Every single culture that has ever existed has a strong relationship with nature. Humanity has always had a natural connection to the world, but as humanity continues to progress, relationships with nature are deteriorating more and more, and people are replacing their connections to nature with connections to technology. Studying literature that has been passed down through different cultures and generations is an important aspect of cultural evolution, as literature of the past can act as cautionary tales that aid in how to live a good life. By close reading “The Tuna of Lake Vaihiria”, specifically the Polynesian iteration of the story, we read the story of a young woman, named Hina, escaping an arranged marriage to a monster by seeking the help of the deity Maui. Maui defeats this monster and gives Hina the monster’s head, which will turn into a coconut tree once she sets it down, as a gift. Hina accidentally sets the head down before she can get home, but as the tree grows, it bears coconuts as gifts for her and her new family. Through its subtle use of metaphor, “The Tuna of Lake Vaihiria” uses Hina’s rejection of arranged marriage to offer an insightful exploration of the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world, suggesting that like a human being, nature retaliates against poor treatment towards it, but it may also serves as a sanctuary from societal norms that creates and provides.
The entire conflict of the story arises from Hina wanting to escape an arranged marriage to a king. Both the concept of marriage and the idea of a social hierarchy are completely artificial and are ideas that were created in order to structure a society. Although culture is an important aspect of humanity, it can be detrimental to people who are unable or unwilling to conform to it, such as Hina. At the wedding, she proclaims to her parents in terror that she must “find her own sanctuary” (3) from the arranged marriage. Prior to meeting the Eel King, she was blindly excited for the marriage because she grew up believing that this was the way life was supposed to go. Deciding that she will not marry the Tuna King was Hina’s way of allowing her raw emotions to overpower a social norm. This led her to begging Maui for help, who in this iteration hooked and controlled the sun. Although Maui is a demi-god in a human body, he arguably is the metaphorical representation of nature in this story. Maui acts as a savior to Hina by releasing her from the grasp of the king.
On top of killing the king, Maui also gifts Hina the head of the king which grows into a coconut tree that provides for her and the family she chooses to have in the future. Although Hina did not follow the direction Maui gave of not setting the head down until she was home, she was able to create a sanctuary where the tree landed. It provided food, shelter, and was able to house her and her new family. By being able to develop her own sustainable way of living, she proves that she can find sanctuary in nature. As she treated it well, by being respectful to Maui and respecting his gift, she was able to escape the social norms that were going to strip her of her free will and developed a newfound appreciation for the world around her. This is a common occurrence that people experience once overcoming trauma. In this case, the trauma was caused by being forced to conform to the marriage she believed she was destined to. The marriage situation does an amazing job at connecting the natural world to the unnatural world. In its truest form, the natural world represents peace and tranquility whereas the unnatural world represents fear and unhappiness with the mask of providing consistency. In any given culture, one can safely assume how their week will go. They have traditions that they follow, social structures to conform to, and practices that they have trained themselves to react to in certain ways. For example, a person can wave in one culture and know that they are being greeted, but in another culture, a hand wave can be seen as disrespectful and a person can be offended. Only in nature can there be no expectations other than taking care of oneself however they may need to.
The Eel King can be attributed to embody the deceitful and harmful practices that exist within cultures. While in some iterations he appears as a human, the polynesian iteration shows the king to be a large, thick eel with human legs. Eels, like snakes, represent deceitfulness in stories. By having human legs, one could make the point that the deceitful qualities within the Eel are elevated, both metaphorically and literally. Legs can represent control and mobility, but also show that by having human traits, it likely shares some parts of a human mind. The Eel king may want to get married to fulfill his hierarchical duties, but in doing so he would be manipulating and controlling Hina, which would be hurting a natural creation. The Eel was a literal freak of nature. He brought the worst parts of humanity and nature together. Despite being a symbol of trickery, the Eel fell for Maui’s bait and was punished for it by getting decapitated. Hina rejected societal norms, seeked help from a demi-god that represents nature, and was awarded for it. The Eel was a natural representation of the culture that Hina grew up in. He pushes for the arranged marriage to happen, and disregards her well being for the sake of following the cultural practice. People grow up in different cultures and are taught to respect their norms and practices and rarely give it much thought. Whether it is painful, outdated, or a person simply does not agree with their culture, they are rarely given the opportunity to leave and unlearn what they know. The only place where culture can be ignored is within nature. Nature provides and creates. Despite humanity’s poor treatment of it, people can find places where nature is preserved and find moments of peace.
By close reading this story, people are able to explore the connection that nature has to the unnatural world. Nature treats humanity with respect and provides for them as long as humanity reciprocates the behavior. People may argue that nature is a constant that cannot provide because it is not a living, thinking being. This is absolutely not the case because nature works hard to keep itself in homeostasis. Think of it as karma. Many people believe that if a person radiates positivity and puts good into the world, they will have good karma that will throw goodness back at the person. If a person is bad, they will receive bad energy. Nature will always serve as a sanctuary, but if people destroy nature, they will lose their sanctuary and will no longer be provided for, meaning it is of utmost importance to keep nature healthy and respect it. Hina embodies the everyday person that is conforming to a culture or society that they were born in. She gets the option to conform and be miserable, or seek refuge and live free. By alluding to the decision, the story gives the readers the opportunity to question for themselves if they are conforming or rebelling against their own way of life. The story also makes an effort to show that Hina lives happily after choosing to live free. She is fed, sheltered, and is able to raise a family. This story is not anti-culture, it is simply a cautionary tale that explains that there is always salvation in nature. With that being said, the conclusion can be drawn that through its use of metaphor, “The Tuna of Lake Vairhiria” uses Hinas rejection of arranged marriage to offer an insightful exploration of the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world, suggesting that like a human being, nature retaliates against poor treatment towards it, but it may also serves as a sanctuary from societal norms that creates and provides.