Shelf entry · Māori

Grey, Polynesian Mythology (1855), pp. 48-49

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traditionMāori

cited by 2 connections

public domain yes

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fire-2 fire-6

Then he called on his ancestors Tawhiri-ma-tea and Whatitiri-matakataka, to send down an abundant supply of water,
and he cried aloud, “Oh, let water be given to me to quench this fire which pursues after me;”
and lo, then appeared squalls, and gales, and Tawhiri-ma-tea sent heavy lasting rain, and the fire was quenched;
and before Mahuika could reach her place of shelter, she almost perished in the rain,
and her shrieks and screams became as loud as those of Maui had been, when he was scorched by the pursuing fire:
thus Maui ended this proceeding.
In this manner was extinguished the fire of Mahuika, the goddess of fire;
but before it was all lost, she saved a few sparks which she threw, to protect them, into the Kaikomako, and a few other trees, where they are still cherished;
hence, men yet use portions of the wood of these trees for fire when they require a light.

Polynesian Mythology, pp. 48–49 · Sir George Grey, 1855

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Connections resting on this work

fire · fire-2

The fire-theft story ends, in both traditions, with fire deliberately deposited INSIDE named species of wood (and stone), where it still waits · the myth is a filing system: it records which materials hold latent fire, and the fire-drill or strike-a-light is the act of withdrawing the deposit. Two unconnected coastlines of the Pacific preserve the same closing formula: fire was not given to people, it was hidden where people could always find it.

As her fire is quenched by the rain, Mahuika 'saved a few sparks which she threw, to protect them, into the Kaikomako, and a few other trees, where they are still cherished; hence, men yet use portions of the wood of these trees for fire when they require a light.'

set against Swanton, Tlingit Myths and Texts,…

fire · fire-6

In both, water is fire's declared enemy and a hollow tree is fire's ark: fire survives the water-siege only because a tree holds it. The Māori text runs the siege in reverse (rain sent to save the thief nearly annihilates fire itself, and the tree is the refuge OF fire), the Cherokee runs it forward (water blockades fire until a water-walking spider breaks the siege) · but the triangle fire/water/hollow-tree is identical, and in both the tree is where people still go to get fire back.

The fire-giver herself is nearly destroyed by water: Tawhiri-ma-tea's 'heavy lasting rain' quenches Mahuika's world-fire; 'before Mahuika could reach her place of shelter, she almost perished in the rain,' her nails all spent, her fire surviving only as refugee sparks sheltered inside the kaikōmako tree.

set against Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee,…

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