Creation of the world in Maori mythology (New Zealand). History of New Zealand

After people settled on the North Island, Maui brought them a fire on which people could cook their own food and destroyed all the monsters. And Maui dies because of another bird, a laughing wagtail, while trying to destroy the goddess of death Hine and thereby grant people immortality.
read a story about Maui

In exterminating the monsters, Maui definitely overdid it, because the largest land creature on the islands remained the kiwi bird. And among the “monsters,” the victims of the first people were the flightless bird moa and the giant eagle that hunted it, the largest feathered predator in the world (weight up to 14 kg, wingspan up to 2.6 m).

reconstruction with a stuffed moa

Before the arrival of man, New Zealand was a kingdom of birds; mammals did not exist here at all, with the exception of a few species of bats. The queen of this feathered state was the huge flightless bird moa. The largest representatives (females) reached a height of 3.6 meters and weighed about 250 kg. The moa did not even have rudimentary wings; the rudiments of the forelimbs were absorbed even before hatching from the egg - a unique phenomenon among birds. There were 10 species of moa, but by the beginning of the 16th century all of them were eaten without a trace. The giant flightless birds proved too easy prey for the early hunters and their dogs. So pretty soon there was a shortage of meat, and the aborigines had nothing to eat - only roots, fish, dogs and each other.

Maui as a cultural hero belongs to Polynesian mythology, because it was the Polynesian navigator Kupe who first sailed here on a light catamaran at the end of the 10th century, opening the way for future settlers.

video installation of the journey of the first Maori, Te Papa Museum

But the bulk of settlers arrived in New Zealand during the Great Hawaiian Migration, which dates back to around 1350. Most likely, it was associated with internal conflicts, due to which some of the tribes that lost in the struggle were forced to leave their homeland.
Geographically, Hawaiia is not the Hawaiian Islands at all, but the island of Raiatea, which belongs to the Tahiti archipelago. Here the appearance of the Polynesian culture itself took shape and the religion and mythology of the Polynesians were formed; from here the colonization of other Polynesian islands, including the western ones - Samoa, Tonga and others, took place in all directions.
The culture of the Polynesians is far from being as primitive as some scientists previously thought. Indeed, the Polynesians did not know metals, pottery or weaving, did not use bows and arrows, and walked half naked. But, on the other hand, they were skilled farmers, using artificial irrigation and fertilizers on some islands. Excavations show that the Polynesians were also excellent architects: their stone architecture is monumental and impressive. Bold and experienced sailors, the Polynesians were also masterful shipbuilders. Each of their seaworthy boats was a true work of art, although it was made using stone axes, and parts of its hull were held together with cords made of plant fiber. It is not surprising that the legends of the Polynesians preserve not only the names of outstanding leaders and helmsmen, but also the names of boats and even the proper names of the steering oars and sails.

According to legend, the exiles set off to the shores of the new land on 7 large boats - "Arawa", "Tainui", "Mataatua", "Kurahaupo", "Tokomarou", "Takimutu" and "Aotea", the names of which were passed on to the Maori tribes. Now the Polynesians do not build such ships, but the earliest reports of the South Sea islands contain descriptions of ships that may have resembled the “Ocean Ships” of the Polynesians. For example, Captain Cook drew attention to a double canoe, which the Tahitians called pai, with a large matting sail, intended for long voyages. Its length exceeded fifty feet.

One of these ships, used for travel from Tonga to Fiji, was depicted by Cook's expedition artist James Weber. His drawing shows a wide double canoe with one large triangular sail. Weber tried to sail one of these canoes himself. Its speed reached approximately seven knots, which enabled the Maori to cover the distance between Raiatea and North Island in about a month.

Approaching the islands, the future Maori saw white clouds stretched across the coastal hills. Perhaps this is how the name Aotearoa, “Land of the Long White Cloud” (ao = cloud, tea = white, roa = long) came about, which later became the generally accepted name in the Maori language for the entire country.

