Chapter One: Whakahoki
The moon was pulsing brightly before it gradually dimmed and became bright again. A hawk's distant cry echoed from the beach and distracted her for a moment as she saw a giant hawk spreading its wings on the shore as it flew beyond the reef, toward the deep ocean. "Bye, bye, papa!" She shouted, having seen her father's transformations for as long she can remember.
Suddenly a moonbeam appeared directly above her. She slowly lowered her arm and looked up, "Ooooh…" She cooed as the moonlight grew brighter and brighter with enough light to match the sun. The beam slowly came to her and a hand of light wrapped itself around her tiny body, then another beam appeared beside her and itself around her as well. The beams lifted her tiny body off the ground by a few inches before a third beam appeared, more radiant and wider than the first two. Hina looked up at the third beam and saw a face made up completely of curved lines and swirls inside a circle that created the illusion of a nose, mouth, eyes and head.
Hina cocked her head to one side at the strange creature before her. The Spirit simply stared at her attentively and waited to see the child's reaction. She laughed happily and stood on the tips of her toes with her little pudgy arm outstretched trying to touch The Spirit.
It curved down toward her, going low enough for her hands to rest against its glowing transparent skin. The little girl spotted the scar across its face and said with a worried tone in voice, "You hurt."
The Spirit leaned down closer, which only encouraged Hina to leaned closer and quickly blew on the scar. The Spirit stared at her as she pulled away. "Mama says blowing it makes it better." She looked up at The Spirit and felt its arms slowly put her down before it unwrapped from her tiny little body.
It stood straight and tall before her and drew its symbolic arms to its chest. Sudden flows of light appeared to be trailing from its back and all flowed to one spot, the center of The Spirit's right hand.
Once again, Hina tilted her head to one side in curiosity as she tried to see what it was doing?
The Spirit's smooth curved fingerless hand tilted down, presenting her a clear white transparent marquise shaped stone with a ta moko of an eye carved in the middle.
Hina gasped as she quickly grabbed it with child-like interest and held it in her little hands. She brushed her finger on the surface and was dazzled by the pretty patterns and color inside.
"What you call it?" She asked before she lifted her head and saw it had disappeared. "Where'd you go?" She spoke out in question as turned and started to wander around her grandparents' fenua. Hoping that she could find her new friend.
"Ah, ah!" She was suddenly scooped up into her grandfather's strong arms, and the shock caused her to drop her little stone on the grass. Hina felt it drop and she immediately tried looking for the stone over her grandfather's shoulder but to no avail, as they entered his fale.
Sina sat up on her sleeping mat and stared at them both while they entered. "What were you doing out there?" Tui asked as he put her down.
"My friend called me," Hina replied, confused by the perplexed look on her grandfather's face. Tui turned to Sina for a moment hoping that she as a mother could explain? But she looked just as confused as he did. So he went straight to the source,
"And who's your friend Hinatea?"
"Um… the three lights from the moon." She answered before she turned around to head outside. Sina got up and rushed over to pick her up and held her granddaughter close to her while she was flailing her little arms and legs at the entrance.
Sina looked at her husband, hoping he could provide an explanation. Tui took a deep breath and exhaled with a long sigh, "I'm sure it was just a dream, Hina."
"But I saw it." She replied pointing to the entrance, "There!"
Tui, believing this to be a part of her sleepwalking episodes, then insisted that all she saw was just a dream.
Disheartened, Hina told him, "But I really saw it..."
He sighed and turned to his wife before he rubbed the back of his neck, "It's late and we all need to go back to sleep if we're going to wake up early tomorrow."
Hina cocked her head to one side in wonder, Sina bounced her slightly but only to turn the girl around to face her as she chuckled before kissing the right side of her head, "That's right my little mano. We're going to have a very special day to plan for in the morning. I'm sure your dad told you all about it."
"Mama's coming home!" She shouted in excitement before feeling her grandfather's strong hand on her arm.
He spoke with a gentle but authoritative tone in his voice, "Come on, let's get you back to bed."
The little girl could hardly keep still as her grandmother set her down on her fala moenga. The thought of her seeing her mother again sent a rush of immeasurable joy in her heart; it overrode almost everything that happened. Her papa's brief return, the story he told her, the encounter she had a few minutes ago and lastly, she forgot the stone.
IIIIIIII
DUNK!
Three fishing nets, each filled to their maximum landed and sunk into the sand. A blue flash appeared and the sounds of Maui's heavy footsteps pressed against the soft sand. The boisterous Demigod shook all the seawater off him and turned around to face sky behind him.
The night sky was slowly turning red, as dawn grew close. Letting out a satisfied chuckle; he turned and walked over to his haul, and picked all three of the bulging nets like they were weightless and slung all three of them over his shoulder as he started humming the tunes of 'You're Welcome' to celebrate a very surprising successful mission—thanks to The Ocean's help of course—and to add more emphasis to his feelings of accomplishment, he followed its rhythm as he walked.
Mini-Maui sprang back to life and lifted his arms to stop Maui just for a moment.
"What is it now?" Maui asked, exasperated. Mini-Maui crossed his arms and eyed him suspiciously before he pointed his hand toward a certain glowing white circle—called the moon. He'd noticed something was completely off about it. His host's shoulders sunk in exaggeration as he said,
"The moon's fine. Okay? There is literally nothing to worry about."
Whatever half-attempt of reassurance he gave Mini-Maui was seen for what it was, a farce. Maui was scared—no...he was terrified of what was happening to the moon. He also missed being in action. That much was obvious, so why was he feebly trying to hide that?
"Look, I got three huge nets filled with at least two hundred fish each and I have a whole village to feed and I'm not gonna let you ruin it just because you're a chicken and you're worried about the moon. So here's what's going to happen, I'm gonna drop the fish off at the cookhouse, so the cook can cook it in his umu." A flustered Maui then poked his living tattoo friend and told him off. "And you're just going to have to deal with it." Mini-Maui gave his larger, living, breathing counterpart a flat stare as he leaned against his upside down fishhook as Maui continued on walking.
He doesn't take his secrets or his denials very well, not one this deep, and especially not when Maui made him the scapegoat.
Fortunately, this big deniable oaf had him as a best friend and conscience to remind him that every action has a consequence, whether he liked it or not.
Several roosters crowed in the village, which meant that it was already dawn, in turn, that meant there was very little time for him to fool around or worry about things that didn't need worrying, especially when it came to the Gods, and as far he was concerned, the moon was a matter they could sort out amongst themselves.
Maui looked down at the left side of his chest and saw that Mini-Maui had reverted back to his original pose, lifting the tattooed sky.
