The Polynesian narrative or Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia together with those of the scattered cultures known as the Polynesian outliers. Polynesians speak languages that descend from a language reconstructed as Proto-Polynesian - probably spoken in the Tonga - Samoa area around 1000 BC.
Hina is the name assigned to a number of Polynesian deities. The name Hina usually relates to a powerful female force who has dominion over a specific entity. Some variations of the name Hina include Sina, Hanaiakamalama, and Ina. Even within a single culture, Hina could refer to multiple goddesses and the distinction between the different identities are not always clear. In Hawaiian mythology, the name is usually paired with words which explain or identify the goddess and her power such as Hina-puku-iʻa (Hina-gathering-seafood) the goddess of fishermen, and Hina-ʻopu-hala-koʻa who gave birth to all reef life.
In Hawaiian religion, Hiʻiaka is a daughter of Haumea and Kāne.
In Hawaiian mythology, kaiwa is a trickster god who killed goddess Haumea at Niuhelewai, by catching her in a net obtained from Makali’i. He then killed Lonokaeho, also called Piokeanuenue, king of Ko'olau, by singing an incantation. Kaowa is known for being extremely powerful and strong, both physically and with magic, and he had many adventures in Hawaiian mythology.
In Hawaiian mythology, Mahina is a lunar deity, mother of Hemā. Mahina is also the word for the "Moon" in Hawaiian language.
In the traditions of ancient Hawaiʻi, Kanaloa is a god symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne. It is also an alternative name for the island of Kahoʻolawe.
In Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology..
In Hawaiian mythology, ʻAikanaka is a mortal chief.
Paʻao is a figure from Hawaii. He is most likely a Hawaiian historical character retold through Hawaiian legend. According to Hawaiian tradition and folklore, he is said to have been a high priest from Kahiki, specifically "Wewaʻu" and "ʻUpolu." In Hawaiian prose and chant, the term "Kahiki" is applied in reference to any land outside of Hawaii, although the linguistic root is conclusively derived from Tahiti. "Wewaʻu" and "Upolu" point to actual places in the Society Islands, Samoa, and Hawaiian scholars and royal commentators consistently claim Paʻao came from Samoa; he was a Samoan priest with properties in both Tonga and Samoa. He arrived on the north shores of the Big Island and named it "Upolu" after Samoa main village.
Pilikaʻaiea was Aliʻi Nui of Hawaiʻi. He was a sovereign chief, who deposed the indigenous chief, Kapawa.
In Hawaiian mythology, Laʻieikawai (Lāʻi.e.-i-ka-wai) and her twin sister Laʻielohelohe were princesses, and were born in Lāʻie, Oʻahu.
Faumea is a figure in Polynesian mythology, specifically that of the Tuamotus archipelago of French Polynesia, where she is regarded as an "eel-woman". The sea god Tangaroa encounters her when he sails to her island. In addition to being an eel-woman, Faumea has eels within her vagina which eat men, reflecting the folk concept of vagina dentata. However, Faumea teaches Tangaroa how to lure the eels out and they have sex. Faumea bears Tangaroa two sons: Tu-Nui-Ka-Rere and Turi-A-Faumea.
In the religion and mythology of the ancient Hawaiians, Papahānaumoku — often simply called Papa — is a goddess and the Earth Mother. She is mentioned in the chants as the consort of the sky god Wākea. Their daughter is beautiful goddess Hoʻohokukalani, the main character of one myth. Papa is still worshipped by some Hawaiians, especially by women, as a primordial force of creation who has the power to give life and to heal. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument was renamed in 2007 to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, in honour of Papa.
Kanipahu was an ancient Hawaiian chief. He was of the Pili line.
Martha Warren Beckwith was an American folklorist and ethnographer who was the first chair in folklore at any university or college in the U.S.
Kahiko-Lua-Mea is a god in Hawaiian mythology, who was once a chief on the Earth and lived in Olalowaia. He is mentioned in the chant Kumulipo and in the Chant of Kūaliʻi.
Chief Kalehenui was an ancient Hawaiian nobleman (Aliʻi) of Tahitian ancestry, and he lived on Oahu.
Chief Kumuhonua was a High Chief in ancient Hawaii, who was Aliʻi Nui ("king") of Oahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands, and is mentioned in the chants. He was named after the first man in Hawaiian mythology.
S. N. Haleʻole was a leading Native Hawaiian writer and historian of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He is noted for authoring The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai, the first fictional work of literature produced by a Native Hawaiian.