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 Maori tales and legends. Collected and 
 
 Clin 
 
 3 1924 029 908 393 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029908393 
 
MAORI TALES AND LEGENDS 
 
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MAORI 
 
 1 ales & Legends 
 
 COLLECTED AND RETOLD BY 
 
 KATE McCOSH CLARK 
 
 AUTHOR OF " A SOUTHERN CROSS FAIRY TALE " 
 " PERSEPHONE AND OTHER POEMS," ETC. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 
 ROBERT ATKINSON 
 
 '* hand of mine, 
 ' Tivas not of me, but Jrom the ancients 
 Came the myth. I but repeat it n(/w 
 And tell it to the ivorld.'^ 
 
 Ancient Maori Chant 
 
 LONDON 
 DAVID NUTT, 270-271, STRAND 
 1896 
 
A, \ O'h ^f^(o 
 
To 
 
 MY HUSBJNT) 
 
[All rights reserved] 
 
Preface 
 
 THE following tales are an outcome of a long resi- 
 dence in New Zealand, and of many opportunities 
 whilst travelling amongst the Maoris of becoming 
 acquainted with their folk-lore, superstitions, and customs. 
 
 From a vast mass of legendary tales, rich in variants, 
 and recorded often in a fragmentary manner, I have chosen 
 those in this little volume as the oldest and best known 
 amongst the natives. I have endeavoured to adhere to the. 
 true spirit of the tales themselves, and to give them the 
 form, expression, and speech characteristic of the country 
 and clever native race. The Maoris, as a rule, are eloquent, 
 and their language is full of metaphor and poetical allusion, 
 and musical with open vowels. Every syllable ends with 
 a vowel, every vowel is sounded, and that according to the 
 Italian method. 
 
 Though the Maori practice of cannibalism in times past 
 is revolting to a higher civilisation, it may, to a certain 
 extent, have been due to the entire absence of any quad- 
 rupeds larger than a rat, and to the craving for flesh food 
 so well described in Stanley's accounts of some of the races 
 in Central Africa. 
 
viii Preface 
 
 The Maoris are a strong race both physically and 
 mentally. Revengeful and cruel to their enemies, they 
 were passionate in love and ever fearless in war. Religious, 
 they venerated their gods, and believed in an atua, or 
 spiritual essence, their deities being rarely represented by 
 any image. Their priests were consulted on all great 
 occasions and their mandates obeyed, especially when they 
 spoke as the oracle making known to the people the will of 
 the gods. 
 
 Whence came the race, with their strange superstitions ; 
 their worship of Tan€, the creation-god, of the sun-god 
 Ra, &c., I must leave for others to discuss. But it is 
 an accepted fact that the natives of New Zealand, and of 
 some of the groups of Pacific Islands, in many respects 
 show evidence of a common origin ; for instance, their 
 general appearance, long straight hair, ignorance of bows 
 and arrows, of the art of pottery, and their knowledge of 
 the same legends and folk-lore, though told in various 
 forms. When Captain Cook first visited New Zealand he 
 had a native of Hawaii who acted as interpreter. In 
 ancient New Zealand tradition, the Maoris are said to have 
 come from Hawaii in four large war-canoes, about the twelfth 
 or thirteenth century. 
 
 For these reasons I have not hesitated to include in this 
 book four South Sea tales, which, though not told by New 
 Zealand natives, will, I hope, be acceptable for their beauty 
 and pecuHarities. They are specified in the Notes. 
 
 The illustrations are by the late Mr. R. Atkinson, and 
 are of special value, as they were drawn by that able artist 
 
Preface ix 
 
 from sketches of natives and native surroundings made by 
 him when staying amongst the Maoris both in the remote 
 King country and in the hot-lake district Rotorua. His 
 picture of the little grandchild of Te-heu-heu, the well 
 known war-chief of Lake Taupo, was exhibited in the 
 Royal Academy in 1891. I regret that the size of the 
 book does not make it possible to do full justice to the 
 beauty of the original drawings. 
 
 This volume is dedicated to my husband, whose intimate 
 knowledge of New Zealand has been of great service 
 to me. 
 
 Among my informants was the Maori King, Tawhiao, 
 whom I had several opportunities of meeting, and from 
 whom I heard much that was valuable regarding the- Maoris. 
 After the Maori war he had retired with his people into the 
 King country, in the middle of the island of New Zealand, 
 and had had no intercourse with Europeans for twenty-five 
 years, so that their ancient traditions and customs were 
 well preserved. 
 
 I take this opportunity of acknowledging my indebted- 
 ness to the Right Hon. Sir Geo. Grey, K.C.B.-, for his 
 kind personal interest in my work, and especially in the 
 tale of the Fishing Net. I am also indebted for much 
 valuable information to the authors whose books are referred 
 to in my Notes. 
 
 I hope the tales may give pleasure equally to the young 
 people speaking the mother tongue alike under the Great 
 Bear and the Southern Cross, and awaken and increase 
 their interest in the beautiful islands of New Zealand and 
 
X Preface 
 
 in the native race, who still, in spite of the presence of the 
 white man, keep up their numbers, and retain much of their 
 powerful individuality. 
 
 K. McCOSH CLARK 
 
 London, October 1896. 
 
Contents 
 
 Chap. 
 
 I. PARE AND HUTU I 
 
 II. RANG! AND PAPATUA, OR THE HEAVENS' AND THE EARTH 13 
 
 in. HUIA, OR THE TALE OF THE FISHING NET . . 21 
 
 IV. MAUI, THE HERCULES OF THE PACIFIC 29 
 
 V. HINEMOA, OR THE BEAUTIFUL MAORI MAIDEN OF ROTORUA 57 
 VI. SINA AND TUNA, THE EEL-GOD, OR THE ORIGIN OF THE 
 
 COCO-NUT TREE . 68 
 
 VII. THE TWINS, OR THE DOUBLE STAR IN SCORPION. 76 
 
 VIII. RATA's revenge, the tale OF THE FIRST GREENSTONE AXE 90 
 
 IX. MATARIKI, OR THE LITTLE EYES IO4 
 
 X. RUA AND TOKA, A TALE OF THE DEEP SEA . I08 
 
 XI. MARAMA THE MOON-GOD AND THE WOMAN IN THE MOON . . II5 
 
 XII. NIWAREKA, GREAT-DELIGHT . I26 
 
 XIII. RONGO AND THE LIZARD-GOD . I4O 
 
 XIV. THE BLIND GODDESS, AND TAWHAKl's WONDERFUL CLIMB TO 
 
 THE HEAVENS . . I47 
 
 169 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 PARE AND HER MAIDEN 
 
 THE SEVERING OF RANGI AND PAPATUA 
 
 TANe'S FIRST TREE PLANTING 
 
 TANE AND THE GOBLIN ., 
 
 TARANGA WELCOMES MAUI . 
 
 MAUI AND THE FIRE-GOD . 
 
 HINEMOA HEARS HER LOVER'S MUSIC 
 
 HINEMOA ... . . 
 
 SINA SLAYS THE EEL-GOD . 
 
 THE BOY SAT DOWN BESIDE HER 
 
 TERETE SAILS TO THE MOON 
 
 RATA AND THE WHETSTONE MAIDEN 
 
 TANE's PURSUIT OF THE STAR 
 
 MARAMA AND IN A 
 
 MARAMA CARRIES INA TO THE MOON 
 
 INAS FAREWELL TO HER MORTAL LOVER 
 
 THE TATOOING OF MATAORA 
 
 THE LIZARD-GOD . 
 
 Page 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 to face 
 
 15 
 
 
 17 
 
 to face 
 
 32 
 
 to face 
 
 42 
 
 
 59 
 
 to face 
 
 62 
 
 
 73 
 
 to face 
 
 79 
 
 
 88 
 
 
 93 
 
 
 106 
 
 
 "5 
 
 
 121 
 
 
 123 
 
 
 136 
 
 
 141 
 
Pare and Hutu 
 
 IN ancient days there was a chieftainess called Pard the- 
 Soft- limbed. Beautiful was she, and of rank so high 
 that none dared approach her with words of love. 
 She lived apart with her maidens in a large hut, built and 
 decorated with the cunning and skill of the chiefs of old,, 
 who had learnt their craft from the gods themselves. 
 
 The massive beams and posts were well fashioned and! 
 quaintly carved, and the high-ridged roof thickly thatched' 
 with reeds. The interior of the dwelling was sweet with 
 scents made from rare shrubs and mosses. Large sleeping 
 mats with variegated borders lay on the clay floor ; smaller 
 ones of feathers and of dogskin, for Fare's own wear, hung 
 on the sides of the whare (hut), and between these could 
 be seen the pretty lining of reeds interlaced with dried 
 strips of flax-leaves. 
 
 Tall and lithe was Par6, and when she placed in her hair 
 the prized tail-feather of the huia and wrapped one of 
 her beautifully wrought mats around her, a stately grace 
 was added to Pard the Soft -limbed. Her long hair was dark 
 and glossy as the wing of the Tui, and a thick fringe fell 
 softly on her broad forehead. The downy feathers of the 
 
4 Maori Legends 
 
 Hutu once again knocked and asked for the flax-stalk, and 
 Pard came to the door and said : 
 
 " Come into my dwelling that I may talk with thee." 
 
 But Hutu replied : " O Pare the Soft-Umbed, I am alone 
 in the midst of thy people. Do not ask me to come under 
 thy roof, lest they take swift vengeance on me. High art 
 thou in rank above me. I dare not lift to thee mine eyes, 
 O great chieftainess." 
 
 Still Pare spake softly only these words : " Come into 
 my dwelling that I may talk with thee," and her heart 
 throbbed, and her dark eyes flashed with pride as she 
 added : " And I love thee, O Hutu." 
 
 Then Hutu's heart beat high with pride, but again he 
 answered her : "I must not anger thy people by entering 
 thy dwelling, O Pare the Soft -limbed. I am a stranger, 
 and thy people are great in the land. I came but to look 
 on thy beauty, of which all men spake. Now I have seen 
 thee, and I must depart." 
 
 Then Pare replied : " Art thou not a. famous spearman, 
 a chief mighty in strength ? Strong of arm and fleet of 
 foot art thou. I know thou canst not speak words of 
 love to me — but thou art my beloved. Come into my 
 dwelling." 
 
 Still Hutu would not listen to her words, though his soul 
 went out to her in an exceeding great longing. His grief 
 was so great that he turned away his face, and, without a 
 word of farewell, left her. And when the darkness of night 
 fell on the land Hutu the Silent One departed for his far-off 
 home, his soul heavy with sorrow. 
 
 When Pard found that Hutu had indeed gone without a 
 farewell look or word she was stricken to the heart. So 
 
Pare and Hutu 5 
 
 exceeding sorrowful was she that she moved no more 
 amongst her people as of old. No longer loved she the 
 sunshine, or to wander through the sweet-scented fern and 
 the cool forest depths. No longer decked she her hair with 
 plumes, or lifted her voice in song. Her people watched 
 fti vain for her canoe, which she had often been wont to 
 paddle with strong arm on the shining lake. 
 
 Pare shut herself up in her hut, and brooded by the 
 hearth-fire in silence, and when, sighing deeply, she raised 
 her eyes, the grim heads on the carven posts seemed to 
 grin and mock at her loneliness and grief. 
 
 Thus passed many days, and when Par6 found that Hutu 
 returned not, nor sent any swift-footed messenger back with 
 words of kindness or farewell, she refused to take either 
 food or drink, and her maidens were greatly troubled ; for 
 she spake not to them. 
 
 One evening, when the sun had set behind the hill-tops, 
 and darkness with swift strides came o'er the land. Pare at 
 last said these words to her maidens : 
 
 " Put all my dwelling in order. Say no word to others, 
 but leave me in peace, and take your rest apart." 
 
 And they dared not question her, but got her house in 
 order, and left her alone, even as she bade them do. But 
 their hearts were heavy, for they had seen her love for 
 Hutu and her grief at his sudden departure. Then Pare 
 the Soft-limbed shut close the door, and, full of despair, 
 took a rope and hanged herself from a beam in her dwell- 
 ing. And her soul departed to the land of spirits. 
 
 When the morning came, and the people found that Pare 
 was dead, loud and long rose their wails on the still air. 
 Then her maidens told them of her great love for the 
 
Maori Legends 
 
 strange chief, and they cried in anger, " Hutu must die ! 
 Hutu must die ! He has caused the death of Pard" 
 
 Then chose they young men fleet of foot, and sent them 
 to fetch Hutu back. 
 
 And the weeping women tenderly wrapped the body of 
 Pard in her feather mat, and laid her in her dwelling, sd 
 that all might see her. Great was the gathering to fulfil 
 the last rites due to the young chieftainess. 
 
 " Farewell, O Pare the Soft-limbed. Thou art gone, and 
 hast taken thy beauty and thy sweet voice from our midst. 
 Thy life was short as the life of the wind-swept flower. 
 But thy words were ever full of kindness and of wisdom. O 
 Pare the Soft-limbed, farewell, farewell ! " 
 
 So sang the greatest warrior of the tribe, as he bounded 
 to and fro before her dwelling, spear in hand. And the 
 vireird wailing of the people rose and fell as they rubbed 
 noses together and wept. And the maidens decked Park's 
 hair with the blossoms of the scarlet kowhai and the white- 
 barred tail-feathers of the ebon huia, and, sitting beside her 
 body, filled the air with lamentations for their mistress. 
 
 Silent art thou, O beautiful Pard, 
 
 Gone for ever on the swift rushing river ! 
 
 Would thou couldst come back to us ! 
 
 Would thou couldst come back from the silent-land. 
 
 And the people placed food before the maidens who 
 watched by Park's body, but touched them not, for they 
 were tapu, or sacred. And some food was placed beside 
 the dead for the journey to the far spirit-land. 
 
 And when the young moon rose high, the maidens 
 remembered how often at such hours she had talked gaily 
 
Pare and Hutu 7 
 
 with them, or bathed in the soft waters of the sparkling lake. 
 And they rubbed noses together in sympathetic sorrow, and 
 the great tears rolled down as they wailed : 
 
 It is well with thee, O moon ! 
 Thou returnest from death. 
 It is well with thee ! 
 But the dead of this world return 
 No more ! No more ! 
 
 And, with cries and many ceremonies, they bore her body 
 away into the deep woods, and there laid it on the high 
 wooden platform to await the last rites. 
 
 Meanwhile, the messengers had overtaken Hutu not far 
 from his own home. They told him that Pare was dead, 
 and he must return to her village. 
 
 And when they so said he asked no question but turned 
 back with them. And his face was set and stern with his 
 sudden sorrow. But the warriors said — "Will you go and 
 look on Par€, the Soft-limbed ? " 
 
 And Hutu answered, "No. Why should I look on her 
 body ? Her soul hath departed therefrom." When he 
 reached Fare's home the people were moved not at the sight 
 of his grief, but only said again and yet again " Hutu 
 must die ! " 
 
 " You say well, O ye people who loved her ! But I too 
 loved the beautiful Par6, though in silence. She was as 
 the great summer star Rehua (Mars) above me. Now has 
 she gone to the spirit-land. Yet may the power of the 
 great love I bear her bring her back. Hear ye my words. 
 Let me depart. In three days I will return. If Pare be 
 not with me, do then unto me even as you will." 
 
 So spake Hutu, and the people were content with his 
 
8 Maori Legends 
 
 words, and they let him pass through their midst to the 
 west, where lies the spirit-land. 
 
 When Hutu reached the depths of the forest behind 
 Park's village, he prayed unto the gods and repeated many 
 times the chants which the priests use when they meditate 
 on death or on the shades. 
 
 Then he followed the path that the spirits of the 
 departed follow. He could tell the way by the knots which 
 the spirits tie in the long grass as they go on their way to 
 the rocks, where they wait till many assemble. Hutu hoped 
 to overtake Pare there, but being a great chieftainess she 
 had gone swiftly on alone. So Hutu went to the abode 
 of Hin6, the Goddess of Death, and said to her, " Oh, 
 goddess, I come to seek one who is dear to me, who has 
 gone to the spirit-land, I pray thee tell me the road that 
 leads thereto." 
 
 So saying, Hutu gave Hine as an offering a greenstone 
 club, of great value. 
 
 And the goddess was pleased with Hutu, and she showed 
 him the way through an opening in the rocks, and gave 
 him some pounded fern-root saying, " Take this with you, 
 O mortal, for you must not touch of the food offered to you 
 in the world below, else will you return no more. Bow 
 your head low even unto your feet, and enter this cavern 
 without fear. When you swiftly descend, a great- wind 
 shall blow upon you, and you will find yourself in the 
 spirit-world." 
 
 So spake Hine, and Hutu being eager on his way, did 
 as the goddess bade him. And in his soul was planted 
 courage and might, so that he feared not when he reached 
 the shadowy land of the dead. Wandering through a 
 
Pare and Hutu 9 
 
 thick wood, where no bird sang or insect stirred, Hutu at 
 last came to an open space, where he saw many people. 
 Beneath the trees were dwellings like unto the dwellings 
 of men upon earth. He saw that the young men and 
 maidens were playing games together, and some of their 
 elders were eating and drinking, and they offered him some 
 food. But remembering the warning of the goddess Hine, 
 he partook not thereof, but went on in his search for Pare. 
 Far he wandered, but saw her not, and returning to the 
 place where the people were assembled, he asked if they 
 had seen Pare the Beautiful. 
 
 "Yes, but she broods ever in silence and is full of 
 sorrow. She joins not in our talk nor in the amusements, 
 but stays within her dwelling with closed door," replied 
 they. 
 
 Then Hutu bethought him of the games on earth in 
 which Pare used to take such delight. He asked some 
 youths to join him in the games of niti and whipping-top, 
 whereat they were delighted, and laughed as their niti- 
 sticks skimmed the ground, and their tops sung merrily. 
 But Hutu excelled all other players, even as he had done in 
 the world above, and the onlookers shouted their applause. 
 But Pare knew not that it was Hutu whom they applauded, 
 and she came not to her door. And on Hutu's Heart was 
 a cloud of grief Then bethought he of another plan 
 whereby perchance he might see Pare. He said to the 
 people : 
 
 "I will show you a new game. Bring to me a tree, even 
 a strong, high tree, but one that will bend easily." When 
 this was done he cut off the branches and said : " Plant now 
 this tree firmly in the midst of an open space, and bring me 
 
lo Maori Legends 
 
 some strong plaited ropes." So spake Hutu, and Xvhen 
 they had done as he asked them, he fastened the ropes to 
 the top of the tree, and told them to pull with might until 
 the tree bent to the ground. Then Hutu sat down on the 
 top, and asked a man to come and sit on his back and hold 
 fast. Thereupon Hutu called out in a loud voice, " Let go 
 the ropes ! " and the tree-top being loosed, sprang up with 
 Hutu and the man. This was done many times, and the 
 people shouted and were greatly pleased ; and the shouts of 
 delight and the tones of his voice reached the ear of Pare 
 in her dwelling and she came out ; and when she knew it 
 was Hutu amongst the men, she forgot all save her joy at 
 seeing him again, and watched the game with a smiling face. 
 And when Hutu saw Pare once again in the shadowy world, 
 the beats of his heart were like the beat of a strong bird's 
 wings. A sweet longing filled him to hold her fast in his 
 arms and take her back to the world of sunshine and life. 
 But he did not greet her, but held his soul in silence for 
 fear the people should guess his wish and frustrate it. After 
 many had tried the swing. Pare moved quietly through 
 the throng and going up to Hutu said, " Take me on 
 the swing." 
 
 And Hutu was exceeding glad, and he replied, " Come." 
 When they were seated on the tree, Hutu said, " Hold 
 fast to my back, for the tree swings fast and high." 
 
 Then he shouted loudly, " Let go the ropes," and the 
 people let go suddenly. Up sprang the tree-top into the 
 air with so great a jerk that the ropes were pulled out of 
 the hands of the people, and the ends flew so high that 
 they became entangled in the vines and creepers round the 
 entrance of the passage which led to the world above. 
 
Pare and Hutu 1 1 
 
 " Hold fast, Pare," said Hutu in low tones. 
 
 And Pare put her arms right round him, so that they 
 could not be loosed. And the touch of her hands made 
 the young chief's pulses throb, and nerved him to deeds 
 of strength and daring. He seized the ropes, and spring- 
 ing up with her, climbed the ropes, and, catching hold of the 
 strong vines and branches, pulled himself and Pare up into 
 the world of light and love. 
 
 Glad indeed was Par6 to see once more the flowers of 
 the fair earth, and with her hand in Hutu's, she went back 
 to her home. And as the sight of land is welcome to 
 swimmers long buffeted by dark waves, so was the sight of 
 her home to Pare. And great was the delight of the 
 people at her return ; and when they saw her standing 
 before them proudly, with her hand in that of Hutu, they 
 shouted : 
 
 " Par^ is yours ! Par6 is yours ! For your great love 
 has brought her back from the spirit-world." 
 
 Then Pare took from her sweet-scented carven-box the 
 beautiful feathers of the Huia, and with a proud glance 
 placed them in Hutu's hair. 
 
 Then Hutu said, "Glad of heart am I, O ye people, for 
 has not your chieftainess graciously smiled on me ? And I 
 love her with a love beyond all words, even I, Hutu the 
 Silent One. But one who is a stranger to 5'ou, my wife of 
 eariier days, awaits me in my far-off home. Shall I then 
 bring her amongst you, or shall Par6 the Soft-limbed return 
 with me ? " But the people shouted, " Bring hither the 
 stranger ! Welcome to the stranger ! Stay with our 
 chieftainess and her tribe, O Hutu,, for you have found 
 favour in her sight and ours. Welcome, Hutu the Silent 
 
12 Maori Legends 
 
 One ! " At their words Pard's eyes shone with happiness, 
 and she kept her hand in that of Hutu, her husband, her 
 chief ! 
 
 And Hutu was ever afterwards called Pare-Hutu, or the 
 Silent One with the plume (pare). 
 
 And Hutu led her into her dwelling, and great was the 
 feasting and the rejoicings for many days. 
 
Rangi and Papatua, 
 
 or The Heavens and the Earth 
 
 ALONG, long time ago, the god Rangi, the Heavens, 
 and the goddess Papatua, the Earth, loved each 
 other with a great love, and were so near together 
 and so inseparable that the Heavens were ever near to the 
 Earth, and only a dull twilight reigned between them. No 
 stately forest trees could grow or bright flowers blossom, 
 but low-growing vines and tender creeping plants spread 
 over the earth. Some low shrubs tried to flourish, and 
 stretched out their branches like myriad uplifted hands, but 
 their leaves were flattened, the sky pressed so heavily on 
 them. The water was not clear, but was of a thick red 
 colour, for there was no light to purify it. No men lived 
 on the earth then, only the children of the gods Rangi and 
 Papatua. As these children grew up they began to grumble 
 at the want of space, and they longed for more light ; for 
 
14 Maori Legends 
 
 once they had had a glimpse of the full light when their 
 father, Rangi, lifted up his arms. So they wished much 
 that he would go up higher and give them more room, and 
 they tried to persuade him to do so. But Rangi refused, 
 and said he would not leave his dear wife Papatua the 
 Earth. Then the children became very angry, and, finding 
 that their prayers were of no avail, they said to each other: 
 " What shall we do ? " Tu, the father of war, who was 
 cruel and did not love his parents, said : " We will kill 
 them." The others would not agree to this ; but all except 
 Tawhiri, the father of the winds, said : " They must be 
 separated by force." Tawhiri did not wish them to be 
 separated, for he was jealous even of his own mother, 
 fearing lest she should become too beautiful when the full 
 brightness of day should fall on her. But in spite of his 
 opposition, Tane, the god of light and the father of the 
 forests, who was anxious that trees should be able to rear 
 their heads on high, and that birds and insects should 
 increase, said : " Each of us shall in turn try to push our 
 father high up above us, so that the hght of day may fall on 
 us all ; " and Tawhiri dared not object longer, for Tane was 
 much mightier than he was. So the children tried in turn 
 to separate Rangi and Papatua, but they held so fast to 
 each other that it was with great difficulty they were pushed 
 even a little apart. Once Rangi was pushed up a short 
 distance, but he was very heavy, and they thoughtlessly 
 left him on the sharp pinnacles of the mountains. Now, 
 this was not a comfortable resting-place for Rangi, and he 
 reproached his children bitterly for their cruelty. At last 
 Tane said to the others : "I will kick my father up higher, 
 for I am the strongest ; but we will keep Papatua the 
 
TANK'S FIRST TREE-PLANTING. 
 
Rangi and Papatua 15 
 
 Earth close beside us — for is she not the mother who 
 nursed us ? and we need her love ever with us." 
 
 Then Papatua the Earth cried aloud : "I shall go with 
 thee, O my husband," and she implored Tand to kick her 
 up also. To this Tan6 would not consent, and he lay down 
 on his back upon his mother, so that she could not move. 
 And with his knees bent and feet pressed hard against his 
 father, he then kicked out with violent strength, and sent 
 Rangi the Heavens up so great a distance that he has 
 stayed high up ever since. 
 
 But the cries and groans of Rangi and Papatua when 
 they were thus violently separated were sad to hear. 
 Tawhiri, the father of the winds, followed his father up to 
 the sky and there abode. 
 
 When the full light fell upon Papatua the Earth, her 
 numerous offspring crept from their places, and the creeping 
 plants and shrubs began to grow. Sometimes Tawhiri and 
 his progeny would come down and attack his brother Tand 
 and his children to destroy them. And Tane turned some 
 of his offspring into fish and birds, and the earth hid them 
 in her bosom. Yet Tawhiri and his children found and 
 ate them ; and, in I'ater days, when men fed upon each 
 other, they said, " Did not the gods teach us so to 
 do?" 
 
 And the mighty Tan6, the god of light, continued to 
 beautify and enrich his mother, the earth, with flowers and 
 blossoming shrubs, and song-birds and butterflies, and 
 wealth of all things fair. Not satisfied with this, he made 
 and planted mighty trees. Now the first trees Tan6 made 
 were something like men, and Tane planted them upside 
 down ; he put their heads in the earth and their roots in 
 
1 6 Maori Legends 
 
 the air. Now the trees looked very strange like this and 
 could not grow, so Tane found this was wrong. He then 
 turned them the other way up, and they grew tall and strong 
 and full of leaf. Thus Tan^ planted the forests to cover 
 his mother, the earth, as with a garment, so that though 
 she was sad and wept bitterly for her husband, she was 
 becoming more and more beautiful. And though some of 
 her offspring who lived in the sky — the rough winds, the 
 hurricanes, the hail — injured the forests and the fields, some 
 of her gentler children were kind and had pity on her, 
 and breathed softly on her, and made her more and more 
 fair. 
 
 Now Tane, having done all he could for his mother, 
 looked up to his father Rangi, whom he had kicked so far 
 off, and he felt very sorry for him, for he was not well clad, 
 and Tan 6 said : 
 
 " Poor fellow ! I almost wish I had not kicked him so 
 high ; he seems lonely up there." And he listened to 
 Rangi's long-drawn sighs, and saw him stretch down his 
 arms lovingly towards his wife Papatua, and he thought 
 that on the horizon they really did touch each other. 
 Now, Papatua grieved because Rangi was not better dressed, 
 so Tane said to his mother, " I will make my father more 
 beautiful and clothe him better." So Tane fetched the 
 Rahuikura, or the sacred red garment, and fastened it round 
 Rangi, so that by day he shone in great splendour. Then 
 Tane went afar where a goblin dwelt who made the stars, 
 and said, " You have some shining things called stars ; 
 give me some so that I can deck my father Rangi with 
 them." 
 
 The goblin said, " You can have some if you will go and 
 
Rangi and Papatua 
 
 17 
 
 get them ; but the way is long and difficult." " I wish 
 to go," replied Tand, " for their beauty is so great that it 
 makes my heart throb with delight." 
 
 " The places where you will find them," said the goblin, 
 " are beyond the farthest mountain peaks, which are called 
 ' Cracks of the Night ' and 
 'Chinks of the Day.' To 
 get there you must follow 
 the road which you took 
 when you went to sew up 
 the wounds of your father 
 which he got whilst resting 
 on the jagged mountain tops." 
 
 " I will go," said Tan^, 
 for he was strong and mighty 
 and feared nothing. When 
 he reached the far-off star- 
 lands he was dazzled by the -^v^-"— - .'==^ 
 great shining lights ; but he gathered up the most beau- 
 tiful and took them back with him. But the stars did 
 not look well on Rangi's bright robe of day, so Tane 
 gave him a dark mantle for the night, and fastened its 
 folds with myriads of stars both big and little. Then 
 indeed the brilliancy of the stars was wonderful to 
 behold, and Tan6 was very pleased. And he placed the 
 sun and the moon as eyes for his father, wherewith to 
 gaze upon his beloved wife by day and night. And his 
 mother was delighted with what Tan6 had done, and she 
 sang sweet songs of her son Tand and the stars. Still 
 she was not quite happy about her husband ; and one day 
 she said to Tand, " I fear your father will tumble down and 
 
 B 
 
1 8 Maori Legends 
 
 hurt himself ; he is not used to being up so high, and my 
 arms no longer enfold him." 
 
 " I will prop him up, mother," said Tane, and- he fetched 
 the mighty clouds and he placed them around and under 
 Rangi, so that he could not fall. 
 
 Still his mother was not happy, for she said, " He is so 
 far off overhead, Tan6 ; can he not be nearer ? " 
 
 And Tan6 answered, " I cannot help the heavens being 
 hollow overhead, mother, for it was against that part of 
 him I kicked so hard .; " and he felt sorry for his mother's 
 sadness of heart. 
 
 But shouts of applause were given by all the beings of 
 the upper world when they saw all that Tan6 had accom- 
 plished, and they sang : 
 
 Apart now are Rangi and Papatua. 
 Sing the resounding song. 
 Sing the resounding song. 
 Now is light great and strong. 
 Apart are they ever. 
 
 And the sorrow-laden voice of Rangi and Papatua 
 
 chanted : 
 
 Apart are we ever. 
 Apart are we ever 1 
 But love will we ever I 
 
 But an old witch of the lower world wished much to 
 make mischief between Rangi and Papatua, and she sang in 
 a shrill voice : 
 
 With dire enchantments oh sever them gods 1 
 And fill with dislike to each other their days ; 
 Engulph them in floods, in ocean and sea. 
 Let love and regret in each other be hate, 
 Nor affection nor love of the past grow again. 
 
Rangi and Papatua 19 
 
 But her wicked spells had no power against the strong 
 love of Rangi and Papatua. Then said Rangi sorrowfully 
 to his wife : 
 
 *' You must stay far away beneath me, O Papatua ; but 
 this shall be the sign of my constant love for you : Full 
 oft my tears shall fall on you, and they shall make you yet 
 more beautiful." 
 
 And so it is; for are not the rain-drops the tears of 
 heaven which beautify the earth ? 
 
 Again Rangi spoke, saying : 
 
 " Old wife, you must stay where you are ; but in the 
 winter, with my cold breath, I shall sigh for you, yet shall 
 my sighs make you still more beautiful."' 
 
 And so it is ; for are not the hoar-frost and the snow 
 the wintry sighs of the heavens ? 
 
 Again Rangi spoke, saying : 
 
 " And in the summer, when the fierce heat burns, I shall 
 lament over you, old wife, and my lamentations shall make 
 you fertile and yet more beautiful." 
 
 And so it is ; for these are the dew-drops with which 
 the heavens bless the earth. 
 
 And the light of the sun and moon, which are Rangi's 
 eyes, are they not his constant love watching over his dear 
 wife Papatua by day and night ? 
 
 Then spoke Papatua to her husband Rangi : 
 
 " O husband, thy tears, thy sighs, thy lamentations, they 
 indeed shall bless me, and, through the power of thy love, 
 they shall come back to thee, even in soft clouds, which 
 shall be the ever faithful messengers of my great love for 
 thee." 
 
 And so it is. For ever the rains, the frost, the snow. 
 
2 Maori L-egends 
 
 and the dew, fall as blessings on the earth, and the soft 
 clouds rise to the heavens overhead. 
 
 Thus, though separated by their children, Rangi the 
 Heavens, and Papatua the Earth, are ever united in their 
 love and in their works. 
 
 So for ever ! 
 
Huia, or the Tale of the 
 Fishing Net 
 
 " y ISTEN, O my braves ! Listen unto the words of 
 I your chief ! In the hours of the night, when the 
 
 great god Kuo wraps the world in his dark 
 mantle, a vision came to me. And in this vision I saw 
 my tribe greater and more prosperous than any other. And 
 a voice said, "Go, O chief, to the far north of the land ol 
 Te-ika-a-Maui (New Zealand) ; there shalt thou find a 
 blessing and a boon for thy people. Go not with followers, 
 but alone." 
 
 For a brief minute after Huia, the great war-chief, ceased 
 speaking, there was silence amongst his assembled people. 
 Then a great clamour of tongues arose. 
 
 " Not alone ! Not alone, O our chief ! " And one old 
 warrior cried aloud, " 1 will go with thee." " And 1 1 '' 
 "And I!" "And I!" cried others. But Huia upheld 
 his mere (club) of greenstone, green and clear as the 
 summer sea, and said in loud, decisive tones : " No, my 
 people. None of you must follow. Alone I must go. I 
 have spoken." 
 
2 2 Maori Legends 
 
 Then Huia passed proudly from the midst of the p'eople, 
 and went into his carven whard (dwelling). 
 