Maui took his friend's silence as a sign that the subject had been dropped. So he continued on carrying the fish toward the cookhouse, still humming the tunes to 'You're Welcome.' Unfortunately, Mini-Maui had other plans. He shapeshifted into his tattoo version of a giant hawk and flew down into Maui's lavalava.
The Demigod froze as he just felt two extremely powerful smacks to his sensitive spot. His eyes went wide, his mouth opened exposing his teeth as he gritted in pain, Maui toppled over like a coconut tree in a bad storm, dropping the three fishnets, and landing face first on the sand, blacking out prior to impact. Mini-Maui quickly rushed out from the Demigod's lavalava to peek over his shoulder, his ink-black hands pressed against the tattooed cliffs. He laid there, his face buried in the sand. Mini-Maui ran from his shoulder to his forearm, not expecting that reaction, the tattoo started waving frantically at his unconscious friend for five minutes.
The Ocean lifted itself up into a tall swell and gave the fallen Maui a hard smack to the back of his head. The shock immediately brought him back to consciousness, and he lifted his head up, coughing out the sand from his mouth before he laid his head sideways and felt the pain again a few seconds later.
"Aahahaa…owwww…" He groaned as he lay there with his stomach on the sand and his back to the rising sun and his hands pressed under him, nursing the injured spot. Mini-Maui, realizing that he'd crossed the line, stood forcing an innocent smile on his little face while hiding his fishhook behind his back.
Maui muttered with narrowed eyes. "I hate you…"
They soon heard the undeniable sound of a certain hen's clucking in the distance; pecking for food no doubt, before her pudgy little legs marched over toward the beach.
The hen, clearly too dumb to tell the difference between an injured Demigod and a huge pile of seaweed, climbed and walked on him, starting on his lavalava and finished on his right temple, and using the spot as a nest, the hen sat down, let out a loud caw and subsequently laid an egg in his hair.
Maui rolled his eyes and let out soft, irritated groan as he lay there with a dumb chicken clucking near his ear, still scowling and in throbbing pain down below. 'What else can go wrong today?' He thought in complete dread.
Fifteen minutes later, it was finally time for the fishermen to come to the shore and sail on their fishing boats.
The first three young men were chatting amongst themselves, carrying their fish traps and nets, when they made it to the edge of the path and suddenly stopped in their tracks at the sight of their very first male faletua on the beach, lying stomach first on the shore with a certain hen pecking at his cheek, and three large nets of fish sitting to his left.
The sight was both shocking and amusing to see, and all three of the fishermen struggled to hide their laughter with two out of the three barely succeeding, that was until Maui lifted his head and gave them all the most intimidating glare they'd ever seen. All hints of their amusement disappeared and two of the young men dropped their fish traps to went over to begin the challenging task of lifting their Chiefess' strong and bulky Faletua, while the third man lifted the hen off Maui's head and ran back to the village for help.
IIIIIIII
Meanwhile out on the ocean,
Twenty-three-year-old Moana stood looking into the horizon, adorned in a red puletasi that greatly resembled her late Gramma Tala's; her long curly-wavy hair that was usually styled with a half-knot held together by hair tie made from flax fiber was gone. Instead, she wore her hair loose and was only allowed to wear a pink hibiscus flower behind her ear.
Her tapa cloth skirt—the very same one she'd worn during her adolescence—and her red fusi that was used to fasten her skirt, fluttered forward in the breeze that came behind them.
She half-consciously lifted her hand up to her neck, where her red-dyed coconut fiber, whale teeth, and white coffee bean trivia shells necklace once adorned her neck to symbolize her high rank and status as Motunui's first ali'i nui wahine.
She sighed and remembered that she couldn't wear it or her armband or feather belt for the time being, at least not for the next nine months. She missed that necklace, particularly the pāua pendant, which was used as the centerpiece of the jewelry. It was her grandmother's keepsake, and it hurt to know she would have to part with that too… at least for now.
Taking a long deep breath, Moana looked up at the sail and quickly turned to run toward the back of the canoe. There she loosened and untied the sennit rope to the sheet, pulled and held onto it tight as the wind filled the sail, forcing the canoe travel quickly by the strength the breeze.
"Hrrruggghhh..." She was straining to hold the rope to the gigantic crescent-shaped sail as two of her voyagers came and took over. Moana turned and saw that her steersman was left to steer the vessel alone.
Not on her watch.
Her steersman looked up when he felt someone shifting the oar slightly, and saw that it was Chief Moana. She turned to him and said,
"It's a little easier when two people steer a va'a-tele this size."
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you, Chief." He replied with gratitude in his voice, before he asked purely out of genuine concern. "Are you sure you should be doing this?"
Moana turned to him with a grateful smile on her face. "I'll be fine, thanks for asking." He got the message; she was going to stay by his side till the ocean waves were smooth again.
That opportunity came an hour later, and she wasted no time to grab a rope and held on to it while she leaned against the edge to one of her canoe's double-hulls and dipped her hand in the sea so she could feel the different currents passing through her fingers. Each current would've taken her to different undiscovered islands, but she wasn't going to those islands—no, it was time for her to return home… and continue her little project. She turned around still holding her hand in the water and looked at the half-woven flax basket. That basket was going to be her new pikau or carrier basket that she would wear on her back, and it was hopefully going to make child-rearing easier for her the second time around.
So far the only ones who knew—and who paid attention—were her fellow Wayfinders, who saw all the signs; she wore her fusi a little looser than usual, then there was the hidden strain behind her eyes as she fought nausea, citing it as simple seasickness despite never showing signs of the ailment at sea before, not even when she was pregnant with Hinatea.
She looked up and pinpointed their location by where their large canoe glided beneath the rising sun and could feel her island's current passing between her fingers. She pulled her hand out of the deep blue water and headed over to the steer before pushed it slightly to the left. Moana turned to look behind her and made sure her remaining fleet followed. She took a deep breath and she could practically smell Motunui near the horizon, and the food they were preparing, fish, breadfruit, and coconut milk.
The scent of coconut milk reminded her of her young daughter. Oh, she could just picture Hina's little face, as she would go around begging for coconut milk every night before she went to bed. The heaviness in her heart slowly vanished a she felt them nearing home with each ocean wave. She looked up at the sky, half-expecting to see Maui in his giant hawk form by now—unless he'd lost track of time playing with their daughter—and given how much he loves to spoil her, she wouldn't be surprised if he did.
If only she knew.
