Māui-tikitiki (track 3 of 16)

Track 3 of the 1970 album Songs of Maori heroes, by Upper Hutt kapa haka group Māwai Hakona, this is an action song with words and music by Te Oka (Jock McEwen). Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga, who brought fire into the world. He obtained it from his ancestress Mahuika in the underworld. She had an unorthodox way of kindling fire – she simply pulled out a fingernail, which burst into flames. Māui took the nail and dropped it into a stream, extinguishing the fire. He wsa so fascinated that he kept going back to mahuika for more, until she was reduced to one little toenail. In anger, she threw it into the forest and set it on fire. Māui had to escape by turning himself into a pigeon.