Gali, also called Gali Nuva, was the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva of Water, serving as a member of the Toa team that fought against Makuta to awaken Mata Nui.
Notes
Gali was the Toa of Water. Her hooked hands allowed her to cling to even slippery stones. She wore the Kanohi Kaukau, the Mask of Water-Breathing, and so could breathe freely underwater.3
Gali could sense danger while underwater even before it appeared.4
Gali could draw moisture out of the air to create a flood even in arid Po-Wahi.5
Gali Nuva's aqua axes could be attached to her feet to serve as scuba fins. Now there was truly nothing faster or more powerful than her under the water. Protector of the oceans and waterways of Mata Nui, Gali's Kaukau Nuva allowed her to plunge to the very bottom of the sea and survive.6
Gali was guided by instinct.7
Gali had an intuition for what others were feeling; Onua often noticed that Gali could all but read others' thoughts at times.8
Gali Nuva's color was blue, her element was water, and her village was Ga-Koro. She had the ability to command water, allowing her to create tidal waves, whirlpools, and floods. She could swim faster than any known underwater creature. She could also sense changes in the natural world. Her tools were two aqua axes, which were powerful enough to slice through the toughest undersea obstacles; they could also be used as scuba fins for faster speeds underwater. Her mask was the Kanohi Kaukau Nuva, the Great Mask of Water Breathing.9
Gali Nuva was the only female Toa on her team. She was gentle, kind, and peaceful; but if the people of Ga-Koro were threatened, she would not hesitate to use all of her powers in their defense.9
Gali Nuva could combine her power with Lewa Nuva to create thunderstorms.10
When Gali Nuva lost her elemental powers, she could no longer hear the water. She was deaf to the song of the waves, the ebb and flow of every river and stream on Mata Nui. She felt that she was no longer a part of the island.11
If attacked by a creature, Gali Nuva considered fighting it to be a last resort, as she had no wish to harm anything that lived.11
Kopaka often looked uncomfortable around Gali. She always insisted on treating him as a friend, even when he insisted that he did not want or need friends.11
Even when Gali Nuva lost her elemental powers, excessive heat caused her to stagger and become weak.11
All that was known about Gali's past prior to her first appearance on Mata Nui came from Matoran legend. She controlled the power of water. She could start or stop tidal waves and floods, draw moisture from the air and hurl it in a devastating water blast, or lash an opponent with fierce rainstorms. She was a strong swimmer and could survive prolonged periods of time at great depths. Being on a Toa team with such strong personalities, Gali often played the role of the peacemaker. More than once, she had to come between Tahu and Kopaka to keep them focused rather than fighting. Of all the Toa, she and Pohatu were probably the closest to the Matoran they protected, taking time to help them and guide them in between adventures. As a Toa Mata, she carried hooks which allowed her to scale slippery surfaces and most often wore the Kanohi Kaukau. As a Toa Nuva, she carried twin aqua axes which could be attached to her feet to serve as flippers.12 She most often wore the Kanohi Kaukau Nuva.12, 13
Gali was always sensitive to others' moods and could tell when they were troubled.14
After a storm she summoned accidentally injured a number of Waikiru, Toa Gali placed the species under her protection.15
Gali's fighting skills were put to the test in the depths of the swamp of Karda Nui. Her Mask of Water Breathing and Nynrah ghost blaster made her a formidable foe.16
Gali was able to forge a mental link with Takua/Takanuva which allowed him to see through her eyes. Gali was also able to read Takanuva's memories in an instant.17
Toa Mata of Water, Gali brought patience and compassion to the Toa Mata team. Often, she was the only one who held the group together, frequently intervening in fights between Tahu and Kopaka. She was always willing to spend time with the Ga-Matoran, teaching and learning. Gali was happiest in the water and excelled at swimming and diving. As a Toa Mata, she wore the Kanohi Kaukau, the Mask of Water Breathing, and carried two hooks that allowed her to scale slippery surfaces.18
As a Toa Nuva, Gali wore the Nuva version of the Kaukau, which enabled her to share the ability to breathe water with others. She carried twin aqua axes.19
Even in the worst of times, Gali Nuva always tried to be a voice of reason, looking for peaceful solutions to problems. Some of that changed in the days before the Toa came to Karda Nui. Forced to battle Icarax for the Staff of Artakha, Gali unleashed a tidal wave that destroyed the realm of Karzahni. She had never caused such havoc before with her elemental powers, but there had been no choice. Like it or not, the Toa were at war, and she was going to have to fight. Although she had known that the fight between the Toa and the Makuta had to come someday, it still filled her with dread. The forces were both so powerful that their conflict might destroy Karda Nui, even the entire universe. Neither side would hold back, surrender, or be able to show mercy. She wondered if the Toa could even hope to stick to the most important part of their code: never to kill their enemies. Gali Nuva wore a suit of adaptive armor with two powerful, foot-mounted jets. She was armed with a Nynrah ghost blaster. She wore the Kanohi Kaukau Nuva, the Mask of Water Breathing. Although she used her elemental power a great deal in Karda Nui, she had to exercise great control to make sure the mutagenic water did not strike her allies. At the end of story year 2008, Gali Nuva was on Metru Nui. At Tahu's request, she was engaged in research in the Great Temple, hoping to learn the secrets of the Great Beings who created Mata Nui.20
Being a Toa of Water, Gali was very much in tune with nature.21
Kanohi Found
- Kaukau
- Original mask.
- Miru
- One of the first masks found by Gali. Found at the top of a rocky peak. The rock crumbled beneath her just as she reached the mask.
Out-of-universe
Hands vs. Separate Tools
Some sources, including the LEGO set 8533 Gali, suggest that Gali's hooks were her natural hands. Canonically, however, they were separate tools that she carried.22, 23 Early story material such as LEGO Catalogs and BIONICLE Chronicles #1: Tale of the Toa stated Gali had hook-like hands. This was retconned when BIONICLE: Mask of Light was released and depicted her with human-like hands. The books had to be brought in line with the movies, and it was decided that it would not make sense for her to have hands as a Toa Nuva but not in her previous form.24