Maui and the Sun (New Zealand Sign Language) NZSL

(Translation) This story is called "Maui". It is about the sun moving fast across the sky. One man makes it go slow.

Long ago before Pakeha came to Aotearoa, the Maori lived here. Back then the days were very fast. The people could not complete their work as there was not enough light in a day.

There is one man named Maui (his sign name derives from his long hair tied back into a topknot) who a strong and brave Maori. He has many brothers and he calls them over for a meeting. He tells them that the days are to fast and that he will fix the problem by making the sun slower. He asks his brothers what they think of his plan.

The brothers are not happy with the plan as they believe it would be impossible to achieve. They think that the sun is too hot and they will all get burnt. Maui tells them he has a plan to deal with this problem. He asks them if they know of Flax (a native plant) and how it can be made into strong rope by weaving. The brothers listen but they are still disbelieving and not happy with the plan. However, they eventually agree and begin to collect flax leaves in order to make strong ropes. Maui then uses his magic to enchant the flax bindings that will be used to trap the sun.

Maui and his brothers set of towards where the sun rises, at its home. They walk at night and sleep at day so that the sun cannot see them. They travel through vast forests for a long time. Then they walk across plains, when suddenly the ground begins to get hotter. Soon the ground is to hot to walk on. Maui knows that they are close to the sun now.

Maui is first to see the pit when the sun rises from and he tells him brothers to quickly build a wall. Maui watches the pit as his brothers build the wall. Suddenly the sun rises and Maui shous to his brother to take cover. The sun emerges from the pit, it's firey eyes rising first. The brothers are tempted to strike early as the sun's eyes appear, but Maui tells them to wait until they can see its teeth.

Finally the sun's white teeth rise from the pit and Maui and his brothers jump from behind their shelters to attack the sun together. The sun is caught by their ropes and cannot move. Maui leaps up to the sun and uses his enchanted grandmother's jawbone to beat the sun into submission. He beats the sun until it is nearly dead, but Maui does not intend to kill it. Instead he wounds it so it may only move slowly across the sky. Maui tells his brothers to stop the attack and the sun limps into the sky, trailing the magic ropes with it.

As a result, the short days where work could not be completed are no more; instead, the days are now long and people can see and play the whole day long.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• NZSL
• Maui
• myth
• sun

[ablheza]

Something is wrong with the sound! :)... just kidding, I got it!

[tinkertaylorsoldier]

Sound was off ;) You didn't miss any audio effects ;)

[NikStaZero]

Just beautiful! Definately more please;-D

[tyeow86]

wow... i have been doing nzsl for 4 years now, and i though the video is cool!!!! thanks so much for posting the video.

[emmabreaker]

Kiaora, im learning NZSL with my 3 year old daughter Raea and shes gonna love this maui story! way to go!!!!! looking forward to more :)

[golfpunk0r]

This video is great - we are learning NZSL at the moment and the speed of the signing is just right for us, very easy to follow! :D

[Quabazaa]

Hey I'm totally blown away!!! This is soo cool :D Please make some more? You're really expressive, plus it's awesome to see a Maori myth in NZSL!!!

[NZSLsigner]

Great hero, Maui... Yay Maui!

[elbrizzelbit]

Wow! This is amazing. NZSL is such an impressive and expressive language. Thank you for sharing. :) L

[crash1844]

Excellent video! Thanks for another great story!