Murirangawhenua is the mother of Makea-tutara and grandmother of Maui in Maori tradition. Her enchanted jawbone was passed down and became Maui's magical fishhook.
Murirangawhenua's jawbone was fashioned into the enchanted fishhook Hei Matau, which Maui used to fish up islands from the ocean. The hei matau is one of the most important symbols in Polynesian art.
Murirangawhenua, Maui's ancestress, gave him her own jawbone to serve as his weapon and fishhook — the enchanted bone with which he snared the sun and hauled islands from the sea.
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