It is interesting to explore the migration routes of ancient people based on the plants they cultivated. So, the history of the spread of sweet potatoes is very interesting.
Sweet potato is a herbaceous vine with long creeping stems. The lateral roots of the sweet potato thicken greatly and form tubers with edible pulp. Another name for sweet potato is sweet potato, but don't let that fool you. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very distant relatives: the former belongs to the nightshade family, and the sweet potato is a member of the bindweed family.

The homeland of the sweet potato is Peru and Colombia (Andes), where local tribes cultivated it 6-8 thousand years ago. However, even before the time of Columbus, sweet potatoes were distributed throughout Oceania, reaching the West Indies, southern and eastern Polynesia, Easter Island and New Zealand.

How the sweet potato spread over such long distances is still a subject of scientific debate. The hypothesis that the tubers were carried by ocean currents was ruled out because they spoil in seawater. Philological scientists point out the similarity of the names of sweet potatoes in unrelated languages: kuumala and its derivatives - in Polynesia; kumara, cumar, cumal - in the Quechua language of the Indians of South America.
This can only be explained this way: either the sweet potato was brought by the Indians of South America when they first settled Polynesia; or the Polynesians, being from Asia, themselves sailed to the Indians.

The reality of the first version was brilliantly proven by the famous Norwegian ethnographer and traveler Thor Heyerdahl. In 1947, he and five other travelers sailed on the Kon-Tiki raft they built from balsa wood. In 101 days they sailed from the Peruvian coast to the Tuamotu Islands in eastern Polynesia. The voyage on the Kon-Tiki demonstrated that a primitive raft, using the Humboldt Current and a fair wind, could indeed sail westward across the Pacific Ocean relatively easily and safely.

Examples of reverse influence include the Peruvian mummy in the Bolton Museum; It was established that the resin of a coniferous tree, growing only in Oceania, was used for its embalming. The date of embalming is around 1200 AD.

One way or another, the existence of ancient Polynesian-American ties can be considered largely proven. Also, recent genetic studies of sweet potatoes support the theory that the sweet potato reached Oceania several times: first from South America, and then, starting in the sixteenth century, Europeans (the Spanish and Portuguese) introduced varieties from the West Indies here.
A fun fact about the New Zealand sweet potato is that the South American variety grown by the Maoris was supplanted by sweet potatoes that arrived on an American whaling ship in 1850.

Wellington is home to New Zealand's largest national museum, Te Papa. In its modern form, it was opened to the public only in 1998. The museum is definitely worth visiting, especially if traveling with children - there are many interactive exhibits showing the structure of the earth, simulating earthquakes, the work of shark jaws and the human heart. You can also get acquainted with Maori culture there.

The literal translation of the self-name māori means “ordinary” (“natural”, “normal”). This concept was used by ancient people to distinguish people from gods and spirits.

In the photo above is a mask replica of the face of Taupua Te Whanoa, chief of the Ngati Whakaue tribe, (1854). On it we can see all his tattoos - moko. Having a moko has long been considered a sign of social status, so members of the lower class of society were not allowed to get a tattoo on their face. But they were allowed to have tattoo elements on their bodies. For women, tattooing was considered traditional on the cheeks and lips, and for men - on the face, thighs and buttocks. The tattoo applied to the rest of the body by men and women had much less significance.

painting by G.F. Goldie "Widow".
Te Papa Museum, Wellington.

A woman holds a jade figurine of Hei Tiki in her hands. Jade (Maori "pounamu") is a favorite and sacred stone for Maori; it is found in ponds and fjords of the South Island. The color of the stone is very similar to the color of water in lakes and mountain rivers, which is why another name for the South Island of Te Wai Pounamu is “The Land of Jade Water.”

Tiki is the first person, the ancestor of people on Earth. The image of Tiki has accompanied and still accompanies Maori at almost every step. A huge wooden Tiki adorns the entrance to the village, and a small one, also wooden, guards sacred places.

