In the old days the sky was so low that when people walked they had to lean over so that their heads would not bump against the sky.
One day when Maui Atalanga was coming back from Pulotu he passed a spring that is in Koloa that is called Tofoa. Because it was the middle of the day it was hot and Maui Atalanga was thirsty. He asked a woman who had an empty gourd to draw him some water. She agreed on the condition that Maui Atalanga would push up the sky.
Because, in those days, the sky was low on the ground and people had to walk with their heads bent over.
Maui Atalanga agreed to what the woman was asking. He took his spear and he pushed up the sky. He pushed and pushed and he raised the sky. Then the woman gave him a drink of the water that she had been carrying.
Reference:
these stories were taught to me by Toamotu Wolfgramm in January 1995. (Toamotu Wolfgram is the Matapule for Koloa).
Revised: February 29, 1996
Copyright © 1996 Daniel (Taniera) Longstaff