 When Huia had gone, a withered old hag, the sooth- 
 sayer of the tribe, muttered, " Ay, alone must it be." But 
 the tumult of the people was great, and they heard her not. 
 The elder warriors consulted, and agreed that Huia must be 
 watched, so that he did not depart unknown to them. They 
 loved their chief, and feared lest ill should befall him. So 
 closely did they watch the movements of Huia, that he 
 found it impossible to start alone by day or night. And 
 the weeks went past, and Huia spoke no more of the vision, 
 and of seeking the promised blessing. His tribe thought 
 that he had forgotten about it, but it was not so ; his 
 purpose only slumbered in silence until the right time. 
 
 There was a rich and quaintly carven meeting-house on 
 the edge of the lake, on the posts of which painted heads, 
 with large protruding tongues and shell-eyes, grinned 
 hideously. Here the people often met in the evening for 
 amusements, or to talk over their war exploits and tell their 
 ancient tales. One night, when they had assembled, they 
 danced the great Haka, or war-dance, to a loud chorus, and 
 the long lines of warriors (tongues protruding, eyes rolling) 
 swayed to and fro as they brandished their spears aloft, and 
 jumped and stamped with uniform and furious gesticulations. 
 And Huia, the chief, danced with more strength and agility 
 than any. When the night was far spent, he went out 
 from amongst the dancers, wrapped himself up in his feather 
 mat, and lay down near the door, and fell asleep. And the 
 Haka still went on. After a while, Huia jumped suddenly 
 up, and cried, "The same vision! I must go to seek the 
 blessing ! And alone ! " 
 
The Tale of the Fishing Net 23 
 
 Such was the excitement and noise of the dancers, that 
 they did not heed his words. And Huia stepped out of 
 the door unnoticed, and disappeared into the darkness. 
 
 Great was the consternation when Huia was missed. No 
 one knew when or where he had gone. When the day 
 broke they tried to trace his footsteps, but could not. He 
 must iiave gone over the dry fern-land towards the forest. 
 Then the warriors ordered the two slaves who always 
 guarded and waited on Huia, to find the way he had gone, 
 and they were told when they had so done they were to 
 follow him and protect him from danger, but not to let him 
 see them. 
 
 The slaves set out eagerly on their quest, for they loved 
 and admired their master, the great war-chief Huia. 
 
 After much searching they found his footsteps on some 
 boggy ground deep in the forest, and they tracked him 
 onwards by the trodden ferns, and -broken twigs. Having 
 at last come in sight of Huia they followed him at a dis- 
 tance, keeping out of his sight. 
 
 Spear in hand, Huia pursued his lonely way through the 
 long hours of day, and at night he often still went on 
 led by the light of Takiara, the guiding star. After tra- 
 velling thus for nearly a whole moon, Huia began to feel 
 dispirited, the far north of Te-ika-a-Maui, and the promised 
 boon seemed still out of his reach. He had no man to 
 whom to speak his thoughts, and the way was dreary, and 
 he had often not enough food to keep up his strength. He 
 had left behind the forest with its birds and berries, and 
 tender palm- shoots, and even the curled fern -fronds began 
 to be scarce. Nothing but sandy wastes, and hillocks 
 covered with long sapless grass, stretched before him. But 
 
24 Maori Legends 
 
 at last a night came, bright and starlit, when he knew he 
 must have reached the extreme north of the land, for he 
 could hear the waves breaking on the shore. He strode 
 over the sand hills with renewed spirits, and there at last 
 before him lay the great sea in all its changeful beauty. A 
 fine curving bay stretched from point to point of two low 
 promontories, and long curling lines of foam raced along 
 the sands. He had reached his destination, and he held his 
 head high in pride as he gazed around. 
 
 But where was the promised blessing ? Alas ! All was 
 silent, solitary. Not even the screech of wild fowl or the 
 gleam of a white wing in the starlight. 
 
 " I must wait," said Huia, with quiet determination. 
 Utterly worn out, he threw himself down in the middle of 
 a large flax-bush, and the circles of high upstanding leaves 
 completely enveloped him, so that he could see nothing but 
 the stars above his head. Here Huia fell into a deep sleep. 
 
 Some hours later Huia was wakened by the sound of 
 music, softer and sweeter than any he had ever heard. 
 Was he dreaming ? He rubbed his eyes, he saw the 
 clustering stars above, and the moon had risen and was high 
 in the sky. The music still went on, and it seemed clearer, 
 nearer than before. 
 
 Is it a vision of the night, or am I indeed awake ? 
 mused Huia, and he pinched himself to find out. Still the 
 music continued. Then Huia rose and peeped out from his 
 shelter of leaves. On the water close to where he lay, 
 and right in the pathway of the moon, he saw numberless 
 tiny canoes filled with very small fair people. They were 
 singing as they paddled nearer to the shore, and when they 
 had pulled up their canoes, they began to run about and 
 
The Tale of the Fishing Net 2 5 
 
 dance on the sands looking with their slight fair figures and 
 long yellow hair, like shafts of light playing on the shore. 
 They must be fairies ! Huia had often heard of them, and 
 his heart was full of delight at seeing them, for it meant 
 good. luck. But he must keep hidden, for they would be 
 frightened away at the sight of a mortal. 
 
 Then Huia noticed that two groups of the little folk were 
 drawing something through the water, which gradually 
 unfolded as they neared the shore. It was a net, but 
 Huia had never seen one before. The art of netting was 
 unknown to the people of the land. Now watphing, he 
 knew that these must indeed be the fairies, for as they 
 pulled their burden to the shore, he saw myriads of great 
 and small fishes enclosed, jumping, leaping in the shallow 
 water, their bright scales glittering in the moonlight. Huia 
 was struck with wonder at the novel sight, and he parted 
 the flax-leaves cautiously as he gazed from his hiding-place. 
 He wondered more and more what the strange thing could 
 be which was dragged through the water, and was catching 
 such numbers of fish without hook or line. Why, the fish 
 would feed all his people for days ! As the net was 
 dragged up higher and the fish leaped about more frantic- 
 ally, soft peals of laughter arose from the little folk, as they 
 caught at the slippery, gleaming captives and threw them 
 at each other or into their canoes. All at once a pretty 
 young fairy, with a basket on her arm, chased by a lad, 
 ran out from the rest. Her laugh rang on the air like 
 silver bells as she ran up the sands. She sped swiftly 
 over the sand-hills, and then turning, gained the shadow 
 of the flax-bushes, and threw herself unseen close beside 
 the very one in which Huia was hidden. What a pretty, 
 
26 Maori Legends 
 
 fair, bright thing, thought Huia, as he gazed at her golden 
 hair and gleaming eyes, and fair limbs wet with the spray. 
 Surely she was born of the sea-foam and the yellow shore ! 
 He dared not move, he dared scarcely breathe, for fear she 
 should see him and be frightened away. He could see her 
 merry face through the leaves, as she lay there watching 
 the scene on the sands. How entrancing was the sight ! 
 The whole bay seemed filled with laughter and dehght. 
 It was the brightest moonshine everywhere ! Sparkling 
 sands, sparkling water, diamond lights dancing on the 
 fairies as they flitted here and there, gathering up the 
 restless, glittering fishes. What varied rainbow colours 
 glinting on the myriad scales ! Brilliant incessant motion 
 enchanting the eye, silvery cadences of delight and song 
 enchanting the ear. Beyond was the sea, with its innu- 
 merable laughter ; above, the white-orbed moon and the 
 myriad trembling stars ; and around all, the immensity of 
 the quiet night. Truly the night and all about him was 
 enchanted to Huia. But above all other charms was the 
 charm of that bright presence so near to him. His eyes 
 kept wandering from the scene on the shore to the maiden 
 lying close under his flax-bush. As he gazed on her, the 
 words of the voice in his vision came into his mind : 
 " Thou shalt bring back a blessing and a boon for thy 
 people." What was the meaning of the words ? Would 
 he soon know ? 
 
 Now that night the two slaves had kept some little 
 distance behind their chief, for the way was open and they 
 did not follow quite on his track. Coming suddenly round 
 the far point, they were astonished at the sight on the 
 shore,- and walked towards the place where the net with all 
 
The Tale of the Fishing Net 27 
 
 its freight had been drawn up. At the sight of the slaves 
 coming towards them, the fairies were filled with terror, 
 and ran with shrill screams up the beach. Some of them 
 seized the net, and in their alarm and haste ran right round 
 the flax bush where Huia and the little fairy maiden were 
 hiding, but saw neither. The slaves followed, and the 
 little folk getting more and more excited, and finding 
 themselves pursued by mortals, dropped the net, and with 
 wild gesticulations and cries, ran round, in and out of the 
 shadowy masses of the flax-bushes, back to their canoes. 
 At the first sound of alarm, and at the sight of the two 
 slaves, the fairy maiden had risen in order to run away, 
 but, suddenly seeing Huia so close to her, she sank back to 
 the ground trembling. Again springing up, she made 
 frantic efforts to escape, but she was encircled in the net 
 and entangled in its meshes, and the more she struggled 
 to get out, the more was she held. " Help ! Help ! " she 
 cried ; but her people were already half way down the 
 beach and heard her not. " The net ! The net ! " she 
 cried frantically ; " I am caught in the net ! " 
 
 "The net!" echoed Huia, "that then was the name of 
 the strange thing which had taken all the fish without hook 
 or line. Perhaps I have found the boon for my people at 
 last," he thought. And Huia stepped out and lifted the 
 struggling little maiden in his arms into the flax bush 
 where he had lain. 
 
 " Stay with me, maiden, stay ; thou art the blessing I 
 need." At the sound of his gentle voice, the fairy maid 
 looked up into the face of the stalwart, dark-browed young 
 chief, and love for him seized her heart, and she lay quiet 
 in his arms. 
 
2 8 Maori Legends 
 
 And the fairy-folk paddled swiftly out of sight, beyond 
 the pathway of the moon, and disappeared in the far 
 distance. And Huia heard no more their music, but only 
 the music of a sweet voice within his flax-bush shelter. 
 And the slaves went away silently across the sand-hills. 
 
 So Huia, the great war-chief, took back to his village a 
 young and fair wife, and she taught his people the art of 
 making nets, for she had the implements for netting in her 
 little flax-basket. And the tribe became rich and 
 prosperous, as Huia had seen them in his vision, and they 
 were grateful to him for the blessing and boon he had 
 sought for them in the far north. 
 
 And if ever the fairy wife of Huia expressed any wish to 
 go back to her people, he would point laughingly to the net 
 in which she had been caught, and which he ever kept 
 hanging on the walls of their whare. 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the 
 Pacific 
 
 ONCE upon a time, on a dark summer's night, when 
 the starry eyes of the Southern Cross Were 
 hidden behind drifting clouds, a woman, with the 
 dusky skin and dark eyes of sunny lands, was standing 
 near the edge of the sea. She was wrapping her new- born 
 babe round and round with thick locks of her hair, which 
 she had just cut off with her knife of obsidian. When she 
 had put this strange covering on the child, she raised it 
 high up in her arms, and, in spite of its wailing, threw it 
 far into the waves. Then she turned away and went back 
 to her dwelling under the tree-ferns in the gully near by. 
 The woman was Taranga, and the little child was Maui, 
 who had been thus abandoned by his unfeeUng mother. 
 She had four sons already, and did not want another. 
 
 Now, the waves of the sea were sorry for the little Maui, 
 and they cradled him tenderly in thick sea-weed, and rocked 
 him to sleep, while the breezes sang soft lullabies. Then 
 those wanderers on the mountain heights, the mighty hurri- 
 canes and squalls, saw what the ocean had done, and, 
 
30 Maori Legends 
 
 pitying the lonely baby on that wide expanse of waters, 
 hurried the rolling waves with their burden to the shore, 
 where they laid little Maui on a bed of soft jelly-fish. 
 Myriads of opal-winged flies came and buzzed around him, 
 so that other insects which might have harmed him were 
 afraid to come near. But the flies could not keep off the 
 fierce birds of prey, who, as the day dawned, saw the baby 
 lying there, and would have picked him to pieces, had not 
 the mighty god Rangi commanded the gods of the mountain- 
 tops to carry him to the heavens. 
 
 Thus was Maui, the little earth-born boy, saved by the 
 gods, and he was brought up in the skies, and taught many 
 things which gave him more than mortal power. 
 
 Though rich in knowledge Maui was not beautiful ; one 
 of his eyes was the colour of the bright brown eel, and the 
 other of the clear green jade, but he was exceeding strong 
 and active and was wonderfully tatooed with the numberless 
 straight parallel lines of the ancient tatooing. As Maui 
 grew older he became discontented with his life in the 
 heavens, where he had no other boys to play or work with, 
 and he said to the gods : 
 
 " Tell me who are my father and mother. I know I am 
 not a child of the gods or I should be a god too." And 
 they told him who his parents were, and that his mother had 
 thrown him into the sea, and also that he had four brothers 
 and a sister on earth. Then Maui said, " I want to go 
 down to them and see what the world is like where mortals 
 dwell." He was told that he might do so, and that he 
 was to teach men all he had learned up in the heavens. 
 
 So Maui went down to the earth on the wings of the 
 wind, and found his brothers playing the game called niti 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 3 1 
 
 on the sands. Maui took a piece of fern-stick and wound 
 a ball of flax round one end of it as they had done, and 
 asked if he could try the game. The boys answered, 
 " Yes, you can join us if you like." They did not know he 
 was their brother, and they said to one another, " I wonder 
 where he comes from that he does not know the game of 
 niti. We shall have some fun out of him if he has not 
 played before." 
 
 So each threw his stick in turn along the surface of the 
 ground to see which could make it skim the farthest and 
 the best. They were astonished as they went on with the 
 game, to hear Maui call out the name of each boy in the 
 right order to throw, beginning at the eldest, and when he 
 called out his own name the last as " Maui, the child of 
 Taranga," they were angry, and said, "We know nothing 
 of you, you are not our brother." 
 
 " I am," said Maui, " I am the youngest one, who was 
 thrown into the sea." 
 
 " You are not our brother," said they again, indignantly, 
 " and we will call our mother to tell you so, and to send 
 you off." Maui was glad when they said this, for he 
 wanted to see his mother. When Taranga came and 
 heard what they said, she counted the boys, and said to 
 Maui, " Here are four boys without you, so you are not 
 rny child. Go away at once ; " and she turned to his 
 brothers, and told them to practise their dance, the Haka, 
 and to take no notice of the strange boy. But when they 
 stood in place for the dance, Maui came forward to join 
 them. This made his mother angry, and she said, " Go 
 away, for you are not my child, and I will have nothing to 
 do with you." 
 
32 Maori Legends 
 
 But Maui said, " I am your youngest child, mother, 
 whom you threw into the sea when a little baby " ; and 
 Taranga gazed at him wonderingly as he told them how 
 he had been saved from death by his ancestors, the gods, 
 and brought up by them in the heavens. But he did not 
 tell them that he had more than mortal power, for he wished 
 some day to surprise them. When he had finished his 
 strange tale, his mother knew he must be indeed her child, 
 and she was glad, for she had often been sorry for having 
 thrown him into the sea, and she said joyfully, " In truth 
 you are my own boy Maui, my youngest born, and you 
 shall sleep beside me on my mat to-night. Come, we will 
 rub noses long, for I welcome you, my son." 
 
 Then the brothers exclaimed indignantly, " Our mother 
 never wants us to sleep with her on her mat, or to rub noses 
 long with us. Why should she with this little brat ? " and 
 they were jealous of him. But afterwards, when they found 
 that Maui could teach them many things they did not know 
 before — how to make better pots in which to catch eels, 
 and barbed spears, and improved fish-hooks — they began 
 to like him better. And when the time came for planting 
 the fields with their favourite root, the kumara, Maui taught 
 them to sing this song to the great god lo, so that their 
 crops might be blessed : 
 
 My spirit yearns for thee, 
 
 Crush thou mine enemy, 
 
 O god of Man — 
 
 lo! 
 
 Lo 1 thus I plant my crops. 
 Send down thy gracious drops, 
 And make them grow, 
 O god of Man — 
 
 lol 
 
< 
 
 O 
 
 y 
 
 w 
 
 <: 
 
 z 
 <: 
 
 ei 
 <! 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 3 3 
 
 Let not salt breezes blight 
 These fields, our great delight, 
 O god of Man 
 
 lo! 
 
 Descend the hills O cloud, 
 Mid wind and thunder loud. 
 Lo, I mine offering bring I 
 Lo, thus my chant I sing 1 
 Thus thee adore. 
 O god of Man — 
 
 lol 
 
 And Maui was feared by all the other lads of the tribe, 
 for he was strong and wise ; and crafty must he be indeed 
 who could outdo Maui in anything that required cunnijig 
 and skill. 
 
 One day when Maui and his brothers were playing a 
 game of hide-and-seek their sister Hina hid Maui under a 
 heap of leaves, and the others sought him long in vain. At 
 last Hina said " He is under that heap of leaves," but when 
 they turned over the leaves he was not there ; and Hina 
 was astonished, for she had covered him up carefully with 
 her own hands. So she went to the heap and searched 
 again, but there was nothing under the leaves. Whilst 
 she and the brothers stood by wondering, Maui suddenly 
 appeared from the midst of the same heap of leaves. Then 
 they knew for the first time that he must have more than 
 mortal power, and they no longer were surprised that he 
 excelled in all games, whether of throwing a spear at a fern- 
 stem as mark, flying kites, or playing cat's cradle, or in the 
 sports which the tribes held. 
 
 Now Maui still slept in his mother's hut, and he had 
 noticed that she went away every morning at dawn, and as. 
 
 c 
 
34 Maori Legends 
 
 she seldom returned till the evening, he often wondered 
 where she went. So he thought now that he was older he 
 would try and find out by following her, for she would tell 
 him nothing. He said to his brothers, " Do you know 
 where our mother goes ? " They said " No, and we do 
 not care ; whether she goes north or south it is all the same 
 to us." 
 
 "I do care," said Maui, "for I love my mother, and I 
 do not like her to go away alone all day ; perhaps some 
 harm will come to her. She goes to some place where 
 there is fire, for the food which she sometimes brings back 
 is cooked. Perhaps she goes to the place where they know 
 the secret of fire-making. I should like to know it. But 
 you are older than I, brothers, and you ought to follow our 
 mother.'' 
 
 "We do not care to follow her," said his brothers. 
 " Why should we trouble ourselves ? She does not feed 
 us, and we never see our father, and we do not know where 
 he is. Rangi the Heavens sends the soft rain and the 
 sunshine to foster the food which our mother, Papatua the 
 Earth, provides for her children. They are our best father 
 and mother; we do not want any other." 
 
 " But before you could eat of the food of the earth, our 
 own mother nursed you at her breast," said Maui, " and you 
 ought to love her. Alas ! I was never nursed at her breast, 
 and yet I love her." 
 
 Maui's brothers were astonished to hear him speak thus, 
 and said, " We do not feel as you do." 
 
 And Maui continued : " My love urges me to seek her and 
 to see if she is happy in the place where she goes every day : 
 and maybe I shall see that which will make me reconciled 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 3 5 
 
 to her absence. Perhaps it is my father she visits. But I 
 know not the dangers of the way, and I may never return 
 from my journey to the unknown." 
 
 His brothers replied, " We do not see why you need 
 fear ; you are only searching for those you love ; and when 
 you come back from the other world you will have accom- 
 plished a mighty feat, and all men will honour you. Go 
 then, for do not the gods love you ? " 
 
 Finding his brothers would not go, Maui determined to 
 follow his mother alone. So one night when she was 
 asleep he took her girdle and mat, and he hid them, so that 
 she could not go away before he was awake. He blocked 
 up the window and every cranny where the sun could shine 
 in, so that she should not be roused early by the light. 
 When Taranga opened her eyes it was morning, but as 
 the others were still sleeping soundly, she said, "What a 
 long, dark night it is," and she went to sleep again. When 
 she again woke and found it was still dark, she jumped up 
 and undid the window, and behold it was bright day. 
 Then she looked round for her mat, and, as she could not 
 find it, she hastily took an old one, and flinging it round 
 her, rushed out, exclaiming, " My children, my children, 
 why have you treated me thus ? " 
 
 Maui waked up just in time to follow her. When some 
 distance from the house she went down a gully, and stopped 
 before two large black rocks, and he hid in the long ferns 
 near by to watch her. Turning her face to the north, 
 Maui heard Taranga chant these words : 
 
 As clouds of night part at the dawn, 
 O mighty rocks apart be torn 1 
 
36 Maori Legends 
 
 Ye spirits fierce who bidden stay 
 In earth's dark depths, bar not my way 
 To realms of shade. Wide open fling 
 Your portals grim while thus I sing. 
 
 And the rocks divided, and when she had disappeared into 
 the chasm they closed again silently. Maui repeated the 
 words of her song over and over again to himself, so as to 
 remember them. Then he ran back to tell his brothers 
 what he had seen. They said, "Why did you not go 
 after our mother ? Go, in the might of your knowledge, 
 for the gods love you." " Then will I turn myself into a 
 pigeon," said Maui, " so that, if she sees me, she may 
 admire me, and not be angry." This he said because he 
 had often turned himself into different birds to amuse his 
 mother and brothers in the evening. Once he had put on 
 his mother's green apron with the fringe of dog's-tail hair, 
 and her girdle, and had changed himself into a pigeon. 
 The green apron made the lovely colours on the breast of 
 the bird, and the dark girdle the dark band round its 
 throat, and his mother, when she saw him, cried : " Now, 
 indeed, you look beautiful. Maul, and when you sit amongst 
 the green leaves of a tree all who see you, and hear you 
 coo softly, will love you." 
 
 So when the the first rays of dawn chased away the 
 shades of night Maui went to the place where the two rocks 
 stood looming grim and mysterious in the uncertain light. 
 Turning his face to the north, he repeated boldly his 
 mother's words : 
 
 As clouds of night part at the dawn, 
 O mighty rocks apart be torn ! 
 Ye spirits fierce who hidden stay 
 In earth's dark depths, bar not my way 
 
s^ 
 
 Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 37 
 
 To realms of shade; Wide open fling 
 Your portals grim while thus I sing. 
 
 And the two rocks flew apart, showing a dark chasm, 
 guarded by two fierce spirits with hideous faces and tongues 
 of flame. And they gnashed their teeth and struck the air 
 with their huge claw-like fingers when they saw it was an 
 unknown mortal, and they made fierce hisses of rage the 
 while. But when they rushed at Maui, he quickly turned 
 himself into a pigeon and flew down the chasm. One of 
 the spirits caught hold of his tail as he passed, but he only 
 pulled out a few feathers, and the bird passed quickly down 
 the dark passage to the shades. Maui found himself in a 
 world much like the world above, only a perpetual twilight 
 reigned there, for the full light of the sun could not enter. 
 Men and women were resting on sapless grass under 
 sombre-looking trees, and Maui saw his mother sitting 
 beside a man whom he thought must be his father, and 
 Maui perched on a branch above them, and said to himself, 
 " Now I shall find out why my mother comes here ; " but 
 he was too far off" to hear their low tones. So he took a 
 hard berry in his beak and dropped it down on his father's 
 forehead. Some people near said, " It must have been a 
 bird which let the berry fall ; " but Maui's father said, " Oh, 
 no ; the berry was ripe, so it fell." 
 
 Maui soon afterwards let another berry drop on his 
 father's forehead. This time his mother looked up and 
 said, " I can see a bird in the tree," and, looking more 
 closely, she saw it was a pigeon from the earth, for there 
 were none such in the shades. 
 
 Some of the people began to throw stones at the bird, 
 but they could not hit it. Then his mother spoke softly. 
 
38 Maori Legends 
 
 and said, "Do you come from the daylight, O bird?" and 
 added in low tones, " Maybe it is that wonderful boy Maui, 
 whom I left on earth, and who has followed me here." 
 Hearing her words, Maui answered, cooing softly, and his 
 mother knew his voice, and she said, " Now I know you 
 are my boy Maui. Come down to me." And Maui quickly 
 turned into his own form again, and stood beside his mother. 
 Then Taranga told the people the tale of his birth, and of 
 her having thrown him into the sea because she had already 
 four sons, and added, "But his ancestors, the gods of the 
 waves and the winds, smiled on him, and saved him from 
 death, and the great god Rangi took him to the heavens — 
 whence he had returned to visit me with more than mortal 
 knowledge and power. And, turning to Maui, she said in 
 a loud voice, so that all the people in the shades could hear, 
 "Welcome, welcome art thou, O my son"; and' the people 
 cried, " No wonder we could not hit him when he was a 
 pigeon, for he is beloved of the gods." 
 
 Maui's father was greatly astonished to hear all this, but 
 he too said, " Welcome, O my son, thou child of my old 
 age ! Come, and let me sprinkle thee with the living waters 
 of the great Tane, the god of light, that thou mayest be 
 blessed and perform mighty works." And Taranga said, 
 "Even so, O my son, for when thou art strong in thy 
 manhood thou must go far, even to the realms of Hine, the 
 goddess of death, and destroy her, and free all mankind 
 from her power." 
 
 Then Maui's father sprinkled him with the living waters, 
 but, after he had done so, he was greatly troubled, for he 
 had forgotten to say all the incantations, and he cried, 
 " Woe is me ! Woe is me ! For now shalt thou be con- 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 39 
 
 quered by Hine, the Goddess of Death if thou goest to her 
 realms. O my son, go not, I beseech thee, but stay with 
 us in our old age." 
 
 So spoke his father to Maui, but he remembered his 
 mother's words, and resolved, when the fulness of his man- 
 hood was accomplished, to go and fear not. 
 
 The older Maui grew, the more did he attempt great and 
 daring deeds. Whilst he was down in the spirit-world he 
 had heard that his grandmother Muri lived there, and that,. 
 on account of her magic jawbone, she was able to do 
 wonderful things. So Maui went down to the shades, and 
 asked more about her. They told him that some one had 
 to take food to the old woman every day, and that she was 
 very terrible to meet, for she would eat any mortal she 
 could catch. " I will take her food," said Maui, and 
 muttered to himself, " I mean to get her jawbone." 
 
 So he went day after day with the food, and put it near 
 her dwelling, but he did not see her. At last he left the 
 food some distance off the place, so that she might come to 
 search for it, and Maui hid himself and waited. He soon 
 saw his grandmother coming, and, feeling that something 
 was wrong, she sniffed to find if she could smell a man. 
 The old woman was terrible to look at, for she extended 
 herself ready to swallow him, and she gnashed her mighty 
 jaw. Then she sniffed to the west, but she Could find no 
 one there. She sniffed to the north, but could find no one 
 there. She sniffed to the east, but could find no one there. 
 At last she sniffed to the south, and she smelt a man. 
 So she extended herself still more as she thought of the 
 feast in store. 
 
 " Who are you ? " she asked, in a terrible voice. Maui 
 
40 Maori Legends 
 
 did not answer. " Are you brought by the south wind 
 that touches my skin ? " 
 
 Maui repHed, " Yes, I am." Then the old woman 
 knew from his voice that it was Maui, and she was greatly 
 disappointed, for she could not eat her grandson, so she 
 shrunk back to her usual size. Then Maui came out of 
 his hiding-place ; and she said, " Why are you playing 
 tricks on me, Maui ? You have always been a trouble 
 both to gods and man. I thought I should have been free 
 from you down here. What do you want ? " 
 
 " I want your magic jawbone, grandmother, with which 
 you do such wonderful deeds," replied Maui. 
 
 " I shall not give it to you," said the old woman. 
 
 "Then I shall take it," said Maui, and he looked so 
 strong, and the old woman felt so weak from the want of 
 food, that she said, " Then take it," and Maui did so, and 
 returned with it to earth, and told his brothers where he 
 had been and what he had seen. 
 
 One night soon afterwards Maui felt very mischievous, 
 and he got up and put out all the fires in the country-side, 
 so that when the people got up in the morning they could 
 not cook their food, and they did not know how to make 
 fire. So there were loud outcries, which Maui for some 
 time pretended not to hear. At last he got up and said, 
 "What is the matter? Why are you making such a 
 noise ? " 
 
 And they told him some one had put all the fires out, 
 and they could not rekindle them. 
 
 " Go to the world below and get fire," said Maui ; " they 
 know how to make it there." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said they all ; but they were afraid to go. 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 41 
 
 At last they asked Maui to go, and when he had agreed to 
 do so, they offered to go part of the way with him to help 
 him on the road. But Maui knew the way, and wished to 
 go alone. 
 
 When he got there he told his mother how he had put 
 all the fires out, and asked where Mahuika the fire-god 
 lived. She said : " What ! Up to tricks again, Maui ! 
 You had better not go and tease your ancestor the fire-god, 
 for he is a very hot-tempered old fellow." 
 
 " I do not care, mother," replied Maui, and he started off. 
 
 He soon found the fire-god's dwelling-place, because of 
 the smoke. Mahuika was busy cooking some human bones. 
 They had been on the hot stones of the oven some time ; 
 he had just lifted off the mat, and was sniffing the food with 
 great satisfaction. So he turned round to Maui in rather ,a 
 better temper than usual. 
 
 " What do you want ? " 
 
 " I want a fire-stick." But the old man only grunted and 
 turned away. 
 
 Maui waited a moment or two, then said again, " Give 
 me a fire-stick." 
 
 The old man sniffed loudly, but said nothing. 
 
 " I want a fire-stick," called out Maui, so angrily that at 
 last the fire-god, to get rid of him, threw him one. Maui 
 picked it up, and then went away. But as he went he 
 thought, " It is the secret of how to make fire I want, not 
 fire only." 
 
 So he dropped the burning stick into water, wetted 
 his hands, and went back and said, showing his hands, "I 
 fell in the water and the fire went out. It is the secret of 
 how to make fire that I want to know. Tell it to me." 
 
42 Maori Legends 
 
 But the old man would not tell him ; he only threw him 
 another fire-stiek. 
 
 Maui went away and put that one in the water, too, and 
 came back and said again, insolently : 
 
 "Tell me how to make fire, or I shall make you tell me," 
 and his eyes blazed with fury. 
 
 The old man was very angry when he heard this, and 
 looking at Maui, who was a little man, answered : 
 
 " You are an impudent fellow ; I shall toss you up high 
 into the air." 
 
 Maui only replied, " Tell me the secret of fire-making." 
 This made the fire-god more furious, and he rushed into 
 his dwelling to put on his magic fire-girdle. The old man 
 rushed at Maui, seized him, and tossed him up high into 
 the air, even as high as the highest trees. But Maui made 
 himself as light as a pigeon, and fell unhurt. Mad with 
 rage, the fire-god seized him again and hurled him up far 
 higher than the highest trees. Again Maui fell unhurt, and 
 again and again the old man threw him up, only to see 
 Maui fall back to the earth uninjured. The fire-god was by 
 this time panting for want of breath, so Maui said, " Now 
 it is my turn ; " and he seized him and tossed him up right 
 out of sight, then caught him like a ball when he came 
 down. Again and again did he do this, till the old man was 
 quite exhausted. Maui was just getting ready for a final 
 toss, when the fire-god cried out, "O spare me, and I will 
 tell you the secret of fire-making." 
 
 So Maui put him down, and the old man showed him 
 how to make fire, by rubbing a piece of hard wood on a 
 softer piece and putting fine fibre in the hollow thus made 
 to catch the sparks from the rubbing. But Maui was not 
 
MAUI AND THE FIRE-GOD. 
 
44 Maori Legends 
 
 " We cannot do that," said his brother laughing, " nor 
 can you. The heat of the sun would be so fierce, you 
 could not go near to him, and if you could catch him he 
 is far too strong for even you to hold." 
 
 But Maui answered : 
 
 " Have I not been to the spirit-land and back more than 
 once ? Have I not done great deeds ? I can do yet 
 greater. Go and get strong flax-fibre, and I will show you 
 how to make great strong ropes which can bind even the 
 deathless gods." 
 
 The brothers did as Maui told them, and great was the 
 plaiting of ropes, strong ropes, twisted ropes, and three 
 plait ropes, in order to make nooses with which to catch 
 the Sun-god. 
 
 " We must start long before dawn," said Maui, " so as to 
 get to the place where the sun comes up above the edge of 
 the earth. Then must we throw the ropes over him before 
 he knows what we would do ; for he can surpass all gods 
 in speed and might." 
 
 So they rose in the night, and journeyed long over the 
 plains to the place where the sun rises, and they broke off 
 large branches of the trees and built a place behind which 
 they could shelter from the fierce heat. 
 
 Then they hid themselves and watched for the sun. Maui 
 had taken the jawbone of his grandmother with him as a 
 weapon, and the brothers had- taken the ropes. 
 
 Maui said : "Wait till the sun's head and shoulders ai-e 
 well up above the earth, and then we will throw the nooses 
 over him ; and you must hold the ropes tight whilst I beat 
 him well with my grandmother's jawbone till he is so feeble 
 that we can tie him down easily." 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 45 
 
 And they agreed to do this. 
 
 Up, up came the sun in his glorious beauty ; his bright 
 locks flaming with fierce heat, little knowing what danger 
 awaited him. Maui and his brothers kept quite still behind 
 their shelter till the sun's head and shoulders were well up. 
 Then the brothers started up, and after several attempts 
 they managed to throw the nooses over the sun's head, and 
 then they pulled the ropes with all their strength, whilst 
 Maui belaboured him unmercifully. 
 
 In vain the astonished sun drew his mighty limbs together 
 and tried to break the ropes. Their magical strength could 
 not be broken. 
 
 " Why do you beat me so ? Do you not know that I am 
 the source of light and heat ? How dare you assault me, 
 the great god Ra ? " 
 
 So spake he in his anger. 
 
 But Maui still went on beating him violently, and the 
 brothers continued to haul at the ropes. " What have I 
 done ? What have I done ? " cried the sun, indignantly. 
 But he got no answer, and more furious was the beating, 
 till at last he cried aloud for mercy. Then they told him 
 that he had been in the habit of travelling too quickly, and 
 therefore they must tie him so that he could not go so fast 
 or so far. 
 
