Māui
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Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to
Participant of the Merrie Monarch Parade in Hilo performs as Māui, based largely on his depiction in the 2016 film Moana
Hine-nui-te-pō
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Hine-nui-te-pō in Māori legends, is a goddess of night who receives the spirits of humans when they die. She is the daughter of Tāne Mahuta / Tāne Tuturi and Hine-ahuone. Hine-nui-te-pō shepherds the
Māui
…and Māui struck him with the jawbone until he surrendered and agreed to travel slowly across the sky. Māui's last trick led to his death and involved Hine-nui-te-pō, the goddess of death and the underworld. In an attempt to make mankind immortal by reversing the natural birth process, he transformed into a worm and…
Māui attempting to enter Hine-nui-te-pō. Carving by Tene Waitere in the meeting house Rauru (opened in 1900).