The island of Tonga and other lands around were fished out of the ocean's bottom. The accomplished fisherman was Maui, the most powerful of the gods. He had decided to go on a fishing expedition, after getting bored of the life that the gods had in Bulotu. They just spent their time eating, drinking and sleeping, in a quiet land in which there were no days or nights.

During the memorable fishing expedition Maui had ashamed his son Ata-longa in front of the crew. The young man had shown no patience about what seemed just a purposeless voyage. Ata-longa was still hurt by this when the expedition returned to Bulotu, and decided to escape to Tonga, the beautiful land catch. There he would reign, free at last from his father's subjection. To carry out this plan he stole his father's boat, and departed secretly with some friends and followers.

The adventure however did not end well. After a brief period of happiness in the island, disease and death came upon the runaway gods now turned mortals. However, Maui did not completely forget about the disgraced ones who had betrayed him. He sent them fire. Kiji-kiji, his second son brought it to the island and left it stored inside of a tree. When people need fire they just pick two pieces of wood, rub them together, and the fire within is released.

Even more remarkably, Maui moved to live under the ocean when Tonga began flooding, saving that way the island from going down again to the ocean's bed. He is still there today, keeping Tonga afloat by carrying it upon his shoulders. However, sometimes he falls asleep and begins nodding. That is when earthquakes occur. When this happens people come together stamping, shouting, beating the ground, making noise to wake up the off-guard god.

After Maui left Bulotu, his second brother Tanga-loa also moved. He went to heaven, where he opened the curtains of his celestial house so the sun and moon could shine more brightly.

A third brother, the insidious Hiku-leo stayed in Bulotu, where he welcomes the dead people from Tonga as his slaves, and picks some of them to be used as the poles for his buildings.