Hawaiki (mythological homeland)

Hawaiki is a legendary ancestral homeland in Māori and Polynesian mythology, often regarded as the sacred place where ancestors originated. It is thought of as a spiritual realm or distant island beyond the known Pacific, symbolizing origins, heritage, and identity. While its exact location remains uncertain, Hawaiki is central to Polynesian cultural narratives, serving as a mythic root from which voyagers and settlers believe they descended. It embodies the mythic connection to origins and the cultural continuity of Polynesian peoples across generations.