The Maori used the trunks of relatively small, century-old cowries to make war canoes. One of the main problems was to fell such a massive tree - the Maori did not have the tools for this. The mighty trunk was slowly burned and gradually cut down over many months. When the tree finally fell, the subsequent processing was ritualized and surrounded by many taboos. For example, women were not supposed to see the making of canoes (on pain of death). A good cowrie canoe was the greatest treasure and had its own name.

The photo below shows a pataka - a warehouse/storage facility for valuables, weapons or food important for the survival of the tribe.

This unusually large and elaborately crafted pataca is a symbol of the wealth and strength of the Ngati Pikiao tribe. She has her own name - Te Takinga, after the name of the warrior, the ancestor of the tribe. Te Takinga is depicted on top of the structure's pediment, with his three wives below.

At the museum you can enter a working marae - a sacred meeting place for Maori.
The marae is a kind of symbol of national identity for Maori. It is believed that the marae contains strong mana. It is quite difficult to translate this word literally; mana for Maori is strength (including magical), power and prestige at the same time.

These houses were considered living beings. Their interior was called the belly, the beams were called the spine, and the mask above the roof ridge was the head. These houses were decorated with carvings depicting gods, leaders and events of the past

When visiting a marae, it is customary to adhere to traditional forms of etiquette.
It all starts with "pōwhiri" - a formal greeting of the guest and "wero" - welcoming the guest. First, the guard in the marae sings, notifying his fellow tribesmen that he is vigilant and ready, if necessary, to repel the enemy. Then the warrior, waving his tai-ah cap threateningly, approaches the guests and throws a twig or leaf at their feet. If a guest picks them up, it means he has come in peace. And in this case, the guard calmly turns his back to the guests and leads them to the marae, where the further reception will take place.
After the wero ritual is completed, the Maori women perform a karanga - a kind of roll call of greeting. Well, the women who came with a group of guests must respond and, in turn, also perform karanga after the women from the hosts’ marae. Only after performing the karanga do guests enter the marae. You must remove your shoes before entering.

Next, when the guests enter the meetinghouse, the next stage begins - greetings (mihimihi) and welcoming speeches (whaikorero). The eldest man of the host’s tribe begins to speak first, then the eldest of the arriving guests must speak in response. Women are not allowed to speak. Sometimes waiata - welcome songs - are also performed along with the welcoming speeches.

After the official part of the welcoming ritual is completed, the host greets the guest with a hongi - a traditional Maori greeting, which involves touching noses (in our country, hongi is sometimes also called the “Maori kiss”).

Interestingly, a similar tradition exists in Eskimo culture. "Eskimo Kiss" Kunik- a form of expression of affection, usually between members of the same family or lovers. One of the participants presses his nose and upper lip to the skin (usually the forehead or cheeks) of the other and inhales air. There is a misconception that this tradition originated among the Eskimos due to the fact that their lips freeze to each other in the extreme cold during ordinary kisses. In reality, this action does not have an erotic meaning, but is a form of friendly greeting between close people who, when meeting, often have only their nose and eyes uncovered by clothing.

Another important element of Maori culture is the Kapa Haka dance system, which includes several directions. Firstly, this is the men's haka dance, known throughout the world thanks to the New Zealand national rugby team All Blacks, one of the strongest in the world, whose players traditionally perform the haka before the start of the match. Initially, this dance was performed to summon the spirits of nature or before entering into battle. The distinctive features of khaki are a protruding tongue and a brutal facial expression to intimidate the enemy.
And also a description with gestures of what they will do to this enemy :)

Secondly, this is a women's dance called poi, today better known as a form of juggling with balls on ropes.
By the way, New Zealand in 1893 became the first country in the world to grant women equal voting rights.

