THE SPARK OF MAHUIKA The expression ‘the spark of Mahuika’ (te kora o Mahuika) refers to fire, which Maui stole from Mahuika; his story is told on the opposite page. In serious and eloquent language, and especially in the songs, expressions such as this were employed to give added dignity to the subject discussed. Thus in Whakaawe's oriori for his son (‘Nga Moteatea’ 75), he sings: E tangi ana koe? He makariri tou? Nau i kuhu mai i waenganui o te takurua, Ka whakapiri noa te kora o Mahuika, Ka taka te ahuru. Are you crying? Are you cold? It is because you came forth in the depth of winter. Though we embrace the spark of Mahuika There is no warmth. And Tutemahurangi's lament for his son Te Hokio, accidentally burnt to death while eeling by torchlight (‘Nga Moteatea’ 172), ends: Te kite no au i te ara ki te Reinga, Kia horomia iho ko Hinenuitepo! Me kai e au te kora o Mahuika I hunuhunua ai to kiri haepapa, To uru makaka ka piua e te ahi, Taku tamaiti, e i. Would that I could find the pathway to Te Reinga To devour Hinenuitepo! Let me consume the spark of Mahuika That destroyed your flesh And swept your curly locks with fire, My son! Te Reinga is the name of the place where the spirits of the dead leap to the underworld and it is also the name of the abode of the departed spirits. Hinenuitepo, the Great Lady of the Night who dwells in the underworld, brought death into the world. Elsdon Best tells us that the five fingers of the hand were known as the ‘tokorima a Maui’ (the five of Maui). He says, ‘The prefix “toko” is employed because the five were persons—the personifications of fire … if, when offering food to a Maori, you apologise for the lack of knife and fork, he will say, ‘Never mind, I have the “tokorima a Maui”.’