an excellent way to learn more about a culture. Birchwood School aim to teach and unpack one story each term.

Any errors in the unpacking and explanation are mine. Please do feel free to comment or email us with questions or corrections.

Ka kite

Damian Hardman
damian.hardman@birchwood.school.nz

Te Ika a Maui

Introduce the story ‘Te Ika a Maui’. Recall Maui is a demigod, and known for being ‘the trickster’. Maui reminds us to have fun and enjoy life.

Interestingly, this story predates European contact by quite some time. Māori knew the shape of the Te Ika ā Maui/ North Island resembled a stingray, that Te Waka ā Maui/ Te Waipounamu/ South Island resembled a waka, and Te Puna a Waka ā Maui/ Ruikawa/ Stewart Island was in the right place for an anchor! How did they know???

NB: Maui= mah-we (not mow-we)

One version of Te Ika a Maui retold by Shirley Primary School children.

You can visit the TKI print version here.

 

Key teaching points this story:

·      The fish-hook Maui uses is the jaw-bone of an ancestor. This highlights the importance of ancestors to Māori, hence the importance of whakapapa and pepeha/ personal mihi. Interestingly, ‘iwi’ means ‘tribe’ as well as ‘bones’. 

·      In some stories, Maui strikes his nose to bait the hook, as his brothers refuse to share bait. This is important, because breath from the nose was considered sacred to Māori, hence hongi and kōauau ponga ihu/ nose-flutes. (During hongi, the scared breath shares the houora of two people).

·      Maui chants karakia when battling the fish. Māori were/are very spiritual. Different spirits were invoked for strength, calmness, confidence, etc. Māori spirituality involved many different wairua, rather than the one god as introduced by Christians.

·      When the fish is landed, Maui leaves his brothers to find ‘the guardians’/ Hawaiki to pay his respects. This is important. It highlights an important part of tikanga: eg during whaikorero we pay respects to the Wharenui, the Marae, the tīpuna (ancestors), the ariki (chiefs, leaders), etc. 

Ka kite

Damian Hardman

damian.hardman@birchwood.school.nz

Rona and the Moon
Our story this term is Rona and the Moon. This is a neat story, because it reinforces the importance of working, showing respect, and tells us why the moon looks the way it does.

"Rona" is a difficult word to say. Sometimes you hear it as Row-na (rhymes with row your boat), but actually, it should almost rhyme with 'raw', except a shorter sound.

Here is a version of Rona and the Moon. It's nicely done with stop-motion plasticine models.

Parents might recognise the music. 

Some of the tikanga of the story:
(1) The value of work.
There are many whakatauki that extoll the virtue of work. Examples include:
He kai kei aku ringa (There is food at the end of my hands) 
or 
He mahi te ataa noho, e kii ana te wheke (It is the octopus who says sitting is working) 
or 
Moe atu nga ringa raupo (Marry a man with calloused hands)

(2) Rona calls the moon a "cooked head" (ouch!).
The head is tapu, food is noa. This is partly why we don't put things to do with our heads onto table. Comparing someone's head to food is really insulting, possibly the biggest insult to pay someone.

(3) The Ngaio Tree.
"In some old Maori tribes the pregnant state was attributed to the moon-god, who is "the true husband of all women." 

At birth the placenta (whenua) and umbilical cord (iho) were sometimes buried and a young sapling was planted over them; either a ngaio, karaka, or kahikatea. As it grew, it was a sign of life (he tohu oranga) for the child.

The umbilical cord (iho) appears to have been compared to the trunk or roots of the tree. "Iho" is where the essenntial strength of a thing consists, as in the heart of a tree, or in the long, fibrous root of a tree or shrub.
Dr. W.H. Goldie and Elsdon Best, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 1904.

Maybe this legend is saying that women get pregnant when they get carried away by their monthly feelings of desire. And their whole life gets uprooted by this event."

Ref: http://folksong.org.nz/rona/

Maui and the Sun

Refer to the following links to see and read this story.

Retold by Nelson Central School.

Here's a print copy for you to read.

Synopsis

Māui is a demi-god and is known as the trickster.  In “Māui and the Sun”, the sun travelled across the sky too fast, which prevented people from being able to do their work. Maui and his brothers went to the sun’s lair, captured him with ropes, and beat him up till he promised to move slowly from then on.

Tikanga

Concept of work. There are many whakatauki that exalt a person’s capacity for work (eg there is food at the end of my fingers, they have a dusty marae).

Ancestors. Maui’s magic jawbone came from one of his ancestors. Whakapapa (family trees), ancestors, and lineage are very important in Māoridom.

Skills. Maui taught us how to make flax ropes, which he learnt to do by travelling to the underworld. By the telling of this story, he has already caught the North Island and given us the gift of fire.

Use A Ha Ka Ma: Ta-ma-nui-tēra.

Taura= rope

Taura nui (big rope), taura roa (long rope), taura kaha (strong rope), taura toa (warrior rope), taura here (rope that fastens) i a Taumanuitēra (to the sun), whakamaua (fix hold/ grudge) kia mau (hold fast) kia ita (fix onto).