Chief Tui

### Personality

Protective, gregarious, mysterious, aquaphobic (formerly), cheerful, fatherly, loving, quick-tempered, jolly, enthusiastic, zany, cowardly

### Appearance

Dark skin, black curly medium hair, large and muscular tattooed body, brown eyes

### Likes

His family and people, Motunui, coconuts, jokes, tradition

### Dislikes

The ocean (formerly), the loss of his family or people, Moana's stubbornness

## Information

### Family

Sina Waialiki (wife)
Moana Waialiki (daughter)
Tala † (mother)
unnamed father †
unnamed paternal grandfather †
Matai † (ancestor)

### Enemies

Anything threatening his island

**Tui Waialiki** is a (former) supporting antagonist of the Disney animated feature film *Moana*. He is the jolly father of Moana and the Chief of Motunui.

### Appearance

Chief Tui wears a red skirt and a necklace. He also wears a headdress a couple times in the movie. He has tattoos over his left arm. The skirt is made from feathered red tapa cloth.

## Background

### Essential guide description

*Chief Tui is a strong, responsible village leader who cares deeply about his people's safety. This demanding chief expects a lot from his daughter; Moana. Tui can be strict, but beneath his tough-guy steel, he is loving and kindhearted.*

## Role in the film

At the beginning of the film, Chief Tui comes in while Gramma Tala is telling stories to the children of the village. He gives Moana a *hong.* he also knocks down a bunch of tapa cloths in the fale.

Early in her youth, Moana was drawn to the sea, and the ancient legends told by her grandmother (and Tui's mother) Tala. Tala believed an ancient curse was slowly consuming the world, meaning someone would have to venture passed the reef to save the island. Tui believed otherwise and was open about his opinion on the matter. He also believed the idea of leaving Motunui to be a foolish one, as he viewed his village as nothing short of paradise. Nevertheless, Moana still found herself attracted to the open ocean, which only drove Tui and his wife Sina to spend years breaking her out of the apparent phase. By the time Moana was teenaged, Tui felt comfortable with taking her to a sacred part of the island, where chiefs of the past place their rock to solidify the start of their eras. With Moana next in line to serve as chief, Tui expresses excitement in having his daughter follow in his footsteps, but stresses that Moana must forget her love for exploration to properly focus on the welfare of her people and family.

Moana willingly agrees, and she works alongside her father and mother as leaders of the village. She proves to be successful, with Tui having so much trust and pride that he allows her to singlehandedly solve some of the issues throughout the community. At one point, however, the food supply in the island begins to die down, including the fish. With every idea to fix the problem having been executed and met with failure, Moana suggests her people sail beyond the reef to find fish elsewhere. This angers Tui immensely, who reminds his people that no one is to leave the island. Moana argues against him, which only angers her father further. Tui gruffly reiterates his longstanding law and leaves the scene before his temper worsens. With Moana failing to understand her father's actions, Sina steps in to explain the accident that killed Tui's best friend years ago.

Later that night, Tui and Sina gathered with the villages to discuss the crises of their dwindling food supply. Moana suddenly arrives and claims to have a solution, which rests on the legendary heart of Te Fiti. Moana shows her people the stone and tells them they were once voyagers with the ships of their ancestors still in their possessions, albeit hidden away in a secret cave. This infuriates Tui, who regrets not destroying the hidden boats years ago when he had the chance. He grabs a torch and heads to the hidden cave to do just that, though Moana tries to stop him and shows him the heart. Tui discards it as nothing but a rock, and as Moana scurries to recover it, she finds Tala's cane on the ground.

Tui and Moana are informed that Tala is in critical condition, and rush to her deathbed to oversee the problem. According to the medics, there is no foreseeable cure for Tala's failing health, and Tui mournfully remains by his mother's bedside as she passes away. Meanwhile, Moana leaves her home to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish of returning the heart of Te Fiti to save her people. During her voyage, Tui briefly returns in a nightmare in which he and Sina are killed by the growing darkness consuming their island.

Back in reality, Tui and Sina continue to overlook the dying crops. Suddenly, they begin to heal and grow as fresh as can be. The island appears to be saved, and just as this occurs, Moana returns from her voyage. Tui and Sina run to greet their daughter, and although the latter admits to having journeyed passed the reef, her father can only smile and accept her passion for voyaging. From there, Moana becomes the new Chief of Motunui and reinvigorates her island's wayfinding roots. With her father supporting the abolishment of his law, Moana takes her people to the seas and teaches them the ways of sailing as a master wayfinder. Tui is among them, taking in his daughter's wisdom as a new era for Motunui begins. Tui is last seen standing on the boat beside Moana.

## Gallery

***Moana Wikia*** has a collection of images and media related to *Chief Tui* which can be found at
***Chief Tui/Gallery***.
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Moana, with Music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hits Theatres
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Moana' Deleted Songs and Scenes Detail Cut Brothers, Maui's Past

### Supporting Characters

**Chief Tui** • Sina • Gramma Tala • Te Fiti