IIIIIIII
Back in Motunui, near the inlet, stood the largest fale in the entire village. This fale was known as the maota tofa and it was built with the finest materials that their island could provide, with its great eight-foot tall paepae, and its high frond thatch roof—the tallest in the whole village—decorated with red chicken feathers that hung around the bottom of the roof.
Hina hummed as she sat next to her father's fala moenga, creating a siapo of her little moon friend on u'a cloth with charcoal made from last night's fire. Maui laid with a blue ocean patterned blanket tucked over his lavalava and legs, staring at the six poutu with pure annoyance written on his face as Mini-Maui was trying to get his attention or apologize for what happened. Maui ignored him. He was in no mood to talk to the little traitor. So he continued staring at the dry frond leaf ceiling. Hina giggled and cooed beside him.
"Finish!" She declared throwing her hands up in the air, she picked up the cloth, stood on her two little legs and toddled over to her father. Mini-Maui quickly made his way to Maui's right shoulder to see the drawing she'd made, and gave it two thumbs up.
"Thank you!" Hina replied with a giggle. Mini-Maui raised his hand up for a five high. Hina lifted her hand up and gently smacked it against her father's shoulder. Mini-Maui then made his hand into a fist and held it close to her. Hina looked at her hand and looked up at him with confusion written all over her face; Mini-Maui showed her what to do. "Okay." She replied before she curled her fingers in and brought it to where he stood on her father's skin.
"Hey! When can I get a turn?" Maui spoke with an impatient tone in his voice. Hina turned her attention to her father and climbed on his chest before she held up the drawing.
"Here you go, Papa." He reached for the drawing and carefully pressed his fingers against the edge and brought it closer to him before he lifted his other hand to hold the other side.
"Ha! You've got my artistic skill!" He cheered enthusiastically as he lifted his head to face her.
"Yeah?" She asked.
Maui replied with a proud smile "Yeah." Before he looked at the drawing again and despite some of the smudges in the background, he was surprised to see she paid attention to some detail on the figure's tattooed face. "So, who's this suppose to be?" He asked while Hina started playing with her fingers as she answered, "The moon."
Maui looked up at his daughter skeptically and added, "I thought the moon was this big round glowing white thing?"
"Nuh-uh, it had a glowy faces with curly lines and two no finger hands! And a long, long neck!"
Confused, Maui took another look at the drawing and paid even closer attention to the details. The depiction slowly unearthed old childhood memories, he'd buried down for over a millennium. Soon the Gods warnings slowly rang through his mind, telling him not to do anything to offend the moon Marama or he would share a similar fate to Tangaroa's unfortunate daughter, Rona.
Now, the fact that the moon had gone out of his way to abduct a fully-grown goddess for reacting to his trick wasn't really what scared him—it did scare him nonetheless—but the thought of the moon actually showing himself to Hina to take her, that's what terrified him.
"Papa!" Hina screamed having apparently trying to get his attention.
He responded with a, "What?"
"I really saw the moon!" She told him.
Maui raised an eyebrow and said while smiling, "I believe ya." He placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her close to him, his eyes slowly closed as her forehead rested against his," You're gonna be something great one day, Hina. I can feel it."
"I am?" Hina asked staring at her father as he slowly opened his eyes, doing his signature eyebrow raise and smirk before he answered.
"You bet you are!" Maui picked her up and started throwing her up in the air as he declared, "You're the daughter of Motunui's first Chiefess, Moana Waialiki, and her amazing demigod consort, Maui. You got greatness flowing in your blood kid!"
Mini-Maui, not wanting Hina to heed her father's big-headedness, grabbed one of the tattoo frames, pulled and released, letting it slap against his host's skin.
"Ow!" Maui cried out before he turned to his friend.
Ready to hurl his giant fist down on his little inky form when Hina–who pulled herself up to her father's right hand–scolded the tattoo instead by wagging her little finger at him, "No! No! Bad tat-tat! Don't hurt Papa!"
Mini-Maui dropped his arms and looked down, twirling his foot in shame.
Oh! How Maui wished Hina had snuck out to the beach again!
'That'll teach him.' He thought. A grin appeared on Maui's lips as he lifted her into the air and said, "You tell him Shark-bait!" Before he set her down back on the floor.
The sounds of the conch shell horn resonated from the beach, prompting Maui and Hina to turn toward the doorway and said with a smile on his face.
"Look's like Mommy's home."
"Mama!" Hina shouted excitedly before she ran toward the doorway, ready to climb down the steps when she stopped and turned, "Papa, you gonna come too?" She asked. Maui paused, having just realized that he didn't explain why he'd been lying on the mat all morning.
"Uh…" He went as he rushed to put the right words without detailing what exactly happened, and saving him further embarrassment from the recollection. "…Daddy's not feeling well kiddo, so you go right ahead and give Mommy a kiss from me, okay?" Maui winked, "Think ya can do that?"
"Uh huh!" Hina replied before she walked out, pushed the pola aside and slowly climbed down the steps, one foot at a time.
Maui chuckled as he watched her go, and put his arms over his head before he sighed with a proud smile on his face, "That's my girl."
IIIIIIII
Hina raced down the slope, her little legs waddling as she ran down through her family's land by herself, till her grandfather spotted her heading down toward the beach by herself.
"Whoahohohoh! And where do you think you're going little one?" He asked as he settled her in his arms.
"To the beach to see Mama." She answered.
He chuckled and said to her in a soft voice. "Well aren't you lucky, your grandmother and I were just about to go and get you." Just as Sina walked over to her husband's side, Tui put his arm around his wife, "Now that we're all here let's go greet your mother together."
"Okay!" Hina replied as her grandfather led them toward the beach where the boats could be seen on the sea nearing the shore. "Mama!" The little girl cried out happily, waving her hand at the distant vessels. Tui and Sina turned to one another as they walked; both grandparents bore a look of pure joy before turning their gaze back to their grandchild.
The rest of the village had started to gather at the beach and stopped and cleared a path for Tui and Sina as they walked forward down toward shore.
Moana walked to the front of the va'a-tele with her arms folded over her chest as she saw Motunui's shore in the near distance.
There, standing right where the seawater touched the sand, were her parents and young daughter.
She could hear her daughter's heart-warming screams, "Mama! Mama!" on the shore, and it seemed like an eternity had passed before they finally came close enough for her to jump off.
Tui carefully put Hina down on the sand and watched, as Sina placed her left hand on his shoulder and her right hand on his bicep. She rested her head against the crook of her husband's shoulder as she gazed upon their granddaughter with a warm loving smile on her face.