 And in spite of his protesting they bound him to the 
 earth, and he was so crippled and so shorn of his strength, 
 that he could not resist. 
 
 His flaming locks no longer fell upon the earth in great 
 masses, burning the surface, but were so spread out by the 
 hammering they had undergone from Maui, that ever after- 
 wards they fell on the world in numberless fine threads. 
 
46 Maori Legends 
 
 And the strong ropes with whjch Ra is bound can often be 
 seen stretching through the clouds from the sun to the 
 earth, but being so far off they look very slight, and men 
 call them beams of light. 
 
 So Maui and his brothers returned home satisfied with 
 what they had done, for the days were longer and the heat 
 less fierce. Thus was another great work of Maui accom- 
 plished. 
 
 Maui ^Iso tied the moon to the sun — so that when the 
 sun set, the moon should be dragged up and light the earth. 
 He then caught all the winds except the west wind and 
 shut them up in a cave, and he had power over them. 
 Maui often rode on the south and north winds to try and 
 catch the west wind, and when the west wind blew gently, 
 the people said it was because it was nearly exhausted in 
 flying from Maui. 
 
 Now Maui was in many respects a very lazy fellow ; he 
 did not care to help in the ordinary work of everyday life, 
 though he would rouse up at times and do great deeds. 
 One day his brothers said to him : 
 
 " Maui, you never go out to help to catch fish for food." 
 And the women and children came round Maui and also 
 reproached him for being lazy. Then he muttered : 
 
 " Now, O mothers and children, have I not accom- 
 phshed a great many things, and shall the act of procuring 
 food be too great for me ? You cannot imagine the abun- 
 dance of food that shall to-day be shone upon on this 
 shore by the sun." 
 
 And these words of Maui were often afterwards in the 
 mouths of the people when they recounted his many deeds. 
 
 Then Maui said aloud to his brothers : 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 47 
 
 " You are always fishing ; the truth is, there is too much 
 water and too little land. I will go with you and show you 
 what I can do to help." 
 
 But the brothers thought, from the way he spoke, that he 
 meant to do something mischievous, and so they went off 
 that night to fish, and left him behind. But Maui was not 
 to be done in that way, so he turned himself into a bird, 
 and flew after the canoe and alighted on the edge. Then 
 he turned into his own form again, and his brothers were 
 angry, but they only said, sullenly : 
 
 " What is the good of your coming ? You have no 
 fishing-tackle." 
 
 They did not know that Maui had made a big fish-hook 
 out of his grandmother's jawbone, and had it hidden under 
 his mat. He only laughed and said : 
 
 " Go far out to sea, for I want to fish in deep waters." 
 
 At first they would not obey him ; but they were really 
 afraid of Maui, and when he said again, angrily, " Go out 
 far to sea," they sailed out a long distance at his bidding. 
 Then Maui told them to put their lines in the deep water ; 
 and before they could sink far, innumerable fish came to the 
 hooks, even up to the canoe, and it was soon filled with fish. 
 
 Then Maui said : 
 
 " Now see what I can do." 
 
 But the brothers answered jeeringly again, " What can 
 you do with no fishing-tackle ? " Maui only laughed, and 
 drew from under his mat his line with the magical fish- 
 hook upon it, which was ornamented with shell-pearl and 
 shone beautifully as it flashed in the moonlight. 
 
 The brothers watched him wonderingly as he smeared 
 the hook with some blood from his finger for bait, for they 
 
48 Maori Legends' 
 
 would not give him any. Then Maui let down his line into 
 the deep sea, singing : 
 
 O gentle north-east breeze ! 
 Oh gentle south-east breeze 1 
 Come play upon my line, 
 Sweet tremulous song to make, 
 As swift to ocean-caves 
 It runneth to and fro. 
 Let nothing roughly sweep 
 Across my line to break 
 Or mar my sport this night, 
 In the dark depths below. 
 
 So sang Maui ; and soon afterwards the line was roughly 
 pulled, the waters were violently agitated, the canoe was 
 shaken and twisted about, and, as Maui held on firmly to 
 the jerking line, his brothers called out : 
 
 " Let go, Maui ; you have brought us out here to drown 
 us!" 
 
 But Maui still continued pulling hard and singing. The 
 mighty waves boiled, and at last Maui called out to his 
 frightened brothers, " See ! this is the fish which I came 
 out to catch ; " and with many struggles he pulled up a 
 mighty fish indeed, a large surface of land, even Te-ika-a- 
 Maui (the fish of Maui), or the north island of New 
 Zealand. And their canoe lay high and dry upon it. 
 Then Maui said to his brothers, " Do not meddle with 
 this fish till I come back. I go to offer the first-fruits 
 of this earth to the gods, so that they may scrape the evil 
 spirits with shells who tempted us to transgress their laws 
 and take this sacred fish out of the deep pit below the sea. 
 When I return we will divide the fish, even this land." 
 
 But no sooner was Maui out of sight than they began to 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 49 
 
 quarrel and to divide the prize, cutting it up with their by- 
 knives. The fish wriggled with its head and tail and fins, 
 and writhed whilst the brothers hacked at it. Thus were 
 formed the mountains and the gullies and the rough cliffs of 
 the land which Maui fished up. When Maui returned he 
 was very angry with his brothers for what they had done, 
 and he said : 
 
 " If it had not been for your greed and quarrelling my 
 land would have been beautifully level." 
 
 But his brothers were too busy to answer, and they were 
 cross besides, for their heavy canoe, full of fish, was left 
 high and dry because of Maui's fishing freak, and they 
 would have to carry it a great distance overland. Thus 
 was another great work of Maui accomplished. 
 
 Maui was so pleased with his success with the fish-hook 
 made out of his grandmother's jawbone that he thought he 
 would like some more jawbones, so as to make hooks of 
 different sizes. Now, Maui had two sons who were very 
 mischievous like himself, and this he could not allow. So 
 one day he said : 
 
 " My sons, you do too much talking and too little work ; 
 I shall send you up into the sky. Perhaps you will keep 
 out of mischief and do some work there. Besides, I want 
 your jawbones," muttered the cruel father to himself, "for I 
 think they are good ones." 
 
 "All right, father," said his sons, for they liked the notion 
 of going up to the heavens. 
 
 " But I shall not let you be together ; you would be up 
 to more mischief then," added Maui. 
 
 So when night came, Maui tossed one son up high 
 into the sky, where he became the evening star, and the 
 
 D 
 
50 Maori Legends 
 
 other he tossed up at dawn, and he became the morning 
 star. The one has to shine on " the great high road of 
 Tane," the god of light, and herald the sun's rising. The 
 other watches to catch his last rays as he goes down at 
 evening. But Maui kept his sons' jawbones to make fish- 
 hooks for his own use. 
 
 When Maui's favourite brother Taki, who had always 
 helped Maui in his works, saw how beautiful the two sons 
 looked as stars, he said : 
 
 " I am getting old, Maui, and I should like also to be a 
 star." 
 
 " Very well," said Maui ; " but you are too heavy for me 
 to throw up, you must climb up on spiders' threads." And 
 Maui helped him by incantation to do so. And Taki's right 
 eye became the Takiara,theguiding-star; and he is very proud 
 in the sky, for he ever guides men with his bright light. 
 
 Now Maui had a brother-in-law, who was just as ugly as 
 Taki had been beautiful. He was so strangely formed that 
 he looked hke a lot of huge warts stuck together. So he 
 was called Irawaru, or " Eight- warts " ; he was a greedy 
 fellow, too. Sometimes he went out fishing with Maui ; 
 and one day he ate all the bait when Maui was not looking, 
 so they had to return home without any fish, for Maui did 
 not want to fish up more land with his blood as bait. 
 Maui was terribly angry with Eight-warts for doing this, so 
 when they got on shore, he sent his brother-in-law into a 
 deep sleep, and said, " I will serve him out for being so 
 greedy." 
 
 Then Maui pulled his brother-in-law's mouth, jaw, and 
 ears into the shape of those of a dog ; he pulled his arms 
 and legs into the shape of a dog's legs ; and he drew his 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 5 1 
 
 backbone out till it became like a tail. Having done this, 
 Maui waked his brother-in-law up, and when he found 
 himself a dog, the poor fellow ran off howling into the bush 
 near by. Maui looked after him admiringly and said, 
 " He really looks better now than he did when he was 
 Eight-warts, if he only knew it." 
 
 When Maui got home, his sister said, " Where is my 
 husband ? " 
 
 And Maui answered, "Oh, he is somewhere near the 
 canoe ; he will come back soon." 
 
 But he did not come, and at last his wife said, " I will 
 go and call him." 
 
 And she called him; but still he did not come. 
 
 " I believe you have done something to him, Maui with 
 your magic power," said she. 
 
 Maui only answered, " Go and whistle for him, and call 
 ' Moi-moi ' (the words which are used to call a dog), then 
 perhaps he will come." 
 
 So she did as Maui told her, and the howling of a dog 
 answered her voice, and a dog soon afterwards came run- 
 ning to her, wagging its tail. Then she cried out to 
 Maui, " You have cursed my husband and turned him into 
 a dog by your wicked tricks." 
 
 And so it was ; and the poor wife was so distressed at 
 finding her husband a dog that she threw herself into the 
 sea. 
 
 Many years went by, and Maui was always doing some 
 mischief or other, and he was, as he had been in his youth, 
 a nuisance to both men and gods. But the people thought 
 no one would ever be able to kill Maui, he was such a 
 strong fellow. Why, he could drag a whale up high on 
 
52 Maori Legends 
 
 the shore alone, or carry mighty forest trees. But Maui 
 felt himself getting old, and thought it was quite beneath 
 the dignity of man to die, so he remembered his mother's 
 words long ago, when he visited her in the shades. And 
 he went to his mother again, and said : 
 
 " I am going to kill our ancestress, Hine, the goddess of 
 death. I tried long ago to make her promise that man 
 should be like the moon, whose life is renewed each month 
 by bathing in the waters of the lake of Tan6. But Hine 
 only answered me, ' No ! let man die and become part of 
 the soil, and never rise to his life on earth again.' So 
 now, mother, I shall destroy Hind," said Maui. 
 
 "My son," said his father, who had been listening, 
 " you cannot do that ; she is too powerful." 
 
 " I think I can manage it," said Maui. " When she is 
 asleep I shall jump into her mouth, and if I can once get 
 into her body, take her heart, and come out of her mouth 
 again, she will no longer have power over men." 
 
 " You cannot do that, my son ; if man once goes into 
 the jaws of Hin6 he never comes back." 
 
 " I shall try," said Maui. " Did I not nearly strangle 
 Ra, the sun-god, and Hind is not so terrible nor so 
 strong as he was. Why should I fear her when I beat 
 him ? " 
 
 " Of course you will please yourself," said his father ; 
 " but I left out those prayers at your baptism, when I 
 sprinkled you with the water, and I know Hind will be the 
 cause of your death if you seek her ; I entreat you not to 
 meddle with her, O my son." 
 
 But Maui would listen to no words of warning, he only 
 said : 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 5 3 
 
 "Tell me what Hine is like, and where to look for 
 her." 
 
 And his father replied, " Do you see the lightning- 
 flashes on the horizon ? They are the lights of her terrible 
 eyes." 
 
 " What else ? " asked Maui. 
 
 " Her teeth are jagged, and sharp as obsidian." 
 
 " What else ? " asked Maui. 
 
 " Her mouth is like that of the large shark, and no man 
 returns who once enters." 
 
 " Is that all ? " answered Maui. " I shall go, for my 
 heart knows not fear." 
 
 " O my last born, and the power of my old age, evil will 
 come to thee; go not," entreated his father. 
 
 But Maui would not hearken to his father's or mother's 
 prayers, and left for the shades determined to seek Hine, 
 the terrible one. He asked his brothers to go with him, 
 but they would not. No one would go with him. Now 
 Maui, though sometimes a cruel man, had always been kind 
 to the birds, and they loved him in spite of the use he 
 often made of them, and of the way he punished them 
 when they did not obey him. 
 
 Thus, one day when he was on a journey, he wanted 
 some water. He called the tieke, or saddle-back, to fetch 
 him some, but it would not, so Maui threw it into the water. 
 The bird made a great noise at this, and all saddle-backs 
 have been very clamorous ever since. Then he called the 
 hihij.or stitch-bird, to go for water, but it would not, so 
 Maui threw it into the fire, and some of the stitch-bird's 
 feathers are of a yellow flame colour to this day. 
 
 He then asked the toutowai, or small robin, to fetch 
 
54 Maori Legends 
 
 some water, and it did so ; and Maui made the feathers 
 over the small robin's bill beautifully white as a reward. 
 
 And he called the pukeko, or swamp-hen, and it filled its 
 ears with water, and brought it to him. And Maui was 
 pleased, and pulled its legs out long, so that ever afterwards 
 the swamp-hen could go into marshy places and get its food 
 easily. 
 
 Thus, when no one else would go with Maui, some of 
 the birds who had been listening said, "We will go with 
 you." And the little robin and the big robin, the lark, the 
 fantail, the white-head, the rail, and many other kinds of 
 small birds, came to Maui and said,. " We will go with 
 you," and they followed on his path, flitting here and there 
 beside him, so that he should not feel lonely. Thus Maui 
 started with his feathered friends only on his terrible enter- 
 prise, deserted alike by the gods and by man. 
 
 After long journeying, Maui arrived where Hine, the 
 goddess of death, abode. But he could not see her whole 
 form ; he could only see that her mouth was open, and, as 
 the lightning flashes played not from her eyes, he knew 
 that she slept. So he turned to the little birds, and said : 
 
 " Now be very quiet, and do not laugh." 
 
 " We will try to be quiet," replied the birds. " But we fear 
 you will be killed. Do take care of yourself, friend Maui." 
 . Then Maui took off his mats, and his skin shone like 
 the mottled skin of a mackerel, he was so beautifully 
 tatooed. Then Maui, with one more warning to the little 
 birds not to laugh, jumped head first into the mouth of 
 Hm6. 
 
 When he got as far down inside her as his chest, his legs 
 were left hanging out, and he looked so very funny that the 
 
Maui, the Hercules of the Pacific 5 5 
 
 birds had to screw up their cheeks not to laugh outright. 
 But the little swamp-rail could not keep quiet, and he 
 laughed out loud, with his merry note. Alas ! this waked 
 Hind. With a sudden snap of her mighty jaws she cut 
 Maui right in two at the waist, and his legs tumbled to the 
 ground. 
 
 At this dreadful sight the birds flew away frightened and 
 horror-struck to tell the sad news of Maui's death ; and 
 they sang no more for many days. And the little rail 
 laughed no more. 
 
 Thus died the mighty Maui, conquered by Hin6, the 
 goddess of death. And so the children of men must all 
 die. Hence the proverb says, " Man may have many 
 children, but Hine strangles them all." 
 
 Now although Maui had sometimes troubled them, his 
 brothers were really proud of his feats, and so the eldest 
 brother lamented loudly for him in these words : 
 
 O brother thou art dead ! 
 In vain we ask the gods 
 Why death did conquer thee, 
 Though gifts to them were burned 
 And songs to them were sung. 
 O brother thou art dead 1 
 
 O brother thou art dead ! 
 Why laughed the little rail ? 
 Dread Hind woke. Then flashed 
 The lightning from her eyes, 
 Her cruel jaws were closed 
 On thee, alas ! on thee, 
 And man for evermore 
 Must die, 
 O brother thou art dead ! 
 
 Maui, the great Hercules of the Pacific lands, dwells in 
 
56 
 
 Maori Legends 
 
 the heavens, and his wonderful fish-hook is to be seen 
 there. » 
 
 The hooked tail of the Scorpion is the magic fish-hook 
 of Maui. 
 
Hinemoa, or the Beautiful Maori 
 Maiden of Rotorua 
 
 IN the centre of the north island of New Zealand there 
 is a large and beautiful lake called Rotorua. Low 
 wooded cliflFs fringed with ferns and the long plumes 
 of the graceful toi-grass, jut out here and there into the 
 clear waters, and gently undulating slopes, thickly covered 
 with many coloured bracken, stretch to the edge of the 
 bright sandy beach. In small irregular gullies nestle rich 
 clumps of varied shrubs, and in the spring the wandering 
 clematis throws, over them its sprays of starry white 
 blossoms and dark shining leaves. Overhead the feathery 
 crowns of the tree-fern wave in stately grandeur. Clumps 
 of flax-bushes flourish in the marshy hollows, sending up 
 their strong, sword-like leaves and spikes of dusky red 
 bloom, and many a wild bird makes its home amidst the 
 thick rushes and sedges that here and there edge the wide 
 expanse of sparkling water. 
 
 In the middle of the lake, several miles from the shore, 
 the pretty island of Mokoia, fern-clad and fertile, lies like a 
 green gem on its fair bosom. A Maori tribe lives on 
 
58 Maori Legends 
 
 Mokoia and other tribes live upon the mainland, and many 
 native canoes may now, as in bygone days, be seen passing 
 backward and forward between the different villages. Hot 
 springs rise out of the shores at the south end of the lake 
 and bubble and steam amidst the clumps of bushes, forming 
 luxuriant bathing places of varied heat for the brown- 
 skinned natives, who sit in them for hours together both by 
 day and night. They cook their kumaras and fish in the 
 boiling pools, and often build their huts over some flat hot 
 stones, so that even in winter hours their life is full of ease 
 and comfort. 
 
 A long time ago there was a young Maori girl called 
 Hinemoa, who belonged to a tribe living upon the mainland, 
 and she was more beautiful than any maiden far or near. 
 The fame of her beauty had spread throughout the country- 
 side, and many a stalwart chief desired her in marriage. 
 Amongst them was a young warrior called Tutan6, and 
 he and his three elder brothers lived with their tribe on the 
 island of Mokoia. When they met Hinemoa at an assembly 
 of the Rotorua people, they saw that she was indeed fair, 
 and each wished to win her for his wife. But Hinemoa 
 was of much higher rank than they were, and her people 
 would not hear of her marrying any one of them. Now 
 the maiden herself liked the handsome young Tutan6, and 
 she often used to sit on the shore in the warm summer 
 evenings and listen to the music of Tutan^'s trumpet as it 
 was wafted across the lake from the high platform which he 
 had built on the near shore of the island, for himself and 
 his great friend Tiki, who loved to play his flute there with 
 him. When Hinemoa heard the notes of Tutan^'s trumpet, 
 she murmured to herself softly, " That is the sweet music 
 
The Beautiful Maori Maiden 59 
 
 of Tutan6 ! " and her heart was filled with thoughts of 
 him. 
 
 When the tribes met for games and dances, Hinemoa 
 and Tutang were often together, and admiring looks passed 
 between them, for each was pleasing in the other's sight. 
 When they were apart, Tutane's' heart was full of tender 
 thoughts of the fair maiden, and Hinemoa's heart was filled 
 with sweet remembrances of the soft tones of his voice. But 
 Tutane did not know if Hinemoa would be his wife, for was 
 she not of much higher rank than he was ? How could he, 
 a younger soUj dare to woo the beautiful maiden of Rotorua, 
 the much-prized daughter of the great chief Umukarla, or 
 venture to take her hand, or with soft touches tell her of 
 his love ? 
 
6o Maori Legends 
 
 And Hinemoa said to herself, " How do I know he really 
 loves me ? Perhaps if I send a friend to tell him of my love 
 I should not be pleasing in his sight." 
 
 Thus for a long time these two met and did not speak of 
 the affection each had for the other, only when they were 
 together shy glances were unspoken words ; and when apart, 
 the evening music of Tutane's trumpet came over the lake, 
 breathing its tale of constant love. After many weeks had 
 gone by, Tutand determined to send his friend Tiki with a 
 message and ask if Hinemoa would be his wife. When 
 Hinemoa heard his words she was glad, and she said, 
 "Ah, and have we both loved alike all this time !" 
 
 So when Tutan^ next met Hinemoa he was no longer too 
 shy to speak words of love to her ; but he dared not do so 
 openly for fear of her father's anger. At the assemblies of 
 the people the young men and girls often danced long 
 dances, and had games apart from their elders, both in the 
 daytime and during the fine summer evenings. They were 
 also very fond of swinging ; a tall pole was firmly fixed in 
 the ground, from which ropes were suspended, and holding 
 each a rope they loved to spring high from the ground, and 
 swing round and round in the air, light as birds in their 
 flight. They often sang this little song, comparing them- 
 selves to their favourite bird the kaka (parrot): 
 
 O swift bird thou art flying off ! 
 Whither art thou flying ? 
 Flying, flying to the sky, 
 Lightly soar we too on high. 
 Whither flying ? 
 
 Whilst the young men and maidens thus amused them- 
 selves, their songs ringing in the soft summer air, Tutane 
 
The Beautiful Maori Maiden 6i 
 
 and Hinemoa slipped away to some secret trysting place, 
 and passed the hours in happy talk ; and when the sound 
 of the games ceased, or the distant voices were heard 
 chanting the last refrain of the swing song : 
 
 Tired and weary now are we, 
 As all are in the sultry season, 
 We'll rest beneath the shady tree. 
 Tired and weary now are we ! 
 Weary now are we ! 
 
 Then the two lovers hastened back and mingled again 
 with the merry throng, may be, to vie with each other in the 
 young people's dances, which lasted far into the night. 
 
 After many happy times thus spent together, Hinemoa 
 promised that one night, when she could get a canoe unseen 
 by her tribe, she would go to her lover on the island and 
 be his wife. And Tutane promised that he would play his 
 trumpet every night, so that she might be guided by its 
 music where to come to him. 
 
 One night, when Tutand and his father and brothers and 
 others had met in the large house of general assembly, 
 they began talking of Hinemoa and of her great beauty. 
 Tutan^'s elder brother boasted that he had won her love. 
 In turn each brother boasted of the same, and each said she 
 had given him sweet touches of the hand and affectionate 
 glances. When they said this Tutane became angry, and 
 he jumped up hastily and said, " It is I whom Hinemoa 
 loves, she has touched tenderly my hand alone." But his 
 brother scoffed at him and called him " a younger son only, 
 one whom a chief's daughter would never favour." 
 
 When his father, who was fond of Tutand, questioned 
 him about this, he replied that Hinemoa truly loved him. 
 
62 Maori Legends 
 
 and that she had indeed promised to cross the lake secretly 
 . to him and be his wife, and Tutand asked his father not to 
 speak of this to any one, and he promised. But Hinemoa's 
 people were suspicious about her feelings for Tutand, and 
 they feared she might go to him. So her father, the great 
 chief Wha Kane, gave orders that all the canoes should be 
 drawn high up on the beach every night ; and this was 
 done, for they hoped thus to stop Hinemoa from running 
 away to her lover. 
 
 One evening Hinemoa had been thinking fondly of her 
 lover as she sat alone on the shore of the lake. The clear 
 notes of his shell-trumpet were borne to her on the soft 
 summer wind, and she wished much to go to him, for she was 
 sad at heart. So she determined to join him on the island 
 that very night. The canoes were too heavy for her to 
 drag down to the water's edge alone, but she was strong 
 and could swim well. Why could she not get some dry 
 gourds and string them together, and use them as a float to 
 help her when tired, and thus cross the lake to Tutane ? 
 So thought Hinemoa, the brave Maori maiden. When the 
 sun had set, she crept back to the village, got the gourds, 
 and fastened them together with strips of flax, so as have 
 three on each side to support her when she needed them. 
 Several miles lay between her and the little island of 
 Mokoia, which looked only like a blot in the dim distance 
 of the dark stretching lake. Could she dare to cross that 
 watery waste alone ? Her heart beat quickly with fear 
 and love. As she stood on a jutting rock, and for a brief 
 moment hesitated to dive into the dark depths beneath, she 
 again heard her lover's music, the notes sounding sweet 
 and clear on the night air. Perhaps even then he was 
 
The Beautiful Maori Maiden 63 
 
 thinking of her, and wondering if they would guide her to 
 him. Murmuring to herself softly, " 'Tis the sweet music 
 of Tutan^," Hinemoa quickly threw off her mat, and, taking 
 her gourds in her hand, she plunged into the waters. The 
 whin- of the startled reed-birds, affrighted by the splash, 
 mingled with the gentle ripplings of the water as Hinemoa 
 began her brave venture with only the faint light of the 
 stars to guide her. For some distance Hinemoa swam easily 
 and steadily, her spirit upheld by a quiet determination and 
 courage. But as she got farther from the shore, and found 
 herself in that dark watery waste alone, the slightest noise 
 made her heart beat quickly. Surely that was the sound of 
 paddles in the distance ! She had been missed, and her 
 father's people were pursuing her in swift canoes ! No, it 
 was only the soft lap of the wavelets on the headland. 
 On, on she swam, bravely breasting the dark waters — her 
 face upheld to the few stars. But what is that looming 
 large and black a little ahead ? A taniwha, a monster of 
 the deep ! It would seize her, and carry. her to the watery 
 caverns beneath. How could slie escape ? Her breath 
 came fast and a cold trembling seized her as she gazed at 
 the dreaded object. Ah, no 1 it was only an old tree-trunk 
 floating on the lake. Trembling, but with her fear allayed, 
 the girl rested on the trunk for a while. Then. on, on 
 again she went — so long, and so far, that it seemed to her 
 as if she had been swimming for ages. Would the island 
 never be nearer ? Surely the lake current was carrying her 
 the wrong way. Her lover's music, too, was silent, and her 
 heart felt numb within her. All was so dark, and vast, and 
 lonely. Still she struggled on, now steadily, now with quick, 
 impatient strokes, now resting on her gourds, her limbs 
 
64 Maori Legends 
 
 tired and chilled, her eyes trying to pierce the distance. 
 Even the deeper shadows cast by the passing clouds were 
 things to dread. ' ' O Tutan6 ! I hear not thy sweet music. 
 Where art thou ? " sighed Hinemoa. But even as she 
 breathed the words, the notes of his shell trumpet, dearer 
 than before, floated once more to her on the soft night 
 wind, and the light of the young moon struggled through 
 the summer clouds. Cheered and strengthened, the brave 
 Hinemoa swam slowly, quietly on. But many a time did 
 the girl's courage almost fail, her arms sink nerveless to 
 her side. But she floated and rested again, and yet again, 
 by the help of her gourds, and at last her lover's music 
 sounded nearer, much nearer than before. Then the out- 
 line of the island became more distinct — surely she could 
 hear the soft lap of the waters on the pebbly shore ! Again 
 she swam on in the direction from which the music came. 
 " I come to thee, O Tutan^, I come ! " beat the girl's heart 
 gladly. Now she could see the bushes and trees on the 
 side of the island. And those must be the rocks round the 
 bath at the edge of the lake, where the hot spring welled 
 up from the bright sand. Her lover had often told her of 
 that. Tutane's music had ceased, but what of that now ! 
 It had guided her safely over the long, lonely waste of 
 waters. She was near Tutan^ ! And Hinemoa, almost 
 exhausted, but joyous and happy, at last reached the far- 
 famed bathing-pool, where the hot spring of Maikimikia 
 welled out amongst the rocks on the shore. How refresh- 
 ing it was to her cold, trembling limbs ; how pleasant to 
 rest on the fine yielding sand at the bottom, and feel the 
 warm water gently play around her as she moved her 
 hands to and fro in its welcome warmth. Now that her 
 
The Beautiful Maori Maiden 65 
 
 lover's music had ceased, she knew that he had returned ta 
 his hut, and she wondered how she should let him know, 
 she was on the island. Slje felt shy at the thought of thus 
 meeting him, her heart's beloved. Now, that night, after 
 playing his trumpet so long, Tutan6 felt very thirsty, so h& 
 sent his slave with a calabash to fetch some of the 
 fresh, cold water out of the lake, near where Hinemoa was 
 resting in the hot spring amongst the rocks. The maiden 
 saw the slave look towards her bath, and not knowing him, 
 she was afraid, so she' asked, in a gruff voice like a man's^ 
 "For whom are you fetching water ? " He replied, " It is 
 for my mastier, Tutane." And she was glad when she 
 heard this, and said, "Give me some cold water to drink." 
 The slave gave her the gourd. The light of the moon was 
 dim, and he did not see that it was a woman. Hinemoa. 
 took the calabash, and after drinking, let it fall upon the 
 rocks, and ft broke. Then the man was angry, and said/ 
 " Why did you break my master's calabash ? " But 
 Hinemoa' did riot answer a word. The slave went back to 
 the hut for another calabash, and Tutan6, seeing him 
 return, said, " 'Where is the w^ter I told you to fetch ? " 
 The slave told him .the calabash was broken. His master 
 said, " By whom was it broken ? " The slave replied, 
 "There is a man in. the hot bath; he asked for, Some c6ld 
 wafer to drink, and he. broke it." And Tutand said, "Take 
 another calabash, and fetch somie, water for me quickly," 
 
 The slave went a second time and again Hinemoa asked 
 for a. drink, saying she was still thirsty, and the slave handed 
 her the calabash, and again /she 'broke it ori the rocks.' .So- 
 he went back to Tutan6, "and when he saw him again with- 
 out water, he asked if: the calabash were again bi;oken^ 
 
 E 
 
66 Maori Legends 
 
 And the slave said yes — and told him the man in the bath 
 had done it. And Tutand said, " I will go and see who 
 this fellow is, who dares to treat me thus ; I must punish 
 him, or I shall die of anger," and he threw his mat around 
 him, and, taking his club in his hand, he went down to the 
 hot bath alone. He called out, "Who is it that dares to 
 break my calabashes ? " But no one answered. Now 
 Hinemoa knew the voice of her lover and her heart beat 
 fast with joy, but she hid coyly beneath the shelter of a 
 large overhanging rock, and there lay quite still in the 
 water whilst he searched. Tutane could see nothing clearly, 
 for the light of the moon shone but faintly from beneath 
 the drifting summer clouds. So he stooped down, and 
 began to feel round the rocks where haply some one might 
 be hiding. Hinemoa did not wish to be found at once ; she 
 felt shy at meeting Tutane, so she withdrew herself more 
 into her hiding-place. After long searching, Tutane came 
 close to where she was, and in passing his hand under the 
 ledge, he felt another hand, and he clasped it tight and 
 called out, " Ah ! who is this hiding here ? " 
 
 Hinemoa softly answered, " It is I." 
 
 " But tell me who you are," said Tuian^, for he did not 
 recognise her voice. 
 
 " It is I, Hinemoa, O Tutane." And she stepped out of 
 her hiding-place, and " rose up in the water as beautiful as 
 the wild hawk, and stepped upon the edge of the bath, as 
 graceful as the shy white crane." Tutan6 welcomed her 
 with warm words of love, and threw his mat over her and 
 joyfully took to his hut as his wife the brave and beautiful 
 maiden who had dared so much for his sake. The next 
 morning, when the people of the island found that Hinemoa 
 
The Beautiful Maori Maiden 67 
 
 was indeed the wife of Tutane they were very glad. But 
 his brothers were angry and could not believe she had 
 crossed the lake to come to their despised younger brother 
 Tutane, until they saw them coming hand in hand together 
 from their hut. Meanwhile when the people of Hinemoa's 
 tribe found her mat upon the rock where she had thrown 
 it off, they told her father the great chief, that she must 
 have crossed the lake to Tutane. He was very angry, but 
 he did not go in pursuit of her. 
 
 So Hinemoa and Tutan^ lived happily together on their 
 island home, and her husband sought by brave deeds and 
 many gifts to show his great love to Hinemoa. 
 
 And many a Maori in these days tells the tale of the 
 brave and beautiful Hinemoa, who swam across the lake of 
 Rotorua to her lover on the fair island of Mokoia, where 
 the soft water of the hot spring still wells out amongst the 
 rocks, and is "called Hinemoa's bath. 
 
Sina and Tuna the Eel God, 
 
 or The Origin of the Coco-Nut Tree 
 
 IT was early morning, and the golden beams of the 
 rising sun were flooding the world with light. A 
 maiden named Sina came out of her little hut to go 
 for her morning bath in a favourite pool in the stream which 
 ran through the bush to the sea. Not a breath of air was 
 stirring ; the green palms were motionless ; jewel-like birds 
 flitted lightly from flower to flower of the brilliant creepers 
 which ran riot over the high trees ; and the heat played 
 tremulously on the yellow sands of the long, flat shore. 
 Sina tripped lightly along the narrow path leading down to 
 the place where the stream, after falling over steep rocks, 
 lingered silently in a large deep basin in the shady gully. 
 How cool the water looked in this her favourite bathing- 
 place ! It was hidden amidst a wealth of flowering shrubs 
 and palms, and around the edge of the pool tiny mosses 
 and delicate ferns crept over the moistened stones and fallen 
 sticks. Sina was soon in the water, where she was as much 
 at home as the sportive fish themselves. How delightful 
 it was to swim in the clear depths and hear the singing 
 
Sina and Tuna the Eel-God 69 
 
 waterfall near by ! Again and again Sina dived from the 
 mossy bank to come up where the flecks of sunshine played 
 through overarching tree-ferns on her bronze skin and dark 
 hair. Full of life and beautiful as the birds and flowers 
 looked the maiden that summer morn, her soft lips red as 
 the bright berries of her necklace. She laughed in the 
 gladness of youth and beauty as she shook the sparkling 
 drops from her dusky form and saw the trembling Reflec- 
 tion of herself in the waters. 
 
