Moana and Myth

I recently watched Moana with some friends and was fascinated to see the ways in which the film is steeped in religion. The film begins with a myth, told by Moana’s grandmother, simultaneously orienting the viewer to the world in which the narrative will take place and the children in the film into their reality on the island. The storyteller communicates the story of how Maui, a demi-god, stole the heart of Te Fiti, an earth goddess of the islands. This heart holds the power of creation, such that without it, the island begins to decay and die. The telling of this myth is concretized for the children as Moana’s grandmother pours black ink on a map of their island and those nearby which creeps and spreads across the parchment. There will be one, the storyteller says, who will journey across the sea and find Maui, and with him return back across the sea and restore the heart of Te Fiti. Then all will be well with the islands.