蘑菇传媒

[Author Raukura Roa reading]

P奴rau with M膩ui P艒tiki by Dr Raukura Roa

Illustration by Wiremu Te Ruki and Wilfred Kiki Te Wao

Maui P艒tiki was beloved by his t奴puna

Tamanuiter膩, Mahuika and Murirangawhenua.

They taught him. I whakaakoria.

They raised him. I whakatupuria.

They scolded him. I r墨ria.

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.

P奴taiao and hangarau

P奴kaha and p膩ngarau

P弄RAU 鈥�

is the m膩tauranga 惭腻辞谤颈 they instilled

in his fertile mind, ensuring he was well skilled.

M膩ui 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 M膩ui-Taha, M膩ui-Roto, M膩ui-Waho and M膩ui-Pae

were filled with resentment and pride.

They did not understand, whatsoever,

how their younger brother yields such power.

M膩ui knew of his brothers鈥� 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 tu膩kana,

鈥淭膿n膩 koa, me hoe t膩tou ki tua.

It is there, we will find what we seek

Kia kaha! Let's not be weak.鈥�

The brothers looked at Maui begrudgingly. 

Bemoaning him, they still kept paddling.

M膩ui called out, 鈥淧墨hukatia te mounu. Tukua ki te wai.鈥�

His brothers refused and said, 鈥淎u膿, kua pau k膿, e tai.鈥�

So without hook or bait, M膩ui engineered

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

He crafted an aho using muka,

and fastened his matau. Ka tak膩.

鈥淭his is p奴kaha,鈥� he said to his brothers.

M膩ui-Taha went to speak, but just muttered.

M膩ui struck his own nose till it bled,

smeared the matau until it was red,

then took the matau which he fashioned

From Murirangawhenua鈥檚 jawbone - she impassioned

within M膩ui 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.

M膩ui鈥檚 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 Tamanuiter膩. It would take courage.

For the sun was unpredictable,

and caused the village hardship and struggle.

The people cried out, 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 enough daylight

to complete all the mahi before the night.鈥�

M膩ui calculated the speed and velocity

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

M膩ui and his tu膩kana set out to slow the sun,

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

He worked out the sun's trajectory

using p膩ngarau, something of which he has mastery.

They discovered Tamanuiter鈥櫮乻 hiding place,

So Te R膩, they set out to trace.

With his sharp wit and a sly -

thought 鈥淚鈥檓 going to beat this guy!鈥�

He decided to travel at night

For Tamanuiter膩鈥檚 star shines bright.

M膩ui鈥檚 brothers and sister Hina

engineered taura with very strong muka.

Their incantations and powerful karakia

instilled the taura with unbridled mana.

K墨hai i taea e Tamanuiter膩 

ng膩 taura te wetekina.

They captured the sun as he rose from his abode,

and M膩ui tamed him in one go.

He instructed Tamanuiter膩, 鈥淒o 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鈥�

The people lived to their heart's content,

but one thing still kept them dependent,

鈥榯was te ahi a Mahuika

and all its power, he ahi tipua.

So M膩ui hastened to set his people free.

For self-determined they will be.

He approached his tupuna, Mahuika

to share her uri, her matik奴k奴 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 matik奴k奴 tipua

yielded zero results. K膩ore he aha i riwha.

Mahuika was in an uproar,

so her final uri she let soar

into the forest to be protected

from M膩ui who was not dejected.

He set forth to discover the source

of fire, a critical life force.

In the Kaik艒mako tree he unconcealed

the power of fire - this was unreal.

For p奴kaha and p奴taiao were the answer - 

a m膩tauranga like no other.

This Kaik艒mako 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,

M膩ui created gadgets using hangarau tricks.

His contraptions, gadgets, and hangarau technologies

M膩ui developed with great mastery.

Bird snares and crayfish pots.

Eel nets, there is lots -

that M膩ui discovered out of curiosity,

sheer determination, and tenacity.

The gifts he bequeathed to te ao

are immeasurable because the word 鈥榢ao鈥�

did not deter him in any way,

but rather encouraged him to find another pathway.

Disrupting the status quo,

and transforming his people鈥檚 woes,

M膩ui P艒tiki was not only nanakia - 

Koia, he toa rangatira!

Today, his people are revitalising

his knowledge and m膩tauranga, which is inspiring,

for all his uri have the gift,

the power to cause a great shift.

In the world of P奴rau for rangatahi, 

M膩ui鈥檚 message, Turou Hawaiki!