Maui Creates the Island Chain (Legendary Polynesian Demigod) Maui is the famed hero of many Hawaiian tales, the best known of which are the “Seven Deeds of Maui”. He had been raised by the gods as a boy and had learned much from them. One of Maui’s deeds is creating the Hawaiian island chain. He attaches the traditional barbed fishhook-- which he himself ingeniously invented-- to the end of a long rope, which he had expertly woven from the olena vines. Then one bright morning, Maui tosses the hook far out into the sea, and tugs with his great strength until the islands emerge.