fmmobley 0 #1 March 4, 2010 As a wingsuit flyer, I am drawn to images of human flight, such as Icarus and Daedalus in Greek mythology. I just got back from New Zealand where I ran across another such image (attached). It is one of the kites of the Maori (the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand). They had many practical uses for their kites and made some very large ones. Maori legend has it that the 19th-century ngati Kahungunu chief, Nukupewapewa, was unable to capture an enemy village. After many attempts, he eventually constructed a large kite in the shape of a bird with wide-spread wings. During the night he fastened a man to it, and floated him off a cliff and into the enemy village below. From inside, the man opened the gates, allowing Nukupewapewa's warriors to enter and sack the village. Perhaps this was the first wingsuit flyer ! Are there any NZ wingsuit flyers out there that could add to this?... Marion Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #2 March 4, 2010 I met a deaf Maori girl who was a skydiver back in the 1990's - Marjori Rako, when she came to the states on vacation. If I was still in contact with her or knew where she is now, I'm sure she would know the legends of the Maori."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bones 0 #3 March 4, 2010 According to Maori legend, after initial success with their original design, the "WickerMan" brand became quite popular. However when they tried to branch out in to high-end lawn furniture, they were generally derided and it was all downhill from there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 74 #4 March 4, 2010 QuoteHowever when they tried to branch out in to high-end lawn furniture, they were generally derided and it was all downhill from there. I did hear they make nice underwear made from woven bamboo these days..JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fmmobley 0 #5 March 4, 2010 They probably decided to establish a Maori kite-man record and the resulting bickering over how to do it led to civil war and they never jumped again.... Marion Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Southern_Man 0 #6 March 4, 2010 maybe they decided it was just easier to build a large wooden badger."What if there were no hypothetical questions?" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crwper 7 #7 March 4, 2010 QuoteAccording to Maori legend, after initial success with their original design, the "WickerMan" brand became quite popular. Ah, The Wicker Man. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917/ Michael Edit: Gah! Linked the wrong one. Here's the original (1973) version. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #8 March 4, 2010 Quote During the night he fastened a man to it, and floated him off a cliff and into the enemy village below A Night wingsuit jump at that.If you do a bit of digging, you will be surprised at the amount of flying references, specifically humans, there is over the course of man kinds existence. I talk about this in the Preface of my book, Skyflying Wingsuits in Motion, as the earliest surviving reference is dated back to the 3rd Century BC in the Sanskrit of ancient India's sacred text, the Rig Veda. I doubt there is a culture on the planet that doesn't have some sort of reference in it's history to humans flying as it seems to be a prevalent theme worldwide. Kinda cool huh?"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fmmobley 0 #9 March 4, 2010 Quote ... Kinda cool huh? Very cool. I own your book but don't recall reading about that. I guess I will pull it out and take another look at it. Did you ever do a revision of your book?... Marion Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skwrl 56 #10 March 4, 2010 QuoteThey probably decided to establish a Maori kite-man record and the resulting bickering over how to do it led to civil war and they never jumped again. You are my new hero, Marion.Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #11 March 5, 2010 Quote Quote ... Kinda cool huh? Very cool. I own your book but don't recall reading about that. I guess I will pull it out and take another look at it. Did you ever do a revision of your book? It's all in the Preface of the book. I have done a second revision but have a few minor touches I still want to add to it. I don't have a set time frame for it's release as of yet."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 140 #12 March 5, 2010 Quote Quote During the night he fastened a man to it, and floated him off a cliff and into the enemy village below A Night wingsuit jump at that. A night wingsuit tandem BASEjump, and he landed it. scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeemax 0 #13 March 5, 2010 Quote They probably decided to establish a Maori kite-man record and the resulting bickering over how to do it led to civil war and they never jumped again. Best. Quote. Ever. Phoenix Fly - High performance wingsuits for skydiving and BASE Performance Designs - Simply brilliant canopies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
