In the Polynesian mythology

Polynesian mythology

Polynesian mythology is the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia, a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian triangle together with the scattered cultures known as the Polynesian outliers...

 of the Tuamotu archipelago in the South Pacific, Puna is the king of Hiti-marama or of Vavau, depending on the story.

In one story, Vahieroa weds Matamata-taua, also called Tahiti To‘erau. On the night of their son Rata's

Rata (Tuamotu mythology)

In the Tuamotu islands, the telling of the full cycle of the legend of Rata takes several evenings to tell. The legend of begins with his grandfather Kui, a demigod who marries Puehuehu. Their son Vahi-vero was stolen by two wild ducks that carry him to a distant island where two witches Nua and...

 birth, the parents go fishing. They are snatched away by the demon bird belonging to the Puna king of Hiti-marama, "an island north of [present-day] Pitcairn and Elizabeth

Elizabeth Island

Elizabeth Island may refer to:* Elizabeth Island, Bahamas* Elizabeth Island, Bermuda* Elizabeth Island * Elizabeth Island, Michigan* Elizabeth Island, New Zealand* Elizabeth Island...

 but long since swallowed in the sea."(Beckwith 1970:261) The bird Matatata‘ota‘o bites off the chief's head and swallows it whole. The wife is placed head downward as a food holder in the house of Puna's wife Te-vahine-hua-rei (Beckwith 1970:261).

In a second version, Vahi-vero

Vahi-vero

In Tuamotu mythology, Vahi-vero is the son of the demigod Kui and a goblin woman named Rima-roa. Kui plants food trees and vegetables and is also a great fisherman. The goblin woman Rima-roa robs his garden; he lies in wait and seizes her and she bears him the son Vahi-vero. Vahi-vero visits a pool...

is the son of Kui

Kui (Maori mythology)

Kui was a chthonic demigod and the wife of Tuputupuwhenua in Māori mythology. They supposedly live underground and when a new house is built, a tuft of grass is offered to them....

, a demigod of Hawaiki

Hawaiki

In Māori mythology, Hawaiki is the homeland of the Māori, the original home of the Māori, before they travelled across the sea to New Zealand...

, and a goblin woman named Rima-roa. Kui plants food trees and vegetables and is also a great fisherman. The goblin woman Rima-roa robs his garden; he lies in wait and seizes her, and she bears him the son Vahi-vero. Vahi-vero visits a pool from which the beautiful Tahiti-tokerau

Tahiti-tokerau

In the Tuamotu Rata cycle, Tahiti-tokerau was a water-nymph whom Vahi-vero marries. She was abducted by Puna, king of the underworld and rescued by her husband. They then become parents of Rata. and died of cancer-See also:*Rata...

daily emerges. Kui teaches him how to lie in wait and seize her, and never let her go until she says his name. Having mastered her, he finds that Puna, king of Vavau, is his rival. Vahi-vero goes by way of the pool to the place where Puna guards the girl in a house with round ends, and leaves her sister Huarehu in her place, taking Tahiti-tokerau away with him. Tahiti-tokerau bears him the boy Rata. Puna comes in shark

Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....

 form for vengeance and kills Vahi-vero before taking his wife back. He turns her eyes into lights for her sister to make sennit

Sennit

Sennit is a type of cordage made by plaiting strands of dried fibre or grass. It can be used ornamentally in crafts, like a kind of macrame, or to make straw hats...

(magi-magi) and her feet into supports for the sister's work basket (Beckwith 1970:261).