3. To continue:

"Away flew Maui in his pigeon shape, with his brothers admiring him as he went. But as soon as he was out of sight he wheeled about, and flew to the clump of rushes that marked the place where his mother disappeared.

To 'wheel about' could allude to how the rim of the wheel of time turns down after having reached the summit ('Sun-mit'). Another interpretation is to deduce that Maui had to fly around the corner where the mountain of dawn (cfr at g in the picture) stands above the assembly hall.

He came down, in his noisy pigeon way, and strutted about for a moment. Then he lifted the rushes. He flopped [not dropped as his mother] into the hole and replaced the clump behind him, and was gone. A few strokes of his wings took him to that other country, and soon he saw some people talking to one another on the grass beneath some trees. They were manapau trees, a kind that grows in that land and nowhere else.

In mana-pau we can read that the mana (power) is finished (pau):

... now I am going to take the risk of growing old and losing my powers because of the great length of the journey to the place where I am going ...

The mana-pau tree is only growing at the time of Grass, and Ce Acatl (The Reed) - the 13th day of 20 - is preceeded by Grass:

  Yucatec Quiché Aztec

12

Eb

E

Malinalli (grass)

13

Ben

Aj

Acatl (reed)

If time turns around at Reed, then Grass will follow. We should remember where the gods assembled after the end of time (cfr at Camp 5):

... The earth rises up from the sea again, and is green and beautiful and things grow without sowing. Vidar and Vali are alive, for neither the sea nor the flames of Surt have hurt them and they dwell on the Eddyfield, where once stood Asgard. There come also the sons of Thor, Modi and Magni, and bring along his hammer. There come also Balder and Hoder from the other world. All sit down and converse together. They rehearse their runes and talk of events of old days. Then they find in the grass the golden tablets that the Aesir once played with ...

Maui flew down to the tops of the trees and, without being noticed by any of the people, perched on a branch that enabled him to see them. Almost at once he recognized Taranga, sitting on the grass beside her husband, a man who by his dress and demeanor was plainly a chief. 'Aha,' he cooed to himself, 'there are my father and my mother just below me.' And soon he knew that he was not mistaken, for he heard their names when other members of the party spoke to them. He flopped down through the leaves and perched on the branch of a puriri tree thad had some berries on it. He turned his head this way and that, and tilted it on its side. Then he pecked off one of the berries and gently dropped it, and it hit his father's forehead.

Pu

1. To come forward to greet someone met on the road; to walk in front, to go in front: ka-pú a mu'a, let them go first. 2. Pú a mu'a, to intervene, to come to someone's rescue; he-pú-mai a mu'a, he-moaha, he came to my rescue and saved my life. 3. Ancient expression: ai ka-pú, ai ka-pú, tell us frankly what you think. 4. Hole, opening, orifice; well; circumference, rotundity; swirling water; pú-haga, vaginal orifice; pú-henua (also just henua), placenta. He pú henua nó te me'e aau, he-oti-á; ina-á me'e ma'u o te rima i-topa-ai koe, a placenta was all you had, it is a past thing now; you held nothing in your hands when you were born (stern words said to children to make them realize that they must not be demanding, since they were born naked and without possessions). 5. To dig out (tubers): he-pú i te uhi, to dig out yams. Vanaga.

1. A trumpet. P Mgv.: pu, a marine shell. Mq.: pu, conch shell. Ta.: pu, shell, trumpet. 2. A small opening, hole, mortise, stirrup, to pierce, to perforate, to prick; pu moo naa, hiding place; taheta pu, fountain, spring; hakapu, to dowel, to pierce, to perforate. PS Sa., Fu., Niuē: pu, a hole. Churchill.

Mq.: Pu, source, origin. Ma.: pu, root, origin, foundation. Churchill.
Riri

1. Angry, to get angry. 2. Figuratively, to show determination in one's work, to be thorough in work; e-riri koe ana aga, ana keukeu, be thorough when working, when farming. Vanaga.

Animosity, ill-will, spite, strength T, anger, to disapprove; manava riri, wrath; ririhaga, animosity; hakariri, to shock, to displease, to be rude. P Pau.: riri, anger, spite, vexation. Mgv.: riri, to be angry, to hate, to do with violence. Mq.: riri, íí, anger, force, fury, energy, ardor, faculty, strength. Ta.: riri, anger, spite, offense, to displease. Churchill.

Maui tilted his head on the side. Anyone acquainted with the hei tiki figure will recognize it in his gesture:

As I see this picture of a green hei tiki there is another head below, on which the tilted top one is resting. Maybe the top one is resting on the forehead of the one below.

Yes, and we should probably see yet another head at the bottom:

... 'Aha,' he cooed to himself, 'there are my father and my mother just below me.'