 Often such stories were linked to various geographic or ecological features, which may be described as the petrified remains of the supernatural beings.The various Polynesian cultures each have distinct but related oral traditions, that is, legends or myths traditionally considered to recount the history of ancient times (the time of "pō") and the adventures of gods (“atua”) and deified ancestors.The accounts are characterised by extensive use of allegory, metaphor, parable, hyperbole, and personification.