Maui is the principal hero in Polynesian culture and takes on a variety of roles in the folk lore of these Pacific people. Maui is credited with creating the islands and of snaring the sun in New Zealand. He is a demigod.The legends of Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, and New Zealand make the trickster Maui "the discoverer of fire" or "the ensnarer of the sun" or "the fisherman who pulls up islands" or "the man endowed with magic," or "Maui with spirit power."
Most of his more famous stories come from David Kalakuna "The Myths and Legends of Hawaii".The distance between the islands explains the diversity in the stories.