IIIIIIII
Moana quickly got down on one knee and held her arms out for her daughter, "Mama!" Hina shouted as she waddled into the water, running straight into her mother's loving arms. She giggled from her mother's kisses to her cheek and squealed even louder as Moana spun her around, before bringing her close for a hongi.
Moana whispered, with her forehead still pressed to her daughter's, "I missed you, so, so much." She opened her eyes as she felt Hina's tiny hands moving to her cheeks as she said,
"I miss you too, Mama." Soon her parents walked over toward her, and she greeted them both with a hongi, starting with her father first and then her mother.
With the formalities out of the way, Sina enveloped her daughter in a hug before her father joined in as a sea of their villagers welcomed her and the other voyagers home. Moana pulled away slightly and looked around, seeing the smiles on her people's faces as loved ones reunited with loved ones. But there was one face that she didn't see. She looked over toward at the back of the crowd, then to the skies, the trees, and even to her feet, in case he shape-shifted into a lizard or a beetle.
He was nowhere to be found, confused Moana looked up at her parents, as she settled her daughter to her hip and asked, "Where's Maui?"
The question brought a hush upon the crowd, confusing those who'd just returned. Tui took a step forward and placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder as he opened his mouth to explain, but upon hearing her father's name was interrupted by his granddaughter as she suddenly said, "Mama, papa told me to kiss you from he!" Hina moved and kissed her mother on the cheek.
Moana couldn't help but giggle at the gesture, but that only added more to her internal confusion. It wasn't like him to not make some public spectacle of his affections for her. Which could only mean one of two things? He had a surprise waiting for her or he was nursing his injured pride.
"What happened?" Moana asked, looking at her parents specifically.
Tui assured her putting his arm over her shoulder, "We'll tell you later, Moana. For now, let's just celebrate your safe return."
Moana raised an eyebrow and guessed, "Maui told you how far I was, didn't he?"
Tui replied. "All he needed to do was show up, and that's how we knew." Sina nodded in agreement as she walked beside her daughter; Hina saw her grandmother and immediately stretched her arms out toward her, Moana graciously handed her daughter back to her mother.
They all headed back to the village and walked up the path; where Moana saw a huge load of fish—far more than what the fishermen would collect in a day. Her eyes widening slightly she turned to her parents. "Wow… the fishermen really put an effort today." Sina and Tui turned and saw the surprised look on their daughter's face.
He explained, "It wasn't just them, Maui played his part too."
Moana slowly stopped her in tracks and looked at them as if they each grew a second head, "Maui?"
Tui and Sina slowly nodded with smiles on their face as her father gave this simple explanation. "Your homecomings always brings back unexpected miracles, even for 'fishermen' like Maui."
Moana didn't even want to imagine what that demigod consort of hers went through to successfully catch fish. Maybe her father was right, and miracles did happen whenever she returned home. Hina then saw her mother and stretched her arms out to her. Moana carefully took her daughter from her mother and settled her on her hip once more.
"The cooks are making your favorite meals," Sina told her taking her twenty-three-year-old daughter's arm in hers, "Ika mata, Kālua pig—"
Moana's eyes went wide till her father interrupted to add. "That's not Pua."
Sina smiled when she heard her daughter's sigh of pure relief. She continued on. "We also have palusami, roasted fish in wrapped banana leaves—"
Moana suddenly stopped in her tracks, bewildering her parents, her daughter and the rest of the villagers. All eyes were on her, and she'd never felt so suffocated in her life, but she put up a brave front and said to her parents as respectfully as possible,
"Mother, thank you. I really appreciate all the trouble you're all going through—but if it's all right with you, I think I'd like some fish broth with coconut milk." The second Moana uttered the words coconut milk; Hina perked up and immediately demanded.
"Co'nut milk! Mama, can I have some co'nut milk?"
Tui turned to face his granddaughter and reminded her, "And what do we say?"
Hina then added, politely, "Please?"
Tui walked toward his daughter and said, "I'll take her." Moana nodded and handed Hina over to her father to take to the tunoa. He stopped after taking his third step and turned to glance at his wife and daughter. He took notice of Moana's garments and said with a soft smile on his face, "Well, it seems we'll be celebrating two momentous occasions today."
Moana smiled back at him, relieved that she didn't have to tell him the news.
"Mind your health, Moana." He told her, his voice gentle, but authoritative at the same time.
She smiled as she replied, "Don't worry, Dad. I will." Sina linked her arm around her daughter's before she continued on leading her back to the maota tofa. Moana bore the same nervous look she had when she had been pregnant with Hina. In fact, her heart was racing. How was Maui going to react to the surprise? More importantly, how was she even going to tell him?
A village girl called out Moana's name and ran up to her. Moana and her mother stopped to look at the girl offered her an open-end lei. Touched by her sweet gesture, Moana bent forward, holding her long hair to one side, as the little girl draped the untied lei over her shoulders. Moana gave the girl a hongi and watched as she ran back in the direction she came from, "Congratulations Moana!" She called out, turning her back slightly and waving at her. Moana waved back for a few seconds and turned to face her mother. Sina smiled before she turned to look back at the path leading back to her daughter's home.
Moana waved back for a few seconds and turned to face her mother. Sina smiled before she turned to look back at the path leading back to her daughter's home. Her mother asked, "Okay, so you want fish broth and coconut milk? Is there anything else you'd like?"
Moana turned to her mother with an awkward smile before she said, "Well, there's a bowl of poi and…could you help me make another pikau?"
Sina just brushed her fingers through her daughter's loose hair as she said, "I'd be more than happy to—" Sina stopped in the middle of the way and softly pressed her hands against her daughter's cheeks before she called her by her childhood nickname, "—My little minnow."
Moana returned her mother's loving gesture with a warm hug as she whispered, "Thanks, Mom."
Sina hugged her daughter back, and pulled away while keeping her hands firmly on Moana's arms, "Anything else?"
Moana nodded, reached down to her fusi, pulled out her necklace and said, "Can you please hold on to this for me?"
Sina gladly took the necklace and held it tight as she continued leading her daughter back to her home, where she would finally get some answers about Maui's absence.
IIIIIIII
When she pushed the pola with a painting of her consort's fishhook, aside and entered her darken house with her mother and she found Maui lying on his mat, scowling as he stared at the ceiling.
"Maui?" She called out; he let out a surprised gasp and immediately sat up—a little too quickly.
He let out a soft wince before he answered, "Moana?"
She stared at him with concern written all over her face, "Are… you okay?"
He replied with an embarrassed chuckle, "Yeah… I'm fine." Before he turned and saw his mother-in-law there, "Hey Sina."
Sina greeted him with a nod and a smile before she turned to her daughter and said, "I better go see how your dad's doing."
