Māui older brothers were always uneasy and suspicious around Māui because of his magical powers. Each time Māui would ask to go fishing with them, but Māui’s brothers would always make an excuse, saying no, you are much too young to come fishing with us and we need all of the room in the waka for the fish we will catch. 

In spite of Māui’s older brothers, he decided to hatch a plan. In the dead of night, Māui snuck off and began to weave a strong fishing line from flax. As he wove he recited an old karakia to give his fishing line strength. Before dawn, Māui hid at the bottom of the waka.

 

Once Māui knew they had gone far enough out to sea he climbed up from the bottom of the waka and surprised his brothers. The brothers were very mad with Māui and insisted on turning back but he managed to convince his brothers to stay and to continue paddling out to the deepest part of the ocean. This is where Māui would be able to cast his hook made from his grandmother’s jawbone. The brothers were angry with Māui and refused to share their fishing bait with him. However, undeterred, he struck his nose and coated his hook with his own blood. Māui cast his line out to sea, where it sank quickly below the waves, down to the depths of the domain of Tangaroa, God of the ocean, and the hook was instantly taken.

Māui brothers cried out in fear, pleading with their brother to cut the line but Māui held tight, heaving the giant fish to the surface. Maui soon realised his catch would not fit in their small waka, so Māui returned to the shore instructing his brothers to guard the fish, not eat or cut up the fish until he recited the appropriate karakia and had made offerings to the gods. But the brothers disregarded his warnings and started to chop huge gullies and mountains from the fish’s flesh.

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These gullies and mountains formed the North Island and are still evident today, the canoe became the South Island. Legend is told, the hook became the Cape which forms the southernmost tip of Hawke’s Bay