Overview
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, with variation in his parentage, divine status, and the specific form of several major myths, but many of his main exploits remain relatively similar. 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.
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