In Samoan mythology, Tuna is the eel that became the first coconut tree.
The origin story is called Sina ma le Tuna, or “Sina and the Eel.” In one well-known Samoan version, Tui Fiti, the king of Fiji, transforms himself into an eel to visit Sina. After becoming old and weak, he asks Sina to bury his head in the ground. A coconut tree grows from it.
The story explains the coconut’s three “eyes.” When the husk is removed, the marks resemble a face, and one eye can be pierced to drink the coconut water. The act is symbolically described as Sina kissing the eel. The legend is linked with Mata o le Alelo, a spring pool at Safune on Savaiʻi.
Versions appear elsewhere in Polynesia, including Tonga, the Cook Islands, Fiji, and Māori tradition, with different names and details. A common mix-up comes from Disney’s Moana, which adapts the broader motif but attributes the buried eel story to Maui. In the Samoan legend, the eel is Tuna, whose name literally means “eel” in Samoan.