Polynesian PantheonJourney
Fishing Up the Islands
The voyage of Maui
Maui sails with his brothers, baits his ancestral hook Manaiakalani, and hauls a great fish from the deep, land that becomes islands when the brothers carve it too soon.
The route
The map illustrates the story's route. Pins are not evidence of an exact historical itinerary; some places are disputed or mythical.
Home Shore
Maui hides in his brothers’ canoe with the magical hook made from an ancestor’s jawbone.
Stowing away, Revealing Manaiakalani
Stop by stop
Home Shore
Maui hides in his brothers’ canoe with the magical hook made from an ancestor’s jawbone.
Events: Stowing away; Revealing Manaiakalani
Open Ocean
Far from land, Maui forces the canoe onward while his brothers grow uneasy.
Events: Brothers protest; Maui takes command
The Great Strike
Baited with his own blood in some tellings, the hook catches something immense beneath the waves.
Events: Hook takes hold; Strain on the canoe
The Raised Fish
A vast fish, Te Ika-a-Māui, breaks the surface as new land. Maui warns his brothers not to cut it yet.
Events: Land appears; Warning ignored
Carved Islands
The brothers carve and beat the fish; mountains, valleys, and coastlines form. Geography remembers their impatience.
Events: Brothers carve the fish; Landscape takes shape
About this journey
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Routes follow the named source; other tellings order or place the stops differently.