Matai Vasa is a minor character in Disney's Moana film series. He is the ancestral leader of Moana's tribe who held the title of “Tautai” before her, having led their tribe to Motunui.
Quick Answers
What role did Matai Vasa play in the Moana film series?
How did Matai Vasa guide his tribe to Motunui?
What does the necklace passed on by Matai Vasa symbolize?
Appearances[]
Moana[]
Vasa appears during the song "We Know the Way" in a flashback depicting his travels with his people. Throughout the song, he is seen guiding the boats as they voyage to Motunui. Once his people colonize Motunui, Vasa gives his necklace to his son and passes the title of chief onto him.
Vasa is later seen during "I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)" as a spirit. As the boats make their way past Moana, Vasa nods to her in respect.
Moana 2[]
Vasa comes to Moana in a vision after she gets nearly struck by lightning. She sees him and his crew find Motufetu. As they begin to rejoice, Nalo appears in his storm form, and makes the ocean hard to sail. Eventually his canoe capsizes and he and his crew drown. Underwater he appears to Moana again as a whale shark. Transporting them to a ruined and empty Motunui, he tells her that if she doesn’t find Motufetu, and break Nalo’s curse, this future will come to pass. Moana later finds the wreckage of Vasa's canoe on a small island near the location of Motufetu. Her crew uses parts from the wreck to repair Moana's own boat.
When Moana dies after breaking Nalo’s curse, Vasa, Gramma Tala, and the other ancestors appear once again, standing in the spiral pattern depicted on the Heart of Te Fiti. Singing “Mana Vavau” with Maui, using the power of the ocean, they revive Moana, reborn as a Demigoddess.
Trivia[]
- Matai is a Samoan title that means "Chief" in the Fa'amatai system.
- In Lithuanian, Matai means "measurements". While just a lucky coincidence (Lithuanian is an Indo-European language, while Samoan is an Austronesian language), it is nonetheless meaningful as Vasa had mastered measuring the stars to determine his position on the sea.
- Vasa's name was revealed in Moana: The Essential Guide. In the game Disney Crossy Road, he is named "Ghost Matai".
- As the first chief, it is possible that he started the tradition of placing stones on top of the mountain of Motunui.
- Vasa had a slightly larger role in previous drafts of the first movie, as he was mentioned by name a few times. At one point, Gramma Tala had Moana memorize her ancestors, beginning with Vasa, all the way down to her grandfather: Tala's husband.
- Vasa wears Moana's Necklace when he is Chief.
- Vasa has two titles: Matai, denoting his position as chief, and Tautai, denoting his status as a master wayfinder. The name "Tautai" means "navigator" or "sailor" in Polynesian languages. In Lithuanian, Tautai means "country".
- Vasa's son appears with the rest of Moana's ancestors at her revival, seemingly the same age he was when we saw him in the first film. This suggests that he may have been lost at sea as his father was.
- In the sequel, Vasa is seen wearing his necklace at the time of his death, but in the first film, he had passed it along to his son.
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