The movie follows the journey of Moana, a young girl from the fictional island of Motunui, as she sets sail to save her people. While the film is set in the Polynesian region, it specifically draws inspiration from a variety of Polynesian cultures, including Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan.
Although Moana is from the fictional island Motunui some 3,000 years ago, the story and culture of Moana is based on the very real heritage and history of Polynesian islands such as Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Tahiti. In fact, once you start looking for ties to Polynesian culture in Moana, it's hard to stop!
Hawaiian, any of the aboriginal people of Hawaii, descendants of Polynesians who migrated to Hawaii in two waves: the first from the Marquesas Islands, probably about ad 400; the second from Tahiti in the 9th or 10th century.
Moana is a daughter of the chief of her tribe. Coming from a long line of navigators she sets off for a fabled island with the demigod Maui. Along the voyage they battle all which the ocean hides, while learning what the power of persistence and faith can accomplish.
With this in mind, Maui eventually agrees, though he stresses the fact that his fishhook will be needed in order to bypass Te Kā and make it to Te Fiti alive. Moana agrees, and they set their course to Lalotai, home of Tamatoa.
Native peoples of the Pacific resumed voyaging again a thousand years later. Clements and Musker set the film at that point in time, about two thousand years ago, on a fictional island in the central Pacific Ocean, which drew inspiration from elements of the real-life island nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.
Some enjoy the movie but believe Maui should have been portrayed as a warrior. "As a proud Polynesian woman, it's not often that you see a film like Moana come out. It headlines our Pasifika culture, and it's lead by our Polynesian artists in the industry.
The theory is that there is a barrier between the spiritual, mystical world and the real world, with Maui's island located in the former. In order for Moana to get there (and return the relic stolen from the goddess Te Fiti) she has to die, too.
In Moana, Disney creators employed some creative license, but they did highlight some actual Polynesian origin myths. In “The Maui Myths,” Maori natives of Tolago (today called Tolaga) Bay, North Island, New Zealand recount Maui's mytho-history which aided in the creation of Moana.
Moana Waialiki of Motunui is the title character of the 2016 Walt Disney Animation Studios film Moana. Created by directors Ron Clements and John Musker, Moana is voiced by Hawaiian actress and singer Auliʻi Cravalho. As a toddler, she is voiced by Louise Bush.
The arrival of fast food restaurants and other contemporary food items on the islands are one of the issues responsible for the obesity in Samoa. The earliest photographs of Samoans provide visual proof of the native population's natural physique before the introduction of processed foods by Western society.
Hawaiian people are an ethnically diverse group. Only about 10% of Hawaii's total population of 1.5 million identifies as ethnically Hawaiian. People that are ethnically Hawaiian have Polynesian roots and are part of the Pacific Islander group. The largest ethnic group of Hawaii is Asian, followed by White.
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; Hawaiian: kānaka, kānaka ʻōiwi, kānaka maoli, and Hawaiʻi maoli) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
According to legend, Māui was a premature baby. When he was born, he was so small that his mother thought he was dead. Devastated, she cut off her own hair, her topknot (tikitiki), and wrapped him in it. She set him down in the sea, in this craft of hair, and let him drift out into the ocean.
Polynesia (UK: /ˌpɒlɪˈniːziə/ POL-in-EE-zee-ə, US: /-ˈniːʒə/ -EE-zhə) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean.
It is a beautiful Hawaiian given name meaning "ocean, sea, or expanse of water." The name has been a firm favorite among Polynesian communities for years, gaining global popularity with the release of Disney's epic animated film in 2016.
Maui (/maʊwiː/) is a fictional character from Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated film Moana. Created by directors Ron Clements and John Musker, and voiced by Dwayne Johnson, Maui is loosely based on Māui from Hawaiian mythology.
Does Te Fiti exist in real life? Te Fiti is not a real place. However, the creators of Moana did base Te Fiti on Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia.
Meaning:Trickster god. Maui is a boy's name of Hawaiian and Maori origin. This name belongs to a trickster god in Polynesian mythology, and was also given to one of the Hawaiian islands. The 2016 Disney film Moana brought the name Maui into popular culture with Dwayne Johnson's playful portrayal of the god.
The depiction of Maui the demigod, who helps Moana on her journey, is a heroic figure found throughout much of Polynesia credited with performing a range of feats for the good of humankind. Traditionally, Maui has been depicted as a lithe teenager on the verge of manhood.
One of the largest issues critics have with “Moana,” they said, is that it perpetuates the stereotypical image of the Pacific as an exotic tropical getaway. They argue that it continues American colonialism of the region. “In Hawaii, the impact of the American occupation is something nobody wants to see," Kelly said.
Samoans refer to people from Samoa, a completely different country southwest to the Hawaiian islands - Samoan Americans live in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the US, which is located near Samoa but is on the opposite side of the International Date Line.