Moana nodded in agreement.
Sina turned to her son-in-law and said to him, "And I hope you feel better soon Maui." Before she turned around and left their house, letting the pola fall into place to block out most of the blinding sun from entering their home.
Moana went to his side and sat down with her legs folded under her. Maui placed his hand on her shoulder, and the two pressed their foreheads and noses together, "Welcome back, Curly," Maui whispered. The two pulled away, but Maui couldn't necessarily bring himself to pull his hand away just yet.
Moana slowly put her hand on top of his and asked, "What happened?"
Maui's mood soured and his expression changed from content to annoyed in an instant. He pulled his hand off her shoulder and turned to his tattoos and pointed to the tattoo on the left side of his chest, right next to his tattoo of her. "Ask him."
Moana turned to where Mini-Maui was usually seen holding up the sky only to find him missing, "Where's—"
Maui suddenly cut in and said, "Get your leafy skirt butt out here and tell her what you did!" Mini-Maui's fingers were seen on the edge of the canoe tattoo as he slowly peeked his head out and waved at Moana before he was ready to lower back down behind the tattoo canoe to hide. "No, you don't!" Maui pressed his finger against his little head and forced him back up to the canoe. "You're not leaving till you tell her what you did."
Wide-eyed, Mini-Maui immediately pointed an accusing finger back at him.
"Oh no, no, no, don't pin the blame on me!" And the argument ensued with a lot of finger pointing on Mini-Maui's part, and a lot of shouting from Maui.
Moana's presence seemed forgotten as man and tattoo continued on with their verbal and silent fight. A lot of curses leaves Maui's mouth, all of which Mini-Maui blocked out by purposely by putting his fingers in unseen his ears.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing, A demigod who's lived for thousands of years and his animated tattoo, acting like babies.
Moana tried to get a word in, but Maui's shouts blocked out whatever attempt she made to pacify the situation. So, she calmly walked up to him, unnoticed, and quickly grabbed him by the earlobe and gave it a powerful tug before she slapped her hand on top of Mini-Maui. Maui immediately flinched as a response, curling his fingers in pain and cried out as she tugged harder, "H–Hey—ow! Ow!"
"Stop it. You two are acting like children." With that said she let go of her consort's ear and pulled her hand and away from his chest, Maui and Mini-Maui stopped to turn and look at her, she narrowed her eyes at them both. Mini-Maui started to twirl his foot guiltily while Maui avoided her stern gaze; apparently, something about their stone floor caught his interest.
Moana took a deep breath to calm herself down as she turned to them both, clasping her hands together as she spoke, "Now, one at a time. Mini-Maui, you first."
Mini-Maui pointed to Maui, then pointed to himself, and using his hook turned himself into a chicken before pointing a feathered finger back Maui. Moana nodded with her hands on her hips, "So… he called you a chicken." Mini-Maui nodded, changing back into his human form, and seemed to stop there. Moana crossed her arms and said, "Keep going." And from the tone of her voice, they both knew there was no getting out of this one. Mini-Maui reluctantly continued by changing himself to a giant hawk.
Moana watched the next scenes that played out. Her stern eyes slowly going wide with shock at the same time her mouth slowly hung open after he was done.
"You hit him there… all because he called you a chicken?" She spoke out in pure bewilderment. She knew there was more to it than that. "What else happened?" She asked. Mini-Maui turned his back to her and crossed his arms before he shook his head and pointed to the demigod himself, clearly done telling his side of the story.
Maui scoffed at his tactics.
Moana raised an eyebrow as turned to him with a stern look in her eyes. "So?" She began, "What else did you do to him that made him hurt you like that?"
He replied once again scoffing at the thought of his obvious guilt,
"Nothing." He looked up at her and saw that she wasn't buying it. He sighed and said, "Fine. Fish—" He flicked Mini-Maui off his shoulder before he could say anything contradictory, "We got into an argument about fish."
She stared at him in disbelief. "You two got into an argument about fish."
Maui nodded as he lied despite knowing how stupid the story sounded, "Yeah, fish."
"I don't believe you." She retorted. Maui shrugged without a care in the world before he lay back down and shifted to lie on his side, so his back faced her. Moana took a hesitating step forward and knelt down beside him, tucking her legs beneath her knees. "Are you sure that's all that happened?"
Maui kept his back to her, so she wouldn't see the remorseful look on his face as he replied, "Yeah it is."
She sighed, "Maui—"
He interrupted her and said, "Don't you have a feast to get to?"
She shook her head and told him. "Everybody's still preparing for it, so I still have some time."
Maui could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head. But she wasn't getting any more out of him, and he'd made sure that his body language made it clear to her. Moana sighed, this time of defeat as she asked, "Want me to get you anything?"
Maui thought for a minute before he replied, "I'll have whatever you're having."
Moana, happy that he had his back turned, slowly placed her hand on her flat stomach. If there were a right time to subtly tell him the news, it would be now. "Okay…" She said in a sing-a-long voice as she stood up and headed toward the door, "…If your belly's hungry for fish broth, poi, and coconut milk. It's fish broth, poi and coconut milk you'll get."
Mini-Maui, who'd just climbed back up to Maui's shoulder, heard what she just said, let out a silent gasp as before he flashed a big toothy grin on his face as he started jumping up and down happily.
Maui saw what his little tattoo friend was doing, and just let out an amused chortle to hide his confusion as he finally turned to lie on his back. He turned to her with one eyebrow raised and pure mirth on his face, thinking this was a joke, he replied in know it all tone. "Fish broth, Poi, and coconut milk? Okay, that is not food for a demigod like me. Those are things that pregnant women—"
He stopped midway through his sentence as his eyes widen; the realization hit him like three whole breadfruits fell on his thick dark curly silky haired head. He quickly sat up in shock and immediately turned to her with pure disbelief all over his face.
Moana slowly turned back to face him, beaming as she glanced at him and saw the dumbfounded, breathless look on his face.
He jumped to his feet, and the foundation shook slightly from his strong built as he took one good look at her. Aside from the malu on her hands and the ones barely peeking out from under her skirt, and her left shoulder tattoo, consisting mostly of sea turtles, sea turtle shells and ocean waves; her appearance had changed vastly.
Her half-knot was gone leaving her long curly-wavy hair completely loose—just how he liked it—and so was her whale teeth necklace with her grandma's pāua pendant in the middle. It was replaced with an open-end red lei. Her armband was gone. Her belt was gone but her fusi was still fastened around her tapa cloth skirt, though it wasn't fastened as tightly as usual, which meant she was going change out of them, soon.
