Maui's Feats of Greatness. Hawaiian. Scorpius, Summer Triangle, star creation

The Feats of Maui. Hawaiian. Scorpius, Summer Triangle, and star creation.

Far out in the water we call the Pacific Ocean there once was an island with a village on it. The water around them was vast and teaming with fish, monsters, and gods.

In the village lived a family. A man and a woman, the man was dubbed "the supporter of the heavens" and the woman"the guardian of the road to the invisible world." They had parented three boys. The youngest son, Maui, lived outside the village in a cave but often walked into town to play tricks and visit his friends. Sometimes, though, his tricks angered the village people. After a prank on the village Kahuna, the wise man, Maui was tasked with a challenge: in order to earn the forgiveness of the Kahuna Maui would have to take a special tapestry to the island's tallest mountain and toss it into the sky.

Now, Maui is a strong young man, but even his back bowed under the weight of the cloth. The tapestry was inky black and had a peculiar design Maui did not recognize. No matter though, he would do this simple task.

So, Maui marched up the steep mountain through whipping wind and relentless rain. He trudged through mud and scared off nosey boars until finally he arrived at the peak. The sun had set by now and Maui was eager to get home, so he gathered the last of his strength for one epic throw in three. Two. one. Woosh!

Maui threw the cloth high into the dark sky and it unraveled to cover the world in a cosmic twinkling night sky. Just like the one we see now.

Back at the village the Kahuna forgave Maui and thanked him for completing the task.

"But Kahuna," said Maui, "Is there a design?'

"Why yes, I have hidden stories and heroes in the sky so that anyone can look up and remember our history."

"Ah, so now that I have tossed up the starry night, I should probably get a spot up there right?"

The Kauna laughed for a long time.

"When you do something incredible, Maui, I shall consider placing your story in the heavens."

Maui thought about this for a long time. Opportunities for heroic feats don't come around too often, so he would have to be patient.

A few months later he was having dinner with his parents, and his mother looked tired.

"Mom, what tires you so?" Maui asked.

"Oh Maui, there is just not enough time in the day! I can hardly get laundry dried on the line before the sun is setting. Even today I barely got dinner ready! I haven't rested in weeks."

Now Maui loved his mother, and it pained him to see her unhappy, so he came up with a plan.

Every morning the sun would appear over the ocean in the east right by the island's lava fields. So Maui snuck over in the night and hid behind a large rock with his magical hook and fishing line. When the sun rose from the ocean he threw out his hook and line and caught the sun! He pulled and pulled but even with Maui's great strength the sun was unbothered, and carried on across the sky.

'Hmmmmmm' thought Maui, ' I may need to ask my friends for help.'

So the next night all the men of the village snuck across the lava field and hid behind rocks for sunrise. They needed no convincing, for everyone wanted to help their mothers.

Finally, the sun rose and the men waited for Maui's call.

Three. Two. One. Go!

The men sprang out and lassoed the sun. Together they pulled down the sun with all their strength. Dozens of ropes bound the sun to the horizon and Maui lept up and started raining blows on the sun with his magic hook. One. Two. Three! And the sun started to get dizzy. Maui stepped back and gave the call to loosen the ropes holding down the sun, but still anchor them to the earth. Woozy and confused the sun slowly rose and tentatively crept across the sky, extending the day by many hours.

Even now, far from the ocean in Idyllwild, you can sometime see the tethers of rope holding back the sun as it crosses the sky. We usually call them sun beams.

Later that afternoon Maui approached the Kahuna, "How do you like this long day? It was my doing."

The Kahuna did not appear impressed though, and replied, " You may have had good intentions to help your mother, but your surprise attack on sun was not a fair fight. It was a good deed but not incredible enough for the night sky."

Disappointed, Maui walked back to his cave and thought about how he would achieve an incredible feat worthy of the stars.

The next dry season, Maui was preparing for a village feast with his brothers when they told him he could not come fishing with them.

' You are bad luck' they said. 'You only catch the smallest fish."

" Yea, plus whenever you come we catch fewer fish too."

"Sorry Maui, you can come after the feast."

Grumpy, Maui went off in his own small boat to catch fish, but he caught nothing. No matter, he thought, when I go fishing with my brothers I'll have to play a little trick on them.

So many days passed and Maui met his brothers to finally go fishing.

"Alright Maui" the brothers said, " let's try to catch something today"

" yea we still want to eat tonight."

"Ok," Maui says, " I'll do my best."

They paddle out and once they're in open ocean, they cast out their nets and drop their fishing hooks into the sea. Some time passes and nobody gets a bite on their line. Maui's brothers start teasing him again.

"See? Maui has bad luck, good thing everyones full from the feast still"

"This is why we don't invite you Maui, it's not personal see? We're just hungry"

Maui stays quiet, biding his time. But when both brothers turned their backs Maui brings out his magic hook and drops it into the ocean. He let it fall, fall, fall until it was scraping the ocean floor. Patiently, he waits until it catches on a big rock.

"I've got one brothers!"

Three. Two. One. Pull! And Maui pulls up his hook, and with it the ocean floor!

"Keep your eyes forward brothers! I've got a big one! You must keep paddling!" Maui cries.

The brothers paddle hard and slowly a ridge of the ocean floor is brought above the surface. They paddle and paddle and they sail so fast the ridge is many miles long.

Suddenly, the Goddess of the Ocean rises before their boat. In an endless booming voice she says, "Maui! What are you doing?" And the brothers stop paddling in shock at being confronted by the powerful goddess. Without their paddling Maui's hook loses purchase on the ocean floor and the ridge drops down, making only a chain of islands.

Maui bows to the Goddess. " Sorry to bother you, we're just out fishing!" He says.

"Be careful Maui, I'll allow it this time." The goddess of the Ocean warns, then sinks back to the sea.

Maui and his awed brothers gaze upon the eight new islands, standing one after the other out of the ocean.

Now a-days we call this chain of islands the Hawaiian Islands.

Maui and his brothers paddled home -- nobody talked too much-- and Maui went to visit the Kahuna.

" I made a chain of 8 new islands, is that an incredible feat to you?" Maui asked.

"I heard," the Kahuna answered, "It is indeed an impressive feat that should be remembered. I shall place your boat overhead (summer triangle) and your fishing line leading down to your magic hook in the south (scorpius's tail is the hook).

This way, everyone will remember where these islands came from."