Maui Legend “Why we have summer and winter”

Like the other Maui legend “how Hawaii Mountains were formed”, Ryan told me that he learned this legend at age five while living in Hawaii. He told me that he still heard it told around Hawaii although with several variations from his own account.

The legend goes like this; Long ago, there was a god called Sun who lived in the skies above Hawaii.  Sun used to come out of the skies everyday of the year projecting unbearable heat towards the people on the Island. People asked Sun to decrease on the heat but he never did and instead continued burning them throughout the year. The people gathered around to discuss and find solution to the problem. They chose Maui, the strongest man around, to face Sun and plead with him. Maui, with a net his hands, went to talk to Sun at a place where he came out of the skies. He told him that the people on the Island were fed up of his heat. Sun just laughed and went on to release heat as he always had been doing. In anger, Maui tossed his net to the sky and trapped Sun. He started pulling him down towards the Island. Sun retaliated by holding onto the sky but was soon defeated by Maui. Scared of the Island people he had heated for a long time, Sun pleaded with Maui asking him to not drag him down. Maui accepted his requested but on condition that he (Sun) would only come out of the skies for half of the year. In considerable grief, Sun accepted the conditions and from that day on, he only came out of the skies for half the year. That is why we have summer and winter.

Analysis

When Ryan told me this legend, it really made little or no sense to me. Of course the sun does not speak and on one can pull it down with a hook. But again, I remembered it was only a legend! The question I asked myself was, “why is this legend existing?”  The answer I came up with is, because it has a social significance. In a historical context, the legend teaches Hawaiians (or any other passive and active bearer or the legend) about the origin of the Island since Maui discovered the Island. On the other hand, because the legend is known by a certain group of people, it means the legend creates a social identity. It does that by creating the “other.” In this context, the “other” would be those people who are neither passive nor active bearers of the legend. In essence, just being able to learn, understand, and tell the legend can separate a Hawaiian from a non-Hawaiian.

In a way, I also think the legend is meant to credit a “man” with creation. By doing so, the legend some how glorifies a man’s strength and creates a patriarchy. I know one might disagree with me, but they should ask themselves why one would credit the creation of seasons (with all their importance) to a man and not a man and a woman.  Masculine dominance must be behind all this.

“How Hawaii Islands were formed”

Ryan told me this legend, which accounts for the existence of the Hawaiian Islands. He said that his cousins taught this legend to him when he was still a little boy (about 5). He also said that this legend, plus other Maui legends, still exists and in circulation around many parts of Hawaii.

The legend goes like this; Long time ago, there was a young boy called Maui living in Hawaii. Maui had brothers that never let him go fishing with them. They always told him that he was too young to go fishing. On many occasions, Maui pleaded with them to let him go fishing but they declined. One day, as Maui took a walk at the beach, he came across a big dead shark bone. He picked it up and took it home with him. For the next couple of days, Maui secretly fabricated a huge hook out of the bone. After completing it, he, again, asked his brothers to take him fishing. Once again they refused. Maui decided to show them his hook and promised to help them catch fish, which they had been unlucky to catch on their last 4 fishing trips.  With that promise, Maui’s brothers accepted to take him on their next fishing trip. While at the ocean Maui threw his hook in the water and instantly caught something big. Maui’s brothers tried to pull out the catch but Maui suggested that they should drag it to the shores. They drifted their canoe towards the shore while dragging their big catch. Very soon they were tired and decided to pull it out before they got on shore. To their surprise, when they pulled out the hook, it did not have fish on it but a bunch of Islands. That is how the Hawaii Islands were formed.

Analysis

Like any other Legend, this legend invites negotiations about believe. As Ryan told my conversation with him, it is true that there was once a navigator called Maui who is credited for the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. However, it is completely unrealistic for him to have pulled the islands with his hook. In a way, the legend puts that historical information into a more interesting and fascinating narrative that is – in most cases – orally passed on from generation to generation. There are always passive and active bearers of the legend. Once passive bearers later become active bearers, which keeps the tradition going, and saving the legend’s existence. Like any other legend, the Maui legend builds group identity. By that, I mean that passive or active bearers of the legend often share some kind of identity. It might be tradition, ethnicity, or vicinity; but somehow they share some common aspect. In this particular case, it is most likely to be that they are Hawaiians.

Like any other surviving legend, the Maui legend must have some cultural significance – otherwise it would probably not survive. My best guess is that the legend defines gender roles. As we can see in the legend, Maui (a boy) and his brothers have to leave their home to go fish in the ocean. Though there is no mentioning of any female character in the legend, my best guess is that they are left home at home when the boys or men go to work.  In essence, I think the legend defines the role of a man as the one supposed to go hunting for the family.

“There were once two villages that bordered one another. One of the villages practiced headhunting as a tradition to their worship and it caused quite a bit of trouble for the other village. Something needed to be done in order to solve this issue between the two villages. The leader of the village that does not practice headhunting came up with a plan and so he met up with the people of the village that practiced headhunting. The leader said and promised the headhunters that he will provide an individual from his village to serve as their prey but only if they promise that this will be their last hunt, and so they agreed. A man fully dressed with a cloak that covered his entire body was sent into the village where the headhunters will hunt him. With great skill, the headhunters took the man’s life, however when they lifted the hood they realize the man whom they have killed was none other than the great leader of the other village. Tears came falling from the headhunters lamenting over the great sacrifice made by this man for his own people and from that day onward the headhunters stopped their headhunting tradition in honor of the man who gave his life for others he cared about.”

Chien-Jui said that he heard this story from his grandfather when he was younger, and that his grandfather would always tell him many different stories. Chien-Jui said that he does not recall the context in which he was first told the story, but that it was common for his grandfather to tell him such stories. In his opinion, the point of this story is to demonstrate what sorts of qualities a leader should have. Specifically, what he got from this story is the characteristic of sacrifice; a great leader must be willing to sacrifice for his or her followers. He said that sacrifices are not all about death; or rather the types of sacrifice should illustrate the leader’s devotion to the mass almost like their protector, their hero. I agree with Chien-Jui about the meaning of the story. It seems pretty straightforward, as a lesson to be a good leader. I believe that the story is trying to convey the idea that sometimes leaders do need to make sacrifices for the good of their people.  I think that the story also shows that sometimes drastic measures need to be taken to find solutions to problems, and you must be able to make tough decisions as a leader. Also I think the story serves to show that just because something is common practice doesn’t mean it should be accepted. Just because the village used to practice headhunting didn’t mean that it or right or should be accepted.