The Forgotten Children of Maui: Filipino Myths, Tattoos, and Rituals of a Demigod

by Lane Wilcken

When people hear of Maui, they mainly think of the island named after him in the Hawaiian archipelago. In Polynesia, Maui is best known as a superman, a demigod who performed incredible feats of strength like fishing up islands and capturing the sun. His timeless stories are still shared throughout the Pacific Islands as they have been for countless generations. Some islands claim him to be a god, others a semi-divine man, but many count this bold adventurer as an ancestor. For more than two centuries, western scholars have worked to record the tales of this mythic hero from around the Pacific. However, these anthropologists have overlooked and largely ignored the traditions of the Philippine Islands. Yet, hidden within the ancient mythology, extinct tattoos, and dying rituals of the Philippines, lays the powerful impact of a man well known in Polynesia, but nearly forgotten in the Philippines. Lane Wilcken, the author of Filipino Ancient to Modern, deciphers the fragments of the Maui tradition of the Philippines and compares them with what is known in the Pacific Islands to restore a holistic understanding of Maui and the traditions surrounding him. In this groundbreaking work he reveals the actual life history of a world changing progenitor hidden in the metaphors of mythic traditions that still affect us today.

Genres: Mythology

162 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2013

Reviews

[La · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written and well-researched book, but the layout belies this fact. I would like to see a smaller version of this book, with smaller, neater fonts, a justified layout, and the pictures put together as inserts on glossy paper in the middle of the book; or if the pictures would be within the text, then at least, be laid out neatly. This way, thought transitions are more easily gleaned and anticipated, and uninterrupted by the pictures, which can be a distraction from the serious scholarship and logical thought processes; unfortunately it is laid out like like a children's book or coffee table book.
An ebook version would also be welcome, if a different layout cannot be printed.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well put together. Interesting to see similarities in oral tradition across the pacific

[Nicole Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Forgotten Children of Maui" by Lane Wilcken is a wonderful folklore book for students K-5 (for the younger grades it should be used as a read aloud), especially when learning about diversity, culture, or the Hawaiian Islands. This book is about a demigod named Maui who is best known as "superman". Maui had many strengths such as fishing up the islands and capturing the sun. There are many stories about Maui that have been shared throughout countless generations. Many Polynesians view Maui as an ancestor and is respected in the Hawaiian culture. Some of the activities that my students can do is create a painting or any kind of artwork with a written description explaining, they can write a journal entry and create their own story of a demigod and share to the class, they could act out a play for their classmates (have them in small groups), have students compare and contrast different folktale books, and much more.