Maui & Polynesian Wayfinders

The Polynesian islands in the Pacific Ocean comprise numerous island groups with diverse cultural and political characteristics. This triangular region, known as Polynesia, extends from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south and includes islands such as Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, among others.

Although there are many variations, the islands' mythologies share many basic stories, themes, and deities across the region.

We learned about Maui, the god of fire and trickery. He is one of the most famous characters in Polynesian mythology, a demigod who performed many great feats, such as lassoing the sun to slow its journey across the sky and fishing up the North Island of New Zealand.

We also learned about Polynesian wayfinding and made our own sail boats.

In our older class, we examined how Polynesian wayfinders navigated the Pacific Ocean years ago, before modern technology.

In our JR class, the kids sang along to the song in the Pixar short Lava.

MORE RESOURCES:

Ted Ed: The Hawaiian story of the wind keepers

Ted Ed: The Fijian myth of the greedy god

How did Polynesian wayfinders navigate the Pacific Ocean?

Polynesia's master voyagers who navigate by nature