 One more dive, thought Sina, and then she must be 
 content to wait till after sunset for another swim. But, ah ! 
 what was that, so slimy and cold, which touched her limbs 
 as she floated on the surface ? Again something came 
 close to her, but she was not frightened, for it was a gentle 
 and even caressing touch which she felt. Looking down in 
 the pool she saw a large eel beside her. For a second it 
 gazed lingeringly at Sina and then glided slowly away and 
 disappeared between two large rocks. Sina wondered that 
 she had not seen the eel before, and was not sure that she 
 liked this unexpected inhabitant of her bathing-place. Many 
 a time after that she saw the eel's dark eyes watching her 
 from between the rocks, and sometimes she again felt the 
 gentle touch as it glided near to her limbs. At last she 
 felt no fear of her strange visitor but rather welcomed its 
 companionship. 
 
 One evening the daylight had nearly gone and the new 
 moon faintly shone through the quickly gathering shades of 
 night. Sina had been enjoying her swim as usual, and was 
 resting on a rock where the spray of the waterfall above 
 the pool fell over her like a silvery veil. How musical was 
 the sound of the water ! How pleasant the shower of the 
 
7 2 Maori Legends 
 
 moan of the Wind amidst the palms, and the sharp cries of 
 the .wheeling sea-birds mingled with, the sound of his voice, 
 now harsh with pain. Sina could not speak, only the 
 trembling of her form told what sorrow filled her soul. She 
 could not even weep, so great was her pain. 
 
 '* Do not fear, Sina," continued Tuna. " When the early 
 dawn doth come, when the storm waves lash in fury on the 
 beach, and the swollen streams rush from the hills, as the 
 waters rise near to' thy dwelling, they will bring me to 
 thee. As the eel-god shall I come, and when the flood 
 reaches the threshold of thy door, it will bear, me to thine 
 aid. : Low on thy threshold shall I lay my head, and thine 
 must be the hand to take my life." 
 
 " I cannot, my love, I cannot," moaned the girl ; " do not 
 ask that of me. Better to perish in the floods than to take 
 thy life." , 
 
 " Nay, Sina do not say thou canst not ; it is my love 
 which I thus offer thee ; thou must not say me nay. The 
 great gods have willed that under thine axe my head shall 
 fall, and sweet will it be so to end my mortal life for thee. 
 Thus shall the waters be stayed, and thou shalt be saved. 
 Afterwards, Sina, take my head and bury it ; visit the spot 
 each day, and in time thou shalt know what gift I have 
 left as a remembrance of my exceeding love for thee." 
 
 Thus speaking. Tuna tenderly bade Sina good-bye, un- 
 loosed her clinging arms, and vanished from her sight. 
 
 Utterly bewildered and overcome, Sina went home. 
 That night she could not sleep, she listened to the roar of 
 the hurricane, and the furious beating of the waves on the 
 shore, and she thought of her lover's words and of his 
 strange command. In the morning when Sina looked out 
 
Tuna and Sina the Eel-God 73 
 
 she saw that the floods were indeed great. The taro- 
 
 patches round the hut were covered, and- mighty streams 
 were rushing down from the heights. And Sina remembered 
 
74 Maori Legends 
 
 the words of her lover, for as she watched the rapidly 
 rising waters she saw the eel borne upon them to her. 
 Right to the wooden threshold was it swept, and there laid 
 its head down before Sina, and looked at her imploringly. 
 The girl fetched her axe very reluctantly, and raised it 
 tremblingly, but still hesitated to strike, for how could 
 she slay her lover ? But again she seemed, to listen to 
 Tuna's commands, as she heard the roar of the floods and 
 saw the eel's pleading look, and she felt for his great love's 
 sake that she must obey. Quickly raising the axe, Sina 
 with one blow cut off the eel's head. No sooner had she 
 done this than the floods began to go down, and Sina saw 
 that a large volume of water was disappearing through the 
 very hole amongst the rocks where Tuna the eel-god once 
 had his home. Then Sina knew it was indeed her lover 
 who had saved her. Sad at heart, she took the head of the 
 eel and buried it near the sea-shore, and she visited the 
 place every day, and wept as she thought of Tuna, who 
 had given his life for hers. One day when she went to 
 the spot, she was astonished to see two tiny shoots coming 
 up through the sand. As they grew larger she saw that 
 they were quite different from those of any other young 
 plant she had ever seen. She watched and wondered at 
 its growth. The two shoots grew up into two tall stately 
 palms, having each a crown of beautiful large leaves, 
 different in texture and shape from all others. As the 
 weeks passed by Sina still went day by day to watch the 
 trees. First she saw the sweet flowers come, and then the 
 strange fruit formed. Thus were the two kinds of coco- 
 nut trees first known to the dwellers on the islands of the 
 
Tuna and Sina the Eel-God 75 
 
 fair Pacific, and they were held sacred to their two gods 
 Tangaroa and Kongo. 
 
 When the fruit was unhusked Sina saw indeed that the 
 trees had sprung from Tuna's head, for on each nut were 
 marked the dark eyes and the mouth of her lover, and she 
 knew now the value of the precious gift he had left her. 
 For is not the coco-nut tree a blessing in all the lands 
 where it grows ? And the people are grateful to Sina's 
 lover, and they call the white kernel " the brains of Tuna." 
 Many wooed the fair Sina, but she was faithful to her 
 young lover Tuna, who had given his life for hers ; and as 
 she sat day after day under the coco-nut trees that grew 
 from his grave she dreamed of the happy hours they had 
 once had together. She knew that his love still surrounded 
 her, for the leaves which waved overhead sheltered her 
 from the hot sun ; of their fibre she could plait baskets and 
 mats for her daily use, and the sweet fruit gave her both 
 drink and food. And now when the fisherman of Sina's isle 
 goes forth at night he fears not to cross the bar of rolling 
 surf; for does not his coco-nut leaf god, blessed by the 
 priest and placed in the bow of his canoe, guard him from 
 all the perils of the deep ? 
 
 And as the long years passed by Sina never forgot Tuna, 
 and his dark eyes always gazed at her when with gentle 
 fingers she unhusked the coco-nuts. 
 
The Twins, or the Double Star 
 in Scorpion 
 
 ONCE upon a time there were two children who lived 
 on one of the fair Pacific isles. They were twins, 
 a boy and a girl, and were much beloved by their 
 father, but their mother was far from kind to them. The 
 children were very fond of each other, and spent long days 
 playing on the sands or in the warm sea, swimming or 
 racing ashore upon surf-boards on the tops of the long, 
 rolling waves. When his sister was hot and tired the boy 
 climbed the tall coco-nut trees to get her the refreshing 
 milk of the green fruit, or the two would wander far into 
 the woods and rest happy and free. They were never apart, 
 and the tribe called them the Inseparables. 
 
 One evening their mother said : " Children, I am going 
 torch-fishing on the reef. I shall not be home till late. Go 
 to sleep when it is dark." 
 
 "Very well, mother," repHed they, "but we have no 
 supper ; we could not catch any fish to-day. Will you give 
 us something before you go ? " 
 
 " I have no supper to give you. You must find some for 
 yourselves," replied their mother, impatiently. 
 
The Twins 77 
 
 " We are too tired to climb for coco-nuts, mother, and 
 we do not know where to get anything else to-night. It is 
 late. If we go to bed, will you give us some fish when 
 you come back? We are so hungry, mother," said the 
 children. 
 
 "The fish I bring home will not be cooked," said their 
 mother. " Do not trouble me about your supper. Get out 
 of my way ; you are idle children." 
 
 " But you will cook some fish for your own and father's 
 supper. Please wake us up and give us some," pleaded 
 the , little, ones. And their mother at last answered, 
 crossly : 
 
 "Perhaps I will; but get me. my coco-nut torch and 
 spear and let me go." 
 
 By midnight the woman had caUght plenty of fish, so she, 
 returned home and waked her husband, and they cooked 
 some for their meal. The father wanted to rouse the little 
 sleepers, but their mother said, " They will do very well 
 without any supper ; they are troublesome little brats, and 
 are always asking for something, and taking up my 
 time." 
 
 . " Then put some fish in their baskets ready for them to 
 eat when they wake, in the morning," said the father. In, 
 that island it was the custom for each one of the household 
 to sleep with small food baskets, made of green leaves and 
 reeds, -by their side. The mother very reluctantly put some 
 fish into the children's basket, grumbling all the time. Now 
 the children had been awake, and had heard their mother's 
 ankind- talk. And they wept silently and bitterly in their 
 grass beds in the corner of the hut. 
 
 When the children knew by their parents' breathing that 
 
78 Maori Legends 
 
 they were asleep, the little girl whispered to her brothier, 
 " Let us run away. Mother does not love us." 
 
 " Father does, and he wants us here," replied the boy. 
 " Yes, but father is often away for long moons with the 
 other braves. Mother is nearly always at home, and she 
 beats me often, and says I am always in her way," sobbed 
 the girl. 
 
 " But where shall we go ? " asked the boy ; " they will 
 soon find us on this island." 
 
 " I have heard," whispered the little girl, "that there is 
 a way through the deep waters to a beautiful land. Let us 
 go and look for it." 
 
 At last the boy consented, and the two took their flax 
 baskets and slipped out very quietly. " We must not make 
 a noise, and so bring back our parent's life-spirit hurriedly 
 from the clouds. That would be very unlucky for all of 
 us," said the boy. 
 
 "How is that, brother?" asked the girl. 
 
 " When the moon was new, I listened to the words of 
 the soothsayer as he taught the people wisdom," replied 
 the boy. 
 
 " Do our life-spirits always go so far away when we 
 sleep ? " asked the girl, in tones of awe. 
 
 " Not always, dear sister, but the soft cloud is the spirit- 
 mother. When she wills it, the life-spirit must go to the 
 skj' to her. She loves not that the spirit should return to 
 the body till she wishes it to wake." 
 
 " It is a long, long way to go," murmured the girl 
 dreamily, as she gazed up into the heavens, where filmy 
 summer clouds lingered. 
 
AND THE BOY SAT DOWN BESIDE HER AND WEPT ALSO. 
 
The Twins 79 
 
 Hand in hand the twins scrambled down the rough 
 track to the shore ; there they sat down, and began to eat 
 their fish. They were unhappy, but they were very hungry, 
 and the long curling waves looked so pretty under the light 
 of the big shining ^tars that they enjoyed their food. 
 
 "Where shall we go to, dear sister?" said the boy, the 
 meal being finished; 
 
 The girl's little dark face was thoughtful as she replied 
 in a low voice, " Let us go to the rocks yonder, where 
 the water is deep and clear, and see if we can find the 
 path through them to that beautiful far-off" land." 
 
 "Very well," said the boy, " though I do not think we 
 shall find it. I have often fished off" those rocks, and I 
 have never seen any way through' the Waters. Besides, I 
 do not want to go down to the deep-sea caverns ; they 
 are full of monsters (taniwhas) that seize mortals and hold 
 them fast in the depths. I do not see how we can leave 
 the island, sister. The canoe is too high up on the beach; 
 and too heavy for us to pull down to the sea, and if we hide 
 in the woods we shall soon be found." So spoke the boy 
 as they walked to the rocks. 
 
 " Thy words are true, brother," at last said the girl ; 
 " the waters are dark, and I see no path." And she 
 turned sadly away, and sat down on a low rock, sobbing 
 loudly. 
 
 The boy stood silent, for he was troubled. Then he sat 
 down beside her, and, for very sympathy, wept also. And 
 their tears fell into the hollows of the dark rocks, and made 
 two small bright pools. After a little while the violence of 
 the girl's grief passed away. Glancing down, she noticed 
 
8o Maori Legends 
 
 the two shining pools, and wondered at their brilliancy. 
 She looked upwards, and there saw that a beautiful star 
 was shining straight down on them. 
 
 " O dear brother," cried the girl, with a glad cry, " I know 
 what we will do. We will go far, far away up to the sky. 
 We shall be no more trouble to mother there, and we can 
 still look on our kind father. The gods will help us if we 
 want to go to them," continued the girl in her sweet, low 
 voice. 
 
 " Yes that is right ; we will go to the heavens," replied 
 the boy in determined tones. "We shall meet our ancestors 
 there, the great warriors who have been killed in battle. 
 That must be a chief's eye, sister, which is shining oh our 
 tears. I know the spirits of the mighty chiefs watch over 
 their tribe, We will go to the sky," and the boy's heart 
 beat with high resolve and daring. '^ He, had not quite 
 liked the idea of running away or hiding from his father. 
 But to go and join the great warriors! That was. a 
 different thing. 
 
 _'' How beaptiful the deep..blue sky is, brother!- I can 
 see more and more stars, farther and farther away, eVery 
 minute that I look. Perhaps those small bright ones are 
 the little' children up there, running to meet us j I, wonder 
 if the gods will let us be two stars. If they do, we will 
 ask always to be close together, dear brother. I should 
 be lonely, even up in the heavens without you." So spake 
 the little maiden. 
 
 Her brother scarcely heeded her words but sat looking 
 upwards. At last in a decided voice he rbse and said : 
 "Take tight hold of my girdle, sister. We will leap up 
 into the heavens now," and he turned towards the water, in 
 
The Twins 8r 
 
 which they had looked in vain for the pathway to the far 
 off beautiful land, then with face upheld to the stars, he 
 leaped up with his sister into the sky. 
 
 And the gods had pity on the two unhappy children who 
 loved each other so much, and changed them into two 
 brilliant stars remain ever close to each other. And men 
 seeing them ever side by side, call them "the double 
 star." 
 
 When the rosy-fingered dawn wakened the earth to her 
 smiles, the life spirits of the father and mother returned 
 from the clouds to their bodies. And when they opened 
 their eyes they noticed that the children's beds of scented 
 grass were empty. The mother felt them, and finding 
 they were quite cold, knew they must have left the hut a 
 long while. Her heart was filled with fear, for she remem- 
 bered her harsh words to the children. When her husband 
 ran down to the shore she followed him, and they traced 
 the twins' footsteps to their favourite playing place on the 
 sands, and thence to the rocks near by. There they found 
 the empty flax baskets and they saw the two pools on the 
 dry rock, and they said, " These are their tears." 
 
 But for the parents no brightness shone on the little 
 pools. Then the mother no longer remembered that she 
 had ever found the children troublesome, and she raised a 
 bitter cry. " Alas, alas, where have you gone ? Come 
 back to me. Come back, O my children." 
 
 " Let us go to look for them," said her husband, "they 
 may have gone inland." But his heart was heavy, for 
 they had left their flax baskets. So the parents wandered 
 about the island all day, calling ever and anon in loud tones, 
 " Children where are you ? " but no children replied. Only 
 
 F 
 
82 Maori Legends 
 
 the cries of the sea birds broke the silence and seemed to 
 mock them. When the last rays of sunset had flashed 
 across the sea, the sorrowing parents turned homewards. 
 As they neared the hut, hope once again filled the mother's 
 heart. Perhaps they were in it, surely they would be 
 hungry by night time, and come home. But no tired faces 
 greeted them, no little voices pleaded for supper. All was 
 still, and dark, and silent. And the mother sat down by 
 the Httle empty grass beds and rocked herself, and moaned 
 in the bitterness of her soul. The father said no word of 
 reproach, but stood at the door of the hut, his heart dead 
 within him, his eyes searching the darkness in silent despair. 
 But why did he utter that cry of joy as he turned his eyes 
 heavenwards ? " My children, my children ! " There over- 
 head were two new stars shining close together and beautiful. 
 He knew they were his children looking down at him. 
 And his heart was comforted. Taking hold of his wife, he 
 drew her outside the dwelling, and pointing upwards said, 
 "There are our children! We will go to them in the 
 heavens." 
 
 "Yes we will go to them," sobbed his wife, and taking 
 hold of each other's hands they leaped into the heavens. 
 
 When the twins saw their parents coming, they were 
 afraid of their anger. They did not want to be taken back 
 to the earth ; they were very happy shining up in the deep 
 blue sky. 
 
 " Let us get away, brother," said the girl. " Mother will 
 say we are in her way even up here." And the' two 
 sped on. 
 
 When the parents reached the sky, the gods turned them 
 into stars, and they followed the children through the 
 
The Twins 83 
 
 cloudless vault. But they could never overtake them 
 The father and mother are the two large stars in Scorpio, 
 and the twins are the Double Star in that constellation. 
 
 And on for ever go the twin-stars, side by side, kept 
 close together by their great love. And on go the parent- 
 stars after them. 
 
 So, for ever in sight — for ever apart, the four pursue 
 their ceaseless courses through countless ages. 
 
Terete, the Boy in the Moon 
 
 1WANT the moon ! I want the moon ! " 
 Such was the frequent cry of a little boy named 
 Terete, who lived on an island where coco-nut 
 trees fringed the shining beach, on which the gentle waves 
 curled with a pleasant murmur. And bright flowers 
 bloomed on that isle, and birds with glittering plumage 
 filled the woods, and many-coloured fishes played in the 
 clear water inside the coral reef. Yet little Terete was 
 discontented, and was constantly crying for something or 
 other. His sister was a kind-hearted girl, and in order to 
 please him she often gave him dainties, the steamed kernels 
 of fruits, or the warmed milk of the coco-nut. Still Terete 
 was nearly always grumbling, in fact, the only time when 
 he seemed really happy was when he could see the moon 
 shining in the sky. Then he loved to be out in the soft 
 summer nights, and he dried his eyes and sung merrily. 
 
 One day when Teret^'s father came back from fishing, he 
 found the boy moping by himself under a tree, looking 
 more miserable than usual, and he said to him, " What a 
 silly boy you are Terete, not to be happy as the day is long. 
 See how the sun shines and the flowers open their bright 
 
The Boy in the Moon 85 
 
 blossoms. There are plenty of good fruits round you, and 
 you have nothing to do but sit in the sun, play on the 
 sands, or fish off the rocks all day. What more do you 
 want ? " 
 
 " I want the moon, father. Oh, the moon ! The 
 moon ! " And Terete's voice rose higher and higher as he 
 wept bitterly. His father looked at him wonderingly, and 
 then said : 
 
 "Well, my boy, I cannot get you the moon, nor can I 
 make it always shine. But if you will come with me to- 
 night in my canoe I will take you to the moon. Then, 
 perhaps, you will be happy." 
 
 " O thank you, father, thank you," said Terete joyfully, 
 and he dried his tears and amused himself all day decorating 
 the canoe with white shells and flowering creepers, making 
 it look pretty for the voyage to the moon. 
 
 His brothers were astonished to see him so happily 
 employed, and said to each other, "Where are Terete's 
 tears to-day ? How is it that he is not crying his heart out 
 for the moon ? " 
 
 But Terete's sister was sad and said nothing, for she 
 knew why. 
 
 At last the evening came, and the sun's last rays flashed 
 across the level sea. Then quickly all was dark. Before 
 beginning supper Terete's father poured out a libation to 
 the gods. Then he blew up the little fire of coco-nut leaves, 
 and said : 
 
 "This fire is for you, O ye gods. Let no evil thing 
 befall us." 
 
 Thus prayed he in order to propitiate the gods for his 
 bpy's voyage to the moon. 
 
86 Maori Legends 
 
 Then the father and children sat down cross-legged, as 
 was the custom, to their evening meal. When it was finished 
 Teret^'s father said, "Now, my child, we must go, for 
 darkness covers the land and sea." When Terete looked 
 out into the night he could not help crying a little, but his 
 father smiled and said, "The moon will soon be up, and 
 will dry your tears, my boy. Come let us start, for we 
 must get to the edge of the ocean by the time the moon 
 rises, so that I can give you to him." 
 
 His sister gave Terete a last drink of warm coco-nut 
 milk, and then, sad at heart, took her little brother's hand, 
 and they all went down to the shore together, Teret^'s 
 spirits soon rose, for the stars were flashing out one by one, 
 and luminous points of light gleamed everywhere on the 
 wet sand and in the breaking water, as though the lights of 
 myriad tiny fire-flies were entangled in the waves. And 
 the flowers that decorated the canoe gave out sweet scents 
 as some of Teret^'s playfellows and his brothers crushed 
 them in their hands when they pulled the canoe down to 
 the water. Then, as Terete and his father left the shore, 
 bright careless voices called out : " Good-bye, Terete, good- 
 bye ! Come back soon and tell us what the moon is 
 like." 
 
 But his sister said nothing. She knew he would never 
 come back, and, her dark eyes full of tears, she watched the 
 canoe till it was but a blot on the waters. She saw the 
 moon rise, then she went back to her bed of leaves in the 
 little hut, but sleep that night was far from her. 
 
 Little Teretd sat silent in the canoe. His father had put 
 up the coco-nut-mat sail to catch the rising breeze, and they 
 were speeding over the waters. Soon the island shore 
 
The Boy in the Moon 87 
 
 was lost in the distance. After a while the father 
 said : 
 
 " I suppose you still wish to go to the moon, my son ? " 
 for he had noticed how quiet the boy was. 
 
 Terete did not reply ; only the gurgle of the waters was 
 heard against the prow of the canoe as they sailed on. 
 
 "We can still go back if you wish," continued his father; 
 " but if I give you to the moon you will never come back. 
 Will you not be happy with us on our island home ? You 
 are dear unto us, O my son." 
 
 But Terete answered not ; he had heard what his father 
 said, but his heart was full. He almost wished to go back, 
 but he did not like to say so. The moonland was a long 
 way off, and perhaps the moon would not look so nice when 
 he got there as it did from the earth. But if he returned 
 his companions would laugh at him, and there would be the 
 heat and the glare of the sun, and then, what untold delights 
 might be in the soft light of the unknown moonland. So 
 thought Teret6. And all the time they were sailing on and 
 on to the edge of the sea. 
 
 When the bright rim of the full moon rose above the 
 gently moving waves, and the soft rays began to spread 
 out into a stretch of dancing light, Terete cried joyfully : 
 
 " The moon ! the moon ! " and he forgot all about his 
 home and his sister and brothers as he stretched out his 
 arms to the fast rising moon. 
 
 " Come ! " said his father, " come ! " and he lifted Terete 
 in his arms and placed him on the moon ; and he said, 
 "Good-bye, my boy, good-bye." 
 
 But Terete scarcely heard his words, so wrapt was he in 
 delight of the moon's beauty ; and the boy's face shone 
 
/ 
 
 88 Maori Legends 
 
 with an unearthly brightness as he was borne aloft. Once^l 
 only as his eyes rested for a second on the departing canoe 
 did he sigh dreamily, " Good-bye, father." 
 
 Away sailed the moon with the boy far into the heights 
 of the summer sky. Away sailed his father's boat, looking 
 like a dark sea-bird on the waters below. 
 
 Little Teretd never came back to his island home, though 
 on bright moonlight nights his sister would go down to the 
 shore and, stretching out her hands, prayed : " O moon, 
 give him back to me ; give back my little brother ! " But 
 no answering voice came from the moon or child to cheer 
 her heart. 
 
The Boy in the Moon 89 
 
 The islanders say that on clear nights they can still see 
 the boy sitting in the moon ; for there death enters not ; 
 all stays for ever bright and fair. 
 
 The people now call Terete "the child of the moon," and 
 when the new moon comes they salute it and say : 
 
 " O child of the moon ! we rejoice that you have come." 
 And before going on any war expedition the warriors may 
 be heard chanting these words : 
 
 O child of the moon, 
 
 Our pathway make clear, 
 
 In hours of dark danger 
 
 Let thy light be near. 
 
 Fill the hollows with brightness 
 
 Till night is as day. 
 
 And with sure-footed lightness 
 
 We speed on our way. 
 
 Whether little Terete is happy we cannot tell. 
 
Rata's Revenge, the Tale of 
 the First Greenstone Axe 
 
 IN ancient times a woman and her little son, called Rata, 
 lived in a lonely hut near the shores of a large lake. 
 Behind their dwelling great evergreen Forests stretched 
 away to the foot of the hills and up to their very summits, 
 and so dense was the foliage that the sun's rays scarcely 
 reached the thick undergrowth of luxuriant shrubs and 
 ferns. Few flowers brightened the dusky depths, but the 
 tops of the trees blazed from time to time with masses of 
 rich coloured bloom. No continuous melody of song-birds 
 fell on the ear, only now and again the short notes of the 
 bell-bird or coo of the pigeon broke the silence. Amid the 
 groups of mighty Kauri-pine trees, towering in long aisles, 
 like temple columns, or in the open scrub, the giant wing- 
 less bird, the Moa, lazily stalked, feeding on tender shoots 
 and young fern-stems. There was but little excitement for 
 Rata in hunting these birds for food, for they were so 
 sluggish in their habits that they were easily caught. Rata 
 was strong and fearless ; he loved to push his way through 
 the tangle of thorny creepers and supple-jacks hanging like 
 
Rata's Revenge 
 
 ropes amongst the trees in the depths of the forest, and 
 he spent long days catching eels in the quiet pools of 
 the streams hidden in deep gullies, or snaring the wild 
 fowl in their leafy haunts. At night he would fearlessly 
 seek the haunts of the featherless kiwi in the deep thickets, 
 listening for their gruntings as they came out of their 
 holes in search of insects, or watch them snorting out 
 challenges to their rivals, and engaging in bloody fights 
 until one or other was spurred to the death. Rata only 
 dreaded the children of the Moko-moko, the lizard-god, and 
 if any of the big white-spined lizards crossed his path, he 
 turned away with a shudder — their presence might bring 
 illness and bad luck. Rata's mother brought him up with 
 care, and he often joined the boys of the village in the next 
 bay in their games and feats of strength. The tohunga 
 (priest) instructed him in all religious rites and ceremonies. 
 Thus the boy grew up strong of limb and brave of heart, 
 and wise in all that it befitted a future chief to know. 
 
 Now Rata often wondered who his father was, and 
 whether he was still living, for his mother never spoke of 
 him. One day Rata said to her, " Tell me who my father 
 is, and where he lives, for I would see him." 
 
 But his mother would tell him nothing. She only said, 
 " You are but a boy," and went into her hut and shut the 
 door. 
 
 So Rata waited until he had grown to manhood ; then 
 he again said to his mother, " Tell me who my father is, 
 and where he lives." 
 
 She replied carelessly, " He may be far inland, or he 
 may be far over the sea." 
 
 This made Rata angry, and he said, "Do you not see 
 
92 Maori Legends 
 
 that I want to know about my father ; why will you not tell 
 me ? I am now a man, and no longer to be trifled with. 
 If any evil thing has happened to my father it is my duty 
 to seek revenge ; if you will not tell me what I want to 
 know, I must ask others." 
 
 At length his mother rephed, " He was killed." 
 
 " Who killed him, and why ? " asked Rata. 
 
 " It was before you were born, Rata. I wanted some 
 tuis (parson-birds) and your father went to get them for 
 me. He was seized and killed by one of our enemies, a 
 great chief called Makutu. Then I came here in sorrow, 
 and lived apart from all others, and I have but you, O my 
 son." 
 
 "I must revenge my father's death," said Rata. " Where 
 is the land of the great chief, Makutu ? " His mother 
 replied, " It is far away, my son. Where the sun comes up 
 beyond the edge of the ocean, there is the land of Makutu. 
 Wilt thou too go away' and leave me desolate ? " But Rata 
 feplied, " I shall make a strong canoe and go there. I must 
 revenge my father's death, and bring back his bones to his 
 own land." His mother was proud of his courage, yet she 
 urged, " You have no axe strong enough to cut down a 
 giant tree to make a canoe strong enough to go over the 
 sea." " I shall get one," replied Rata ; "I know where to 
 go," and he started at once on his journey. He went 
 through the forest and over the high hills to a misty plain 
 beyond, called " Water-of-the-clouds," where lived a being 
 named Kahud Rata said to him, " O friend, I have heard 
 that you have a very hard stone for axes. Will you be kind 
 to me and get me an axe which will cut down a mighty 
 tree ? I want to make a big canoe in which to go over the 
 
Rata's Revenge 
 
 93 
 
 sea to revenge my father's death and bring back his bones 
 to his own lands." So spake Rata, and Kahue's heart was 
 stirred at the words of the brave youth, and he replied, 
 
 " It is good, O young man. I will break a stone for a 
 strong axe for you." 
 
94 Maori Legends 
 
 And he broke a slab of the green jade, which is harder 
 than any other stone, and shaped an axe out of it with much 
 skill and labour. But it was not sharp, so when he gave 
 it to Rata he said, " On your way home you must visit your 
 ancestress the goddess, called ' The Whetstone-maiden,' and 
 you must sharpen this on her backbone." 
 
 Rata was very pleased with the greenstone axe, and he 
 thanked the old man and started on his way to the land of 
 the Whetstone-maiden. When after much journeying he 
 reached the Whetstone-maiden he prayed her to let him 
 sharpen his axe on her backbone ; and she, hearing his tale, 
 bent down and allowed him to do so till it had an edge both 
 bright and keen. 
 
 Then Rata returned to his mother and showed her the 
 axe which he had brought back, and he fixed a handle and 
 lashed it on fast and strong. Then he went into the deep 
 forest to choose a tree out of which to fashion his canoe. 
 On his way he came across a white heron and a large 
 lizard fighting. The bird was very exhausted, and cried 
 to Rata for help, but he thought of the dreaded powers 
 of the lizard-god and went not near. Then the heron cried 
 out, " You will not finish your canoe without my help," but 
 Rata passed on unheeding. After much deliberation Rata 
 chose a tall, straight pine as being the best for his canoe 
 Now the trees are the children of Tan6, the great god of 
 light and of the forests, and before a tree is begun to be 
 cut down, incantations ought to be said and offerings made 
 to him. But Rata neglected to do this, nor did he rub his 
 axe with the sweet fern-root, which is the rite due to the 
 god who has placed the fern around the feet of his children 
 the trees. Therefore the Hakuturi, the wood-spirits, the 
 
Rata's Revenge 95 
 
 birds and the insects which lived in the tree, were angry 
 and they sang : 
 
 Wide, wide the sacred chips now fly, 
 And scattered fall to earth. But soon 
 Together drawn each chip shall rise. 
 And silvered by the rising moon 
 And raised on high again shall be, 
 The stately crest of Tank's tree. 
 
 But the blows of Rata's axe fell so thick and fast, that 
 the forest rang with the noise, and he heard not the voices 
 that sang. Before the sun set, the great pine was laid 
 low, and Rata went back to his dwelling. The next day 
 when he was returning to his work, he saw that the heron 
 and the lizard were still fighting. Again the heron called 
 for help. But the lizard called out, " Do not meddle with 
 us Rata, it is only a trial of strength." So Rata passed 
 on his way and heeded not the bird's prayer. 
 
 When he arrived at the forest he was greatly astonished 
 to see the giant pine standing again in its place, green and 
 strong, as though it had never been cut down. Then 
 Rata remembered the heron's words, and he went back to 
 see if the bird and the lizard were still fighting. Dared 
 he brave the moko-moko, the lizard-god, and help the 
 heron ? He found the beautiful bird nearly exhausted, 
 and the lizard was just about to make one final grip at it. 
 Rata hesitated no longer, but rushed forward and cut off its 
 head with his greenstone axe. Now illness and bad luck 
 would fly from his path ! The lizard was dead. 
 
 The heron with difficulty flew onwards after Rata, but 
 when he began again to fell the white-pine, it rested in the 
 crest of a tree-fern and watched Rata at work. By the 
 
9 6 Maori Legends 
 
 time the sun set, Rata had once more nearly cut down the 
 
 tree, and the quick strong blows of his axe again drowned 
 
 the voices of the wood-spirits and of the little birds and 
 
 insects in the branches, who as the chips fell thick and 
 
 fast sang : 
 
 Wide, wide the sacred chips now fly, 
 And scattered fall to earth. But soon 
 Together drawn each chip shall rise. 
 And silvered by, the rising moon 
 And raised on high, again shall be 
 The stately crest of Tank's tree. 
 
 Soon the last blow was struck, and the forest giant with 
 a mighty crash lay low. Rata gazed on his work with 
 delight, and there was silence in the deep forest, till the 
 little birds' soft voices were again heard singing their 
 
 chorus : 
 
 And raised on high again shall be 
 The stately crest of Tank's tree. 
 
 And Rata listened and wondered, as he saw numberless birds 
 and ihsects come out of their hiding places, and begin to 
 collect the chips together. Rata was wroth at this, and he 
 called to the heron, " Come and help me O king of birds." 
 Rata tried to frighten the birds and insects away, but they 
 would not go, and some of the trees were so astonished 
 that Rata should thus dare to treat the offspring of the gods, 
 that some of them, particularly the weeping Karea, and the 
 Ponga, or tree-fern, hung down their leafy heads in shame, 
 and do so to this day. Then said the heron, " By what 
 right did you fell a tree without first making an offering to 
 Tand, who is the father of the forests, and without touching 
 your axe, according to the ancient custom, with the fern- 
 root which' he has placed round the feet 6f his children 
 
Rata's Revenge 97 
 
 the trees ? " Thus spake the heron, and the wood-spirits 
 and the birds said, "Even thus, O Rata, hast thou 
 sinned." 
 
 Then Rata was overcome with shame at his presumption 
 and forgetfulness, and he said, " Surely I will speak the 
 words of truth." And he told them why he had cut down 
 the tree, even to make a canoe to go and revenge his 
 father's death, but he added, " It was wrong of me to forget 
 the dues of the mighty god Tane, the father of the forests. 
 On me falls a great cloud of sorrow ; I plead for pardon ; " 
 and Rata looked in shame upon the giant pine which he had 
 laid low. When the wood-spirits, the birds, and insects 
 heard Rata's words of sorrow, they sang : 
 
 Rata, seek again thy home, 
 To thine aid we all will come, 
 And hollow out the sacred tree 
 That Tand now doth gift to thee. 
 
 And Rata turned away and went to his dwelling by the 
 sea. But he spoke no word to his mother of all that had 
 happened. 
 
