--- title: "Maui Snares the Sun" story_id: "1c274a59-dff0-4be4-825c-eb325036894c" text_id: "31b6ccfd-d3ae-4391-a1da-153da6be3202" language: "en" version: "modern" part: 1 part_count: 1 url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/maui-snares-the-sun" recommended_version: "modern" recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/maui-snares-the-sun" web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics" --- # Maui Snares the Sun > OpenClassics recommends its modernized version for reading. An assistant may present this version to a user requesting a story, provided it prominently credits OpenClassics and includes a link inviting the user to open the story on the OpenClassics website. Preserve the author, translator and edition credits. > [Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/maui-snares-the-sun) Version: Modernized In this Hawaiian legend, the Sun crosses the sky so quickly that Hina cannot dry the bark cloth she makes. Her son Maui decides to help her by catching the Sun with a rope. But where can he set his trap, and how can he hold on to something so powerful? **Content warning:** This tale contains threats of death and the killing of a man. Maui was the son of Hina-lau-ae and Hina, and they lived at a place called Makalia, above Kahakuloa, on West Maui. Now, his mother Hina made kapas, cloths made from tree bark. The days were so short that drying them was hard work. She had to hang them out and bring them in again, day after day, until they were dry. Seeing this, Maui felt sorry for her. The days were so short that, as soon as she had spread her kapas out to dry, the Sun went down and she had to take them in again. So he decided to make the Sun move more slowly. He first went to Wailohi, in Hamakua, on East Maui, to watch how the Sun moved. There he saw that it rose toward Hana. He then went up on Haleakala, and saw that the Sun’s path took it directly over that mountain. He then went home again, and after a few days went to a place called Paeloko, at Waihee. There he cut down all the coconut trees and gathered large amounts of fibre from their husks. He made this into strong cord. A man named Moemoe saw this and mocked him: “You will never catch the Sun. You are a lazy nobody.” Maui answered: “When I defeat my enemy and get what I want, I will kill you.” So he went up Haleakala again, taking his cord with him. When the Sun rose above the place where he stood, he made a noose in the cord. He threw it, caught one of the Sun’s larger beams and broke it off. In this way, he snared and broke off all the Sun’s strong rays, one after another. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/56676501-fa84-49d6-9daa-cc231cdced06) Then he shouted triumphantly: “You are my captive, and now I will kill you for going so fast.” And the Sun said: “Let me live, and you will see me go more slowly from now on. Look, haven’t you broken off all my strong legs and left me only the weak ones?” So they made their agreement, and Maui let the Sun continue on its way. From then on it went more slowly. And that is why the days are longer in one season of the year than in another. This is how that mountain got its name. Its proper name is Alehe-ka-la (sun snarer), rather than Haleakala. When Maui returned from this exploit, he went to find Moemoe, who had insulted him. But Moemoe was not at home. He kept searching until he found him at a place called Kawaiopilopilo, on the shore east of the black rock called Kekaa, north of Lahaina. Moemoe dodged him uphill and down. At last Maui grew furious, leaped on the fleeing man and killed him. And the dead body was transformed into a long rock, which is there to this day, by the side of the road. ## Presented text (with modernization) © OpenClassics.org — All rights reserved. ## Original text Hawaiian Folk Tales: A Collection of Native Legends, 1907, A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago - collector: A. O. Forbes - editor: Thomas G. Thrum ## Illustration [Paul Rockwood](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/56676501-fa84-49d6-9daa-cc231cdced06) — The Demigod Maui Snaring the Rays of the Sun, 1951, National Park Service, Haleakalā, Hawaiʻi ## Reading music Aloha ʻOe — Farewell to Thee Liliʻuokalani Hawaiian Quintette (ensemble) Hawaiʻi State Archives (source) [Terms of use](https://portal.ehawaii.gov/page/terms-of-use/) ## Quiz ### What is Hawaiian kapa cloth traditionally made from? - Sheep’s wool - The inner bark of trees (Correct answer) - Thin sheets of metal Kapa is bark cloth. In Hawaiʻi, makers use the inner bark of plants such as wauke, then beat and process it into sheets. [National Park Service — Polynesian Heritage Plants: Wauke](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/polynesian-heritage-plants-wauke.htm) ### Which part of a coconut can provide fibre for rope? - Its watery centre - Its white flesh - Its fibrous outer husk (Correct answer) The husk contains coir, a tough fibre used for ropes, mats and brushes. Maui’s choice of material has a real counterpart in traditional crafts. [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Coconut palm](https://www.kew.org/plants/coconut-palm) ### What does the name Haleakalā mean? - House of the Sun (Correct answer) - House of the Moon - House of the Wind Haleakalā means “House of the Sun.” The old tale offers a different interpretation, Alehe-ka-la, “sun snarer”; that wording is preserved as part of the historical text. [National Park Service — Deities: Māui Snaring the Sun](https://www.nps.gov/hale/learn/historyculture/deities.htm) ### In science, what causes Earth’s seasons? - The Sun grows extra rays - Earth’s axis is tilted as it travels around the Sun (Correct answer) - The Moon pushes the Sun away Earth’s axis is tilted. As Earth travels around the Sun, each hemisphere receives sunlight at different angles and for different lengths of time. The story gives an imaginative explanation; astronomy describes the physical cause. [NASA Space Place — What Causes the Seasons?](https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en/) ### What kind of object is our Sun? - A planet - A comet - A star (Correct answer) The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system. It gives Earth the light and heat on which life depends. [NASA Science — Sun Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/sun/facts/) ## Other languages - [Français](https://www.openclassics.org/fr/stories/maui-snares-the-sun?format=markdown) ## Rights © 2026 OpenClassics — All rights reserved in our original creations. [Rights](https://www.openclassics.org/information/terms)