Moana gasped as he grabbed her by the arms and lifted her up five feet high before he let out his signature cry, "CHEEEHOOO!"
Her hands clasped both ends of the lei as he spun her around in the air before he put her down. Whatever pain he'd been feeling seemed to have miraculously washed away as he ran over and grabbed his hook from the floor and ran back to Moana, and he put his arm around her shoulders.
"Ready to go?" He asked her eagerly.
She raised an eyebrow and said with a know it all tone, "You sure? I thought you're in too much pain—"
He blew her off with a wave of his hand and said, "Oh that. Pffftt… I'll get over it. Besides, what kinda demigod would I be if I let a pregnant lady walk alone?"
Moana nudged him with her hip and poked him in the chest before she retorted, "That's pregnant Chiefess to you. Thank you very much." She took the first step forward toward the door and reminded him, "And… I was the one who restored Te Fiti." She paused and added, "Last I checked being pregnant and walking alone is nothing compared to confronting…" She paused and spoke while air quoting the words, "…a 'lava monster'." She saw the small smirk he had on his lips, and the familiar warm glow in his eyes as he stared at her. "What?" She asked.
"You." He replied, his smile widening, "You never cease to amaze me." Moana rolled her eyes at his charming response. He continued, "You've done things no other mortal has ever dreamed of. You sailed across the sea, found me, beat Te Kā and next you're gonna tell me that you're still not scared some evil spirit will take our kid's soul from behind you?"
So that was it.
He just wanted to feel useful again… or he was still wary of her people's superstitions. Moana immediately her head shook her head before she paused and thought about it for a moment before finally admitting while pinching her fingers together, "Maybe a little... but that's never stopped me before."
Maui shrugged and said, "Suit yourself." Before he pulled his arm off her shoulder and started walking out of their house. He called out, "Enjoy the walk!" Moana immediately followed after and soon climbed down the steps in front of him. She glanced over her shoulder, and he saw the little devious smile on her face. She didn't need anyone to protect her from danger; she's more than capable of protecting herself, but their soon to be two children would always come first, especially where her pride was concerned. That was an unspoken agreement between them both—although Moana would do a better job at upholding that agreement then he would.
She felt his arm around her shoulder again, and turned to look up only to see that stupid grin on his face as they climbed down the steps together and walked toward the back of their house and up the slope toward the middle of the village, where the smell of fish, roasted pig, coconut milk and chicken were the strongest.
Maui suddenly stopped midway up the village path, forcing her to stop too. He cupped her chin between his fingers and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Thanks for cheering me up, Chief Moana."
She smiled and replied resting her head on his shoulder for a minute, "You're welcome."
He put his arm around her again before they continued on toward the meeting area.
IIIIIIII
The minute they were within the crowd, Maui went back to his loud, boisterous self as he sat to her right for a minute, before he left to do what he did best, entertaining the village children during the feast. Their daughter Hinatea was among the crowd of children that gathered around and climbed all over him, of course there was a lot of acting on Maui's part, especially when he just happened to 'fall' over on his back as the older children all pushed him down, while the younger children—including his daughter—fascinated by all of his elaborate moving tattoos, clambered to his chest, feet and arms.
The most of the adults were delighted at the sight, and the sounds of their muffled laughter only warmed his heart. He decided to go further, but what stunt could he perform? While he thought of his next best possible performance, one of the younger girls who'd taken interested his long curly hair took upon herself to test her reflexes on it.
Maui felt a sharp tug to his hair follicles and looked up as the little girl, Anuhea started sucking on the ends of his hair. He immediately lifted the little girl up in his hand, slowly stood up, and caused the rest of children to roll off him or back away.
He pulled his hair out of the little girl's mouth. Then an idea came to his mind, "Who wants stories?!"
Once again, the children surrounded him, all of them eagerly begging to hear his tales.
He chuckled he said waving his hands up and down gesturing the children to settle down. "Okay, okay, you gotta earn it first, kids." He then turned, and raising his fishhook, waved it to the fale tele, before placed his fishhook, upside down on the ground right next to him to use as a start line. "First one to move me from this spot to the fale tele will get a story of his or her choice!"
With the challenge laid out, all the children immediately went about to start their task, even little Hina joined in the fun and started pushing her father by the back of his right leg. Maui stood there, still as a statue, watching in amusement all the children made an effort to get him to move.
When that didn't work, Hina toddled over to join the younger boys and grabbed her father's pinkie before she started pulling as well.
The children kept pushing and pulling, and just for the fun of it, Maui slowly started to shift his right leg forward, encouraging the children to continue on with their endeavor. Maui then shouted to raise their spirits, "C'mon kids, put some muscle into it!"
The older boys continued pushing him on the back. Hina, having grown tired of pulling on her father's pinkie went back to where the older boys were, her tiny hands pressed against the bottom of his lavalava, and pushed.
He looked down and saw his daughter's strained face, grunting as she tried with all her might to push his leg forward. Maui turned and saw the oldest one of the group, eight-year-old Hiapo, putting all his strength to pushing the burly demigod's back. Slowly, Maui moved his other leg forward and then his other leg. This encouraged the children to push and pull even harder. Maui, pleased with all their efforts and teamwork, finally started walking, which only motivated the children to keep going.
"Look behind you kids, see how far you've crossed," Maui told them, waving his arm over the clear grassy land behind him. All the children stopped for a moment and turned to look behind him. His fishhook was at least ten feet away from them now.
Feelings of accomplishment washed over all the children, but they only made it about halfway there. Hiapo pressed his hands on Maui's back and pushed, and the rest who stood behind him joined in. The younger children—with the exception of Hina—all started pulling on his arms again.
Within ten minutes, the children had managed to 'move' him from the malae to the bottom steps of the fale tele. Soon, half of the children that had been pushing him from the back quickly moved to the front and joined in the rest that were tugging him by the arm. Hina, who was so dead set on pushing his leg forward, hadn't realized she'd been left to continue on with her struggle alone. That was until Hiapo managed to 'pull' him to take the first step.
A half dimpled smile slowly crept to Maui's lips as he climbed up the steps and announced looking directly at Hiapo, "And we have a winner!"
Hiapo was suddenly paralyzed by timidity as the crowd of children stood behind him. "Hiapo, come on up!" Maui told him.
The eight-year-old breathed in and proceeded to take soft slow steps as he approached. Hina started stomping her feet in anticipation as she watched Hiapo finally reach the top and looked up at her father.
