In Polynesian mythology, people, the elements and every aspect of nature are descended from the one primal pair, the Sky Father and the Earth Mother. Maui, fifth of his parents’ sons, was born so premature, so frail and so underdeveloped that he could not possibly have survived. For certain he would have died, but the gods intervened and Rangi, the Sky Father, nursed him through infancy. As a grown child, Maui returned to amaze his family with feats of magic.
