The First Maori Fishing Net

A New Zealand Folktale

By: Bill Gordh

Narrated by: Bill Gordh

Award-winning storyteller Bill Gordh (Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence winner, National Association of Parenting Periodicals Gold Award winner) presents this folk tale live with no script, accompanied only by his own dynamic banjo playing.

The village is next to the lagoon. The people fish with spears standing in the shallow waters. Time goes by and they are not getting any fish. They don't know what to do. They go to their chief. He seems to be in a dream and does not offer them any suggestions. Time goes by. Still no luck. One day the villagers watch as their chief goes across the beach and into the forest. The chief travels until he comes to a bay. There he sits behind a bush. He watches and a ghost ship comes sailing into the bay. You can see through the ship. Fairies are on the boat and they are fishing with a net.

The chief has never seen a net before and watches as they catch many fish. They come to shore, haul in their fish and make a fire. They throw the net off to the side. The chief knows that the fairies will leave at dawn, so while they are dancing, he blows out the fire. They make the fire again and begin their dance again. He blows out the fire again. This happens again and again. They do not get to finish their dance or cook their fish. The sun is starting to rise and the fairies set off again in their ghost ship. The chief picks up the net and brings it back to the village. They have plenty of fish from then on and they do not question their chief when he is "dreaming".

©2013 Bill Gordh (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Interesting Tale of Dreaming Maori Chief

This short listen of the Maori Chief who watches fairies dancing on a ghost ship and fishing with a never before seen net is a fun folktale. How he watches them, blowing out their fire, retrieving their net and then returning to his tribe. He teaches them how to use the net, securing his place as the wise chief among his people, who had spent a very long time fishing unsuccessfully before he brought them the net.