 No sooner had Rata disappeared amongst the thick trees 
 than the birds came from all parts to help in the making of 
 his canoe. The strong birds pecked at the trunk with their 
 beaks till they shaped and hollowed out the canoe, the little 
 birds and insects carried away the chips. The sea-birds 
 bored the holes with their long beaks, and inlaid the wood 
 with pearl lining of shells ; whilst the swamp-birds fetched 
 the flax with which to lash on the side-boards, and to fix 
 the bow and the stern. Many hours did they all work, and 
 the dawn was fast breaking before the canoe was finished. 
 
 The next morning Rata hastened to the place where he 
 
 G 
 
9 8 Maori Legends 
 
 had left the tree-trunk lying, and great was his delight 
 when he saw the finished canoe. It was so large and 
 strong that he could not drag it down to the sea alone. 
 So he went to the village in the next bay, and asked the 
 people to come and help him. But the canoe was too 
 heavy and too far in the deep forest for them to drag it to the 
 sea. Then they cried to the gods for help, and the gods 
 sent floods of water, which carried the canoe to the shore. 
 And all the people shouted with delight, and they called the 
 canoe, Niwaru, Great Joy. They were glad that Rata was 
 going to revenge his father's death, for he had been one of 
 their great chiefs. When night came they assembled and 
 danced the great war dance, and the tohunga (priest) con- 
 sulted the omens, and they were favourable to their under- 
 taking. There was also a bright star near to the moon, 
 and that sign foretold success. So the warriors were eager 
 to start with Rata for the land where lived the slayer of his 
 father. 
 
 In the morning the canoe was gaily decked with the 
 
 feathers of sea-birds and the scarlet blossoms of the white 
 
 pine. Long and loud was the shouting as the war-party 
 
 entered the canoe and, taking their paddles, started for the 
 
 land of Makutu. Many days they traversed the deep. 
 
 Then came they near to the land of the Ponaturi — a race 
 
 of fairies who live where the sun rises. They keep in dark 
 
 regions under the water during the day, and return to the 
 
 earth only when the sun sets, for if the sunlight fall on 
 
 them it is fatal. Hither had the canoe of Rata been borne 
 
 by the long waves, for it was the Ponaturi who had carried 
 
 off the bones of Rata's father to this land by command of 
 
 Makutu, who lived there. 
 
Rata's Revenge gg 
 
 Rata knew not this, but as he and his men approached 
 the land, they heard a strange ratthng noise. 
 
 " What is that noise ? " asked one of the men. 
 
 " The bones of my father are rattUng a welcome to my 
 coming," replied Rata, "and they cry, 'Pull! pull!' So 
 pull hard, my men." 
 
 Thereat they all pulled hard, and the canoe darted for- 
 ward on the crest of the waves. As they reached the shore 
 and landed, the bones rattled again. 
 
 " Makutu's dwelling must be near, my friends," said 
 Ratu ; " stealthily will we move on, so that we may sur- 
 prise him." 
 
 And they crept up between some rocks till they gained 
 the shelter of a wood ; and on the rocks were many sea- 
 birds, and many birds roosted in the trees, but they made 
 no stir at the coming of Rata and his men. The bones 
 rattled more and more loudly as they followed in the direc- 
 tion from which the sound came. And soon they reached 
 an open space where a woman was at work, and near to 
 her was the mouth of a cave, about which trailed a strong 
 creeper, and the mouth of the cave was lighted by the last 
 rays of the sun ; but within was only deep darkness. The 
 bones had now ceased to rattle, so Rata knew this must be 
 the dwelling-place of Makutu. When the woman turned 
 and saw the men, she cried, " Who are you that dare thus 
 to come to the dwelling of Makutu ? " 
 
 And Rata replied, " Thou makest question of our coming, 
 but listen to my saying. " Then spake he and told her all ; 
 and when she had heard his tale, she said, " I am glad that 
 you have come, for Makutu killed my husband, and keeps 
 me here to work for himself. I, too, would have revenge." 
 
lOO Maori Legends 
 
 " Where is Makutu ? " asked Rata. 
 
 " He is down below the sea," replied the woman, "where 
 the sun never shines. He will come up through that hole 
 when the sun sets," and she pointed to the dark cave. 
 
 " How can we best catch him ? " asked Rata. 
 
 " Make a strong noose of those creepers," said she, " and 
 place it over the entrance of the cave. Then hide yourselves, 
 and when Makutu comes, pull the noose tight round his 
 neck. He is very powerful, but thus can you catch him 
 and kill him." Then they did as she told them, and hid 
 themselves in the low scrub near by. And the sun sank, 
 and darkness came on the land. They heard Makutu 
 coming, and the ground trembled with the weight of his 
 steps. He was carrying a large load of human flesh which 
 he had brought back with him to eat. As he came near 
 the entrance of the cave, he seemed to think there was 
 something wrong, for he sniffed the air, and said, " Who is 
 here ? I smell a man. I smell many men." 
 
 " No, no. It is all right," said the woman. And Makutu 
 came on. When Rata and his men, by the light of the 
 stars, saw him come out of the cave with his head bent 
 down with the weight of the load on his back, they pulled 
 the noose tight round his neck, and he was held fast. 
 Makutu tried to shout, but the noose choked him ; he 
 struggled hard, but could not escape. The men then cut 
 off his arms, and when, by some chance, the noose was 
 loosened a little, Makutu cried, "You cannot kill me." 
 Then they cut off his head, thinking that would be the end 
 of him, but, by help of the magic power which he had 
 gained in the land of the Ponaturi, Makutu turned himself 
 into a bird, even into a bittern, and flew away screeching. 
 
Rata's Revenge loi 
 
 So Makutu remained a bittern, and thus Rata revenged his 
 father's death, and the people of Rata's land call the bitterns 
 Makutus to this day. 
 
 Again the bones of Rata's father rattled loud and long, 
 and Rata and his men lighted torches, and, guided by the 
 sound, they found them in a cave where they had been 
 kept to help Makutu in his magic arts. After Rata had 
 gathered them all together carefully, he placed them in his 
 canoe, and they rattled no more. 
 
 Then Rata and his men started back across the sea for 
 their own land. 
 
 When Rata's mother and the inhabitants of the village 
 saw Rata's ^canoe returning safe, they decorated themselves 
 with the feathers of birds and the scarlet-blossoms of 
 forest trees, and painted their faces red and blue, and 
 rushed to meet the victorious war-party, shouting loudly, 
 " Haere mai ! Haere mai ! " (Welcome ! Welcome ! ) 
 Rata told them what he had done, and they danced the 
 dance of welcome, making wonderful grimaces and slapping 
 their breasts, singing a monotonous chant. When the 
 dance was ended, and some of the principal warriors took 
 the bones of their chief, which had been rescued from 
 Makutu, down to the river and washed them, and scraped 
 them carefully with mussel-shells, and powdered them over 
 with the red earth of mourning, and placed them on a mat. 
 And those who had thus handled the bones, and sat near 
 as watchers, were tapu, or sacred, and might not be 
 touched. Then the tangi, or lamentations, over the bones 
 of Rata's father began. Great quantities of food and drink 
 were collected, and the people squatted on the ground, and 
 with heads close to each other they rubbed noses together 
 
I02 Maori Legends 
 
 till the tears streamed down their faces, wailing bitterly 
 as they did so. Many mourners, both men and women, 
 sang loudly, and, at the same time, cut themselves severely 
 on the face, breast, and arms with shells or sharp flints. 
 Then they refreshed themselves with food and rubbed noses 
 and wailed again and again. Some food was put before 
 the watchers by the bones, who had to kneel down and get 
 it as they could, for they might not eat of the food if they 
 touched it with their hands. And the noise of the 
 lamentations waxed greater and greater, and the people cut 
 themselves more and more till the blood streamed down as 
 they chanted the warlike actions of their chief in days gone 
 by. "Why were you taken from us, O mighty chief? 
 Why were we not killed instead of you ? " So sang the 
 warriors. Then prayers were offered up to the chief who, 
 having gone to the heavens, had become the protecting 
 deity of the tribe. And they said, " O chief, look down 
 upon us now thou art become our protecting deity. Do 
 not forget to avenge thyself for all insults received 
 whilst on earth from thy enemies. Give thy tribe 
 plentiful crops and good fortune in war for the days to 
 come." 
 
 And the people did not forget to utter special requests 
 for themselves. " Help me to get back the head of my son 
 from the enemy who slew him and carried it away in 
 triumph to his village. Let not such disgrace rest on 
 my old age ! " Thus sang a grey-haired warrior. One 
 man asked that he might have a good marriage ; another 
 that his first wife's jealous feelings against his other wives 
 might be changed ; another that the thief who had stolen 
 his birds potted in fat for winter use might have his head 
 
Rata's Revenge 103 
 
 taken by his enemies. And so on, with many prayers and 
 lamentations. 
 
 When the prayers and the feast were finished, the bones 
 of Rata's father were taken with much ceremony to the top 
 of a mountain, and there placed in a sitting position in a 
 sacred cave known only to a few. And there they rested 
 in peace and honour, and rattled no more. 
 
 Thus did Rata revenge his father's death. 
 
 And Rata taught the people to cut and polish axes of 
 the hard jade greenstone, and a beautiful red-blossoming 
 forest tree is called Rata after him. And Rata was chosen 
 war-chief by the tribe, and became famous in the land. 
 
Matariki, or the Little Eyes 
 (The Pleiades) 
 
 ALONG time ago there was a large and beautiful star 
 which shone nightly in the deep blue tropical sky. 
 So beautiful was it that all other stars faded 
 before it, and even the moon stayed afar off, lest her fire 
 should look pale beside its brilliancy. Tan6, the mighty 
 god of light and lord of all forests, was also jealous, for he 
 said : 
 
 " If it were not for its loveliness, the eye of man would 
 be content to rest on the beauty of my stately forest trees. 
 But the light of that one star alone draws all eyes upwards, 
 and men heed not the beauty which is near, for desire of 
 that which is afar." 
 
 So Tan6 resolved to destroy that wonderful star, and he 
 asked Aldebaran and Sirius to help him. There was a 
 little lake nestling amidst the hills, whose depths on still 
 nights the star had often made more beautiful by its reflec- 
 tion, and on whose dancing ripples the soft wind had many 
 a time broken the star's bright rays into a hundred rippling 
 smiles. The lake heard what the god Tan6 and his helpers 
 said, and resolved to warn the star of its danger. 
 
Matariki 105 
 
 " How shall we do it ?" asked the bright waters, as the 
 soft east wind stooped to kiss the lake's anxious face. 
 
 "Indeed I know not," said the wind; "my voice cannot 
 reach unto the stars, or I would gladly whisper the warning 
 for you. Ask Rangi, the god of the heavens ; the stars 
 are the jewels of his nightly raiment, so he will not fail to 
 help the most beautiful of his gems." 
 
 The next morning, when the sky shone in all its bright- 
 ness, the little lake told its tale, and asked for Rangi's help. 
 Rangi was very wroth when he heard the tale, and he 
 promised willingly to aid the grateful little lake to help its 
 friend. 
 
 " My strong heat shall shine on thee," said he to the little 
 lake, " and thy waters shall rise upwards in the mists of 
 clouds till they reach the beautiful star thou lovest ; then 
 thou canst warn it of its peril." 
 
 And so it was, when the sun, the eye of Rangi, opened 
 wide, the fierce heat of the morning rays fell on the lake, 
 and the waters rose in soft clouds, and, rolling up the 
 mountain side, they left the bright world they loved to rest 
 upon. Higher and higher they sailed, almost dissolved in 
 tears, so mighty was the heat. But the east wind gently 
 cooled them with its soft breath, and carried them near 
 to the beautiful star, and they told it all its danger. 
 
 And the clouds returned in cool rain drops to the earth. 
 
 Thus the beautiful star was not unready when one night 
 the mighty god Tane, with his followers, Aldebaran and 
 Sirius, chased it from its resting-place in the sky. On, on, 
 flew the star before its cruel persecutors, till at last it took 
 refuge in the waters of the lake, which it had so often 
 brightened by its light. 
 
io6 
 
 Maori Legends 
 
 " Save me, save me, dear lake," it cried, and threw itself 
 into the cool, clear depths. 
 
 But Sirius, the dog-star, saw it there, and drained away 
 
 the waters, and again the poor star was driven before its 
 fierce pursuers. 
 
 The dawn was drawing near, and the star thought : 
 " If I can but reach the east, the great highway of Tane, 
 the god of light, his own brightness will be my safest 
 hiding-place." 
 
 So, though the star was weary, it still sped on. But 
 Tan6 saw the star, and, being angry because he could not 
 seize it, he grasped Aldebaran and hurled him after it, and 
 splintered it into six pieces. Thus the wrath of Tan6 was 
 appeased, and, in disdain, he threw the pieces aloft into the 
 
Matariki 107 
 
 sky. There to this day do mortals see them, and call them 
 the Matariki, or " the little eyes." 
 
 Rangi, the heavens, was exceeding wroth when he heard 
 what had befallen the most beautiful jewel of his nightly 
 raiment, and he decreed that " the little eyes " should be 
 honoured beyond all other lesser stars, and that their 
 twinkling brilliancy should be good to look upon. 
 
 So, where palm trees wave over the golden sands of the 
 fair Pacific isles, when the " little eyes " are above the 
 horizon at sunset, men say, " The new year has come ; see 
 how the ' little eyes ' twinkle ; it is the time of feasting and 
 gladness I " 
 
Rua and Toka, a Tale of the 
 Deep Sea 
 
 IN days of yore a chief named Rua and his only child, 
 Toka, a handsome boy of twelve years, lived by the sea- 
 shore of Te-ika-a-Maui (N. island of New Zealand). 
 Toka was as the light of the sun unto the chief's eyes, and 
 the boy thought that the great god Ra did not shine on any 
 warrior so great as his father. Rua encouraged Toka in 
 all sorts of manly exercises ; he was full of life and strength, 
 and his merry laugh was as the sound of the laughing waves 
 playing amongst the rocks. When the mighty taniwha 
 (monster) at the bottom of the ocean drew in and out his 
 deepest breaths and made the wild tides of winter rush 
 swiftly up the beach, Toka loved to run races with his 
 companions on the flat stretches of sand, and their light 
 flying figures sped as swiftly as feathered powa-seeds 
 (thistle) before the wind. In summer weather they spent 
 long hours roaming the forests, snaring birds ; or in the 
 sea, playing in the soft curhng foam and diving off their 
 canoes into the clear deep waters. So passed happy years 
 for Toka. 
 
Rua and Toka 109 
 
 One afternoon of a sultry day late in summer, an oppres- 
 sive stillness lay on the air, and a tremulous, misty heat 
 played on sea and sands. That strange calm, which often 
 precedes storm, pervaded everything ; the sea-birds flew 
 shorewards with lowered cries, and each leaf and delicate 
 fern-frond was still, even the feathery heads of the toi-grass 
 (pampas) were motionless, and the very bushes in the 
 hollovys of the cliff seemed to huddle together. Toka and 
 his companions had been out fishing, and having pulled 
 their canoes high up on the shore, they rushed into the sea 
 for a refreshing swim. In their enjoyment the signs of the 
 coming storm were unheeded. But suddenly the wind rose 
 and the heavens darkened with fast-gathering clouds. The 
 boys were a long distance from shore, and one of them, 
 looking up at the sky, said : " We had better go back, 
 Toka ; a storm is coming on." 
 
 " There is lots of time," said Toka ; " you can go back 
 now. I swim more quickly than you, and will soon over- 
 take you." So they turned and left him, for they knew that 
 Toka was as the swift-leaping tawa-tawa (mackerel) in the 
 sea. But soon the roaring winds ruffled the water with 
 dark shadows, and beneath the lashing rain the white crests 
 of the waves gleamed. The force of the squall beat up 
 the waters .till great masses of spray, mingling with the 
 clouds and rain, hid the shore, and closing round Toka, he 
 could scarce tell ocean from sky. But Toka feared not ; he 
 struck out boldly for the land, his heart hot within him as 
 he shot through the blinding waters or rode boldly over 
 the billows. Presently a mysterious unseen force stirred in 
 the depths, and the surging masses seethed and boiled. 
 Then, on a wave mightier than all the rest, Tangaroa, the 
 
no Maori Legends 
 
 great ocean god, uprose from the dark deep. He suddenly 
 seized the boy and carried him down to his cavern-dwelling 
 beneath the sea. There he placed the handsome young 
 Toka as an upright figure on the ridge-pole over the door- 
 way. And beautiful indeed looked the shapely bronzed 
 limbs and the well-set head of Toka, his face upraised to 
 the bright earth above. 
 
 The other boys reached the shore safely, though with 
 difficulty ; then they looked for Toka. Nowhere could they 
 see him ; he had quite disappeared — nothing but the waste 
 of waters was around ; and after gazing in vain for some 
 signs of him they knew that Tangaroa, the ocean god, must 
 have seized him. They returned to the village, their hearts 
 heavy as the heart of the iron-wood tree ; and when they 
 told the sad tidings great was the wailing amongst the 
 people, for the bright-faced, merry-voiced Toka was a 
 favourite with them all. 
 
 In the evening the summer storm had passed. Leaves 
 and broken branches strewed the path of the low cliffs, and 
 masses of seaweed were heaped up on the shore. The 
 sea-birds still stayed in their shelters, and all was quiet 
 save for the sobbing of the waves upon the beach and the 
 melancholy wail of the mourners. When Rua and some of 
 his braves returned that night from visiting a neighbouring 
 tribe, they heard from afar the noise of the lamentations of 
 the people. They hastened to the village, and when the 
 chief saw not his son, nor heard his welcome from amongst 
 the people, his soul was full of dread, and he cried aloud : 
 
 " Where is Toka ? " and no man dared to tell him ; but 
 the weeping and the cries rose louder than before. 
 " Where is my son ? " repeated Rua, in a hard voice. 
 
Rua and Toka 
 
 III 
 
 "Am I a child that you treat me so, and fear to give me 
 bad tidings ? My heart tells me that he has gone from me, 
 for he welcomes me not. Where is my son ? " But the 
 people only covered their heads with their flax-mats, and 
 rocked themselves to and fro, or rubbed noses together 
 with bitter wailings. Then the tohunga (priest) arose, 
 and he said to Rua, " The winds and the waves roared, 
 and Tangaroa, the great ocean-god, took a victim. He 
 chose thy son." 
 
 For a moment there was silence amongst the assembled 
 throngs, as they raised their heads and looked at their 
 chief, who stood spear in hand, still as a carven statue. 
 And the sun, the great god Ra, went down behind the rim 
 of the sea, and all the world was dark. And from Rua, the 
 light of his life had gone. He said no word, but desire for 
 vengeance filled his heart. He strode through the village 
 to a rocky point on the shore, and threw down his spear 
 and his mat. He dived into the sea in search of his son, 
 and one word only escaped his lips and mingled with the 
 sobs of the waves — " Revenge ! " 
 
 When Rua reached the bottom of the ocean, he met an 
 old woman called Hinemati, and he said to her : 
 
 " Tangaroa has taken away my son ; tell me where the 
 great god has his abode." 
 
 And Hinemati took him to the dwelling of Tangaroa, for 
 she was the doorkeeper. Upon the wonderfully decorated 
 posts, hideous heads grinned, with hanging tongues and 
 shining shell-pearl eyes, at the chief. And on the top of 
 the ridge-pole and right over the doorway, Rua saw his 
 boy Toka, stiff and still, but beautiful as an image shaped 
 by the gods themselves. Then was the father too stricken 
 
112 Maori Legends 
 
 for words. His soul was numb within him, scarce could he 
 feel the anguish of his grief. Only the strong beats of his 
 heart sounded in his ear, " Revenge ! " " Revenge ! " 
 
 " Is there any one in this dwelling ? " at last he asked of 
 Hinemati. 
 
 There is no one in it now," replied she, " but the 
 Ponaturi, a race of sea-fairies and goblins, to whom sun- 
 light is fatal, inhabit the dweUing of Tangaroa. They 
 leave it in the morning before the day-dawn, and go to 
 their work in the dark deep, and they return not till the 
 sun has set." 
 
 Then said Rua, "The great god Tangaroa I cannot 
 harm. His vastness is as the vastness of the boundless 
 sea. But I will wreak my vengeance on his wonderfully 
 carven dwelling, and those who live therein." And the 
 woman said, " I will help you. I also wish for revenge 
 for my ills." 
 
 Rua went into the dwelling of Tangaroa, and he stopped 
 up every opening and cranny through which the light 
 could enter. Then the woman went in and awaited the 
 coming of the sea-fairies and goblins, and Rua hid near. 
 When it was quite dark, Rua heard the noise of many 
 voices, and a great number of little folk, fair-haired and 
 light in colour, trooped into the house. Hinemati shut the 
 door, and lay down by it as v/^ her custom, thus pretend- 
 ing that she would warn the inmates of the approach of 
 daylight, which if it should fall on them, would kill them. 
 
 The night hours sped swiftly on, and the fairies slept 
 long, feeling secure, in that Hinemati was watching. 
 Towards morning they waked once or twice, and thinking 
 
Rua and Toka 113 
 
 the night seemed of unusual length, one called out to 
 Hinemati, " Is it not yet near dawn ? " 
 
 " No," replied she, " It is the long night, the dark night 
 of Hinemati. Sleep on — sleep on soundly ! " 
 
 And they believed her, for every opening and cranny 
 was stopped up, and they could see no ray of light. So 
 they slept on even until the sun rose high, and the sea was 
 flooded with his glory. 
 
 Then Rua sprang out of his hiding-place, and suddenly 
 let in the sunlight, and the Ponaturi within the dwelling 
 were instantly killed. 
 
 And the woman muttered, "Ay, they sleep soundly! 
 For them it is the dark night of Hinemati." 
 
 But the strong beats of Rua's heart sounded yet in his 
 ear, " Revenge ! " 
 
 He lifted down the beautiful Toka from the ridge-pole 
 over the doorway, and made for him a resting-place of 
 shining weeds. But as he touched the shapely limbs, 
 supple and warm no longer, and saw the closed eyes that 
 had been wont to flash out love to his, he cried in the 
 bitterness of his soul, " O Toka, my son ! my son ! " 
 
 And Rua wrenched out the wonderfully carven posts and 
 lintels, and all the richly ornamented parts of Tangaroa's 
 dwelling, and placed them aside near his boy. Then he 
 set the dwelling itself on fire, and burned it and all therein, 
 crying aloud, " Revenge ! So do I revenge thee my boy." 
 
 Having so done, he turned towards the place where he 
 had laid Toka, and behold he stood before his father, full 
 of life once more. " Father," " My boy ! " and the two 
 saluted each other with indescribable joy. 
 
 And Toka and his father returned to their home above 
 
 H 
 
114 
 
 Maori Legends 
 
 the sounding sea. And they carried back with them the 
 wonderfully carven posts and other richly decorated parts 
 of the sea-god's dwelling, and taught unto men the elaborate 
 patterns of wood-carving for their temples and their 
 meeting-houses. 
 
 Thus did the great chief Rua win back his son Toka 
 from Tangaroa, the god of the ocean deeps. 
 
Marama the Moon-God 
 ^ and the Woman in the 
 Moon 
 
 LONG time ago, on a beauti- 
 ful island of the Pacific there 
 lived an old woman called 
 Kiu-the-blind. She had four lovely 
 daughters, the youngest of 
 whom was called Ina, and she 
 was the most lovely of all. 
 On a moonlight night the 
 maiden often wandered to the 
 stream that rippled along the 
 bottom of the tree-clad 
 gully, and taking her 
 calabash she fetched 
 water for the family. 
 This she did, not only 
 because she loved the 
 moonlight nights, when 
 the glistening palms 
 
1 1 6 Maori Legends 
 
 rustled their fans in the faint summer air and the tiny ripples 
 laughed in the light, but because her lover would then meet 
 her, and whisper sweet words under the shadow of the trees. 
 
 Now as Marama the Moon sailed on high, he saw Ina, 
 and knew she was fair to look upon, and loved her with such 
 exceeding great love, that the sky to him, wanting her pre- 
 sence, was no longer beautiful, and the stars, wanting the 
 light of her eyes, were no longer bright. And Marama the 
 Moon resolved to win the fair Ina for his wife, and he deter- 
 mined to watch from behind the soft summer clouds until he 
 should see her going alone to fetch water from the stream. 
 But many a night he looked in vain from his fleecy tent, for 
 her lover was always with her, and Marama's heart ached 
 as he heard their softly uttered words of love. 
 
 One night, when Ina's lover was out fishing, a gentle 
 wind blew from off the sea, and the waves played sweet 
 music on the coral reef and shelly shore. Ina at home 
 listened in vain for the signal notes of her lover's flute. 
 The fire of coco-nut leaves, the evening offering to the 
 gods, had long been lighted in the huts, and she could hear 
 the merry voices of her sisters and friends as they sat 
 chattering cross-legged around the flickering blaze, their 
 faces and limbs glistening with the sweet scented oil. It 
 was already late, and Ina thought she would slip away 
 unseen to the pool in the gully, to fetch the water which 
 would be wanted in the morning to wet the old flax baskets 
 to put over the hot stones of the oven fire. Taking her 
 calabash in her hand, she started on her way through the 
 bush, wondering what had kept her lover so late at the 
 fishing-grounds. Ina's heart was filled with fear, for the 
 narrow path was rough and dark, the gully depths looked 
 
Marama, the Moon-God 117 
 
 lonesome and dreary, and she listened in vain for the cheery 
 voice of her lover. Nothing could she hear but the ripple 
 of the little stream below, and the distant splash of the 
 waves on the shore. Now and again the Moon shone 
 forth from behind the slowly moving clouds. He was 
 anxious to see how the maiden sped, but he would only 
 shine fitfully, for fear her lover, seeing the beauty of the 
 night, should hasten back from the fishing-grounds and 
 follow her. Many a time Ina kicked her foot against stones 
 and the tree-roots which crossed the path, and she knew 
 that it was unlucky to stumble, so she felt sad, and was not 
 even cheered by the sight of " the little eyes " (Pleiades), 
 which were high above the horizon, telling that the new 
 year had come, the time of joy, when she and her lover 
 would dance and be glad at the village feasts. When she 
 was passing under the trees a spider dropped on her back 
 from a branch overhead. 1)1 luck once more ! Ah ! If 
 it had but fallen in front of her instead ; and Ina wondered 
 sadly what misfortune was about to happen to her or her 
 lover. As she went along the rough, dark path, Ina 
 reproached Marama for hiding his light, and called him 
 hard names. " O foolish, odious moon ! " she cried again 
 and again ; and he, hearing her bitter words, vowed that 
 that very night he would take her, a willing or unwilling 
 bride, to the sky. 
 
 At last Ina reached the clear pool, in which she dipped 
 her calabash. Marama thought the maiden looked very 
 beautiful as she rested against the trunk of a tall tree-fern, 
 the long silvery fronds drooping over her and the flickering 
 light and shade playing on her head. Dark as the storm- 
 cloud was Ina's ruffled hair, red as the blossoms entwined 
 
ii8 Maori Legends 
 
 in it were her full lips, and the moon-rays which shone on 
 the pool were not more bright than the love-light in her 
 eyes, as she stood there thinking of her lover. Then 
 Marama the Moon could wait no longer, but hastily left his 
 yellow-lighted land and came to the earth and stood before 
 the girl as a young and beautiful man, and she, wondering 
 and amazed at the sudden brightness on branch and stream, 
 lifted her eyes and beheld him. With sweet words he 
 wooed the fair Ina, who stood still as though fascinated at 
 the sound of his voice, for it was very sweet unto mortal 
 ear. 
 
 " Fear not, O beautiful Ina, for I love thee. Oh, come 
 with me to the land where the bright rays of light are not 
 so bright as thy glances, where the immortal blooms will 
 pale before the beauty of thee, a mortal flower. I came 
 down from the starry sky to woo thee for my bride. Come 
 with me, Ina, and thy days shall be ever joyous with the 
 songs of youth." 
 
 Then Ina looked up bewildered, for she had scarcely 
 heard his words ; his voice sounded to her like the echo of 
 sweet music of which she had but dreamed. Was this 
 indeed a god who stood before her ? When before had such 
 beauty ever been seen in her island home ? 
 
 "Ah, Ina, we will mount aloft to the bright stars, to the 
 land which knows not death, and thou too shalt become 
 immortal ; thy life shall be a never-ending stream of light. 
 Come, come with me " 
 
 " Come with thee," echoed Ina in soft tones, and her 
 eyes drooped beneath the brightness of his glances, and 
 her rounded bosom rose and fell beneath her necklace of 
 shells. 
 
Marama the Moon-God 119 
 
 " Ay, come ; oft have I watched thee from the heavens 
 above, thee and thy earth-born lover, who must die when 
 his short days are done, and return as a dead leaf to the 
 earth, never to live again." 
 
 " Lover, my lover ! " she cried, as though that word had 
 waked her dreaming self. " No, no," she cried again. " He 
 loves me, my lover brave and true ! " And with a sob, as 
 though back to her had also come all the remembrance of 
 her own love, she cried, " I love him, I love him ; perhaps 
 he is waiting for me now. What am I doing here ? I must 
 hasten back to him," and she stooped, and lifting her 
 calabash, turned quickly to run up the narrow path that led 
 to the shore. 
 
 Then was Marama exceeding wroth, and he cried, " I 
 will not let thee go, Ina; thou shalt be mine — mine 
 alone." 
 
 Ina gave a loud cry and threw her arms around the 
 trunk of a palm-tree on the bank, calling wildly on her 
 lover for help, but, alas ! he was far away and heard her 
 not. Then Marama the Moon seized her round the waist 
 and carried her, with her calabash in her hand and with the 
 tree to which she clung, far, far away up into the sky. 
 
 At this time her lover came to look for her ; for when he 
 came back from fishing and had not found her at the little 
 hut on the shore, he had hurried along the well-known path 
 to the spring. Not seeing her at the pool, he cried out, 
 loudly : " Ina ! Ina ! Where are you ? " And she, hearing 
 his voice, answered : 
 
 " Mounting up to the stars with the Moon. Oh, save me, 
 save me ! " But her voice was so faint and far that her 
 lover thought it was but the sound of the whispering palms 
 
I20 Maori Legends 
 
 overhead, and he sought her long and vainly in the island 
 and sorrowed much for her loss. 
 
 So Ina lived with her husband Marama the Moon, and 
 he was kind and good to her, for his love of her was great ; 
 but she pined for those who had been dear to her on earth 
 — her mother, her sisters, and her young lover, and for 
 many a long month life was a weariness to her. But she 
 was a good wife to Marama, and never failed to gather dry 
 leaves in plenty for their oven of food, and on clear nights 
 there can be seen in the moon-land the large heaps of leaves 
 which she keeps piled up ready for use. 
 
 After a long time the bygone years began to be like a 
 dream to Ina, and the constant love and tenderness of her 
 husband won hers in return, and her life was a busy and a 
 happy one. Marama taught her how to beat out with 
 stones the white tapa (native cloth made from the inner 
 bark of the mulberry) into clouds till they were thin and 
 glistening, and then to spread them on the upper part of the 
 blue sky, fastening them down at the corners with pieces of 
 rock. Ina soon delighted in this work, and many were the 
 fantastic and pretty shapes she smoothed out with her hands. 
 When she was sad at heart she often shaped the swelling 
 storm-clouds, and loved to see them gather form and roll 
 onwards. In joyous hours she shook out the lightly flying 
 clouds which chase the sunbeams over the fields of earth. 
 When the dreamy hours of evening came, she deftly fringed 
 and scattered wide the fleecy draperies of the night, and 
 they were so fine and soft that mortals scarce could call 
 them clouds. Ofttimes, ceasing work, Ina loved to sit still 
 and watch the glad stars beam in the clear sky. When in 
 haste to beat out the tapa well into some new shape, Ina 
 
Marama the Moon-God 121 
 
 let fall some of the big stones with a crash, men on the 
 earth called it thunder ; and when she unrolled, swift 
 
 as a flash of light, a piece of shining tapa, they called it 
 lightning. 
 
 And so passed the busy hours for Ina,.and when tired of 
 work she practised her favourite game of ball-throwing, 
 which she used to play with her sisters on earth ; and her 
 
122 Maori Legends 
 
 sweet voice could be heard in lightsome song as she tossed 
 the light balls up to the sky. If by chance a ball fell 
 from her hand down into space, then men said, " See, the 
 falling star ! a chief's left eye goes to its resting-place 
 in the sky," and knew not that it was only one of Ina's 
 balls. 
 
 After years had passed, Ina longed much to see her 
 earthly lover once again to tell him that she was happy ; 
 and Marama gave consent unto her prayer and fetched him 
 to the moonlit land, and her lover was exceedingly glad 
 when he saw Ina again, for he had mourned her as one 
 dead, and he only asked to stay and serve her in her bright 
 home. For was she not now a goddess, and far beyond 
 him in word and thought ; and so he stayed, and those 
 two were united in Ina's beautiful cloud-work in the 
 heavens. 
 
 But after many years, Ina's lover, being mortal, became 
 old, and Marama told Ina that he must leave that immortal 
 land, for death could not enter there. So one evening, 
 when all the leaves had been collected for the oven-fire, and 
 the light clouds spread like cobwebs on the swiftly darken- 
 ing sky, Ina called to him to come and sit beside her under 
 a palm-tree. Then she said, in a low, soft voice : 
 
 "Sweet are the flowers of earth, sweet and fair; but, 
 alas ! they all must fade and die." 
 
 Then her old lover looked at her kindly, for he knew by 
 the tone of her voice, and the mist that dimmed her sweet 
 eyes, that something grieved her. 
 
