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Overview
Mauike lives in Avaiki in Are-aoa, the house of banyan sticks. Buataranga says that when she wishes to cook, Ru must ask him for a lighted stick. He is therefore the holder of a particular knowledge and resource, rather than a creature composed of flames. Maui finds him preparing an oven. After successive gifts are secretly extinguished, Mauike becomes angry and threatens to throw the persistent visitor into the air. He puts on a war girdle and relies on prodigious physical strength.
Maui unexpectedly enlarges himself and survives two upward throws by becoming light during the falls. His own throws exhaust Mauike, who agrees to reveal how fire is produced in exchange for his life. The keeper shows stored fibre and several fire-yielding woods, and a printed bilingual fire song accompanies the demonstration. Despite the promise, Maui sets the dwelling alight; the fire spreads through Avaiki and consumes Mauike and his possessions. His death belongs to this version. Gill subsequently compares his name with Samoan Mafuie, but that linguistic comparison does not make the separate Samoan earthquakes and encounters part of this episode.
Origins & earliest records
William Wyatt Gill’s Myths and Songs from the South Pacific was published by Henry S. King in London in 1876. Its introductory remarks identify Tereavai and Sadaraka as major contributors, without assigning either every individual narrative.
Records & interpretation
Chapter IV, pp. 51–58, preserves this Mangaian account. Gill’s translation and missionary commentary mediate the witness; the following Manihiki narrative is a separately framed regional version.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Myths and Songs from the South Pacific, IV: The Exploits of Maui
pp. 51–58. Complete selected Mangaian fire, sky and sun sequence read; original-language expressions retained as printed where used.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical primary collected witnessGill’s 1876 collected Mangaian narrativeResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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