The details vary from place to place. In Hawaii, for example, he goes fishing with his brothers and, every time his hook lodges in the seafloor, he urges them to row as fast as possible. They, of course, think he is pulling a series of enormous fish from the ocean but, as they row, the hook is in fact pulling up the seabed to create the islands of the Hawaiian group. In Tonga there is a different story in which Maui hears that the chief of Manuka in Samoa has a hook that he uses to pull up land. Maui goes to ask for the hook and Tui-Manuka, the chief, says that he can have it if he can identify it among the many fishhooks he has in his house. Maui has inside knowledge (from the wife of the chief) and knows that the hook he wants is the plainest and least ostentatious. He takes it and with it fishes up the islands of Tonga, which are named after the Samoan chief. (His personal name is Tonga Fusi Forua.) In Aotearoa, the north island is a fish that Maui hauled up using the jaw-bone of his grandmother, Muri Ranga Whenua, while the south island is Maui's canoe.
Hooks are of particular significance. In his book, Iconography of New Zealand Maori Religion, D.R. Simmons says:
The jade, greenstone ornament, the Hei Matau, is a very important form. It was worn by graduates of the highest leel of whare wananga [a sacred institution of learning]. The form of the book can vary from realistic to quite abstract. The name for the hook in Maori is matau which is also the word for knowledge. The hook is a spiral form which is light, the line is aho which is also breath or genealogy. At another level Hei Matau represents the hook with which Maui fished up the islands.In Roger Keverne's book, Jade, there is an essay which discusses the Hei Matau, describing it as 'a superb example of Maori art in that it combines fish hook and fish motif in one simple design.' A graphic form that is both fish and hook seems to evoke so much of what we have said about the relationship between hunter and hunted. I wish I knew who had written the essay and, as soon as I find out, I'll look at more of what s/he has to say about this motif. In the meantime, perhaps it is enough to contemplate the beauty of the stylised hook-that-is-a-fish and the iconographic power that it wields.
This is very beautiful. There seems to be a real focus on the 'hand made' nature of tackle in fishing discussions. Terry, a member of the Fishermania group said proudly that he made all his own tackle. Terry also said he had fished for 60 years and was still learning. In 'The Technique of Freshwater Fishing' the author said that he hesitates to offer himself as an authority, but 'What I have to offer, however, is the outcome of over 40 years of observation and practice. For roach fishing there are several types of hooks but my experience has been that the gilt crystal is by far and away tehe best.
ReplyDeleteHe then goes on to describe how to whip a hook with a this piece of silk saying that 'It is a wise man who learns to whip all his own hooks'.
You get the picture that the more you engage with tackle, the better the experience and the words used to describe tackle (silk, gossamer, crystal) are of precious and special things.