Maui is a Polynesian culture hero. His most famous deed was catching the fish, New Zealand, and pulling the Hawaiian islands from the ocean. Such an act of Maui, raising the land out of the Ocean, is connected to the legends of the Sunrise and the Sunset, when Maui goes away to the underground world of the Night and returns in the glittering morning... Maui, like Prometheus, had stolen the fire for the people from the God of the Underground Fire and Earthquakes. He was able to keep the Sun in captivity and made the days longer than before.

On the map of one of the largest islands of Hawaii, one easily can see the distinct silhouette of the hero, Maui, who left many famous deeds and legends after him. Up until now, the ritual of seeing the Sun off, when hundreds of people come to the beaches of Maui, is connected originally with the legend about Maui and his Sunny world.