Mafuiʻe

In Samoan mythic narrative, Mafuiʻe is the under-earth custodian of volcanic fire and the being who governs earthquakes. In the culture-hero tale recorded in multiple sources, Tiʻitiʻi (also rendered Tietie-i-Talaga or linked to Maui-like figures in broader Polynesian tradition) ventures into Mafuiʻe's subterranean domain and forces the release of fire for human use. Accounts emphasize that before this exploit Samoans ate food raw and that the hero's confrontation produced the human possession of controlled fire.

Sources consistently note that Mafuiʻe is a subterranean giant-like being associated with volcanic ovens and that he is described as having only one arm. Other corporeal details are not consistently recorded in the cited materials; his presence is mainly located in the volcanic regions beneath the earth where he 'heats his oven.'

Mafuiʻe functions as the keeper of fire and is described as governing earthquakes — holding the island level and controlling seismic disturbance. In narrative accounts he withholds fire from humans until it is taken by a culture-hero; during that exploit he is wounded (losing an arm in the tale) and pleads for mercy. Some expeditionary and popular retellings place household or attendant figures in his domain (e.g., the hero following a father who worked for Mafuie), but the primary attested abilities in the sources are custodianship of volcanic heat and authority over earthquakes.