Mautikitiki

Mautikitiki is the Rennell and Bellona form of the great Polynesian culture hero Maui. Son of 'Ataganga, he is a demigod and trickster whose deeds fill an extended cycle of the islands' oral literature: he fishes land up out of the sea, wins fire for humankind, and outwits gods and monsters through cunning and prodigious strength. As in the wider Polynesian world he stands between the divine and human orders, a maker and transformer whose exploits explain features of the world. His presence marks Rennell and Bellona as a Polynesian outlier whose mythology preserves the classic Maui repertoire deep within Melanesia.

Parentage

• parent: 'AtagangaElbert, Samuel H., and Torben Monberg. From the Two Canoes. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1965. (secondary)

Domains

• trickery
• fire
• creation

Powers

• fishes up land from the sea
• obtains fire for humankind

Relations

• parent: 'AtagangaElbert, Samuel H., and Torben Monberg. From the Two Canoes. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1965. (secondary)

Sources

• Mautikitiki is the Rennell-Bellona form of the pan-Polynesian culture hero Maui, a trickster and demigod who fishes up land, wins fire, and performs marvels; his cycle is a major component of the oral literature.: Elbert, Samuel H., and Torben Monberg. From the Two Canoes: Oral Traditions of Rennell and Bellona Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1965 (Mautikitiki cycle). (secondary)