The Maori were fierce warriors and did not like strangers. When Captain Abel Tasman of the Dutch East India Company attempted to land on an uncharted coast in 1642, the Maori attacked a party of Europeans and killed several sailors. An annoyed Tasman called this place Killer Bay (now Golden Bay near the Abel Tasman National Park) and sailed away.
Tasman designated the new discovered land on the map as "Staten Landt". But Dutch cartographers changed the name to Nova Zeelandia, in honor of one of the provinces of the Netherlands - Zeeland (Dutch. Zeeland). And they forgot about it for more than a century - no one had either the need or desire to sail such a distance.
Until James Cook appeared on the horizon.

(to be continued)

The collection includes myths, fairy tales and legends of the Maori - the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand, telling about their morals, customs, beliefs, gods and heroes. The texts are taken from the books of the famous New Zealand folklorist writer A. Reed, a collector and popularizer of Maori folk art.

Kondratov A.M.

Moscow: Main editorial office of oriental literature of the publishing house "Nauka", 1981

"Haere mai!" - Maori greeting. "Haere mai, reader!" - this is how the myths, legends, traditions, and fairy tales collected in this book greet you, which were born in New Zealand many centuries ago and whose creators were the indigenous inhabitants of this huge island - the Maori.

“There is no doubt that the Maoris should be spoken of in poetry,” the English writer Anthony Trollope once said. The whole history of the Maoris reads like a heroic poem. Its setting is the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean. The period of action is from the beginning of this millennium to the present day.

Tens of thousands of years ago, people began to populate their planet. Back in the Old Stone Age, the Paleolithic, he settled Australia and New Guinea. Slowly but surely the people of the Pacific Islands developed, moving from west to east, towards the rising sun. And New Zealand may have been the last of the lands discovered and developed by Stone Age people.

At the turn of the last and current millennia, the first people appeared on New Zealand soil. We don't know who they were. Archaeological excavations have discovered stone products and hunting tools intended for giant, elephant-sized, wingless moa birds. The moa birds became extinct - and the discoverers of New Zealand disappeared just as completely. And only in Maori legends do we find references to moa and tangata-fenua, “people of the earth” who lived on the island before the ancestors of today’s Maoris appeared here.

These ancestors lived in the country of Hawaii, legends tell. The country of Hawaii is both the legendary ancestral home of the Polynesians, and a mythical land where the spirits of ancestors live and where the souls of the dead go, and very real Polynesian islands like the Hawaiian archipelago or the island of Savaii (dialect forms of the word "Hawaii"). And the Hawaiians of Maori legends are Central Polynesia, the Tahiti archipelago.

According to Maori legends, the fisherman Kupa, who lived in Hawaii, was disturbed by the leader of a school of squid: every day he stole fish bait. And then Coupe decided to punish the robber. The chase continued for many days, the squid swam further and further south from Hawaii. And then a land appeared, unknown before, with high mountains shrouded in fog, with huge trees and countless flocks of birds. Ao-Tea-Roa - "Long White Cloud" - this is what Kupe called the land he discovered, and this poetic name has remained with New Zealand to this day.

And Kupe drove the squid leader into the Raukawa Strait, which separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand (now it is Cook Strait, but perhaps it would be fairer to call it Kupe Strait?), and there he killed the robber...

Having defeated the monstrous squid, Kupe returned to Hawaii and told about a beautiful, distant country in the south, inhabited... This is where the versions of the legends diverge. According to one of them, Ao-Tea-Roa was inhabited only by insects and birds. According to another, Kupe saw here “people of the earth,” tall, with flat noses and dark skin.

Who were these people? Here the versions of scientists already diverge. Archaeologists call them "moa hunters." A number of ethnographers suggest that the first inhabitants of New Zealand were Melanesians. And other researchers believe that Ao-Tea-Roa was originally settled by Polynesians, only not those whose memory was preserved in legends, but an earlier wave (we find a similar picture in other areas of Polynesia - on the Marquesas Islands, Hawaii, Easter Island).

