Fishing for an Island
After suffering great ridicule from Hina and brothers for being an unsuccessful fisherman, Maui decided to prove himself once again. He traveled to the underworld to ask his ancestress for her jawbone to use as a hook and used his mother’s flock of sacred alae birds to use as bait.
Determined for his family to recognize him as a provider, Maui convinced his brothers to go out fishing in search of ulua and pimoe, paddling out farther and farther until they reached the perfect spot. Casting out the bird on the jawbone hook he had fashioned, Maui and his brothers caught hold of something. The line pulled tighter and tighter, making it a great struggle to hold onto the line and paddle the canoe simultaneously.
It was no fish that Maui had caught, however. With great surprise, Maui’s brothers witnessed a new island appear from the water, complete with lush mountains, valleys and lagoons, protected by cliffs and topped with mist and rainbows. It was to be a place of beauty and a place to live.
