--- title: Maui Seeking Immortality — Hawaiian Historical Legends · full text with trees description: Maui Seeking Immortality, «Hawaiian Historical Legends» by W. D. Westervelt: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: The story of Maui seeking immortality for the human race is one of the finest myths in the world. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66357/3/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Hawaiian Historical Legends](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66357/) / Maui Seeking Immortality # Maui Seeking Immortality Maui Seeking Immortality of «Hawaiian Historical Legends» by W. D. Westervelt: the whole text, 57 sentences and 1069 words. 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The story of Maui seeking immortality for the human race is one of the finest myths in the world.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") For pure imagination and pathos it is difficult to find any tale from Grecian or Latin literature to compare with it.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") In Greek and Roman fables gods suffered for other gods, and yet none were surrounded with such absolutely mythical experiences as those through which the demi-god Maui of the Pacific ocean passed when he entered the gates of death with the hope of winning immortality for mankind.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") The really remarkable group of legends which cluster around Maui is well concluded by the story of his unselfish and heroic battle with death.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") The different islands of the Pacific have their hades, or abode of the dead.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") Sometimes the tunnels left by currents of melted lava running toward the west are the passages into the home of departed spirits.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") In Samoa there are two circular holes among the rocks at the west end of the island Savaii.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") These are the entrances to the underworld for chiefs and people.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") The spirits of those who die on the other islands leap into the sea and swim around the land from island to island until they reach Savaii.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") Then they plunge down into their heaven or their hades.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") There is no escape from death.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The natives of New Zealand say: “Man may have descendants but the daughters of the night strangle his offspring”; and again: “Men make heroes, but death carries them away.”[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") Maui once said to the goddess of the moon: “Let death be short.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") As the moon dies and returns with new strength, so let men die and revive again.”[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") But she replied: “Let death be very long, that man may sigh and sorrow.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") When man dies let him go into darkness, become like earth, that those he leaves behind may weep and wail and mourn.”[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") “Maui did not wish men to die but to live forever.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") Death appeared degrading and an insult to the dignity of man.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") Man ought to die like the moon which dips in the life-giving waters of Kane and is renewed again, or like the sun, which daily sinks into the pit of night and with renewed strength rises in the morning.”[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") The Hawaiian legends say that Maui was slain in a conflict with some of the gods.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") The New Zealand legends give a more detailed account of his death.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") Maui sought the home of Hine-nui-te-po—the guardian of life.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") He heard her order her attendants, the brightest flashes of lightning, to watch for any one approaching and capture all who came walking upright as a man.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") He crept past the attendants on hands and feet, found the place of life, stole some of the food of the goddess and returned home.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") He showed the food to his brothers and friends and persuaded them to go with him into the darkness of the night of death.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") On the way he changed them into the form of birds.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") In the evening they came to the house of the goddess on an island long before fished up from the seas.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") Maui warned the birds to refrain from making any noise while he made the supreme effort of his life.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") He was about to enter upon his struggle for immortality.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") He said to the birds: “If I go into the stomach of this woman do not laugh until I have gone through her, and come out again at her mouth; then you can laugh at me.”[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") His friends said: “You will be killed.”[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") Maui replied: “If you laugh at me when I have only entered her stomach I shall be killed, but if I have passed through her and come out of her mouth I shall escape and Hine-nui-te-po will die.”[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") His friends called out to him: “Go then.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") The decision is with you.”[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") Hine was sleeping soundly.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") The sunlight had almost passed away and the house lay in quiet gloom.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") Maui came near to the sleeping goddess.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") Her large fishlike mouth was open wide.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") He put off his clothing and prepared to pass through the ordeal of going to the hidden source of life, tear it out of the body of its guardian and carry it back with him to mankind.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") He stood in all the glory of savage manhood.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") His body was splendidly marked by the tattoo-bones, and now well oiled shone and sparkled in the last rays of the setting sun.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") He leaped through the mouth of the enchanted one and entered her stomach, weapon in hand, to take out her heart, the vital principle which he knew had its home somewhere within her being.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") He found immortality on the other side of death.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") He turned to come back again into life when suddenly a little bird laughed in a clear, shrill tone and Great Hine, through whose mouth Maui was passing, awoke.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") Her sharp, obsidian teeth closed with a snap upon Maui, cutting his body in the centre.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") Thus Maui entered the gates of death, but was unable to return, and death has ever since been victor over rebellious men.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") The natives have the saying:[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") “If Maui had not died he could have restored to life all who had gone before him, and thus succeeded in destroying death.”[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") Maui’s brothers took the dismembered body and buried it in a cave called Te-ana-i-hana.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") “The cave dug out,” possibly a prepared burial place.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") Maui’s wife made war upon the gods, and killed as many as she could to avenge her husband’s death.[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") One of the old native poets of New Zealand in chanting the story to Mr. White said: “But though Maui was killed his offspring survived.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") Some of these are at Hawa-i-ki (Hawaii) and some at Ao-tea-roa (New Zealand) but the greater part of them remained at Hawaiki.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") This history was handed down by the generations of our ancestors of ancient times, and we continue to rehearse it to our children, with our incantations and genealogies, and all other matters relating to our race.”[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") “But death is nothing new Death is, and has been ever since old Maui died Then Pata-tai laughed loud And woke the goblin-god Who severed him in two, and shut him in, So dusk of eve came on.”[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") —Maori Death Chant.[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") III[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [Maui the Polynesian](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66357/2/) - next →: [The Water of Life \[1\]](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66357/4/) - ↑ back to [Hawaiian Historical Legends](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66357/)