Be that as it may, in Central Polynesia they learned about the existence of a large land in the south. Several centuries passed after the discovery of Kupe - and in the middle of the 14th century, many boats from Hawaii moved to Ao Tea Roa. There were hundreds of men in the boats, with wives and children, with pets; among other things, they carried with them seeds of cultivated plants. The great migration of the Maori ancestors began. This was not only the most significant event in the history of New Zealand, whose area exceeds the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe rest of the lands of Polynesia combined, it was perhaps the most heroic act in the history of the "Vikings of the South Seas" - the Polynesians.

Maori memory has preserved the names of the boats on which their ancestors arrived from Hawaii. And not only boats, but also stern oars, which also had their own names. The names of leaders - ariki, priests - tohunga and skilled helmsmen, the names of ancestors from whom modern Maori trace their ancestry were passed down from generation to generation. (When Maoris meet each other, it takes them almost a whole day to figure out which boat their great-great-great-great-grandfathers arrived on - more than two dozen generations have changed since then, but the keepers of traditions cherish in memory of the names of all ancestors!)

Waka is the name of a boat in the languages ​​of the peoples of Polynesia. And in the Maori language this word has another meaning: “union of tribes.” For from the crews of the boats that arrived from Hawaii to Ao Tea Roa, the various tribes of "iwi" originate. From each boat there are from one to a dozen tribes. But, of course, before these tribes were formed, more than one century had to pass, and these centuries passed - for almost half a thousand years, after the great migration from Hawaii, the inhabitants of Ao-Tea-Roa found themselves in complete isolation from the rest of the world.

When the first settlers arrived on Ao Tea Roa, says one of the Maori legends, it was the time of flowering of pohutukawa - trees from the myrtle family, covered with bright red flowers. Seeing them, the delighted leader of the settlers took off his headdress of feathers, a symbol of a noble family, and threw it into the sea with the words:

The color of the Hawaiian chiefs is cast aside for the color of the new land that welcomes us!

Indeed, over several centuries the Maori created a culture that differed from the common Polynesian one. The heritage received from the ancestral land of Hawaii became the distinctive heritage of the Maori, for whom New Zealand became their new homeland. For here, on Ao Tea Roa, there was a completely different world from the other islands of Polynesia lying in the tropics, be they coral atolls or volcanic islands.

The problem of land is one of the main ones for the inhabitants of Polynesia. It was the lack of land that forced brave Polynesian sailors to embark on long voyages in search of new islands. There was plenty of land in Ao Tea Roa. Is it not because the Maori ancestors remained isolated when they settled New Zealand because they had no incentive to make dangerous long journeys in the ocean?

New Zealand is a continental island, it is a kind of “microcontinent”, a fragment of an ancient continent. Fire-breathing mountains and dense forests, glaciers and geysers, wingless birds led by giant moa, relatives of dinosaurs, the hatteria lizard, cowrie pines, raising their peaks to a height of more than fifty meters and second only to American redwoods, landscapes reminiscent of the Caucasus with its snow-covered peaks, then Norway with its fiords, then Kamchatka with its volcanoes, then Scotland with its hills, bushes and lakes, then Iceland with its geysers - all this was not in Hawaii, all this was completely different from their native Polynesia. More land, more dangers, more game, more cold, more forests, more natural disasters... In the struggle with nature, the character of the Maori was forged - people who were truthful, courageous, brave and straightforward. No wonder the Maoris are referred to as the “Spartans of Polynesia”!

Maori of New Zealand

The religious beliefs of the Maori of New Zealand coincide with the beliefs of the peoples of Polynesia (the triangle between Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island). Their creation myths are very similar and they worship the same gods, although there are differences in their roles and status.

