Légende polynésienne/Polynesian legend Māui’s final feat Māui is the darling child of the islanders of the vast Pacific, Moana Nui. Everywhere, within the archipelagos, to the north or south, in the east and west, in Micronesia, Melanesia or Polynesia ; an island or special site carry his name, a silent witness to his exploits. This shows the importance of the links created by this legendary hero and his family, between people of strikingly different appearance. A shared vocabulary, gods and heroes demonstrate clearly a shared heritage and origin, resulting from sufficiently lengthy interaction that traces have survived from time immemorial. Māui can be translated as : «Questioner» or «Questions». Listening and reading the accounts of his feats reveal his true nature, curious, impertinent, feisty and very generous. This is someone who demanded to know why there was a prohibition or dreadful situation. He stared fear in the face. If no-one could explain a situation to him, he would try and find out himself, testing ideas to find answers, experimenting, defying and observing what followed. This is how, accompanied by his brothers and father, he went on a quest for a magic fishhook. With this precious tool, he was able to defy challenge the liquid kingdom and go beyond existing horizons. Because he had been careful to take his bearings from the stars and surroundings, he was able to navigate back to his starting point. He was also able to offer island as gifts for the population, when they became too numerous on one island, fishing new onesup from the oceans. He learned how to make fire, to chase away the unknown in the dark of night, to cook foods and to keep warmwhen it was cold. He was able to control the sun, giving it the right rhythm to allow humans the time to carry out their daily chores. At his father’s side he was able to chase and defeat terrible man-eating monsters. Reassured, men and women came out of their caves to work the land and build shelter on their island homes, dividing one area for divinities the other for all types of human activities. Thanks to the Maui’s efforts, the islanders were able to establish societies and to grow food crops to feed their children and allow humans to fill the world. By recognizing the fears that lurked in the hearts of men, the Māui family, united behind the father and led by the youngest son, because he was the most imaginative and audacious of all, were able to control this paralyzing sentiment. It allowed them to spread their civilization through voyages of conquest, pacification and transformation, as soon as the monsters had been chased away. And, the more Māui the Younger helped humans the more he came to love them. He also became obsessed with the idea of cheating death. For that to happen however, it was vital that he stay alive. What a challenge for this demigod family, descended from a human and a god ! Māui first decided to try to kill death by killing his relative Hina nui’o te Pō (Great Hina from the Shadows), the guardian of the Land of the Dead. Let’s not forget, it is she who gave her strands of hair, that were so resistant they could not be burned by the hottest fire, in order to catch the sun and make it slow its course, so that it stayed with men for half a day, before giving way to the moon for the other half of the day. In a dream, he saw that he could not achievethis. And so, he abandoned his mission. And then, one day, he and his aging father were asked to save an island from a giant man-eating dog. The voyage was arduous, they were buffeted by a storm. Arriving at the island, his father was tired and rested on the beach. Māui the Younger decided to play in the surf with dolphins and to combat sharks, that he easily subdued. Glancing back at the shore he noticed that his father was nowhere to be seen. He hurried back, worried, still no sign of the old man. He called out, searched high and low. All he found was a huge dog with a swollen belly, whom he fought and killed. Not wanting to believethe worst, Māui the Younger cut the dog’s belly open to free his father, but too late. Māui the Younger made a huge fire and burned the dog’s body. He laid out his father’s body on the cold ashes and stretched out next to it, so that they could both fly away to Rohotu no’ano’a, the fragrant afterlife. While their spirits travelled, their bodies were covered with sand, broken coral and shells, over which people sometimes walked, without suspecting their remains lay there. After unknowingly passing several times over Maui’s bones, a young woman fell miraculously with child. She gave birth to a boy who looked like Māui the Younger. In this way he did indeed overcome death, the father of a long line of courageous men and women. RiR TFIHiTi 71