Te rā, te āhua o te rangi
Say it: TAH-mah-noo-ee-teh-RAH · Tama = son/child, nui = great, te rā = the sun. 'The great son, the sun.'
Tama-nui-te-rā sets the pace. Snared by Māui, he was made to travel slowly so people would have time enough to live well.
Ko wai tēnei? — in plain words
The sun. Māui and his brothers snared him and beat him slow so that the day would be long enough for people to work, eat and live well.
Whanaungatanga: Travels the sky each day; slowed by Māui; marks the working hours of the world.
Where you already meet them
Te kōrero — the story
Māui and his brothers plaited ropes of harakeke and waited at the pit where the sun rises. They snared him and struck him until he agreed to move slowly across the sky — the reason a day is long enough for work, kai and kōrero.
A common misunderstanding
The Māui story is not 'humans defeating a god'. It is about negotiating a workable relationship with a relative whose pace did not suit us.
Ngā uara
Wā
Time is something you can shape.
Whakapau kaha
Give the day your effort.
If you are new to this — start here
Meet the sun once today — at rising or setting — with your phone in your pocket.
I tēnei ao — acknowledging today
He mihi
Tama-nui-te-rā, tēnā koe. Tēnei te rā hou.
Great son of the sun, I greet you. Here is the new day.
Ngā taha o te ora