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She blew his mouth and nostrils, and with two fingers lightly massaged his chest until the mucus began to drain freely. She took a pendant from her ear and put it on the blanket beside him. Tokowaru-i-te-Marama. Ko Tokowaru-i-te-Marama te into o teen, she said. (Grace 36) The passage above comes from the book Potiki. Its when granny Tamihana breathes life into Toko and gives him the name of her deceased brother. In Potiki, a novel written by Patricia Grace, we are introduced to a family that is given a special gift.
That gift is in a form of a child named Toko. Toko isnt any ordinary child for he knows all his past stories and has the ability to see future stories. Toko was born by Mary and is cared for by Marys brother Hemi and his wife Roimata. In yet another novel, there is a strong presence of mythological icons being incorporated into a book. Grace ties the legend of Maui into the character of Toko. Toko and Maui were both born prematurely.
Another similarity Grace ties in with the legend of Maui is the fishing story. Maui goes out fishing with his brothers and brags that hell catch a bigger fish than his brothers and Toko's fishing with his family in the lagoon and catches a big eel. Lastly, Grace links the legend of Maui's death to Toko's death. In Potiki, Toko enters the whare nui to bring back Manu who was sleepwalking.
Instead a gunshot was heard and Toko was killed. In the legend of Maui, Maui tried to capture death by trying to crawl into the death goddess hidden source of life to capture her heart. A bird laughs, which woke the death goddess and closed her mouth. The teeth of the death goddess cut Maui in the center and killed him.
According to Westervelts, Maui may mean to live, to subsists, and may refer to beauty and strength, or it may have the idea of the left hand or turning aside. (1) In Potiki, Grace ties in the meaning of Maui to the character Toko. In what way is the birth of Toko and Maui similar and its relationship with Westervelt's definition of Maui? How is Toko's fishing story similar with the legend of Maui pulling the island of New Zealand and its relationship with Westervelt's definition of Maui? How is the death of Toko similar to the way Maui dies and how it relates to the definition of Maui? We first recognize the similarities between the mythological stories of Maui to Toko's life as we are introduced to Toko.
In Toko's saga as well as Maui's legend, they are born prematurely and born near the ocean. Both Maui's and Toko's mother doesnt care much for them and tries to throw them into the ocean. Maui was prematurely born, and his mother, not, caring to be troubled with him, cut off a lock of her hair, tied it around him and cast him into the sea. The waters bore him safely. The jellyfish enwrapped and mothered him.
The god of the seas cared for and protected him. He was carried to the gods house and hung up in the roof that he might feel the warm air of the fire, and be cherished into life. (Westervelts 3) This passage explains the birth of Maui. Toko's birth closely resembles the birth Maui-Potiki, the trickster demi-god. Maui was born prematurely and was thrown into the sea, where he was tangled in seaweed, and washed up on the shore. Files and birds tried to eat him but he was saved by his ancestor and given magic powers. His rudeness and inquisitive mind caused him many troubles, but led to new discoveries and knowledge.
Because Maui was born premature his left hand was shorter than his right hand. I was born on the beach stones on a day with no colour and my burning mother carried me into the water. She would have left me there for the birds, mistaking me for something she had found. Or she could have kept walking with me out into the water until the sea closed over us, and we would both have belonged to the fishes. But my sister Tangimoana, in her red shirt, came and snatched me away from my first drowning and hurried home with me. (Grace 42) This passage describes the birth of Toko. Mary, not knowing what she was throwing into the ocean was her own child, mistakenly thought that she had found something that was alive and as she usually does throws what ever it was back into the ocean.
This passage reflects the idea of the left hand and turning aside from the definition of Maui in that Toko was born premature. His left shoulder was lower than his right shoulder, which caused him trouble walking. As Toko grew older, his ability to support himself using crutches diminished and was bound to a wheelchair. When Toko was five, he went on a fishing trip with Hemi, James, and Tangimoana to catch bait for the next days fishing. He waited patiently and certainly enough there was a fish for him to catch. This part of the book is similar to the legend of Maui and.
Maui also went on a fishing trip with his brothers and bragged that he would catch the bigger fish than his brothers would. I remember when the pull came. James, who was sitting by me, grabbed and held onto me so that I wouldnt go over the side. I held on hard to my line. I remembered that for a moment there was nothing else, only holding me holding the line, James holding me. Hemi took the other end of my line, unrolled some of it and tied it to the seat (Grace 49).
This passage explains the process of Toko catching the big fish. Toko knew that that night when they would go out fishing there would be a special catch for him. So he prepared himself by grabbing the big line from the shed and waited until the fish took a bite from his hook. Toko was sure that there would be a fish for him that night and he was right. Though Toko had a disability, his family didnt stop him from doing work.
Toko helped out in the garden and he also helped by going fishing with them. Toko's fishing story signified that even though he was crooked he had a lot of strength in him. Westervelt's definition of Maui reflects that Toko was similar to Maui in that Toko's fishing story showcased his strength. Then he drew his magic hook from under his malo or loincloth.
The brothers wondered what he would do for bait. The New Zealand legend says that he struck his nose a mighty blow until the blood gushed forth. When this blood became clotted, he fastened it upon h...
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Research essay sample on Potiki Is Toko Maui
