Hikuleʻo's ancestors were, according to one source, the god Pil'e (Limu according to others) and the goddess Kele, who came from Pulotu and created the mythical land of Tongamamaʻo for their children to dwell in.
This pair seems to be a modern invention, since ukamea "iron" is a word that postdates European contact; other informants leave out this generation.
When Taufulifonua had become old and close to death, he divided the universe: Tangaloa got the sky to rule, Maui the earth, and Havea Hikuleʻo became the lord of Pulotu.
The historical interpretation of this triumvirate (Hikuleʻo, Maui, Tangaloa) may be a struggle to liberate Tonga from the dominance of the Tuʻi Pulotu empire in Fiji, after which the victors could divide the spoils.
However, u'amea in Samoan is also an archaic word for a type of lava (known in Hawai'i as ʻaʻā), from u'a ("viscous, glutinous") and mea ("red-brown," as in the color of the manumea, the "reddish-brown bird").