The Myth ofThe Origin of Fire

Te Ao Hou, March 1966, Page 36

The Myth ofThe Origin of Fire The story of Maui and Mahuika published above is taken from volume II of John White's ‘Ancient History of the Maori’. This particular version was related by a member of Ngati Hau tribe of Wanganui. In many other countries similar stories have been told. Perhaps the most widely known of these is the Greek myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods by lighting a torch at the chariot of the sun, and gave it to mankind. Like Maui, Prometheus also bestowed many other gifts upon mankind. Fire was produced by rubbing an upper stick (kaurima) into a lower grooved stick (kaunoti). The wood of the kaikomako tree was best for this purpose; hence the explanation offered in the myth, that when the great fire started by Mahuika was put out, part of the fire which remained entered the kaikomako tree. ‘The Maori’, writes Best, ‘had a great respect for fire, and spoke of it as a parent of man, as he did of a house. The old aphorism “He mata ahi, he mata tangata”, means that the fire parent and the human parent are equally useful to man.’ Many religious ceremonies involved the kindling of a special ritual fire. On such ceremonial occasions a woman held the lower of the firesticks with her foot, while a man employed the upright stick. While the fire was being made, ritual chants were recited. Here is the text of a charm to heal a burn, as recorded by the Rev. Richard Taylor. It seems that while it was recited, fire was prepared; perhaps the idea was to ‘put the fire in its proper place’, as a servant of man. I wera i te aha? I wera i te ahi. Ahi a wai? Ahi a Mahuika. Tikina mai whakahorahia, Hei mahi kai ma taua. Wera iti, wera rahi, Wera kia raupapa. Maku e whaka ihi, Maku e whakamana. It was burnt with what? It was burnt with fire. Fire from whom? Fire from Mahuika. Fetch me some fire, spread it out To prepare food for us. Little burn, great burn, Burn be coated with skin. I will make it grow, I will make it effective. Fire was an essential tool in many everyday tasks, for example in clearing ground for crops, and in hollowing out canoes. It is said that the word ahiahi (evening) is derived from the word ahi (fire), since the evening was the time when fires were lit. Often charcoal was used in the open fires which provided heat and light in their dwellings, since this is a comparatively smokeless fuel. But there was sometimes much smoke from the fires. Occasionally those sleeping in a small, tightly sealed house would die from carbon monoxide poisoning; this, it was believed, was the work of the fairies. M.O. Ceremonial firemaking was performed by a man and woman, as depicted in this painting by Lindauer.