TAMA NUI-TE-RA

[Polynesian] "The Great Son of the Sun". The true name of the sun. One evening, Maui decided that the days were too short for work, and the nights too long. He and his brothers attempted to catch the sun in a snare, but the ropes were too dry so the sun burnt them and broke free. Then Maui used ropes made of wet flax (in the original myth he used his sister's hair) and this time succeeded. He beat the sun and demanded that it must travel more slowly through the sky to make the days longer, and the sun agreed. Tama Nui-Te-Ra also gave some of his fire to humanity as a boon, for life.