90 TRADITIONS. [PART I. 



Islands alone remained above the ocean. The rock 

 which came first out of the depth is still shown in 

 the island Hunga, with the hole in it which was 

 made by the fish-hook of Tangaloa. The rocky 

 island was soon covered with herbs and grasses, 

 which were the same as in the habitation of the 

 gods, Bolotu, only of an inferior kind, and given to 

 decay and death. 



There are other traditions respecting Maui, ac- 

 cording to which he is more of a spiritual being, 

 and is called the maker of heaven and earth ; but it 

 seems as if modern notions were here interwoven 

 with native legends. According to another still 

 more confused notion, earth and heaven are man 

 and wife, and the island of New Zealand is their 

 offspring, the birth of which was effected by the in- 

 terference of Maui. But "rangi" has a more ample 

 meaning than heaven: it is used for day, light, 

 or the abstract principle of light as opposed to 

 darkness. Is there a deeper meaning in this latter 

 tale, and does it point to the mysterious trimurti of 

 Asiatic religions? 



However this may be, the same Maui, Mauwi, or 

 Mawi, is the most important personage in all the 

 mythical traditions of the true Polynesians, and es- 

 pecially in those of the Sandwich Islands, one of 

 which groups, in fact, bears his name, and many 

 are the songs to his praise. 



If we further inquire whether we may trust to 

 what the tradition tells us, that the New Zealanders 



