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

Overview

Motua appears seated beside a fire when Kijikiji arrives from Atalanga’s garden. The boy does not initially know who he is and repeatedly puts out the fire he receives. Only a large casuarina log remains; Motua allows the boy to take it if he can carry it, expecting this to be impossible. Kijikiji lifts it in one hand, and the old keeper responds with a wrestling challenge rather than simply surrendering the final brand.

The youth throws Motua down repeatedly and leaves him apparently dead. Atalanga later finds that the elder has revived and learns the relationship involved. Motua then advises the restoration of Kijikiji, whom Atalanga has struck down in anger. The text identifies Motua as Atalanga’s father in this scene, although the cycle’s opening grouping of four Maui figures uses less consistent family wording. That difficulty is retained rather than used to create several duplicate elders or assert a single universal Polynesian genealogy. His role concerns this Tongan fire narrative, with no importation of another culture’s similarly named figure.

Underworld fire keeperHuge final casuarina brandRevival after a wrestling defeat
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 final firebrand, wrestling defeat and revival are directly narrated. The relationship to Atalanga and Kijikiji is stated in the scene, while introductory inconsistencies prevent an unqualified universal genealogy.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Legends from Tonga. The Maui, pp. 45–48

    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 & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

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

Legends from Tonga. The Maui

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

  1. Motua contests Kijikiji over fire, survives wrestling injuries, and advises his revival. The text explicitly calls him grandfather here.

    pp47–48; How Fire was brought to this World

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. 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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