Māui

Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity (demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main exploits remain relatively similar. Comparative scholarship notes that Māui’s origins differ widely across Polynesia, with variation in his parentage, divine status, and the specific form of several major myths. Bucková’s survey of Eastern Polynesian traditions documents that core motifs, such as acquiring fire or manipulating the sun, appear throughout the region but are adapted differently in Mangarevan, Tuamotuan, and New Hebridean versions.

Tales of Māui's exploits and adventures are told throughout most of Polynesia; they can be traced back as far west as islands off New Guinea. Some exploits common to most Polynesian traditions are stealing fire for humans from the underworld, fishing up islands with his magical hook, and capturing the Sun to lengthen the days. There is a great deal of variation in the representations of Māui from nation to nation, from being a handsome young man to being a wise old wandering priest. Although Māui was said to be very rascally or "kolohe", many of his deeds were to better the lives of his fellow people. Variants of the Māui cycle appear further west in the New Hebrides (modern-day Vanuatu), where fieldwork by A. Capell records stories of Maui fishing up islands, contending with spirits, and acquiring fire, but with distinctive local narrative structures unlike those in central Polynesia. Bucková also identifies these New Hebridean accounts as part of a broader constellation of regional adaptations of fire-origin and trickster traditions.