The grand moment was interrupted when out of nowhere the stupid hen's clucking was heard nearing the fale tele. The children looked behind them and saw her marching over, stopping only to lay an egg. This big-eyed, pudgy, white-feathered bantam hen, that Hina named 'Moa', was the very same hen that used Maui's head as a nest. She was also the one of the surprisingly three offspring Heihei had miraculously managed to sire a year ago just before his death, and unlike her two brothers, Moa was just as slow and dim-witted as her father had been.
But there was one thing they could all agree on, despite her brain—or lack of—she knew how to do her job.
A second later Moa let out a loud caw and laid another egg on the spot. Maui stared at the chicken with a straight face as Hina waddled over to Moa and picked her up. Carrying the chicken in her arm, she toddled over back to where she stood in the crowd, grinning happily as she looked up and said, "Keep talking Papa."
A loving smile slowly made its way to his lips as he looked down at his young daughter for a second before he turned back to the boy. "Hiapo, you were the first one who officially moved Maui from the malae all the way to the fale tele. "So… what story do ya wanna hear?"
Hiapo looked down for about a minute and said, "How Moana and you defeated Te Kā."
Maui grinned, "Ooooh…nice choice. Alright kids come on in!" He moved to one side as the children climbed the stone steps, and counted in his head just to make sure they were all in. He heard a soft grunt coming from the stairs. He peeked over the edge slightly and saw Hina struggling to get up while still carrying Moa in her arms. He leaned over and picked her up.
"Huh?" She went, no longer feeling the cold stone steps beneath her tiny bare feet.
"I got you." Her father murmured as he carried her along with him to the back of the building.
Maui set his Hina down beside Hiapo and took several steps back. He turned and saw she was still holding the chicken in her arms. He raised an eyebrow and gave her a half stern look, "Put her down." Hina pouted before she let out a soft whimper. Maui told her again with a firmer tone, "Put her down."
Hina reluctantly placed Moa on the floor and let her wander around the building, "Okay—" Maui began just before Moa cawed once more and laid her ninth or tenth egg of the day. "Okay…" He continued as he sat down, cross-legged in front of the children. He looked around and saw the pile of siapo cloth all stacked on the west end of the fale tele.
Maui turned to his young daughter and pointed to the stack, "Hina, could ya give me a hand and grab those?"
The little girl looked over and pointed to the pile, "That one?" She asked.
Maui smiled, "That's the one!" Hina stood up and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her to where her father had pointed and picked up the pile before she toddled over, bringing them over to him.
Maui took the pile from her little hands and said to her with a smile, "Thank you, Hina." before he gently pushed her in the direction of the other children. "We don't need these, do we kids?" He tossed the piles of siapo over his shoulder scattering all of them behind him, bringing smiles to the children's faces as Hina trotted over and plopped herself down next to Hiapo. A toothy grin started to make its way to her lips, clapping her hands in anticipation for what was coming next. He stood up and urged the rest of the children to stand up as well. The Demigod told him as the boy about halfway off from the floor.
"Not you Hiapo. You're the audience for today!" Maui wanted to start the story the only way he knew how, with a lot of exuberance, pantomime and fun, and of course with his little ensemble each playing a role in the tale.
He took a few steps back and pulled the tapa mat up, before sticking his hand into the mat, and pulled out several painted masks made from the unrefined bark of the mulberry tree.
IIIIIIII
Moana could only watch and shake her head to what she could see from the malae. Sina walking over to her daughter only had this to say,
"It's good to see he's recovering nicely." She sat down next to her daughter and handed her a wooden coconut husk bowl of poi, which Moana graciously took from her fingers. Sina watched attentively as her daughter started scooping the light purple bits of smooth pounded taro with her hand for a few minutes, till she noticed her mother's warm gaze.
"What is it?" She asked with a bewildered tone in her voice.
Sina took a deep breath and brushed away and tucked some of her graying hair behind her ear before she moved her hand to her cheek for a minute as she said, "I'll tell you later."
Moana could only smile at her mother's response, as she already had some inkling on what she'd wanted to say. Where did all the years go? She knew that feeling—she felt it every day just by looking at her own little girl.
She turned and at the fale tele after hearing the sounds of her daughter's roaring, and smiled to see Hina taking part in whatever activity her father had set up, and actually sticking with it. Then again, they couldn't be even more alike, not just in appearance but also in spirit.
Sometimes she still could hear Maui's voice in her head and the declaration he'd made on the day Hina had been born.
"Watch. She's gonna grow up to be something amazing someday! I just know it."
He didn't really clarify what 'amazing' exactly meant for him. But she had a clue about what his dreams for Hina were. They were vast, extraordinary, over the top and of course, as he would put it, 'Awesome.' And that was so... well… Maui.
Suddenly the fale tele roared with laughter as Moa made herself comfortable on the top of Maui's head and crowed laying an egg before she flapped her flightless wings and jumped off. The egg rolled off and shattered on the floor, spilling yolk and albumen all over the tapa mat. Maui and the children stared at the shattered egg before they all looked up at him. The Demigod simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "I…am not cleaning that."
IIIIIIII
At last, the day was done, and those who'd returned from their voyage to Tetahi, Moana's first island discovery, were finally allowed to retreat to their homes and rest.
Moana—now adorned with a new type of red one-piece puletasi that she could slip on and off, rather than wrap around her body—lay down on her bed, made from multiple layers of sleeping mats stacked together to about three feet high, and rested her head against her bamboo pillow.
The effects of her pregnancy combined with the long trip had caught up with her as she quickly fell asleep just as Maui entered carrying Hina in the palm of his hand to surprise her, having just gotten permission from Tui and Sina to take their daughter back.
Hina put her finger up to her lips and made a shushing sound, "Mama's sleeping." She whispered.
Maui lifted his hand up, so she was standing at eye-level with him, "Yeah..." He said to her before he got down and lowered his hand down to the floor and continued, "Mommy's really tired from her trip."
Hina toddled over to where her mother slept on the far right of the room and slowly peeked from the edge of her bed. Maui sat down on his fala moenga and watched what she was about to do. Hina leaned forward slightly, but then drew herself back before she turned to her father, "If I give kisses will Mama wake up?"
Maui shrugged his shoulders as he glanced at her with a soft smile on his face and said, "Probably."
Hina let out a surprised gasp when she felt her mother's arms grab her, and pull her up to the bed.
"Too late, I'm up," Moana spoke in a soft tired, but happy voice as she pulled their squealing three-year-old daughter closer to her, just before she planted another kiss on the top of her head.
Hina turned to lie on her side, so she could see her mother's smiling face.
"You sleepy?" Hina asked perching herself up by her arms, seeing her mother's tired eyes. Moana smiled as she slowly nodded. Her daughter then lay back down, staring at her mother's face and said, "I'll stay with you, Mama."
