 Although superficially spelled in similar ways, Ata means "reflection" in Tongan; Ata means "dawn" and is the title of a chief; and Atā means more room or expanding.Although Ata must have been known to Tongans from times immemorial, as it features in old myths, it may have been confused with Atā, and it is alleged not to have been remembered until the Tongans were told about it by the Europeans.According to Tongan myths it was, together with Eua, the first island hauled up by the Maui brothers from the bottom of the sea.