Maui and the Sun

One of the best known legends of Maui is the story of how he captured the sun. Maui was angry that the sun went so quickly across the sky every day, his mother needed more daylight to work on the cloth she was making, and there was never enough time for it to dry. So Maui devised a cunning plan. With the help of his brothers he made strong ropes and a noose. Then they hid far to the east, by the edge of the world where the sun rises every morning. They built a long high clay wall on both sides of where the sun comes up, with hides at each end. They stretched the noose and, when the sun rose well up into the snare, they pulled the ropes tight. Then Maui rushed forward with his enchanted jawbone and threatened the captive sun so that it quickly promised to go more slowly across the sky, and make the days longer.