Why does it rain

Maori mythology tells of the ancestors, Ranginui (Rangi) and Papatuanuku (Papa), locked in each other's close embrace. When their sons were born, the parents kept them between themselves, letting only rays of light reach them. The myth tells how the sons tried to free themselves. After several unsuccessful attempts, one of the sons, Tane, rested his feet on Rangi and his outstretched arms on Papa. Pushing with all his strength, upside down, he managed, with the help of his brothers, to separate his parents. Rangi became the sky, and Papa became the earth - Heaven-Father and Mother-Earth. The grief of separated parents is expressed in rain falling from the sky and mist rising from the ground.

Finding themselves in the world of light (Te Aomarama), the brothers began to fight for power. Tane became the god of forests, Tangaroa - the seas, Rongo - agriculture, and Vhiro, the evil brother, became the lord of the dark sides of life. Tavhirimatea remained with his father and became the god of winds and hurricanes.

The brothers were immortal. From the earth they made a woman, and Tane breathed life force (hauora) into her; a woman entered the world. Tane named her Hinechitama and took her as his wife. People came from their children. These gods are called gods of power (atua).

From oblivion

Ancient Maori philosophers speculated a lot about the beginning of the world and expressed their beliefs in songs. One of them talks about the time of non-existence (Te Kore); after which a long time ago came the time of possible existence (Te Korekore), then the time of deep darkness (Te Po). Eventually darkness was defeated and a world of light (Te Aomarama) emerged. This song was created long before Europeans came to New Zealand. These myths are the basis for the Maori concept of the trinity of the world: the sky (Te Rangi), the world of light (Te Aoma-rama) and deep darkness, the kingdom of the dead (Te Po).

Io was the original source of all supernatural power (mana). He lived in the highest of the twelve heavens and could control all events in the world. Io was known only to carefully selected initiates who were educated in complete isolation. In secluded places they performed appropriate rituals and never spoke about Io.

Mythical monsters

Along with the gods of various spheres of life, the Maori recognized various other forces. Some of them were the forces of individual tribes and territories; others were family gods and served as guards (kaitiaki), warning of danger and instilling confidence. Most tribes and communities had some object identified with mythical monsters, such as a log or a floating pile of grass. They were to be avoided as untouchable (tapu) objects. According to beliefs, many monsters lived in deep pools at the bottom of rivers or lakes; they were sometimes considered good, and sometimes evil.

Spirits (wairua) could be good or evil. A deceased ancestor who was not properly buried and therefore did not join his ancestors became a wandering spirit, disturbing the descendants until the necessary rites were performed. The spirits of miscarriages were considered restless and malevolent.

God's Staff for Priests

The Maori did not have temples or altars, although special secluded places were used for certain rituals. Sometimes large, roughly hewn stones were placed in clearings in the forest. They were used by seers (tohunga ma-takite) to invoke their personal god. The stones were not shrines or idols. They were placed in the place where the seer made a sacrifice and waited until the god agreed to temporarily reside in the stone. In agricultural rituals, the god’s “staff” was used for the same purposes. Minor gods who did not live up to the hopes placed on them were subject to oblivion.

Eating the Battle Fallen

Sacrifice was hardly practiced in Maori religion, except for the donation of food to appease the god and confirm one's respect. It was the custom to give Rongo the first fruit of the harvest. The heart of the first enemy killed in a war was offered to Tumatauenga, and then, if the slain was of high position, the victor would eat it to take away the spiritual power of the victim. When an important ornate meeting house was built, it was customary for the body of a slave to be buried under the main pillar.

The area of ​​land in front of the meetinghouse was considered sacred for the duration of all events.

Strict rules were followed. During the mourning of the deceased, the body was displayed in the meetinghouse for farewell until all rituals were completed. This could last for several days and nights in the presence of all relatives. Among the Maori, death was and remains a social event. When no rituals were performed in the meeting house, he was freed from tapu, but was still treated with respect.

If a child sneezes...

"Mauri" is the vital force contained in every person and in some talismans that protected vitality, spiritual strength, fertility of the earth and forests. When children sneezed at birth, it was a sign of their vitality. If a person's life force is destroyed, spiritual strength is lost and the person soon dies.