 " Yes," he said. " The earth's flowers are sweet, and 
 they must die. The one I loved was taken to the deathless 
 land, there to dwell ever beautiful with the gods ; it was 
 
Marama the Moon-God 123 
 
 no more for me, but its fragrance has filled my life." And 
 the old man looked at Ina's face, fair with the light of 
 
 eternal youth, and sighed deeply as he thought of happy 
 early days. 
 
124 Maori Legends 
 
 "The stately palm, too, must fall beneath the touch of 
 age, or, cut down by the cruel winds, lie low and die," said 
 Ina. Then she continued softly : 
 
 " Here in this moon-lit land this cannot be ; the bright 
 years come and go, the starry worlds roll on, but death 
 itself may never enter this fair realm. Such is the law of 
 Marama, the husband whom I love, who each month bathes 
 in the life-restoring lake of Tand, the great god of light. 
 I also have been sprinkled with the waters that make 
 youth eternal." 
 
 " Yes, it is so ; and I must leave thee, Ina, for I know 
 what thou wouldst bid me do. Grieve not ; I would not 
 sadden thy bright days. It is well that I should pass again 
 to the earth ; my work for thee is done. Thou wilt be ever 
 fair, thy life is with the stars ; but I am old and frail, my 
 hfe is of the earth." 
 
 The old man raised his bowed head, but his wrinkled 
 face was transformed with love, and looked unto Ina once 
 again fair as she had known it in the days of their youth. 
 Very tenderly did the beautiful Ina breathe " Farewell, 
 farewell ! " Then she bade the rainbow girdle of the god 
 Tangaroa to outstretch itself from the moon unto the earth, 
 and she wept as she silently watched her lover slide down 
 upon the rainbow to the world below. That night mortals 
 wondered at the rich colours of the bow that spanned the 
 heavens, and knew not that it shone bright through Ina's 
 tears. 
 
 Great, too, was the wonder of the islanders when Ina's 
 lover returned, old and white-headed, and told the tale of 
 Ina and her husband, Marama the Moon, and of her happy 
 life in the far off, pale-lit land. 
 
Marama the Moon-God 
 
 125 
 
 And to this day the people call a moonlight night " Ina- 
 motea," or " the brightness of Ina." 
 
 And sometime mortals may see Ina, the fair moon- 
 goddess, sitting under the palm-tree which she carried up 
 with her and planted in the moon, her calabash by her side, 
 thinking of those whom she once loved upon the earth. 
 But she is a loving and good wife to Marama, and the 
 heaps of leaves are as large as ever, and men call them the 
 spots on the moon. 
 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight, 
 A Tale of the Origin of Spiral Tatooing 
 
 SHE was a light-hearted Maori girl, a chief's daughter, 
 living in a small inland village. Her mother called 
 her Niwareka, Great Delight, Tender-hearted and 
 gentle beyond most, she had the merriest face and voice of 
 all the girls of the tribe. She could not bear to see deeds 
 of cruelty, and when, after a successful war expedition, the 
 people indulged in the horrors of a cannibal feast, she used 
 to slip away into the forest, and seldom returned till it was 
 over. At first the old warriors frowned upon her for this, 
 but as she grew into womanhood her good looks as well as 
 her gentleness and gaiety won all hearts. They knew that 
 in all but scenes of carnage and cruelty she was brave as 
 a chiefs daughter should be. 
 
 Niwareka had lately been betrothed to a mighty chief 
 called Mataora. He and some of his tribe visited the 
 village during the full moon, to join in the wrestling 
 matches, and it was then he had first seen Niwareka. One 
 clear bright night, there was a great dance amongst the 
 young people assembled. The followers of Mataora vied 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight 127 
 
 with the young men and women of the village in the quick 
 springing and leaping, the rhythmic chanting and strange 
 grimaces. The excitement was at its height, and the 
 opposite lines of dancers were advancing and retiring in 
 time, making the earth tremble with their stamping. 
 Niwareka and her favourite maiden, who had been watch- 
 ing the dance from under the trees, suddenly flung off their 
 large flax mats, and with only their fringed waist-mats to 
 encumber the pretty brown limbs, sprang between the two 
 parties. And the two maidens excelled all others in their 
 agility and wonderful attitudes. Full of grace was the 
 tall form of Niwareka, her large eyes shone in the bright 
 light of the moon, and the soft little curls of her dark hair 
 played about her bright face as she sprang swiftly, now 
 here, now there, before the admiring throngs. And all 
 were charmed with the beauty and grace of Niwareka, and 
 her young voice rose fresh and clear above all others in 
 the wild chant. The dance continued far into the summer 
 night, long after the elders had left the young people and 
 had retired into their huts, as was their wont at such 
 times. 
 
 Mataora and his attendant had been allotted the strangers' 
 hut. The dance over, the chief went to his sleeping mat, 
 but he could not sleep. At last he called out, " Rua, I 
 cannot sleep, I am consumed with love for Niwareka. How 
 beautifully she danced to-night, how graceful were her 
 attitudes ! And her voice was as the song of the bell- 
 bird, sweet and clear. I must speak with her apart, and 
 tell her that I, the great warrior, desire her for my 
 wife." 
 
 Then Rua replied, " I have often watched the fair 
 
128 Maori Legends 
 
 Niwareka ; she and her maidens go to bathe in the stream 
 beyond the wood before the sun goes down. Afterwards 
 they wander about talking, or they play cat's cradle under 
 the trees. Approach her then, O chief, and speak thy will. 
 The fame of thy great deeds has come here before thee. 
 Thy warrior's heart will not quail before the glances of a 
 maiden ! " 
 
 " Thy words are good, Rua ; they have cooled the thirst 
 of my heart. Go now, and get me fresh water from the 
 spring, that afterwards I may sleep," said Mataora. 
 
 Rua took the calabash, and did as his master bade him. 
 When he returned with the water, he poured it into the 
 chief's hands that he might use them as a cup, for a chief of 
 high rank may not drink from the calabash in which his 
 slave fetches water. 
 
 The next day, after the village games were over, Mataora 
 watched Niwareka and her maidens as they went away 
 through the forest. After talking with the men of the 
 village some while, he followed her. When he went through 
 the trees, and walked down the track to the stream, he saw 
 Niwareka and her maidens on the banks. They were 
 talking merrily, and wreathing each other's necks and hair 
 with the rich gold blossoms of the kowhai tree. And the 
 black tuis flocked over the wealth of yellow flowers on the 
 trees, sucking the plenteous honey, their varied notes 
 mingling with the girls' merry voices. Now, the stride of 
 Mataora was as the stride of the giant bird, the moa, and 
 Niwareka stole admiring glances at his towering form and 
 noble face as he came towards her. She had heard much 
 of his strength and courage in war, but, though stern in 
 voice and often cruel in deed, he had given her only kind 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight 129 
 
 words and smiles. The girl was standing a little apart 
 from the others, sunshine and shadow playing on her brown 
 skin, and she felt shy when the great warrior approached. 
 She took out of the folds of her mat the string which she 
 kept for the game of cat's cradle, and would have called one 
 of her maidens to come and play it with her, but Mataora 
 laid his hand on her arm, and said softly : 
 
 " Fear not to stay and talk with me alone, O Niwareka, 
 Great Delight. So art thou well named. My eyes look on 
 thee with great joy. My soul thirsts for thee with a great 
 desire. Come back with me to my home, the strong pah 
 by the sea, beyond the rim of the blue hills lying far 
 behind thy village. Come back with me, and be the wife of 
 the mighty chief, Mataora." 
 
 " My heart sighs not for a home afar," replied Niwareka, 
 " nor for the sound of the wide sea. I love my own 
 people, and the singing of the forest streams," and the 
 girl's eyes gazed lovingly at her maiidens and on the stream 
 below, with its deep, quiet pools, and its brawling, leaping 
 shallows." 
 
 " My rank is high, my people are many and powerful — a 
 tribe mighty in war. But my rank and my power are as 
 barren rocks without thee, O sweet flower of the forest- 
 lands," said Mataora, with fierce passion, and the light of 
 his great love illumined his stern face, even as the light of 
 the sun floods a rugged landscape with glory. 
 
 Niwareka did not lift her eyes to his, though she was 
 moved by Mataora's impetuous words ; she stood in deep 
 thought, her lithe, strong fingers playing with the cat's- 
 cradle string. Yes, she loved this mighty warrior, and the 
 sacred green-stone image on her breast rose and fell with 
 
 I 
 
130 Maori Legends 
 
 the loud throbs of her heart. But she would not lightly 
 speak the words to tell him of her love. 
 
 Mataora watched the half-parted tremulous lips, the 
 red flush mantling the clear brown skin and he said 
 quietly : 
 
 " I have no other wife, O Niwareka ; I have ever been 
 cold of word and hard of heart, delighting only in war and 
 in the chase of the great moa. I would take thee in 
 triumph to my whare (hut). It is nobly built and rich in 
 the carving of my ancestors. Thy feather mats shall be 
 large and soft, thy kumara-patch great. And many shall 
 be the days of feasting and of games for thee. All maidens 
 shall envy the wife of the great chief Mataoro, for canoes 
 shall fly over the wide sea at thy bidding, and the heads of 
 my enemies be laid at thy feet." So spake Mataora, and 
 then stood silent before her. 
 
 " I want not the heads of thy enemies," said Niwareka, 
 softly. "Keep them to decorate the posts of thy pah, and 
 make all comers tremble." And flashing up at him a shy 
 look of love through her long lashes, and laying her hand 
 on his arm, she said softly, " My lord alone shall make my 
 heart tremble, to tremble with delight." 
 
 Then Mataora said proudly, " Thy lord truly am I, O 
 Niwareka. Thy gracious words have made my heart leap 
 high, even unto my chin. And as the forest tree, until it 
 falls, gives its strength to the tender vine, so the strength 
 of my arm and spear are ever thine. Hin6, the death 
 goddess, alone shall part thee and me." 
 
 " The Death Goddess," echoed Niwareka, with a tender 
 smile. " Let not my chief speak of her in this .our hour of 
 love. She swallows all — some early, some late. I fear her 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight 131 
 
 not. The wild bird chooses its mate, and forgets death in its 
 song." And the girl's glorious dark eyes shone with joy. 
 Love to her was so near. Death so far. 
 
 So was wooed and won Niwareka, Great Delight, and 
 she and Mataora returned to the village. And in the fol- 
 lowing days her voice rang out more merrily, and her 
 sweet face beamed more brightly as she joined her maidens 
 in their work and play. And her people consented to her 
 marriage with Mataora, and the feasting and the dancing 
 were great. 
 
 Then the village no more knew the laughing, merry face 
 of Niwareka, for she departed with her husband for his 
 far-off home by the sea. 
 
 It was evening when, after long days of journeying, they 
 reached Mataora's strongly fortified pah on the hill by the 
 shore. 
 
 The fires were burning, and the shadows danced on the 
 huts, and on the faces of the people gathered here and 
 there in the open space in the village. 
 
 As Niwareka and her husband approached the inner 
 pallisading, she was startled by the sight of the heads of 
 many warriors which were stuck upon the posts here and 
 there. The wind swayed the mats which had in mockery 
 been wound round the posts, and the heads nodded in the 
 night-wind, and seemed to grin at her in the weird light. 
 Niwareka shuddered, and passed through the people, who 
 were busy cooking the evening meal in their covered 
 ovens, to her husband's whare. Mataora's tribe had not 
 before known that he was bringing home a wife, but, when 
 Rua told them who Niwareka was, they raised shouts of 
 welcome, and danced and feasted long into the night. But 
 
1 3 2 Maori Legends 
 
 some of the elders had seen Niwareka shudder at the nod- 
 ding heads, and one old warrior, whose sayings were much 
 thought of, said, " She is not of us. The gentle song-bird 
 cannot pair with the bird of prey," and he shook his grizzly 
 head. 
 
 Mataora's tribe was one of the most fierce and warlike, 
 and, as the days and weeks passed on, and the seasons 
 came and went, Niwareka felt more and more a stranger 
 amongst her husband's people. When Mataora and his 
 braves went on their raids, the crudest and fiercest of the 
 women went with them, and the rest of the women left 
 behind talked of little else but deeds of horror, gloating 
 over the anticipated cannibal feasts. At such times 
 Niwareka felt more than ever a dreary, growing sense of 
 lonehness. She longed for some of her old companions, 
 and the old light-hearted hours by rock and stream. She 
 worked in her kumara patch ; she did her household 
 duties, weaving mats and baskets like other wives. But 
 her merry voice was hushed, her joyous ways done. She 
 could not even look forward to welcoming her husband 
 back, for the return of the war party meant great cruelty to 
 the prisoners, and she would not join in that, nor in the 
 cannibal rites. This made the warriors angry and harsh, 
 and Niwareka became daily more quiet and heavy-hearted, 
 and she often wandered far on the sands, or shut herself 
 up in her hut when her husband and his braves feasted. 
 The warriors, looking at the closed door, said, " A song 
 bird and a bird of prey ; how can they mate ? " and Mataora, 
 hearing these jeers, went to his wife with cold sneers and 
 taunts, and he beat her, saying, " You are no warrior's 
 wife ! You are no mother for young warriors " ; and his 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight 133 
 
 words cut her to the heart. " I am no longer pleasing in 
 his sight," murmured Niwareka. "My song of love is 
 done." 
 
 One night, after a successful fight with a neighbouring 
 tribe, the warriors brought back the bodies of several of 
 their enemies. The dead were beheaded and dismembered 
 with sharp shells ; the heads were kept apart to be stuck 
 on poles, and the bodies cut up and cooked in hot ovens. 
 All sat round, old and young, laughing and joking, and 
 watching the cooking. Here and there, from under the 
 leaves covering the oven stones, a hand or a leg protruded. 
 " Do you find it hot ? Are you young and tender ? " said 
 one. " Ah ! You died laughing, with your face to the 
 enemy. I hear you cackling now," scofied another. When 
 all was ready, the grim feast was divided, and some pieces 
 placed in a food-basket before each of the party, and the 
 favourite morsels were enjoyed and bones picked, with 
 laughter and jest. The old priestess, Miri,.sat apart. The 
 hearts of the slain had been cooked separatdy, being her 
 portion, and she enjoyed them in sullen silence. Two little 
 boys, wakened by the sounds of merriment, came out of a 
 hut, and played ball with a head lying near by. All this 
 Niwareka watched from behind a group of trees close to the 
 feasters, and she shuddered at the gruesome sight. She 
 had seen her husband go through the scattered groups, and 
 his face was stern, for she was not in her place amongst his 
 people. And Niwareka standing there remembered his 
 words, " You are no true warrior's wife. No mother for 
 young warriors." Ah, how those unkind words had 
 pierced her heart. He loved her no longer. 
 
 Then Niwareka said in her loneliness and pain, "I will 
 
134 Maori Legends 
 
 go to the spirit-land," and she remembered the saying of 
 Mataora when he wooed and won her that evening by the 
 stream : " The death goddess alone shall part thee and me." 
 With a sob, Niwareka turned and went away into the silent 
 night. Then love was far, and death was near. And she 
 was no more seen. 
 
 When Mataora found that his young wife had gone from 
 him he was stricken with grief. Though his words had 
 been unkind, he loved her with all the depths of a proud, 
 passionate nature. He thought of her tender heart and of 
 her merry ways when he first knew her. He repented 
 bitterly of his jeers when he remembered her sad face. 
 And sorrowing, he sought her everywhere, but found her 
 not. 
 
 Then he consulted the priestess of the tribe, and, after 
 much studying of omens, she said, " She has gone to the 
 spirit-land." 
 
 " I will seek her and bring her back," said Mataora ; 
 " let no man follow me." 
 
 " It is not fit that a great warrior should go alone," said 
 his braves, and they pleaded to go with him. But Mataora 
 answered sternly : 
 
 " She went into the silent night alone. Let me pass unto 
 the shades in peace." And so saying, Mataora strode past 
 them out of the village into the dark night. 
 
 Tawera the morning star shone cold and clear in the 
 grey sky as Mataora journeyed over the wide-stretching 
 plain towards the edge of it, where Rangi and Papatua, the 
 Heavens and the Earth, embrace each other in love. 
 
 On, on he went, and the way seemed long and dreary ; 
 and after many days he came to the place where dwelt a 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight 135 
 
 guardian of the boundary of the spirit-land, who was called 
 Ku-wata-wata, Light-in-the-chinks. 
 
 And Mataora said to him, " I seek the Death god- 
 dess." 
 
 " He must be full of courage who would go to her 
 uncalled," replied Light-in-the-chinks. 
 
 " I, fear her not," said the great warrior, " for she has 
 swallowed my heart's beloved. Have you seen her ? " 
 asked he. 
 
 " I saw a woman," said Light-in-the-chinks, " and she 
 was fair and good. But her lip hung down with sorrow, 
 and she passed quickly on." 
 
 " It was Niwareka," said Mataora. " Tell me where I 
 may find the Death goddess." 
 
 Even as he spoke Mataora saw Hind's open mouth before 
 him. Her eyes flashed lightning and her dark jagged teeth 
 showed fierce and sharp. 
 
 " I come, Niwareka ! I come to thee ! " shouted Mataora, 
 and with a mighty bound he leapt down the throat of the 
 goddess into the land of death. 
 
 Silent he stood in that shadowy land, waiting to hear the 
 voice of the one he loved. But the soft voice and the tender 
 smile of his young wife greeted him not. He was alone in 
 the dim, vast shades. Yet was he not afraid, for he sought 
 his beloved. With a grim courage bordering on despair, he 
 wandered on, calling ever and anon : "Niwareka! Niwareka!" 
 But there was silence everywhere. 
 
 After countless stretches of time, that had nor day nor 
 night, he came to some tall, twisted trees that sfeemed to 
 stretch out their arms in agony. Under them was a man 
 tending a fire. This was Uetonga, or suppressed pain. He 
 
136 
 
 Maori Legends 
 
 was the great tatooer of the world below. When he saw 
 Mataora he came forward, and loojcing at him, said : 
 " You are not properly tatooed. I will tatoo you." 
 But Mataora said, " I do not care ; let me be. Have 
 you seen a woman pass this way of late ? " 
 
 " Yes, I saw one, and she was good and fair. But her 
 
 lip hung down with grief, and she sobbed as she passed on," 
 replied Uetonga. 
 
 " It was Niwareka," breathed Mataora. " Tell me where 
 she is." 
 
 " You cannot pass to her except through me," said 
 Uetonga. " I will tatoo you properly, then, perchance, in 
 your agony you may see her." So saying, Uetonga seized 
 Mataora and threw him on the ground, and in his grip the 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight 137 
 
 strong warrior was as a helpless child. And Uetonga 
 tatooed him with the spiral -lines still called " Uetonga's 
 tatooing." 
 
 And the pain of tatooing was great, and the spirit of 
 Mataora writhed in agony, and he thought of his unkind 
 words to his wife, and of how he beat her. And from 
 time to time he chanted in a broken voice : 
 
 O Niwareka, Great Delight, 
 My love for thee doth burn. 
 Unto the shadowy land I come. 
 O Niwareka, Great Delight, 
 Return to me — return. 
 
 Now his wife was not far off, but she was hidden by the 
 trees. She sat before her dwelling weaving a mat. She 
 heard the chanting, but could not hear the words ; but her 
 breath came thick and fast, for she thought it sounded 
 like Mataora's voice. She arose, and went towards the 
 place where she saw a man being tatooed. But her hus- 
 band's face was turned away from her, and his voice was so 
 changed by pain that she thought it could not be his. 
 When Uetonga saw Niwareka come near, he told her to go 
 back. And she obeyed him, and returned to her flax- 
 weaving ; but her thoughts were full of Mataora. 
 
 When night came on, in spite of the commands of 
 
 Uetonga, Niwareka went nearer to the tatooed man, who 
 
 lay alone and silent, bearing his pain. And she said, " O 
 
 man, chant your song again." Then Mataora's heart leapt 
 
 with joy, for he knew it was his wife, and he sang in a low 
 
 voice to her : 
 
 Say, who is thy beloved ? 
 Tell it to the West, 
 
138 Maori Legends 
 
 Tell it to the South, 
 And to the North also, 
 Breathe it to the stars above 
 And breathe it to the moon. 
 I am but as a fallen tree, 
 Say, who is thy beloved ? 
 Where the scented fern 
 Gives forth its sweetness. 
 And fosters my desire. 
 May I a listener be to thee. 
 Say, who is thy beloved ? 
 I am but as a fallen tree, 
 Say, who is thy beloved ? 
 
 And he turned his face to Niwareka, and her eyes shone 
 with joy, for she knew it was her husbaind, who for his 
 great love's sake had sought her there. And she said, "O 
 Mataora, thou art my beloved." And she took him to 
 her dwelling, and tended him till his tatooing was healed, 
 and spoke loving words to him, so that he knew no more 
 pain. Then Mataora said to his wife, " We will return to 
 the world above." And she consented to go back with him. 
 When, after much journeying, they came to the place where 
 dwelt the guardian of the boundary of the spirit-land, 
 Mataora said to him, " I have found my wife, and we wish 
 to go back to the world above. Open the way." 
 
 " I need payment to open the gates of night and silence," 
 Replied Light-in-the-chinks, " even the garment which your 
 wife has made for herself in the spirit-land." 
 
 Then spake Niwareka, " I began to weave a garment for 
 jnyself in the spirit-land, but I finished it not ; my hus- 
 band's great love and pain has fetched me back so soon." 
 
 When Light-in-the-chinks heard her words, and saw the 
 joy shining in her eyes, he said to Mataora, " Pass on, but 
 
Niwareka, Great Delight 139 
 
 shut after you the door of night and silence, so that here- 
 after no man may pass back to earth this way." 
 
 And Mataora did so. 
 
 So the two returned to their home above, and Mataora 
 taught his people the new spiral tatooing of Uetonga. 
 
 And many a night when the twilight fell on the great 
 sea, Niwareka's merry voice again rang out, as she played 
 cat's-cradle with her children. And when they came to the 
 figure in the game where the yawning strings stretch out 
 like a deep mouth, she would say with a smile, " That is 
 the mouth of Hin6 the Death Goddess." And that figure 
 in cat's-cradle is so called amongst the Maoris to this day. 
 
Rongo and the Lizard-God 
 
 ON one of the Pacific islands, in ancient days, there 
 was a great feud between the adherents of 
 Rongo, the god of cultivated crops, and Matarau, 
 the eight-headed, eight-tailed lizard-god. During the fierce 
 fight between the two parties, Rongo took prisoner a youth 
 of high rank, named Vaioeve ; he then changed him into a 
 large sword-fish, which was laid for sacrifice on Rongo's 
 altar. Great was the consternation of Matarau when he 
 heard the tidings, for Vaioeve was a young brave, beloved 
 by his tribe, and the lizard-god resolved himself to rescue 
 the sword-fish even from the sacred altar of Rongo. 
 
 The hot day had ended, and the sudden darkness of the 
 tropics fell upon the land. A cool night breeze sprang up, 
 and as it swept over the calm sea, the sleeping waters 
 shivered. The breeze rose with the rising tides up the 
 dark creeks, hustling the twisted mangroves, rustling the 
 fan-fronds of the palms, playing with the leafy fringes of 
 the dark forest canopies. In the dead of night the lizard- 
 god came out of his hiding-place, a rocky cave, and stealing 
 through the dense undergrowth gained the outskirts of the 
 woods. Grey clouds hid the stars, and the glitter of his 
 
Rongo and the Lizard-God 141 
 
 two hundred eyes was veiled in darkness. Keeping his 
 eight heads and tails close to the ground, the monster 
 sHd along, so that no unusual movement of the long dry 
 grass should be seen. He reached the open cultivated 
 land of his enemy, and gliding cautiously through the large 
 
 patches of kumara (sweet potatoes), got near the altar of 
 Rongo unnoticed by any of the followers of that god. 
 " Ah, there is the captive," breathed Matarau, as he could 
 just discern the sword-fish lying on the altar ready for the 
 morning sacrifice. He darted forward, seized his prize, 
 and carried it in triumph through the forest to his cave. 
 
142 Maori Legends 
 
 Kongo was filled with wrath when he heard that his 
 sacrifice had been stolen, and was determined to recover 
 it. So he called his swift messengers, the little birds, and 
 said : 
 
 " Go and find where the sword-fish is hidden ; my 
 enemy Matarau must have carried it ofif in the night. 
 Bring the fish back to me. Such is my command." 
 
 There was a flash of jewel-colours, a soft whirr of many 
 wings, and the birds were gone. They looked everywhere 
 with their bright eyes for the sword-fish, and at last saw 
 it in the entrance of the cave. But the dreaded lizard was 
 guarding it, and the little birds were sore afraid, for his 
 eight heads were ever on the move, and his two hundred 
 eyes ever on the alert. They sat for a long time on the 
 branches of some trees near, hoping they might get a chance 
 to carry off the fish. But it was useless ; the lizard's watch 
 was unceasing, his eyes could see all around, and if per- 
 chance some closed in the slumbrous heat of noon, others 
 were always open, and the snap-snap of his many restless 
 jaws rang on the silence. What could the little birds do 
 against such a foe ? They chirped and twittered, and twit- 
 tered and chirped, but could settle on no stratagem by which 
 to evade his vigilance. The lizard hearing the unusual 
 noise in the branches, waked and yawned, and yawned and 
 slept, but troubled not. It was only the birds. At last 
 they agreed to fly back and tell Kongo what they had seen, 
 and that they could do nothing ; and Kongo was angry at 
 this, and told the little birds that they must try by some 
 means to get back the sword-fish, and he ordered them to 
 return at once to the cave. 
 
 There was again a flash of jewel-colours, a whirr of 
 
Rongo and the Lizard-God 143 
 
 many wings, and the birds had gone. Once more they 
 perched on the trees and chirped and twittered above the 
 lizard. At last some of them ventured to fly down and try 
 and carry off the sword-fish when they thought the terrible 
 heads lay in sleep ; but the lizard had one eye open, and 
 his strong tails lashed them, and his terrible jaws snapped 
 them up. More and more birds ventured down, but the 
 terrible lizard seemed to be a very whirlpool of heads and 
 tails ; and in the end all the winged messengers were 
 destroyed and eaten, except one which flew back to tell 
 Rongo what had befallen the rest. 
 
 Then Rongo called other and larger birds to him, even 
 sea-birds and birds of prey. " Go," he said, " and fail not 
 to bring me back the fish." 
 
 There was a darkening of the sun, a beat of heavy wings, 
 and the big birds were gone. But they too were knocked 
 down by the lashing tails as they ventured near, and were 
 eaten by the monster lizard-god, and the air was full of 
 snapping jaws and flying feathers, and not one bird went 
 back to tell Rongo the tidings. 
 
 When his servitors returned not, Rongo knew they also 
 must have perished, and he waxed more and more wroth, 
 but knew not what to do. Now some crimson and black 
 butterflies were flitting from flower to flower near by, their 
 rich colours gleaming in the sunshine. Rongo saw them, 
 and he called them to him and said : 
 
 " All the birds are destroyed which I sent to get back 
 my sacrifice. You must go and try to snatch the sword- 
 fish from our enemy, the lizard-god." 
 
 " How can we succeed when all the birds little and great 
 have failed ? " said they. But Rongo replied " Go." 
 
144 Maori Legends 
 
 There was a sigh, from the flowers, a flutter in the air, 
 and the butterflies had gone. But as the brave little fellows 
 settled on a brilliant creeper festooning the cave, in order 
 to get near to the fish, the lizard spied them. There was 
 a rapid sweep of a tall, and they lay on the ground, 
 quivering spots of brightness, then with closed wings, were 
 still. Rongo was in despair when the red and blacl? butter- 
 flies returned not, and he knew not how to outwit his enemy. 
 After a while two large yellow butterflies flitted about the 
 flowers like gleams of golden light, and Rongo called them 
 to him, for he had at last thought of a good plan. " Go, 
 
 yellow butterflies," said he, " to the cave of Matarau, the 
 lizard-god and snatch from him my sword-fish which he has 
 stolen." 
 
 " How can we succeed when so many others have 
 failed ? " asked they. 
 
 "Speak not of failure; I will tell you how to gain 
 success," said Rongo. "There is a large banyan tree 
 growing outside the entrance of the cave, and its branches 
 reach high overhead. On it there are some yellow leaves ; 
 hide under them and you will not be seen. I will send 
 other moths and butterflies of different colours, and bid 
 them conceal themselves also in places where they will not 
 be noticed. Go and do what I have said, and afterwards 
 
 1 will help you." 
 
 The two large yellow butterflies were plucky and clever ; 
 they flew swiftly towards the banyan tree and, lost to sight 
 in the brilliant sunshine, hid under two yellow leaves, and 
 the lizard saw them not. Rongo then sent other butterflies, 
 and moths of all colours. They flitted round and round, 
 settled on flower and leaf, now here now there, then rising 
 
Rongo and the Lizard-God 145 
 
 flew each time nearer and nearer, till at last they were 
 close to the cave. The many-eyed lizard blinked in the 
 sun, he heard the soft music of light wings, and saw the 
 bright moving specks of colour, but he said, " It is only the 
 butterflies ! " and he cared not. Then one by one the 
 insects hid in places the colour of their wings, some on 
 flowers and leaves, others in the crevices of loose bark. 
 And the flutter of bright wings ceased, and butterflies and 
 moths waited the promised help of Rongo. 
 
 The evening drew on with its changeful lights and cool, 
 tremulous shadows, and the lizard-god roused himself. 
 The hidden moths and flies watched his eight tails waying 
 to and fro more and more vigorously, and saw the glitter 
 of his two hundred eyes, which shone now yellow, now 
 red, now green, as they reflected the lights and colours of 
 flower or tree. The spines on his back stood up stiff and 
 sharp, and his heads wagged, and his jaws snapped as he 
 caught any unwary insects and reptiles which ventured too 
 near. But the lizard saw not the hidden insects, and they 
 chuckled with delight at having so far outwitted the dreaded 
 monster. But when would Rongo help them ? 
 
 As the last yellow rays of the setting sun slanted 
 through the trees, Rongo made the west wind blow across 
 the land, and a shower of leaves was blown down upon the 
 lizard and the sword-fish. The lizard blinked and wriggled 
 his heads and tails till he was free of the fallen leaves ; but 
 he did not know that underneath two were hidden the 
 brave yellow servitors of his enemy. Again and- again 
 blew the west wind, showering down numberless leaves and 
 twigs and loose bits of bark, with the insects hidden 
 beneath them. And the dust and little pieces of dry bark 
 
 K 
 
146 Maori Legends 
 
 were blown into the lizard's eyes till he could not see out 
 of them, and he was nothing but an angry, writhing mass 
 of heads and tails. At that moment the two yellow butter- 
 flies, who were close to the fish, uncurled their long 
 slender trunks, and gave a soft signal call. Thereat the 
 insects came quickly out of their hiding places, and all laid 
 hold of the sword-fish, and rising suddenly together, they 
 carried the captive away high up into the air. By the 
 time the astonished lizard had blinked his eyes free of dust, 
 the fish was high over his head ; and he was mad with rage, 
 and his eyes flashed fire, and his hot breath smoked as he 
 made the forest ring with the furious snapping of his jaws. 
 But what cared the triumphant little thieves ? They were 
 far out of reach. They flew off gaily with their prize, and 
 nearing the abode of Rongo and his followers, they sang : 
 
 In triumph dance before the fish, that we 
 Now lift on high and bear so carefully. 
 
 When the twinkling stars came out, and the pale-lit 
 torch of night gleamed through the forest tangle, Matarau, 
 the lizard-god, heard the song of the war-dance of Rongo 
 rising shrill and triumphant on the night air. He crept to 
 his cave in despair, and his people wailed. And the sword- 
 fish, even their young, brave Vaioev6, was sacrificed on the 
 altar of Rongo. This was the first human sacrifice on the 
 island. And the place where the victim was killed is still 
 called \'^aioev6. 
 
The Blind Goddess, and Tawhaki's 
 Wonderful Climb to the Heavens 
 
 LONG years ago there was a Maori chief who was as 
 noble-looking as he was brave and strong, and his 
 fame reached even unto the heavens. Waitiri, a 
 young goddess, heard of his great deeds, and as he was 
 named Kaitangata, man-eater, she thought he must indeed 
 be a mighty warrior, and she determined to be his wife. 
 He who could vanquish, and even eat men, the created of 
 the gods, was worthy of honour. Early one morning, 
 when the dew, the blessed tears of the far-off Rangi, the 
 heavens, yet lingered on the earth, Kaitangata was return- 
 ing through the vast forest which lay behind his fortified 
 pah. He and some of his men had been out during the 
 night spearing the kiwi, the hidden-bird of Tane, which in 
 the dark hours comes out of its burrows. Kaitangata had 
 separated from his companions to go down to a large pool 
 in the outskirts of the forest to look for wild fowl. He 
 moved quietly through the undergrowth ; a gentle air rustled 
 the reeds and spear-like leaves of the flax by the waterside, 
 so his cautious footsteps did not disturb the birds. Some 
 
148 Maori Legends 
 
 noble white-pines grew on the edge of the swampy ground, 
 and there, close beneath one of the trees, Kaitangata 
 wondered to see a maiden standing. " She is beautiful as 
 the white crane in the morning light," thought Kaitangata. 
 The first rays of the sun fell on her shining limbs and her 
 graceful figure, supple as a sapling of the forest. The light 
 heightened the brilliancy of her dark eyes. What was she 
 doing there ? He stopped to watch her. An eager expec- 
 tancy was on her smiling face, and in the tip-toe poise of 
 her bare foot playing with the wet bending grasses. As the 
 sunshine grew rapidly brighter, the waters of the pool 
 flashed back on her a thousand sparkling rays, and rainbow 
 lights gleamed on the dew-drops gemming the bushes 
 around her. The yellow sun-rays shone on her tawny 
 hair and bright face. Light everywhere, flooding her with 
 glory. Was she a daughter of the Morning — a goddess 
 from the sky ? Would she pass away swiftly, as the sun- 
 rays pass from the long stalks of the breeze-stirred grasses 
 at her feet ? Why was she in that vast forest alone ? 
 It was the young goddess Waitiri. She noticed the 
 noise made by Kaitangata as he stepped forward impulsively 
 the better to gaze at her. She looked up, and saw him 
 standing in the shadow, spear in hand. She noted his 
 grand limbs, his strong figure, straight, as his mighty spear, 
 his finely tattooed face and form, and his gaze, keen as the 
 wild hawk's. Surely he was the far-famed Kaitangata, the 
 man-eater, handsome and grand as she had pictured him, 
 and her heart burned with the wish to win his love — mortal 
 though he was. 
 
