Māui (Hawaiian mythology)

Lore & Background

In the Kumulipo, Māui is the son of ʻAkalana and his wife Hina-a-ke-ahi (Hina). This couple had four sons: Māui-mua, Māui-waena, Māui-kiʻikiʻi, and Māui-a-kalana. Māui-a-kalana's wife was named Hinakealohaila, and his son was named Nanamaoa. Māui is one of the Kupua. His great fish-hook is called Manaiakalani, baited with the wing of Hina's pet bird, the ʻalae. He created Hawaii's islands by tricking his brothers into paddling while he hooked the ocean floor, causing islands to rise behind them. Another tradition says he tried to fish up the god of fish, Pimoe, but failed when his brothers looked back at a beautiful water-goddess, causing the line to part.

Māui's next feat was to stop the sun from moving so fast. His mother Hina complained that her kapa (bark cloth) could not dry because the days were too short. Māui climbed to the mountain Hale-a-ka-lā (house of the sun) and lassoed the sun’s rays with a rope made from his sister's hair. The sun pleaded for life and agreed that days would be long in summer and short in winter. In another version, Hina sent him to a big wiliwili tree where he found his old blind grandmother and stole bananas until she agreed to help him. The constellation Māui's fishhook (known in the West as Scorpio) was named after this.

Māui also lifted the sky after realizing that men were constrained by it. He traveled to Lahaina to meet his father, and together they pushed the sky up high enough for people to stand upright. After fishing up the islands, he explored them and found them deserted. He later pursued Hina and made her his wife. When the Long Eel Tuna attacked Hina, Māui set traps, killed the eel with a stone axe, and buried it, causing a palm tree to grow and creating the first coconuts.

Reader's Guide

Māui holds a central place in Hawaiian mythology as a culture hero and Kupua whose deeds explain natural phenomena and the origins of the Hawaiian Islands. His exploits—fishing up the islands, slowing the sun, lifting the sky, and defeating the Long Eel—are foundational narratives that convey themes of ingenuity, family cooperation, and the relationship between humans and the divine. The stories also reflect Hawaiian values: Māui's tricks often serve a greater purpose, such as providing land for people or improving daily life. The tradition that the island Maui is not named directly for him but for a namesake underscores the complexity of oral genealogies. In popular culture, Māui appears in the 2016 Disney film Moana, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, which incorporates elements from various Polynesian narratives. The constellation Māui's fishhook (Scorpio) and the song 'Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man' by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole further demonstrate his enduring legacy. Māui's stories continue to be a vital part of Hawaiian cultural identity and are studied for their insights into Polynesian mythology and cosmology.

Did You Know?

• Māui is one of the Kupua, a class of supernatural beings in Hawaiian religion.
• His great fish-hook is called Manaiakalani and is baited with the wing of Hina's pet bird, the ʻalae.
• The constellation Māui's fishhook is known in the West as Scorpio.
• In the 2016 Disney film Moana, the demigod Maui is voiced by Dwayne Johnson.