A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

The cycle places Atalanga first in the Underworld and then at Koloa in Vavaʻu with his son Kijikiji. He secretly returns below to cultivate his garden, but the curious boy follows him. Their conflict over work and fire brings violence followed by restoration. Later Atalanga meets Fuiloa, who cannot walk upright because the sky lies close to the earth. In exchange for water he raises it in successive heaves until she is satisfied, establishing space for upright movement in this telling.

Father and son then hunt the human-eating rat of Taanea and the destructive beings of ʻEua, disagreeing over who should perform each decisive action. Their final voyage in this cycle reaches Motuliki in Fiji, where Fulu-bubuta swallows the resting Atalanga. His son retrieves the body but does not restore him in that episode. These actions describe one recorded Tongan sequence, not the entire identity of Māui across Polynesia. The opening presents several Maui figures together, while a later scene makes Motua Atalanga’s father; the collection’s uneven kinship wording is acknowledged rather than silently harmonised.

Underworld gardeningSky raised for human movementFather-and-son danger-clearing journeys
01

Origins & earliest records

The selected witness is E. E. V. Collocott’s 1921 article in Folklore, volume 32, pp. 45–58. The eHRAF catalogue identifies a Tongan-language missionary journal as the immediate collection context. The English publication dates this witness rather than the oral beginning; that earlier journal text has not been independently collated here.

02

Records & interpretation

The sky-raising, Underworld journeys and family conflicts are religious narrative attestations. They are not historical measurements or reasons to dismiss the figure's cultural significance. The article's uneven family wording remains an acknowledged limitation.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Legends from Tonga. The Maui, pp. 45–53

    E. E. V. Collocott (printed signature Collcott) · 1921

    Selected public primary pages read in full, including continuations. English missionary-era presentation is attributed, and its judgments are not treated as community consensus.

  2. 02

    Legends from Tonga. The Maui

    Ernest Edgar Vyvyan Collocott (E. E. V. Collocott) · 1921

    E. E. V. Collocott, Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32 (1921), pp45–58; proofread Wikisource page transcription inspected, facsimile not independently checked.

Family, evolution & connections

Tuimotuliki’s stated parents in Collocott’s Sinailele episode

The child born after Sinailele steps over the dead Mauis’ bone heaps.

  • Sinailele and the two Mauis’ bones (joint narrative parents)

The text names Sinailele as mother and repeatedly calls both Mauis the child’s fathers. This extraordinary narrative paternity is not a biological reproduction model. Atalanga and Kijikiji are themselves father and son in the preceding episode. They are grouped as jointly stated parents here, not equated or turned into a linear ancestor chain. Later living-family descendant lists are excluded.

Collocott (1921), Legends from Tonga, Sinailele episode, printed pp.53–55 · Collocott (1921), Legends from Tonga, Sinailele episode, printed pp.53–55 · Collocott (1921), Legends from Tonga, Sinailele episode, printed pp.53–55

Atalanga and Kijikiji in Collocott’s Motuliki episode

The explicitly stated father–son pair in the dog episode.

Atalanga is called Kijikiji’s father, and Kijikiji his son. Motua is omitted: printed p.45 lists him among Atalanga’s brothers, but p.47 calls him father. The later joint paternity of Tuimotuliki belongs to a separate episode and is shown separately.

Collocott (1921), Legends from Tonga, Motuliki dog episode, printed pp.52–53 · Collocott (1921), Legends from Tonga, Motuliki dog episode, printed pp.52–53

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Legends from Tonga. The Maui, pp. 45–53

E. E. V. Collocott, Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32 (1921), pp45–58; proofread Wikisource page transcription inspected, facsimile not independently checked.

  1. Atalanga obstructs his son’s fire-taking but raises the sky for Fuiloa. Motua is inconsistently brother and father.

    pp45–49; Fire and Sky episodes

Printed45–57 selected narrative pages inspected; sacred descendant catalogue and ceremonial formula excerpts excluded. No uninspected original informant identity or facsimile verification claimed. No global public-domain claim. Author died1970, independently verified in Australian Dictionary of Biography / National Library of New Zealand. Underlying1921 text treated conservatively as protected; site footer is not proof of globally free underlying copyright. Shared article budget24 words including duplicate short quotations/evidence in both outputs; no further excerpts.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 45Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 47Research access: 2026-10-05
  3. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 48Research access: 2026-10-05
  4. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 49Research access: 2026-10-05
  5. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 53Research access: 2026-10-05
  6. ReferenceeHRAF catalogue: Legends from Tonga, 1921, collection contextResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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