 Suddenly Kaitangata, with long strides, brushed through 
 the scrub and reeds around the pool towards the maiden. 
 
The Blind Goddess 149 
 
 He approached near to her, and then stood silent, leaning 
 on his tali spear. Waitiri spoke not, but, raising her eyes 
 to him, pointed proudly to some object lying at her feet. 
 Kaitangata looked down, and there, on a big leaf, lay a 
 human heart, red blood slowly dripping from it on the 
 verdure beneath. The astonished chief knew not what 
 words to speak. He looked first at the maiden, standing 
 there in all her young and living beauty, and then at the 
 heart of the unknown victim out of which the warm life- 
 blood still oozed. What did it mean ? A mute question 
 of appeal and wonder filled his eyes. At last the maiden 
 said : 
 
 " I bring thee an offering worthy of thee, O Kaitangata, 
 thou great man-eater ! " 
 
 Greater was the astonishment of Kaitangata at these 
 words. After a pause he replied' indignantly, "I am no 
 man-eater. Who is it that brings me such a gift ? " 
 
 "Even I, the goddess Waitiri," said the maiden with an 
 expectant look at the man. " The fame of thy great deeds 
 in war reached unto the heavens, and I came down from 
 thence to see thee here on earth." 
 
 Kaitangata gazed in awe and wonder at the shining eyes 
 and upraised face of Waitiri, and leaning towards her he 
 said : "I am no man-eater O goddess, and I leave the 
 hearts of our enemies for the priestess of our tribe, that she 
 may make wise prophecies for the people. No life-blood 
 of any victim is needed to make me mighty. I stand strong 
 in my own strength. When thou returnest to the high 
 heavens, tell the gods there that so have I spoken." And 
 Kaitangata ceased ; he was amazed at his own daring in 
 thus addressing a daughter of the gods. 
 
150 Maori Legends 
 
 At first Waitiri was indignant at the refusal of her gift^ 
 and her cheek flushed red, and her glance of anger was 
 sharp with the fire of the immortals. But she admired the 
 boldness of this great warrior, whose looks quailed not 
 before her anger, and who was not awed by the knowledge 
 that she came from the heavens, and her soft bosom rose 
 and fell, and her pulses leapt beneath his gaze. She saw 
 with approval his head upheld in pride, and she said : 
 
 " Mighty and strong thou art, even as the giant tree in 
 the storm, and thy deeds are great as those of the olden 
 days when the gods walked among men. Therefore have 
 I left the high heavens to come to thee. I return not. I 
 have sought for and have found that which shall be mine." 
 And her words were sweet as the song of the Huia to 
 Kaitangata's ear, and the subtle charm of her bright mobile 
 face, the glorious beauty of this young goddess of the 
 morning, held him enthralled. Yet he said, " O Waitiri, 
 how can I, a mortal, take thee, a goddess, for my wife ? 
 Think not to break the old customs of our people, or evil 
 will befall. Thou art of the immortals. In this world all 
 is death. Ere many summers are seen, the white grass of 
 Tura (grey hair) is on our heads, and then comes silence 
 and death." 
 
 But Waitiri said, " It is in the power of none to make 
 me fear. I have sought for and have found that which 
 shall be mine. I have chosen." And stepping nearer she 
 held out her hand to the great chief. 
 
 He stood still, tempted, bewildered, but he took not her 
 hand, though the hot blood ran through his veins, hke fire 
 through the wind-swept bracken. 
 
 " I stand before thee, O child of the gods ! Many suns 
 
The Blind Goddess 151 
 
 must shine ere the seeds of earth grow and the crops ripen. 
 But the thoughts and the desires of man are planted, and 
 the crop at a breath is ripe. I must leave thee, O daughter 
 of the sunshine." And Kaitangata turned as though to 
 go. 
 
 Then with a loving glance and proud gesture, Waitiri 
 went close to him and said again in clear tones, " I have 
 chosen," and her breath was as the scent of the sweet 
 maukora (broom), and the light of her eyes as the sunshine 
 in deep pools. And on his strong hand, which grasped 
 the spear, she laid hers and stood waiting. At her touch 
 the chief forgot that she was a goddess, forgot all save the 
 strong desire to hold her fast, and clasping her with rough, 
 sudden passion, said : 
 
 " Come, O maiden, for my heart leaps to thee, as the 
 wild sea to the shore. Thou earnest with the morn and 
 shalt glorify my life even as the sun the earth. So hast 
 thou chosen ; so have I spoken." 
 
 Thus did the young goddess forget her heavenly 
 birth and woo and win a mortal, even Kaitangata, the great 
 warrior. And they went to Kaitangata's strong pah by the 
 sea, and the air rang with " Haere mai ! haere mai ! " the 
 welcomes of his braves, when he led the fair goddess 
 Waitiri as his wife to his carven whare (hut) beneath the 
 cabt)age palms. 
 
 For long years the two lived happily together. Waitiri 
 was a busy wife in times of peace, and followed her 
 husband on his expeditions in times of war, and delighted 
 in his victories. And they had two sons, and afterwards a 
 little daughter, of whom Waitiri was very proud. 
 
 Now when the time came for the baby to be baptized by 
 
152 Maori Legends 
 
 the tohunga (priest) with due ceremonies, Waitiri said to 
 her husband : 
 
 " As our child is a girl, it is the father's duty to dip her 
 in the sea, so that she may be well washed for the baptism. 
 Such is the right custom." 
 
 And Kaitangata said : " I will do so." 
 The day for the ceremony came ; part of the. end of the 
 dwelling was taken out, so that the child, being a chief's 
 daughter, should not pass out the same way that any one 
 else had done. When the mother gave the baby unto her 
 father's arms he said : " Alas ! she is not pretty nor sweet 
 and clean-looking as she ought to be. I will not take her 
 to dip her in the sea ; " and he turned away. 
 
 This grieved Waitiri much, for the priest waited by the 
 stream, and the kuniara-branch was gathered ready to dip 
 in the water and sprinkle the child. Kaitangata's refusal to 
 take the baby was a great reproach and disgrace. Waitiri 
 brooded over it and no longer cared to go amongst the 
 people, and took no pleasure in the life around her, but 
 became hard-hearted and cruel. Some of the neighbouring 
 tribes had cannibal feasts when, after a fight, they brought 
 back the bodies of the slain, and Waitiri longed to taste 
 human food so that she might induce her husband to do so. 
 She begged him to give her some, but he would not, and 
 said : "I am no man-eater." 
 
 One day Kaitangata went away some distance to fish, but 
 his wife stayed behind. Standing on the shore, she noticed 
 anotlier canoe not far from land with two of their enemies 
 in it. 
 
 " Now I can get some victims," said Waitiri to herself, 
 and she jumped into the sea with a net and a knife in her 
 
The Blind Goddess 153 
 
 hand, and by the help of her magic power she changed her 
 appearance and dived and came up close to the canoe. 
 
 One of the men, when he saw her suddenly appear, cried 
 out : " What art thou, a human being or a bird of the 
 sea ? " 
 
 And he tried to spear her, but Waitiri smote him with 
 her knife of shark's teeth, and his body fell into the sea. 
 Thus she did also to the other man, and then swam back 
 to land, dragging the net after her with the bodies of her 
 victims in it. 
 
 When her husband came home she said : "I have killed 
 two of our enemies. Come and offer a sacrifice to the gods, 
 and then eat some human flesh that you may be a still 
 mightier chief, and your fame greater on earth and in the 
 sky." 
 
 But Kaitangata was angry and would not, saying : " Have 
 I not said I am no man-eater ? " and she could not persuade 
 him to join her in the feast. Afterwards she made secretly 
 some fish-hooks out of the leg-bone of the slain, for she 
 knew they would catch many fish by their magic power, and 
 she gave them to her husband. This she did without saying 
 beforehand the necessary incantations or telling him from 
 what they were made. The next time he went out fishing 
 he took the hooks, and when he came home he said to his 
 wife : 
 
 " Those were good hooks you made for me. I have 
 caught many fish." 
 
 His wife said nothing, but she took some of the fish to 
 cook. And she afterwards ate some of the fish, and as 
 soon as she had eaten thereof she became blind. Then 
 great anguish filled her soul, and she sat long hours in 
 
154 Maori Legends 
 
 silence. One night when she slept a woman from the 
 spirit-land visited her, and said : 
 
 " You neglected the rites due to the gods before making 
 hooks from human bones. Therefore are you blind, O 
 Waitiri, after eating of the fish caught with them." 
 
 And Kaitangata pitied her not when he heard the cause 
 of her bhndness, and he turned from her in anger. When 
 he had gone out of hearing, Waitiri crept out of the hut, 
 and felt her way slowly along the track to the pool in the 
 forest where she had first seen her husband. There her 
 two sons were busy setting snares for wild fowl, and she 
 seated herself at the foot of the white pines and listened to 
 her boys' voices. It was evening ; the last rays of the sun 
 had faded behind the dark forest trees, and a rosy after- 
 glow lingered on the open sky beyond the pool. That too 
 passed, and a pale spectral mist rose from the waters. But 
 Waitiri knew nothing of the changeful colours on earth or 
 sky. She was alone in her darkness. She shuddered with 
 the chilliness of the damp night air, and drawing her mat 
 closer round her, lifted her sightless eyes to the heavens, 
 whence she had come a young goddess, and she moaned in 
 the bitterness of her soul. 
 
 " Mother, we are going home, will you not come ? " said 
 one of the boys. 
 
 " No, I come not," replied their mother. " I leave you 
 and return to the heavens. When your sister grows up, a 
 chief will take her as his wife, and one of her sons shall 
 come to the heavens to seek me there." 
 
 " Do not go away, mother," said her sons. " Stay with 
 us longer upon earth ; we will seek food for you and care 
 for you now you are blind " 
 
The Blind Goddess 1 5 5 
 
 But Waitiri replied : " I have no longer any pleasure 
 here. Your father is angry with me, and I see my children 
 no more ; my darkness is as the darkness of the starless 
 night that knows no dawn. The gods will help me." And 
 Waitiri pointed to the sky as she rose, and her long flax 
 mat fell round her in stately folds. And her boys looked 
 at her with awe, for as she stood there in the gathering 
 gloom, her tall figure shrouded in the spectral mists, she 
 looked to them like some sorceress of old. " Listen ! " she 
 said, in clear tones ; " listen to the words, even the last 
 words of Waitiri. Tell your father I go to the heavens 
 whence I came ! " Even as she spoke, a cloud came down 
 and hid her from their eyes. 
 
 Then the boys cried out : "Where art thou, O our 
 mother ? " 
 
 But the cloud rose, and floated higher and higher, carry- 
 ing Waitiri with it, and was lost in the fast darkening sky. 
 And the blackness of night fell on the white pines and the 
 pool. 
 
 When KaiCangata came home, no oven fire was hghted 
 to cook the evening meal. The boys and their sister, with 
 covered heads, were sitting in the corner of the hut sobbing, 
 and he saw not his wife. 
 
 " Where is your mother ? " he asked of the children. 
 
 With bitter tears they told their father what had hap- 
 pened. 
 
 And the great warrior was much troubled, and he thought 
 of the days when the young maiden goddess came down 
 from the sky for love of him, and when she was fair in his 
 sight. And he watched many moons for her return, but 
 she never came back. 
 
156 Maori Legends 
 
 And he called the girl Hema, or Child-of-my-sorrow. 
 And in his grief he took refuge in fighting, and his voice 
 was heard louder than ever in the war-chant before the 
 
 iight. 
 
 Arise ye bold, arise ! 
 Stem ye the flood ! 
 Shout loud the battle-cry. 
 All conquering, storm, or die. 
 
 Ere many summers had come and gone, he, leading his 
 warriors, was slain in the moment of victory. And his 
 bones were placed in a secret cave near his own village, 
 and his name remained great in the land. 
 
 When Hema his daughter had reached womanhood the 
 chief of a neighbouring tribe took her in marriage. One of 
 their younger sons was called Tawhaki. This boy was of 
 a superstitious, passionate nature, and he loved to listen 
 when the people recounted, with much laughter and gesti- 
 culation, their ancient tales of love and war. He was proud 
 of the great deeds which his grandfather Kaitangata had 
 performed, and his soul was stirred when he heard about 
 his grandmother, the beautiful young goddess who had come 
 to earth for love's sake, and after many years had returned 
 to the heavens, blind and in sorrow. And when they 
 repeated the last words of Waitiri, Tawhaki would say, with 
 flashing eye and eager tone, " Ye.s, when I am a man I will 
 go and seek my grandmother in the heavens." Tawhaki 
 grew up brave and of noble appearance, and his brothers 
 were jealous of him, for all the young maidens of the village 
 admired him so much that they would look at no one else 
 if he were near. The brothers determined to kill Tawhaki 
 so that he might be out of their way. They knew that he 
 
The Blind Goddess 157 
 
 usually bathed in a large pool in the wood at some distance 
 from his dwelling, and that he stayed there to do up his 
 long hair and stick in it the comb as became a future chief, 
 for clear as in a glass was his reflection in the still waters 
 of the pool. 
 
 One morning before the sun rose, they heard Tawhaki 
 singing in loud, clear tones : 
 
 O stars of morn, ye faint and die 
 When roseate breaks the eastern sky. 
 Rise up, bright sun, that I may see 
 The clear deep pool of Tawhaki. 
 
 Thus sung the young brave, and his brothers knew he 
 was going to his pool to bathe and they followed him. 
 When he was in the water they rushed upon him and 
 knocked him down, and they dragged him to the shore and 
 there left him for dead. They hid in some bushes to make 
 sure they had really killed him. Tawhaki did not move, so 
 they thought he must be dead, but to make quite sure one 
 of them called out, " O Tawhaki, where are you ? " But 
 only the swamp hen uttered its lonely cry, " Ke ! Ke ! " 
 Then another brother called loudly, " O Tawhaki, where are 
 you ? " But only the rail answered in mournful notes, 
 " Hu ! Hu ! " The last brother cried, " O Tawhaki, where 
 are you ? " But all was silent, and Tawhaki lay motionless 
 where they had placed him. So they thought he was surely 
 quite dead, and they hastened back to the village and said 
 nothing about their brother. Now Tawhaki had only gone 
 a short distance on the way to the shades. He would not 
 listen to the voices which called him to the further spirit- 
 world, for if he had, he could never have returned through 
 
158 Maori Legends 
 
 the door of night and of silence. He lingered for a short 
 time on the border land of the shades, and then his spirit 
 returned to his body, and he heard the last call of his 
 brothers to him, but he answered not. When they had 
 gone away Tawhaki arose and went far out to sea in his 
 canoe, and slept a deep refreshing sleep whilst it drifted on 
 the waves. He awakened strong and full of vigour, and he 
 went back to the village, and his brothers were astonished 
 and frightened to see him alive again. Then Tawhaki told 
 the people what his brothers had done, and asked his rela- 
 tives to join him in avenging his wrongs as was the custom. 
 But they were so slow in preparing to do so, that Tawhaki 
 was indignant, and in order to show them that he had power 
 beyond theirs, he said, " I shall go to the heavens where 
 my grandmother has gone. There will I revenge myself 
 upon some of our ancestors for what my brothers have 
 done to me. Then you will all know that I can tread with 
 impunity on our ancestors, whom you hold sacred." 
 
 So, though his mother entreated him. not to go, he would 
 not listen to her, but departed thence. Tawhaki's younger 
 brother Karihi had not joined with the others in the attack 
 on Tawhaki, and he called out, " I will come with you, 
 Tawhaki," and he followed him. After travelling far over 
 a long stretch of rising ground, they came to a range of 
 mountains running northward. A solitary peak, snow-clad 
 and shining, reached high into the clear sky, and the rising 
 sun gilded it with unearthly glory. 
 
 " That is the way to the heavens," cried Tawhaki, " let 
 us go up." 
 
 And Tawhaki repeated the sacred incantations, so that 
 no harm might befall them, and began the great climb 
 
The Blind Goddess 159 
 
 to the heavens. They went rapidly over the rough ground 
 of strewn boulders and thorny creepers, crossing deep 
 gullies, till they came to the foot of the mountain. Here 
 long stretches of bracken, high as their heads, covered the 
 first part of the ascent. Pushing through these, scram- 
 bling up steep rock faces, they reached the welcome shade 
 of birch woods, through which brawled the blue glacier 
 stream, leaping here and there in sparkling cascades towards 
 the valley below. On, on they went, over flower-gemmed 
 slopes, over grassy shoulders and rough rock walls. The 
 full sun of noon beat on them. With parched throats and 
 tired limbs they toiled up steep beds of loose, backward- 
 sliding stones. The hours sped on, and still they climbed, 
 and low sank the sun ere the eternal snows were reached. 
 Far and wide gleamed the shining glacier-fields. " On, on 
 to the heavens," cried Tawhaki. And with strength and 
 vigour renewed by the cold, clear air of the heights, they 
 went over the slippery ice and the deep blue fissures that 
 yawned at their feet, and laboured up the stiowy steeps. 
 When the gorgeous colours of the setting sun draped the 
 mountains in glory, they reached at last the summit of the 
 peak that touched the sky. And as they stepped from the 
 very top into the first heavens, Tawhaki cried out, " Ka 
 pai ! " (very good !). 
 
 There, near the entrance, they found their grandmother 
 Waitiri. Alas ! she was blind and miserable as she had 
 been on earth, and, as she sat outside her dwelling, she 
 muttered and grumbled to herself. She devoured any 
 human being who came near, but none had passed her way 
 of late. When the brothers saw her she was counting, 
 over and over again, ten baskets of taro roots which had 
 
I 60 Maori Legends 
 
 been placed in a row before her. She was no longer a 
 beautiful goddess, and Tawhaki felt disappointed, seeing 
 her count her baskets so greedily. Every time she did so 
 Tawhaki, or his brother, stealthily took away one. They 
 did this till there was only one basket left, and Waitiri 
 became very angry and groped about to catch the thief, 
 calling out : 
 
 " Who is meddling with my food ? Aud ! Aue ! (alas !) 
 I cannot tell, for I am blind." 
 
 Then Tawhaki pitied her, and he smote her on one eye, 
 and Karihi smote her on the other, both singing these 
 words : 
 
 Bright spark of heaven, in bitter pain, 
 Return into your eyes again. 
 
 Thereupon her sight was restored and she could see clearly. 
 And she knew her grandsons, and said : 
 
 " I will harm ye not, for you have restored the spark of 
 heavenly light to my eyes." 
 
 Then Tawhaki said, " We will stay awhile with you, for 
 I want to see my ancestors up here." 
 
 And the brothers tidied her dwelling for her, for it was 
 strewn with the bones of her victims. 
 
 And Tawhaki asked, " Who brings you your food ? " 
 
 And she replied, " I get some myself. I seize any 
 persons who come near to me. But other food is brought 
 to me by our ancestors who live in the heavens." 
 
 " Which way do they come ? " asked Tawhaki. 
 
 Waitiri pointed out the way, and the brothers went some 
 distance along it, but saw no one. They returned to 
 Waitiri, and she said : 
 
The Blind Goddess i6i 
 
 " It is late ; you had better lie down and sleep." 
 
 But they did not trust her ; they were afraid she might 
 not keep her promise, and that she would kill them in the 
 night. So, before they lay down, they, went to the sea- 
 shore, and got some small, oval- shaped, white shells, and 
 put one on each closed eye, so that, though their eyes 
 should be shut, they would look in the dim light as if they 
 were open and shining. In the night-time, as they had 
 expected, their grandmother repented of her promise not to 
 harm them, and she went to see if they were asleep. 
 Seeing the white gleam of the shells, she thought they 
 were not, and was afraid to touch them. 
 
 In the morning, Tawhaki heard some people shouting 
 and splashing in a stream close to the hut, and he said to 
 his grandmother, " Who are those people ? " 
 
 And she replied, " They are your ancestors, who have 
 brought me some food. Do not meddle with them, or they 
 will kill 3'ou. They have long finger-nails, with which 
 they fight." 
 
 Tawhaki repeated incantations and hid himself. 
 
 When his ancestors went into the hut, they said to 
 Waitiri, " Who has been here ? Some one has made your 
 dwelling tidy and clean ; you could not do it so well." 
 
 And she answered, ' ' Keep silent, and I will tell you all 
 about it." 
 
 So they squatted down, and warmed themselves by the 
 fire. When Tawhaki saw that they had drawn in their 
 long finger-nails, he rushed out suddenly upon them, and 
 drove them out of the hut. And they ran down to the 
 shore ; and Tawhaki pursued them, and rained mighty 
 blows on them to revenge himself for the way his brothers 
 
1 62 Maori Legends 
 
 had ill-used him on earth. And they were afraid, and ran 
 into the sea, for the fierce light of Tawhaki's eyes was as 
 the scathing lightning, and the sound of his footsteps as 
 the thunder-roll. And Tawhaki stamped with rage on the 
 floor of the heavens, so that it cracked, and let the mighty 
 waters through. Thus was a flood caused upon the earth, and 
 multitudes were drowned, and Tawhaki's revenge was great. 
 Now, the fame of Tawhaki's noble looks and of his 
 revenge on his ancestors reached Hapai, a young goddess 
 dwelling in the highest heavens. So she descended at night 
 to see Tawhaki, the renowned and handsome mortal who 
 had climbed unaided to the first heavens. And he found 
 favour in her sight. And at night, when the dark shadows 
 of the god Kuo fell around, Hapai came down and visited 
 Tawhaki, but she always departed before the first rays of 
 dawn. Tawhaki knew not who this maiden was, but 
 he loved her with a great love. One early morning she 
 told him she was a goddess, and his great love held her 
 and she stayed with him as his wife. But the gods were 
 angry at this, and when Hapai's child was born they took 
 both mother and child away to the highest heavens. As Hapai 
 was being carried away she cried to her husband : " Follow 
 me, O my husband ! Follow me and thy child 1 " 
 
 And as Tawhaki hearkened, her voice became faint in the 
 far distance, and he was full of despair at her loss. And he 
 went to his grandmother and said : " My wife has been 
 taken to the furthest heavens by the gods. Thither would 
 I go. Tell me the way." 
 
 And Waitiri replied : " The way is with me." And she 
 showed him the thread of a spider, one end of which was 
 fastened to her neck and the other thread stretched up 
 
The Blind Goddess 163 
 
 into the heavens. " Climb up this thread," said Waitiri, 
 "draw up your feet as you climb aloft and repeat sacred 
 incantations to the gods. But, above all, look not back, or 
 the fierce winds will beat you down, and Hind, the goddess 
 of death, will devour you." 
 
 So spoke Waitiri, but Tawhaki laughed and said : " I 
 fear not." 
 
 Now, Karihi in his eagerness sprang up on to the spider's 
 thread before his brother, but as he did not know the right 
 words to repeat, the winds beat so iiercely on him that he 
 fell down, even at the feet of Waitiri, who killed him. 
 
 And Tawhaki grieved for his brother, but he thought he 
 heard his wife Hapai calling him upwards, and he delayed 
 not but sprang on to the spider's thread. And the fierce 
 winds beat upon him in vain ; his heart and limbs were 
 strong in his love for Hapai, to whom he was climbing. 
 Her voice ever called him on and on as slowly, toilfuUy he 
 mounted. And the filmy clouds swept past him, and the 
 winds blew, and the frail thread swayed to and fro, but 
 nought prevailed against Tawhaki, for his courage failed not 
 and he looked not back. 
 
 On his way Tawhaki met Tuna, the god of the eels, and 
 he said : " Salutations to you, O Tuna. Where are you 
 going ? " 
 
 And Tuna replied : " I am going down below, for there 
 is so little water here ; all is hard and dry." 
 
 "I have cracked the floor of the first heavens and let the 
 water flood the earth," said Tawhaki. 
 
 " I will go to the earth, then," said Tuna, and he de- 
 scended to the earth,, and he and his offspring, the eels, 
 lived ever afterwards in the creeks and rivers thereof. 
 
164 Maori Legends 
 
 And Tawhaki climbed on, and the fierce winds blew and 
 the frail spider's thread swayed to and fro, but his courage 
 failed not, and he looked not back. 
 
 And he climbed to the second heavens, but he rested 
 not there ; the voice of Hapai still called him upwards. 
 Tawhaki held on with greater and greater difficulty as the 
 winds beat roughly about him. How hard it was to grip 
 the slender thread firmly ; what if it should break and he 
 fall into the depths below ! His head was giddy at the 
 thought. Ah ! if he could only have a foothold even for a 
 single beat of time ! His soul was filled with awe at the 
 vastness of space in which he hung. Endless space above 
 and around him ! How far was he off anything solid for 
 foot or eye to rest upon ? He seemed to have been climb- 
 ing, climbing for endless ages. 
 
 And Tawhaki cried : ' ' Au-e ! au-6 ! " (ah, me !). He 
 could only see the gleaming thread for such a little way 
 up, and then it disappeared in the immensity of the sky. 
 Did the frail shining line really bridge over the unknown 
 distance to the highest heavens ? His eyes were tired with 
 gazing into nothingness, his limbs ached with the continuous 
 strain. 
 
 How far he had journeyed from the world beneath! 
 Could it be seen even as a dark speck through the filmy 
 clouds below ? He dared think no more. Above was 
 below, below above, to the man hanging there in space, 
 alone. 
 
 Then through his dazed brain the last words of his 
 grandmother dimly echoed : " Sing the incantations, and, 
 above all, look not back." And the great love which he 
 bore his wife filled him with renewed strength, and Tawhaki 
 
The Blind Goddess 165 
 
 made the vast space ring with his incantations. And 
 though the dark clouds closed in and shut him oif from 
 everything but their gloom, and the fierce winds blew, and 
 the frail thread swayed to and fro, Tawhaki's courage 
 failed not, and he looked not back. He climbed up to the 
 third heavens, on, on through the dense, rolling clouds, and 
 then around him at last was the clear night-sky with its 
 countless brilliant stars. On the right hand and on the 
 left towered the shining groups, and above, around, afar, the 
 star-points clustered numberless. And Tawhaki's soul 
 thrilled with their never-ending glory. 
 
 Ah ! There were some he had known upon earth. Taki, 
 the guiding star ; he had often been guided by it on long 
 journeys ; and the fish-hook of Maui, shining like an old 
 friend. There, too, were the Little-eyes (the Pleiades), and 
 their merry twinkle put joy into his heart. A great calm 
 was in the heavens, and the thread shone steadily, a line of 
 fire right up into the great starlit heights. And the voices 
 of the stars sang, " Up ! Up, Tawhaki ! " And he looked 
 not back, but, with hot heart, up, up he went to the fourth, 
 and fifth, and on even to the tenth, which is the highest 
 heavens, where dwell the gods. And there Tawhaki 
 entered into the light of Rehua, the lord of kindness, one 
 of the most powerful and ancient of the gods, who disperses 
 gloom and sorrow from the minds of men. And the 
 wonderful climb of Tawhaki to the highest heavens was 
 accomplished. And Tawhaki said, " Ka-pai, Ka-pai." (It 
 is good. It is good). 
 
 The highest heaven was full of brightness and beauty. 
 Tawhaki disguised himself so that he should not be known 
 as the noble-looking mortal, Tawhaki ; and he assumed the 
 
1 66 Maori Legends 
 
 appearance of an old and ugly being. And he journeyed 
 far in this land of beautiful flowering forests, and shining 
 hills and streams, seeking his wife and child. After some 
 some time he saw some young men cutting down a tree for 
 a canoe. On seeing him they called out, " Here is a 
 strange looking being ! He will make a fine slave for us," 
 and they called out to Tawhaki : 
 
 *' Come and carry these axes to our dwelling for us." 
 
 Now, for a great chief to be taken for a slave, and to be 
 told to carry things like a slave was a great disgrace. But 
 for the love he bore his wife, Tawhaki laughed in his heart, 
 and kept silence, and, taking up the axe, he followed them. 
 After a while Tawhaki said : 
 
 " These are mighty tools, and heavy. I am an old man ; 
 go on quickly ; - 1 will follow slowly." 
 
 As soon as the men were out of sight, Tawhaki returned 
 to where the tree-trunk lay, and rapidly shaped and finished 
 the canoe. Then . he went on his way after the men, and 
 soon came to the village where they dwelt. It was evening, 
 ^nd the people were playing games, and sitting under the 
 trees talking. And there, a little apart from the rest, sat 
 Hapai, his beloved, and her child played beside her. 
 .Tawhaki's heart jumped with fierce joy, and he went 
 towards his wife, but she knew him not, for he was old 
 and ill to see. Tawhaki went closer to her, and was going 
 to sit down beside her and speak, but the people cried out, 
 " Who are you that dare to approach Hapai ; she is of the 
 gods, and is tapu" (sacred). But Tawhaki replied, not to 
 their words, and sat down at a short distance from her. He 
 dared not address her because of the people, and Hapai 
 kept her face turned away from him,, for her thoughts were 
 
The Blind Goddess 167 
 
 not with the stranger, but at her home, and with her hus- 
 band, from whom she had been snatched. And she was 
 sad ; and she rose and went into hei* dwelling, taking the 
 child with her. 
 
 The next day the young men again ordered Tawhaki to 
 carry the axes. And the great chief again laughed in his 
 heart, and was silent. When they reached the place, the 
 men were astonished to see the canoe cut out and finished ; 
 and they ran back to the village to tell the wonderful news. 
 Tawhaki stayed behind, and changed himself back into the 
 noble-looking warrior of earth ; and he fastened up his hair 
 with his comb, and adorned it with red feathers, and robed 
 himself in the rare scarlet feather-mat of rank. Then, with 
 his spear in his hand, Tawhaki was once more the mighty 
 chief as of old. 
 
 And Tawhaki went back to the village. He saw Hapai 
 sitting sad and lonely as before, save for her little child 
 playing near. He ran swiftly towards her, and she, 
 lifting up her eyes at the sound of his mighty steps, saw 
 that it was her husband. She rushed into his arms with a 
 soft cry of joy, and the two held sweet talk together. The 
 people wondered who the strange chief was who dared thus 
 to salute the tapued (sacred) Hapai. Then she told them 
 her tale, and they gave loud shouts of welcome and delight 
 when they heard of Tawhaki's wonderful climb to the 
 highest heavens. And they said : 
 
 " Stay with us Tawhaki, and with thy wife and child, for 
 thou hast done great deeds, and a daughter of the gods is 
 thy wife." 
 
 And Tawhaki stayed in the highest heavens and became 
 a god. And he had power to go swiftly to and fro on 
 
i68 
 
 Maori Legends 
 
 spiders' threads between the sky and the earth, in order 
 that he might teach mortals many wise things. But the 
 effulgence of Tawhaki's body became so great, that he had 
 to put on a garment of dried bark, wherewith to hide it 
 from the eyes of men. One night when Tawhaki did not 
 put on this garment till he reached the top of the high 
 mountains of the earth, a man hiding there watched him, 
 and told what he had seen the great Tawhaki do. So the 
 people ever afterwards worshipped him as a god. 
 
 And when he moves through the heavens, wonderful 
 lightning-flashes rift the clouds, and mighty thunder-claps 
 roll through the sky. And the people say, " There goes 
 the great Tawhaki." 
 
Notes 
 
 "PAR^ AND HUTU.' 
 
 Tapu. — " The Maori word tapu literally implies sacred, and the 
 laying on of the tapu is one of the most sacred duties of a Tohunga; or 
 priest. Property left in uninhabited spots, a house in which any one 
 has died, a betrothed girl, the head of a chief are tapu, not to be 
 touched. Should a tapu be broken, the offender is punished by the 
 atua.god or spirit, inflicting some disease or malady on liim.'' (Angas, 
 « New Zealand.") 
 
 In " Old New Zealand " Judge Manning remarks : " The worst part 
 of the punishment of an offence against the law of tapu was imaginary. 
 I have seen an instance when the offender, though an involuntary one, 
 was killed stone dead in six hours by what was no doubt the effect of 
 his own terrified imagination, but what all the natives believed to be 
 the work of the terrible avenger of the tapu. Some of the forms of 
 tapu are not to be played with ; of this kind was the tapu of those 
 who handled the dead ; this tapu was, in fact, the uncleanness of the 
 old Jewish law. The person who came under this form of tapu was 
 cut off from all contact with any person or thing. He could not even 
 touch food. Food was put on the ground, and he would sit or kneel 
 down and gnaw it in the best way he could. If fed by another person, 
 it must be done without the tapued individual being touched ; and the 
 feeder was subject to many severe restrictions." 
 
 The food for chief mourners was not allowed to be cooked by slaves, 
 but only by relatives ; and part of the food thuS cooked was set apart 
 for the dead. (Pollock, " Manners and Customs of the New 
 Zealanders.") By the lawof muru — z>., authorised plunder and revenge 
 — if a man killed his own slave it was his own affair ; if he killed a 
 man of another tribe, and asserted it was in revenge" for some injury 
 either recent or traditional, it was a meritorious action. (Judge 
 Manning, ^' Old New Zealand.") 
 
