The History of Mana: How an Austronesian Concept Became a Video Game Mechanic: An in-depth look at the origins of the word ‘mana’, which hails from the root language of many Polynesian cultures and roughly means ‘supernatural power’. “Pacific Island cultures are the origin of the concept of mana, and yet more people in the world have learned about the concept from WoW or other fantasy games. At its height, there were more players of World of Warcraft than Pacific Islanders: there were ten million players worldwide in North America, Europe, Latin America, and China (among others). At this time there were only about 6.7 million people in the combined population of Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, New Zealand (including Pakeha, or white, Kiwis), and all the Pacific Islanders in the US. And Warcraft is really just the start. The concept is a staple of the global culture of fantasy novels and video games, many of which feature a blue bar of magical energy called ‘mana.'”

There’s a brief Ultima 3 mention, as well.