PŪRAU with Māui Pōtiki

[Author Raukura Roa reading]

Pūrau with Māui Pōtiki by Dr Raukura Roa

Illustration by Wiremu Te Ruki and Wilfred Kiki Te Wao

Maui Pōtiki was beloved by his tūpuna

Tamanuiterā, Mahuika and Murirangawhenua.

They taught him. I whakaakoria.

They raised him. I whakatupuria.

They scolded him. I rīria.

They nurtured him. I poipoia.

But best of all, they allowed 

For curiosity to grow and vowed,

That this young man will one day lead

The people in their steed.

Pūtaiao and hangarau

Pūkaha and pāngarau

PŪRAU …

is the mātauranga Māori they instilled

in his fertile mind, ensuring he was well skilled.

Māui came of age and began

to seek adventure and expand

the possibilities that are available

for his people to be truly able

to live a life full of love

abundance, purpose, and fun.

He set out with his four brothers

on a dangerous and treacherous adventure.

For Māui-Taha, Māui-Roto, Māui-Waho and Māui-Pae

were filled with resentment and pride.

They did not understand, whatsoever,

how their younger brother yields such power.

Māui knew of his brothers’ ill will,

but to his end, loved them still.

For he understood that they had nill

of his training, knowledge, and skill.

He saw beyond their attitude

and acknowledged their commitment and magnitude

for love, compassion and aroha,

because they, too, are rangatira.

Generosity and leadership is what they need,

and all Maui need do is plant the seed

He suggested to his tuākana,

“Tēnā koa, me hoe tātou ki tua.

It is there, we will find what we seek

Kia kaha! Let's not be weak.”

The brothers looked at Maui begrudgingly. 

Bemoaning him, they still kept paddling.

Māui called out, “Pīhukatia te mounu. Tukua ki te wai.”

His brothers refused and said, “Auē, kua pau kē, e tai.”

So without hook or bait, Māui engineered

his own contraption, whilst his brothers looked on with fear.

He crafted an aho using muka,

and fastened his matau. Ka takā.

“This is pūkaha,” he said to his brothers.

Māui-Taha went to speak, but just muttered.

Māui struck his own nose till it bled,

smeared the matau until it was red,

then took the matau which he fashioned

From Murirangawhenua’s jawbone - she impassioned

within Māui a deep desire  

to be resilient and never tire.

He chanted incantations and karakia,

then cast his invention to the moana.

His prayers were answered by Tangaroa

who granted him with an ika tipua.

This mighty fish is what his people wished.

Te Ika a Maui is his gift.

Māui’s brothers grew to trust him,

revere him, love him, and respect him.

He showed them what is possible

in times when hope was improbable.

So they goaded him on to challenge

The great Tamanuiterā. It would take courage.

For the sun was unpredictable,

and caused the village hardship and struggle.

The people cried out, “There isn’t enough daylight

to complete all the mahi before the night.”

Māui calculated the speed and velocity

at which the sun sailed across the sky - his people were right!

Māui and his tuākana set out to slow the sun,

so his people could work, play, and have fun.

He worked out the sun's trajectory

using pāngarau, something of which he has mastery.

They discovered Tamanuiter’ās hiding place,

So Te Rā, they set out to trace.

With his sharp wit and a sly -

thought “I’m going to beat this guy!”

He decided to travel at night

For Tamanuiterā’s star shines bright.

Māui’s brothers and sister Hina

engineered taura with very strong muka.

Their incantations and powerful karakia

instilled the taura with unbridled mana.

Kīhai i taea e Tamanuiterā 

ngā taura te wetekina.

They captured the sun as he rose from his abode,

and Māui tamed him in one go.

He instructed Tamanuiterā, “Do not race -

across the sky, slow your pace!

So the people will be empowered

To live their lives as Io intended.

Fulfilled, happy and complete they will be.

This will be your gift to them, you will see”

The people lived to their heart's content,

but one thing still kept them dependent,

‘twas te ahi a Mahuika

and all its power, he ahi tipua.

So Māui hastened to set his people free.

For self-determined they will be.

He approached his tupuna, Mahuika

to share her uri, her matikūkū tipua.

He wanted to posses the gift

to distribute fire and lift

the people from the darkness of the night,

and give life to the village so they may delight

in living life without restraint,

or being dependent, disappearing constraint.

Thus allowing them to tackle

all that life offers, unshackled.

Mahuika grew impatient with her mokopuna.

Impertinent was he to his tupuna.

His experiments with her matikūkū tipua

yielded zero results. Kāore he aha i riwha.

Mahuika was in an uproar,

so her final uri she let soar

into the forest to be protected

from Māui who was not dejected.

He set forth to discover the source

of fire, a critical life force.

In the Kaikōmako tree he unconcealed

the power of fire - this was unreal.

For pūkaha and pūtaiao were the answer - 

a mātauranga like no other.

This Kaikōmako tree holds the key

to the power of fire for thee.

He engineered new technology

to harness this power from the tree.

With its wood, bark, twigs, and sticks,

Māui created gadgets using hangarau tricks.

His contraptions, gadgets, and hangarau technologies

Māui developed with great mastery.

Bird snares and crayfish pots.

Eel nets, there is lots -

that Māui discovered out of curiosity,

sheer determination, and tenacity.

The gifts he bequeathed to te ao

are immeasurable because the word ‘kao’

did not deter him in any way,

but rather encouraged him to find another pathway.

Disrupting the status quo,

and transforming his people’s woes,

Māui Pōtiki was not only nanakia - 

Koia, he toa rangatira!

Today, his people are revitalising

his knowledge and mātauranga, which is inspiring,

for all his uri have the gift,

the power to cause a great shift.

In the world of Pūrau for rangatahi, 

Māui’s message, Turou Hawaiki!