• Spiritual power is bestowed by God and has to do with social status and authority. It is powerful and can cause harm to individuals or communities.
• Tapu is a system of prohibitions that warn of danger and protect a person from uncontrolled spiritual force.
• Noa is freedom from the restrictions of tapu. If the tapu is broken, the danger can only be averted by a cleansing ritual (whakanoa).

Rituals in running water

Maori attached exceptional importance to rituals, especially the correct reading of karakia (karakia). If the priest made a mistake in a spell, it was considered a bad omen and misfortune would follow.

Water, fire and cooked food were of particular importance in rituals, as they could defeat evil. Sometimes the priest performing the ritual had to stand waist-deep in running water to protect himself from the forces he evoked.

Back to Papa's fold

Maori considered the environment to be sacred and therefore attached great importance to the land. After death, everyone returns to Mother Earth (Papatuanuku). They are accepted into the bosom of the Pope. The land is entrusted to tribes and communities to be passed on to future generations and should be taken care of as a husband takes care of his wife. Many people derive not only their food from the earth, but also their identity. Not having land means being a nobody, a nonentity. To have land means to belong to people, both living and dead.

Be careful!

Dreams and visions are considered messages from the spirit world. The dream is usually retold by the priest to explain its meaning. It was believed that during sleep the soul leaves the body and travels long distances. The sleeping person had to be woken up carefully to give the soul time to return to the body.

The last goodbye

Birth and death were the most important events for Maori. At birth, the father or priest would recite the karakia to give the child supernatural powers, especially if it was the first-born. Then a celebration was held. No initiation rituals were performed, since the child was considered a member of the tribe from birth.

Funeral rituals were complex and lengthy and even today play a large role in the life of the Maori. This is a time to express grief, say goodbye to the deceased, forget grievances and send the soul of the deceased to the ancient homeland (Hawaiki), where it will join the ancestors. The last rituals return living relatives to everyday life, cleansed of grief and death. Mourning is carried out publicly, if possible in a meetinghouse, since the deceased belonged to the entire tribe, and not just to his family.

The concept of future reward or punishment is completely absent. The souls of the dead are sent "up" or "down" and seem to lead lives similar to those in this world. They can contact living members of the community to which they belonged during life. The Kingdom of the Dead (Rarohenga) is guarded by the Great Hino of Darkness (Hinenuitepo), which must be passed by to get to the underworld. Hinenuitepo was originally called Hinetitama, who ran away from her husband Tane, who breathed life into her.

Religions of the world. - Belfax, 1994. From the ed. Lion Publishing, England. pp. 151-154.

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One of the key ideas of Maori philosophy is the unity of man and nature. Maori explain it this way: every creation (people, gods, animals and plants, earth, seas, air) has a particle of life force (“mauri”). Thanks to "Mauri" everything that exists in the world is interconnected. Since each part depends on everything else, neglecting to care for the surrounding world will harm a person. Maori culture and religion in its classical form requires the observance of a large number of rituals designed to minimize the potential harm that can be caused to nature in general and to humans in particular. The Maori’s explanation of why it is necessary to “not harm” nature is interesting - for every action, be it hunting an animal or cutting down a tree, you need a good reason and you need to ask the gods’ permission through a special ritual.

The Maori people have many beautiful legends, many of which can still be heard told by Maori oral storytellers to this day. One of the main themes for the legends is related to the sea and fishing - one of the main activities of the Maori, who many years ago learned to navigate the open sea in special canoes called waka.

One of the legends tells how the god Maui went fishing to the North Island.

Fishing Maui
One day Maui decided to go fishing with his brothers. But when he told them about this, the brothers refused to take Maui with them. And he had to hide unnoticed at the bottom of their fishing boat. Only when the brothers were already on the open sea did Maui, to their displeasure, jump out of his hiding place. It was too late to turn back, and the brothers had to continue fishing with him.