Maui Pulling Up the Tongan Islands
Maui Kisikisi (Little Maui) sat in his canoe fishing but catching nothing. Growing frustrated, he reached down through the ocean with his powerful arms and grasped the sea floor. With tremendous effort, he pulled upward, bringing the Tongan islands to the surface. As he hauled, the coral, sand, and rock emerged from the depths, forming the archipelago. The story explains why Tonga's islands are relatively flat compared to volcanic islands—they were pulled up, not thrown up by volcanic force. This tale is part of a regional Maui cycle, adapted to explain Tonga's unique geography of low coral at