MYTHOLOGY. 
125 
ful or absent. Maui Potiki, the youngest, has six names, 
which are expressive of his power : thus he is called Nukurau 
from the tricks he played on his brethren, Atamai from his 
liberality, Toa from his strength, Mohio from his knowledge, 
and Tiki-tiki-a Taranga, which signifies that he possessed 
the tiki } top-knot, or power of his mother. 
His brethren, however, professed to despise and underrate 
their younger brother, taking every advantage of him ; 
when they went out fishing, they would give him what they 
caught to cook, and then eat up all themselves, only leaving 
him the scales for his portion. He likewise appears to have 
returned evil for evil, sometimes refusing to join in their 
fishing until they had finished ; he would then throw his 
hook into the water, and at one pull catch more fish than 
they had all taken together. Some traditions also allude to 
his playing tricks on his facia and waea — his grandmother 
and mother. He is also said to have been guilty of great 
impiety in taking the jaw-bone of his grandfather Muri 
Rangawhenua, and making a fish-hook of it, which he kept 
concealed under his mat. One of Maui^s works was tying 
the sun and moon together, so that having run their daily 
courses, they should return to their starting place. Another 
was his catching the sun with a snare as he made his appear- 
ance in the morning over the edge of the world, and then 
unmercifully beating him to render him lame, so that he 
could not run but only proceed slowly, thus increasing the 
length of the day ; it was then that he found out his name to 
be Tama-nui-te-ra, the great man day. Another work of 
this Maori Hercules was killing Tunarua, a great monster, 
who lived in the water, cutting off his head and casting it 
into the sea, where it became a koiro, or conger eel ; throw- 
ing the tail into the fresh water, where it turned into the 
tuna , or eel ; another part thrown on the ground, caused 
the kareao or supple-jack to spring up ; the blood was 
absorbed by the rimu } totara , toatoa, and other trees having 
red wood, which accounts for their color. 
Afterwards Maui accompanied his brother Ware-ware to 
the woods to get makaka , a strong flexible climbing plant, 
