When and why "mana", a Polynesian term for spiritual and charismatic power, became the general name for magic energy in gaming?

by Libertat

It doesn't seem to been used in early tabletop gaming naming conventions (for instance, in Dungeons & Dragons and directly inspired games) but was already seemingly omnipresent in the 1990's fantasy games, especially video games.

What made "mana" such a standardized name for a gameplay concept, virtually identical to "magic", rather than other terms associated with spiritual power (such qi or ojas) critically in a "lay" form (as XVIIIth century "magnetism") rather than associated with religious belief ?

Magister_Xehanort
MagnifyingLens

Hargrave's 1977 "Arduin Grimoire", an alternate "D&D" ruleset, included the use of "mana points" when casting spells.

Note that this is just a few years after the first edition of "Dungeons and Dragons" itself.

A quick look at a scan of the 1977 edition of the "Arduin Grimoire" found references to "mana cost" for spells on page 22/50 in the PDF: https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1418437896796.pdf