Hina, Who Went to the Moon
Polynesian stories say Hina grew tired of endless work and climbed to the Moon, where she still beats bark cloth.
What was reported
Across Polynesia, from Hawaii to Aotearoa New Zealand, stories are told of Hina, a woman or goddess linked with the Moon. In one Hawaiian telling she grew weary of the endless work of making kapa, bark cloth, and of her ungrateful family, and climbed a rainbow, or went up on the mist, to live on the Moon.
There she still works in peace, and people point to the Moon's dark patches as Hina and her calabashes, or the kapa she has spread out to dry.
Explanations offered
Hina is one of the most widespread figures in Polynesian tradition, with many different stories in different islands. Like the Man in the Moon or the Jade Rabbit, her image in the Moon comes from seeing shapes in its dark seas.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- The Moon, as told in Hawaii and Polynesia
- Witnesses
- Polynesian tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.