Maui let out a muffled chuckle as he sat down, letting his giant fishhook rest on his lap while he watched as Moana started brushing her fingers through their daughter's hair and listened to her giggles as her restless little girl continued gazing upon her. Eventually, the young mother could barely keep her eyes open while she continued stroking her daughter's hair for an hour before her fingers eventually stopped moving altogether. By then Hina had already used up whatever leftover energy she had and fallen asleep in her mother's arms.
Maui half-leaned against his arm while he sat, looking at them both as they slept. Mini-Maui waved at him and held up a tattoo version of a blanket before he ran to the next frame and draped it over some tattooed rocks that bore an uncanny resemblance to Moana and Hina.
The Demigod rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head as he responded, "Yeah, yeah, alright." It wasn't like he wasn't going to tuck them in anyway.
He carefully got up and took soft, slow steps toward the occupied layers of fala mats in front of him. The question came to his mind again as he was left wondering, how'd he get so lucky?
Maui knelt down on one knee and carefully draped the blanket over them. He then turned toward the burning candlenut inside the coconut husk bowl and blew it out.
The whole room went dark from the lack of fire and the lowered pola sheets surrounding the whole house.
A glint caught his eye, coming from outside. Maui turned toward the doorway and watched as the sheet flapped from the wind. He stood up and walked to his fala moenga, picked up his fishhook and proceeded to walk toward the door.
He took one last glance at Moana and their daughter, just to make sure they both stayed asleep before he pushed the pola to one side and stepped outside.
Walking down till he'd reached the last step, Maui lifted his fishhook above his head, shifted into a beetle, kept himself hidden on the bottom end of the steps, and waited.
The clouds covered the moon, turning the whole island of Motunui dark for ten to fifteen minutes till the moon's beam shot down from the space between the clouds.
The glimmer came from Tui and Sina's home. Maui shapeshifted into a lizard and raced over. With a flash of blue, he changed back to his human form, holding his giant fishhook in one hand and picked up the tiny clear stone with the other. Maui clenched his fist and proceeded to walk down to the beach.
IIIIIIII
He stared at it and turned it over, and saw the eye-shaped ta moko carved into the surface. Suddenly all the stories the Gods and Goddess told him came flooding back, as their voices echoed, describing this very same stone.
This was the eye of Marama.
With his eyes narrowed, Maui turned his head up toward the moon. He raised his fishhook up high and shouted due to fear and fatherly rage, "Stay away from her!" He glanced at the stone in his hand for a full minute and flung it over the air with all his might. The stone flew out of his hand and carried on before it finally disappeared two thousand feet away into the sea.
Heaving, Maui slowly straightened up and continued staring at the full moon. Feeling confident that he'd gotten his message across. He cracked his neck and turned around, ready to head home when he felt a huge spit of water hitting the back of his head.
Maui immediately whirled around and saw that The Ocean had managed to stretch itself up high enough to peek over him before it dropped the stone at his feet. He picked it up and stared at it in disbelief and anger. He then turned to The Ocean and told it, "Not happening!" Before he threw it back into the sea. The Ocean lowered itself down and came up a second later before dropping the stone beneath his feet. He glanced down at the stone for a minute before he looked up at The Ocean, and kicked it away from him.
"She's my daughter, and she's still a kid, okay? She's not old enough to be dealing with this mess!" He took a step back before taking a deep breath.
The Ocean stood there towering over him for a moment before it leaned forward and slowly pushed the stone closer to him.
Maui took this motion as a sign that The Ocean didn't care about Hina's age and well-being. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Understandably enough due to a lack of a voice box, The Ocean couldn't just speak and tell him to keep the stone till Hinatea came of age.
He held his giant fishhook in front of him and gripped it with both hands as he went into a fighting stance. The Ocean hesitated and in a way, so did he. Not because of fear, but because of Moana, and how much they both meant to her.
At the same time, he knew he stood no chance against The Ocean's power, but Hina was his flesh and blood. She was his family. She was his daughter and she was the second person who gave him the unconditional love he'd always longed for. Most of all he wanted to give her that same unconditional love his parents denied him—so she wouldn't have to suffer alone through the harsh future she was sure to face. And if The Ocean wasn't going to protect her...then he would.
Notes:
List of terminologies:
Whakahoki: A Maori verb that could mean to return or to respond.
Umu: A Samoan stone oven which sits on top of the ground.
Mano: Hawaiian word for shark.
Fusi: A tapa sash.
Maota Tofa: The House of a High Chief.
Ta Moko: Traditional carved Maori tattoos.
Siapo: A traditional and valuable Samoan cloth made from tapa.
Pola: Sheets that surround the entire fale to be used as blinds or covers to block out the sun, and provide protection from wind and rain.
Faletua: The wife or consort to an ali'i.
Puletasi: A Polynesian two-piece dress, consisting of a top and skirt that is usually worn to special occasions, cultural events or ceremonies.
Ali'i nui: The Hawaiian word for a high-ranking chief, whose status is equivalent to a King. (Or in this case, a Queen)
Va'a tele: A large traditional Samoan multihull, double canoe vessel.
U'a: Unfinished/unpainted tapa cloth.
Poutu: A Samoan standing post that measures about sixteen to twenty-five feet high, and is situated in the center of a fale to act as central pillars.
Sennit: A type of cordage that is made by plaiting fiber or grass together. It can be used in crafts, hat making, as ornaments, architecture, boat building and rope.
Poi: A traditional light purple Hawaiian dish made from mashed or pounded Taro fruit that has a dough-like or watery consistency depending on how it's made, and how much water is used.
Ika mata: A traditional Cooks Island dish, consisting of raw fish salad and coconut milk.
Kālua pig: A traditional pork dish that is usually made with an underground earth oven.
Palusami: A Samoan dish made from Taro leaves and coconut milk. (Modern recipes tend to add corned beef into the dish)
Lei: A Polynesian garland made of flowers.
Pikau: A Maori carrier basket that mothers use to carry their babies or young children on their back.
Tunoa: A Samoan Cookhouse.
Fenua: The Tahitian word for Land or Earth.
Pāua: The Maori word for Abalone shell.
Malu: A Traditional Samoan tattoo for women that covers a woman's leg from the thigh to just below the knee.
Paepae: A usually large stone platform rising appreciably above ground level and used as the foundation for many Polynesian houses or other buildings.
Wahine: The Polynesian word for woman. (e.g Ali'i nui wahine translates to "Female High Chief" or commonly known as Chiefess)