170 Maori Legends 
 
 When travelling in the interior of the North island of New Zealand, 
 I saw an interesting instance of tapu. There had been several con- 
 secutive deaths in a native village from some fever or epidemic, which 
 was attributed to the presence of some evil spirit in the place. The 
 chief had therefore declared " tapu " everything in the village, and all 
 the crops belonging to the tribe. No whar^ (hut) was to be lived in ; 
 no food was to be eaten. The inhabitants were thus obliged to leave 
 all their belongings, and move elsewhere, until such time as the evil 
 spirit, being supposed to have left, the chief should remove the tapu, 
 and give leave for the tribe to return. The untouched patches of 
 kumara, the bushes and trees laden with ripe ungathered fruit, the 
 silent empty dwellings, with fishing tackle and other implements 
 fastened outside, the deserted meeting-house, on which the carved 
 heads with their shell-eyes and hanging tongues grinned hideously — 
 all formed a strange picture of the power of a chief to tapu a whole 
 village. 
 
 The Pard, or raised house on posts in which the food of a chief is 
 kept, is considered sacred. It is built north and south, so that the 
 spirits of the dead may not pass over it when going to the Reinga 
 (Hades). If there are accidental marks of red ochre on anything, 
 they are believed to have been left by the spirits in passing. 
 
 The Rev. Ellis, in " Trip Round Hawaii," p. 205, says r " The spirits 
 of the departed gather at the west before starting for the realm of 
 Milu. There they made a circle, joining hands with those who had 
 gone before, and danced the eternal round." 
 
 In New Zealand the North Cape was supposed to be the starting- 
 point for souls going to the shades. But in Polynesia generally, the 
 spirits of the departed travel westward — toward the setting sun. 
 
 The knots which are sometimes found tied in long reeds, grass, or 
 the leaves of the flax. plant are said to show the road the spirits have 
 taken. ("Suggestions for a History of the Maori People," p. 18, by 
 Francis Dart Fenton, Chief Judge of the Native Lands Court, New 
 Zealand.) 
 
 The Tiki is a grotesque figure of greenstone worn as a neck orna- 
 ment. Tikis belonging to a family are much prized, and are looked 
 upon as heirlooms. This ornament is sometimes called the heitiki. 
 Hea, or Hei, in Polynesia, was the god of wisdom. (F. D. Fenton, 
 " Suggestions for a History of the Maori People," p. 16.) 
 
 The hair of an unmarried Maori girl was worn cut square over 
 the forehead. The tooth of a shark, or the albatross feather, worn in 
 the ear is a sign of rank. Angas, in his book on New Zealand, says 
 that the wood carving on the Maori whards (huts) has considerable 
 
Notes 171 
 
 resemblance to that of Mexico or Hindostan. The doorways are also 
 Mexican in form. The carved box, in which the tail-feathers of the 
 Huia were kept, is called the Pard. These.feathers are only worn by 
 those of high rank. 
 
 The meaning of the name Pard is plume-of-the-head. 
 
 The tale of Par^ and Hutu belongs to the Ngaitaha tribe, New 
 Zealand. (White, " Ancient History of the Maoris.") 
 
 "RANG! AND PAPATUA {2 kVK-IXih-^VYiXi, the great mother), 
 OR THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH." 
 
 This creation myth is well known throughout Polynesia. For 
 various versions and chants see Sir G. Grey, " Polynesian Myth.'' and 
 White, "Ancient History of the Maoris." 
 
 Tand, or Kand, was worshipped in almost every island of the Pacific, 
 either as the masculine in nature, or as the god of light. The cult of 
 Tartd worship reached its glory in Hawaii ; there Tan^ became the 
 Light-giver, and was identified with the Creator in the ancient chants. 
 Ancient Hawaiian houses faced the east in honour of Tane. (Tregear 
 " M. Comp. Die. Tand.") Tani {Kan/), New Zealand, son of Rangi and 
 Papatua, tore his parents apart, and gave daylight to the world. 
 
 Sun identified with 7a«/.—^See notes ''Matariki. — K.C. 
 
 Creation of Trees. — Tan^, the god of light, is said to have created 
 trees, which at first resembled human beings, and were his children ; 
 therefore all groves were sacred to him. (See notes " Rata." — K.C.) 
 
 Trees Sacred. — In the Tongan Islands the natives believe that par- 
 ticular trees are inhabited by spirits, and they present offerings at the 
 foot of those trees. In New Zealand the Maoris sometimes deposit 
 the bones of the dead in the hollow parts of a tree, which then becomes 
 tapu (sacred). If the bones are afterwards removed, the spirit of the 
 dead is still said to haunt the tree, and if any one goes near or injures 
 the tree by accident or design, a heavy penalty is exacted for the so- 
 called insult to the Maori ancestor. (Judge Manning, " Old New Zea- 
 land.") Trees were also said to be the abode of Hakaturi, or wood- 
 spirits. 
 
 Sun and Moon, eyes of Rangr. (Dr. Shortland, " Maori Relig. and 
 Myth." ; White, "Ancient History of the Maoris," i. 7.) 
 
172 Maori Legends 
 
 "HUIA, OR THE TALE OF THE FISHING-NET." 
 
 Fairies. — The Maoris believe fairies to be in appearance like very 
 small and beautiful human beings. (Sir G. Grey, K.C.B.) 
 
 I am greatly indebted to Sir George Grey for the facts in this 
 version of the tale of the fishing-net, which were collected by him in 
 recent years from the Maoris, and given to me. — K.C. 
 
 In Samoan myth, the god Tangaloa is said to have caught his 
 chosen wife at the entrance of a cave by letting down a fishing-net 
 from the heavens. Their son Pali afterv\ards came to the earth and 
 gave the fishing-net to mankind. (Turner, " Samoa.") 
 
 "MAUI-POTIKI, OR MAUI." 
 "MAUI, THE HERCULES OF THE PACIFIC." 
 
 The tale of Maui, the South Sea Island Hercules and Prometheus, 
 is known throughout Polynesia. It has been well preserved, and with 
 but few variations, and that in spite of many dialects and changes of 
 religion. (Tregear, " Maori Comp. Die") (See also Sir G. Grey, " Poly- 
 nesian Myth. " ; Gill, " Myths and Songs of the Pacific " ; Gudgeon, 
 " History and Traditions of the Maori People " ; Elhs, " Polynesian 
 Researches" ; Fornander, " History of the Polynesian Race," ; F. D. 
 Fenton, "Suggestions for a History of the Origin and Migrations of 
 the Maori People" ; &c.) 
 
 For origin of morning and evening stars, and of Takiara, Foilow- 
 the-road, see White, " Ancient History of the Maori," p. go, vol. ii. 
 Takiara has sometimes been spoken of as the South Pole star ; but, 
 as there seems to be none in New Zealand, it is probably a bright 
 star, named after Taki, the brother of Maui, who died, and is said to 
 have been thrown up by Maui into the sky. 
 
 Winds Imprisoned. — Maui imprisoned all the winds in a cave, except 
 the west wind, which he could never catch. In Hawaii the demi-god, 
 Lalaamama, is said to have imprisoned the winds in a calabash. 
 
 An old Maori tradition states that the earth is supported on the 
 prostrate body of Maui, and that, when he changes his position, it 
 causes earthquakes ; the people, therefore, shout and beat the ground 
 when there is any underground disturbance. Another says that, when 
 Maui went to fetch fire from his grandfather, he left him so crippled 
 that he has lain in the under-world ever since, and when he moves the 
 earth quakes. 
 
Notes 173 
 
 The God lo. — Some traditions assert that lo was a supreme god, 
 the maker of the heavens and the earth, and of Tiki, the first man. 
 
 lo was also an involuntary twitching of any part of the human body, 
 and was an omen for good or evil. If any travellers were detained 
 and the priest or chief connected with those people felt a twitching in 
 the middle of the arm or leg, it was a sign of evil to the company ; if 
 the lo were at the extremity of the leg, it was a sign of storm, wind 
 and rain. If the lo were on the left side, under the arm or ear, it was 
 a sign of death. If on the upper lip, it was a sign some one was 
 slandering that person. (See God lo, and Chants, in White, " Ancient 
 History of the Maoris," ii. 2.) 
 
 In vol. iii. 23 of same work there is an interesting account of a tui, 
 or parson-bird, wnich had been taught to repeat the incantations at 
 the planting of the Kumara and taro. This was a saving of time for 
 the priests, and the bird was highly valued, and, being stolen by 
 another tribe, it became the cause of war. 
 
 The Sun-god Ra. — The sun was known as Ra amongst many of the 
 native tribes of New Zealand, and is also spoken of by that name in 
 some of their ancient chants and traditions. (Sir G. Grey, K.C.B., viva 
 voce.) 
 
 Worship of Ra. — See also White, "A History of the Maori" ; Ni- 
 wareka ; Tregear, "Maori Comp. Die. Ra''; and Notes Niwareka. — K.C. 
 
 In Samoa human sacrifices were offered to the Sun. According to 
 a Samoan myth, " The Child of the Sun," the boy was told by his 
 mother, a mortal, to noose his father the Sun with a Vine, and compel 
 him to give blessings to hiin and his bride. This the Child of the Sun 
 did, and he also obliged his father to shorten his daily course. 
 
 In one account of the capture of the sun by Maui it is said that the 
 ropes he made of flax were all burned by the sun's fierce heat, and it 
 was only when Maui made a rope of the hair of his sister Ina (light) 
 that he was able to noose him. 
 
 Judge Manning, author of " Old New Zealand," was " of opinion 
 that the Maori legend was told certainly one thousand years before 
 the first Maori landed in New Zealand." F. D. Fenton agrees with 
 him as to the first part of the tale, but thinks the later incidents were 
 added after the Maoris came to New Zealand. (See " Suggestions 
 for a Maori History," 70, by F. D. Fenton.) 
 
 Maui and the Death-Goddess. — See descriptions of Hin^-nui-tepo, or 
 Hind, the goddess of death. (White, " History of the Maori People," 
 ii. 106 ; and Sir George Grey, " Polynesian Mythology.") Hineata-uira 
 was the wife of Tand, the god of light. She fled from her father- 
 husband to the Pos, or Hades. Tane followed her there, and besought 
 
174 Maori Legends 
 
 her to return with him to her children on the earth, but she refused, 
 saying, " I will stay in the land of silence and darkness, and drag all 
 my offspring down here after me." And she was called Hind-nui- 
 tepo, the goddess of death, and thus came death to all mankind. 
 
 The New Zealand Pos, or Hades, was said to be divided into 
 different parts. The priest, or tohunga, was supposed to be able to call 
 back spirits from the Pos. An interesting account of this is given in 
 " Old New Zealand," by Judge Manning, ch. x. The following is a 
 quotation from an old Maori chant relating to the abode of the dead : 
 
 " In my night slumbers 
 My hands are uplifted 
 To the second Hades, 
 The home where Miru dwells, 
 Where the spirit ever stays 
 Far, far away from this world." 
 
 C. O. DAVIS, Native Interpreter. 
 
 "HINEMOA, OR THE BEAUTIFUL MAORI MAIDEN 
 OF ROTORUA." 
 
 Lake Rotorua, the scene of the legend of Hinemoa, is perhaps of 
 peculiar interest as being only a few miles from the site of the far- 
 famed pink and white terraces of the North island of New Zealand, 
 which were totally destroyed during the earthquake and eruption ot 
 Mount Tarawera in i885. (See E. W. Payton, " Round About New 
 Zealand.") Except in the rapid rise and fall of its waters. Lake 
 Rotorua was not affected by the eruption, and the interesting native 
 village, Ohinemutu, still exists upon iis shores. Visitors to the Island 
 of Mokoia can there hear the tale of Hinemoa, and bathe in the clear 
 hot spring which wells up amongst the rocks at the edge of the lake, 
 and is called " Hinemoa's bath." 
 
 The Swamp-bird, the Ngako (or common Utich), still lives on the 
 shores of Rotorua. In ancient times it was regarded as a sacred bird 
 by some sections of the Arawa natives, and was presented by the 
 priest as a propitiatory offering to the gods in the sacred enclosure 
 designated the " tuaa-hu," used for the purposes of divination. Inside 
 these enclosures were cairns of stones, stakes, and soil. There are 
 three of these cairns in the neighbourhood of Rotorua, where the gods 
 (Atua) used to be consulted, through the priests, on subjects of 
 importance to the tribe, such as warlike undertakings, &c. The 
 
Notes 175 
 
 people waited outside the enclosures, where the priests communicated 
 to them the words of the oracle. If these predictions were not fulfilled, 
 it was believed it was because the people themselves had transgressed 
 in some way the sacred law of the war-tapu. (C. O. Davis, Native 
 Interpreter, "Native 'Ends," New Zealand Herald, August 13, 1881.) 
 The Arawa natives are supposed to have arrived in their war-canoe in 
 New Zealand between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 
 
 The Flute. — The Maori flute was often made out of part of the leg- 
 bone of an enemy. The stealing of a bone from a burial ground for 
 this purpose was frequently the cause of war. 
 
 The trumpet was usually made of a large shell. (Angas, " New 
 Zealand." See also legend of Hinemoa, " Polynesian Myth.," Sir G. 
 Grey.) 
 
 "SINA, AND TUNA, THE EEL-GOD." 
 
 In Samoan and Tahitian, Tuna is the name for a fresh-water eel ; in 
 Marquesan for a worm or caterpillar ; in Mangarian for an eel. 
 
 Coco-nut. — In Upolu all the warriors were sprinkled with coco-nut 
 water before going to battle. When a coco-nut tree is set aside for 
 any special purpose, it is encircled with a band of coco-nut leaflets, so 
 that the nuts may not be used for any other purpose. This custom 
 arose from the coco-nut leaf being worn as a badge around the waists 
 of the warriors devoted to the service of the daughter of the god of 
 Polutu (Hades) who is said on one occasion to have led them into 
 battle herself, with her neck covered with coco-nut leaves, so that the 
 enemy might not know a woman was leading. She and her warriors 
 were victorious in the contest, and she thus saved the islanders from 
 an oppressive power which had till then obliged them to climb the 
 coco-nut palm, head downwards, and to pluck the nuts with their toes. 
 (Turner, " Samoa," 39 ; also 245, " Sina and the Eel.") 
 
 Under the ancient law of tapu in the Island of Mangaia, if a woman 
 ate of an eel, the punishment was death. 
 
 (See account of death of Tuna by Maui — White, " Ancient History 
 of the Maoris," ii. 84, and Wholer's Translation, " New Zealand Insti- 
 tute Papers.") 
 
 "THE TWINS." 
 
 In the Hervey Is., the Twins, Inseparable and her brother, were 
 said to be the double-star ^i. Scorpii, and their parents the two bright 
 
176 Maori Legends 
 
 stars V and X in the same constellation. (See " Song ol the Twins' 
 in Gill, " Myths and Songs of the Pacific") 
 
 The mother of the children, who was a great scold, was called 
 sarcastically " Tara-kord-kor^," or " Never-speak-at-all." 
 
 "TERET^, OR THE BOY IN THE MOON." 
 
 This legend belongs to a small island of the Samoan group called 
 Vaitupu. (Turner's " Samoa," 284.) 
 
 The prayer quoted is addressed to a household god called " The 
 Child of the Moon." 
 
 The household and village gods of Samoa had all some special 
 incarnation. The war-god Tongo was supposed to be incarnate in the 
 owl ; if an owl were found dead, all the natives mourned it, bruising 
 and cutting themselves with stones in order to give an ofJFering of 
 blood to Tongo, and bitterly bewailing the catastrophe. But the 
 god's power was not lessened by the death of an owl ; he was still 
 incarnate in all other owls. 
 
 Inanimate objects, such as smooth stones, bowls, &c., were some- 
 times treasured in temples, or looked upon as gods. There was one 
 stone which was considered the rain-god, and if there was too much 
 rain, it was carefully dried at a fire ; if too little rain, it was taken with 
 great ceremony and dipped into a stream by the priests, the people 
 accompanying him, and praying to their god. (Turner's " Samoa.") 
 
 Another island myth says a little boy called Tapirinoko cried for the 
 sun. He was taken to the sun but found it too hot. So then he cried 
 for the moon. His father took him to the moon and he stayed there. 
 
 " RATA'S REVENGE, A TALE OF THE FIRST 
 GREENSTONE AXE." 
 
 TAe Moa.—See Sir W. BuUer, 'New Zealand Birds" (Preface), 
 and White, "Ancient History of the Maori." 
 
 T^e lAzard-god. — See notes "Rongo and the Lizard -god." — K. C. 
 
 The Greenstone. — The Greenstone is a jade (pounamu), much valued 
 by the Maoris on account of its clear green colour and of its hardness. 
 It takes a keen edge and a high polish ; the tiki (or tikei), a grotesque 
 figure worn round the neck, and other ornaments, are made out of it. 
 The much prized mere, a small club used by the chiefs in hand-to- 
 hand fights, and as an emblem of rank, is cut out of the large and 
 most beautiful pieces of greenstone, and is often handed down as an 
 
Notes 177 
 
 heirloom for centuries. The late well-known war chief, Te-heu-heu^ 
 possessed one of the oldest and most beautiful meres. It was of a 
 pale green colour, softly shaded in wavy lines. When visiting him 
 at his village on Lake Taupo, he showed the club, with great pride, to 
 our party, and told how it had been buried with his father and many 
 of the tribe under a great landslip on the shores of the lake a few 
 years previously, adding that, after much searching and trouble, the 
 mere had been dug out because it was of such great value, and the 
 body of his father had been found beside it. The bones of the buried 
 chief were ultimately carefully scraped and placed in a secret cave. 
 
 Wood-spirits. — The Hakuturi, or wood-spirits, are in some tradi- 
 tions said to be the offspring of Tan^, the god of light and of the 
 forests. Thus, when Rata cut down the tree without offering the 
 required sacrifice to Tand, the spirit made the scattered chips fly 
 together, and the tree stood upright once more. (For invocation of 
 wood-spirits, see " Wohler's Translation New Zealand Institute 
 Papers," vii. 47 ; also White, "Ancient History of the Maoris," i. 61.) 
 
 Lizard or Snake, and Heron. — There is a similarity throughout 
 Polynesia in the native words for snake and lizard. (See Moko-moko, 
 Tregear, " M. Comp. Die") In a South Sea Island version of the tale 
 of Rata, the fight is said to have been between a sea-snake (mo'otai) 
 and a heron. No snakes exist in New Zealand, but the lizard is held 
 in great awe and dread. (See notes to " The Lizard-god.") 
 
 Ponaturi. — A class of goblins and fairies who were said to live in 
 the dark land beneath the waters by day, and to return to the shore 
 at night only, the sunlight being fatal to them. (Sir G. Grey, " Poly- 
 nesian Myth.") 
 
 Canoe. — In the Island of Mangaia the whole of the legend of Rata 
 has not been preserved, but the following relic is found in a canoe- 
 making song : 
 
 " Slash away, O Una, 
 With the wonderful axe from another land, 
 Even that which enabled Rata to fell the forest." 
 
 In Raratonga the chant with which the wood-fairies, who are there 
 said to have borne Rata's canoe to the sea, is still sung when the 
 natives are hauling heavy timber : 
 
 " A pathway for the canoe ! A pathway for the canoe ! 
 A path of sweet-scented flowers ! 
 The family of the birds of Kupolu 
 Honour thee, O Rata, above mortals." 
 
 Rata's canoe turned into stone is shown in the Island of Upolu. 
 (Tregear, " M. Comp. Die") 
 
 M 
 
178 Maori Legends 
 
 Tangi. — The Maori word tangi means a cry, a sound. A tangi is a 
 lamentation for the dead, at which many of the' principal persons 
 assembled, and rubbed noses in salutation by the half-hour together 
 till tears streamed down their faces, a melancholy wail being kept up 
 the while. The female mourners also cut themselves deeply with 
 obsidian knives whilst joining in the wail. A tangi was always an 
 excuse for a big feast. 
 
 Human bones painted red. Red was the sacred colour amongst the 
 Maoris. In Easter Island the large stone statues dedicated to the god 
 Rongo had red crowns. 
 
 Prayers to a Dead Chief. — It was a belief of the Maoris that the 
 dwellers in the Pos (Hades) could avenge injuries done to friends 
 whilst on the earth. An ancient chant addressed to a dead chief 
 is as follows 
 
 " Who will thy death avenge 
 In this our world ? 
 Thou who wert derided here ! 
 All ye will him avenge, 
 All ye in Hades." 
 
 The spirits of still-born children were said to exercise great power 
 in the unseen world, which they used for good or evil in respect to 
 living mortals. (C. O. Davis, Native Interpreter, New Zealand 
 Herald, September 3, 1881.) 
 
 Many variants of this tale are found throughout Polynesia. (See also 
 Sir G. Grey, " Polynesian Mythology " ; White, " Ancient History of 
 the Maoris " ; Gill, " Myths and Songs of the Pacific") 
 
 "THE MATARIKI (THE LITTLE EYES), OR THE 
 PLEIADES." 
 
 Throughout Polynesia the appearance of the Pleiades at sunset 
 above the horizon marks the commencement of the new year. In 
 Hawaiian songs Matariki (Makalii, the seven stars) is referred to as a 
 god. Matariki, the Pleiades, a constellation, the sign of the first 
 month. (Sir G. Grey, "Polynesian Mythology," 254.) 
 
 Stars, the Eyes of Great Chiefs. — The Maoris believe the seven 
 stars of the Pleiades to be the left eyes of great chiefs, who after death 
 were translated to the_ heavens. (Tregear, " Maori Comp. Die") When 
 a great Maori chief dies, his left eye becomes a star which can be 
 seen by his people. (Diffenbach, " Tra\'els in New Zealand.") 
 
Notes 179 
 
 Th^ Samoari name for the Pleiades Is Lii, or Matalii, eyes of the 
 chiefs. When the war chief Te-heu-heu was killed by the Taupo 
 landslip, the natives said that Jupiter first appeared in the sky, being 
 the left eye of their great chief There is also an allusion m one of 
 their chants, sung at the time, to the disturbance caused in the 
 motions of the heavenly bodies by Te-heu-heu's death. (Sir G. Grey, 
 viva vffce.) 
 
 Planets. — Many of the planets are known and named in the Samoan 
 Islands, and the natives can tell the hour of the night accurately by 
 the stars. Mars is called Matamea, or the star with the sear-leafed 
 face. Orion's belt is called Amonga, or the burden carried by a pole 
 across the shoulders. Venus, when the morning star was named 
 Tama-tanui, or the Eye of Tand. 
 
 The ancient Hawaiians knew and named five planets which they 
 call the wandering stars — viz., Kaawela, and Mercury ; Holoholopinau, 
 Mars ; Naholoho, Venus ; Ikaika, Jupiter ; and Makulu, Saturn. 
 (Fornander, " History of the Polynesian Race.") 
 
 Meteors in the Samoan group are called Fetu-ati-afi, or stars going 
 to fetch light. 
 
 In Hawaii the east is called "the great highway of Kand (Tand)," 
 or "the bright road of Kand" ; and the sun is called "the resting- 
 place of Kand." 
 
 The version here given of the Matariki (the little eyes), or the 
 Pleiades, is Mangaian. (See Tregear, " Maori Comp. Die." ; Gill, 
 " Myths and Songs of the Pacific") 
 
 In the traditions of the Moriori (natives inhabiting New Zealand 
 prior to the Maoris), Matariki was referred to as a heavenly person. 
 (Fornander, " Polynesian Race," ii. 393.) 
 
 "RUA AND TOKA." 
 
 Tangaroa was one of the principal deities of Polynesia. He was 
 also called the Lord of the Ocean. In New Zealand he is said to have 
 been the son of Rangi and Papetua, and, because he took part in the 
 separation of his parents, he was obliged to take refuge in the sea 
 from his brother Tawhiri, the god of the winds. (See Sir G. Grey, 
 " Polynesian Myth.") 
 
 In the S. Island, Tangaroa is said to have been seen in the misty 
 spray of the sea when the sun shone on it. 
 
 In Samoa, Tangaroa (Tagaloa) was the son ot Cloudless Heavens. 
 He was worshipped at the time answering to our month of May. No 
 
i8o Maori Legends 
 
 one was allowed to journey from their homes during this season, or 
 strangers to pass through the country. " No prayer to Tangaroa, no 
 blessing," was a well-known saying amongst the Samoans. Thunder 
 and lightning were his messengers. Loud thunder was the god's 
 answer to accepted prayer. 
 
 In Mangaia, Tangaroa shared the divinity of trees and fish with 
 Rongo, the god of agriculture. Fair-haired children were called " the 
 fair progeny of Tangaroa." Europeans were supposed to be children 
 of Tangaroa, and to have sprung from dazzling light. 
 
 In Hawaii, Tangaroa (Kanaloa) is the ruler of the world of darkness 
 (Pes). In New Zealand the west was called "the much-travelled 
 highway of Tangaroa, the pathway of death." 
 
 Parata and the Tides. — Parata, the sea monster, living in the depths 
 of the ocean beyond the horizon, causes the tides by his powerful 
 respiration. The term Parata is often used proverbially by the Maoris, 
 and if any one meets with sudden trouble, they say, " He has fallen 
 into the throat of Parata." In olden days, when Maoris were in 
 trouble, they sent this verbal message to their friends, " Friends, 
 listen ; we have fallen into the throat of Parata." These words were 
 enough to ensure prompt help. 
 
 One of the first canoes bringing the Maoris to New Zealand (pro- 
 bably about twelfth or thirteenth century) is said in old traditions to 
 have been partly drawn into the monster Parata's mouth, and only 
 rescued by a powerful charm used by the priests on board. 
 
 In the following lines, which commence one of the spells used 
 against their enemies by the Maoris, reference is made to Parata : 
 
 " Dreadful and big beetling precipices deep down in ocean depths, listen, obey ! 
 Be quick and lie scattered far off to the one side and the other ! 
 Parata, hear; blow thy irresistible overflowing tides to the shore." 
 
 Parata was referred to in the incantations and prayers used in 
 cannibal orgies, when the priests initiated the young men and boys 
 (chiefs' sons) in the partaking of the flesh of enemies killed in battle : 
 
 " This youth present eats man's flesh : 
 This youth present swallows Parata." 
 
 In these lines the word parata signifies foes, or great dangers. 
 
 The bow of the canoe was also called Parata. Near this was the 
 seat or stand of danger which was so much coveted by old warriors. 
 An old Maori song says : "To stand firmly on the bow of the canoe 
 is to be renowned." ( W. Colenso, " Ancient Tide Lore.") 
 
 See myth Tangaroa, Tregear, " Comparative Dictionary." 
 
Notes 1 8 1 
 
 " MARAMA (THE MOON-GOD) AND THE WOMAN 
 IN THE MOON. 
 
 This legend is told in slightly varying forms in New Zealand and 
 many of the Pacific Islands. (See also Gill, " Myths and Songs of the 
 Pacific"; White, "Ancient History of 'the Maoris," ii. 26; Tregear, 
 " Comp. Die. Marama.") 
 
 The worship of the moon is said to be far older than that of the 
 sun, and in all countries has had very great influence on the super- 
 stitious customs of the people. 
 
 The Samoan moon-goddess, Ina, is also known in the Polynesian 
 Islands as Sina, Hina, and Hind, and the meaning of all these names 
 is connected with the word light. 
 
 In New Zealand the woman carried off by the moon-god is some- 
 times called Rona, and the tree she takes up in her hand is the Ngaio 
 (myoponium latum). Nga-puhi tribe. 
 
 Amongst the Maoris the moon was studied before beginning any 
 important undertaking. The moon itself was supposed to represent a 
 pa (fortified place), therefore, before commencing to attack a pa, the 
 moon was particularly studied. If an eclipse happened to take place 
 the night before the attack was begun, it prognosticated the fall of the 
 pa. The relative positions of stars near to the moon also indicated 
 the succcess or otherwise of an undertaking. (White, " Ancient 
 History of the Maoris," v. 224.) 
 
 When the moon is full, the Maori-mother, wishing to make her 
 child's tooth grow, sings : 
 
 " Growing kerne!, grow. 
 Grow, that thou raayest arrive 
 To see the moon now full. 
 Come then, kernel, 
 Let the tooth of man 
 Be given to the rat, 
 And the rat's tooth 
 To the man." 
 
 Moon-spots.' — Some of the Pacific Islanders say that the spots on 
 the moon's face are Ina and her gathered heaps of leaves, her gourd 
 and the tree which she carried up with her. 
 
 The Moon the Abode of the Dead. — The natives o! the Tokelan 
 Islands believe that the moon is the abode of departed kings and 
 chiefs. 
 
 Phases oj the Moon. — The Maoris say that the moon-god is seized 
 
1 82 Maori Legends 
 
 by a fell disease soon after the middle of each month, to cure which it 
 is necessary to bathe in the living waters of the lake of Tan6, the god 
 of light (Waiora-a-Tan^). This lake, which is also called Roto-nui-a 
 Aewa, is said to be situated in the fourth heaven, counting upwards 
 from the earth. From this heaven human souls are sent to inhabit 
 the form of new-born babes. (White, "Ancient History of the 
 Maoris," i. 142 and app.) 
 
 The Tahitians have a favourite saying : " Fair as the moon ; clear 
 as the sun." 
 
 " NIWAREKA." 
 
 Grey Hairs oj Tura. — Tura is said to have been the first Maori who 
 had grey hairs, and who became feeble through long life. (Nga-i- 
 tahu tribe.) 
 
 Moko, or Tattoo. — The most ancient pattern of tattooing in New 
 Zealand was called Mokokuri ; the face was covered with short 
 parallel hnes running in all directions. When the wife of Mataora 
 fled to the Pes (Hades), he went after her, and was there tattooed by 
 his father-in-law, Uetonga, who thus taught him the present fashion 
 of tattooing, in which the face is covered with spirals. This Orpheus 
 of New Zealand succeeded in bringing back his Eurydice to the 
 upper world, and ,he then instructed the people in the moko, or tattoo, 
 of Mataora. 
 
 When the portrait of a chief is seen for the first time by some 
 distant tribe, the name of the tribe to which he belongs can be told 
 by the particular pattern of the tattooing. 
 
 The instrument used for tattooing was of the shape of a chisel of 
 bone, or some very hard wood ; it was made to cut deep into the flesh 
 by a smart tap applied to the top. Powdered charcoal was then let 
 into the wounds. The whole process was very painful. Youths 
 were tattooed as a sign of manhood when they were able to take part 
 in war. Women were only tattooed on the lips and chin. 
 
 Preserved Heads. — The trophies of war were slaves and preserved 
 heads. Sometimes the heads were restored to their surviving relatives 
 when peace was made, but this was not always the case. 
 
 Well-preserved tattooed heads were an article of commerce in the 
 early days, when trading vessels only visited New Zealand ; the 
 skippers often commissioned men to " pick up good 'eads " for them. 
 Many of those specimens found their way to European museums. 
 (Judge Manning, " Old New Zealand.") 
 
 Human Sacrifices. — The Heart. — See White, "Ancient History of 
 
Notes 183 
 
 the Maoris," i. 43. A man called Hauriki was jealous of a noble- 
 looking man called Hotua. So Hauriki killed Hotua. This was the 
 first murder amongst the Maoris. The friends of Hotua revenged his 
 death by attacking and killing Hauriki and his friends. After the 
 right incantations and prayers to the gods had been said, they 
 presented the heart of Hauriki to the high priest, and not until he had 
 eaten it could any of the warriors partake of food. They next killed 
 the prisoners they had taken in the fight, carefully saved their 
 blood, which they offered as a sacrifice to the gods, ahd then they 
 cooked and ate the bodies. Thus began cannibalism amongst the 
 Maoris. After the death of Hauriki, the heart of the first prisoner 
 taken in war was always presented to, and eaten by, the chief or high 
 priest. 
 
 See also Judge Manning, "Old New Zealand," 147: "Sacrifices 
 were often made to the war-demon, and I know of an instance in 
 which, when a tribe were surrounded by an overwhelming force of 
 their enemies, and had nothing but extermination, immediate and un- 
 relenting, before them, the war-chief cut out the heart of his own son 
 as an offering for victory, and then he and his tribe, with the fury of 
 despair and the courage of fanatics, rushed upon the foe, defeated 
 them with terrific slaughter, and the war-demon had much praise." 
 
 After a cannibal feast, the han or sacred-food was left upon the 
 ground as an offering to the god of war. The natives believed that 
 the atua, or god, absorbed the mana — that is, the virtue or essence 
 of the offerings, which were a cooked piece of the heart or liver of the 
 first man killed in battle, a lock of his hair, and a cooked kumara. 
 Sometimes, in a doubtful strife, the priest would hastily rip out the 
 heart of the first man slain, and, muttering incantations, wave it on 
 high to the god, to secure the success of the people. 
 
 Ntwareka and the Sun-god Ra. — In a Maori tradition concerning 
 Niwareka, great delight, it is said that when a party of warriors, who 
 had heard of Niwareka's fame, went to see her, she told them that 
 many of the tribe were away on the far plain, and that they had gone 
 to chant songs and offer sacrifices to the great god Ra. When asked 
 for what purpose, Niwareka replied, " To suppress ill-feeling amongst 
 the people, and give quiet to the land." 
 
 "RONGO AND THE LIZARD-GOD." 
 
 This legend is supposed to be allegorical, and represents the first 
 human sacrifice offered to Rongo on the island of Mangaia by a great 
 
184 Maori Legends 
 
 chief called Rangi. It is well known that fish was never offered on 
 the altar of that god. (Gill, " Myths and Songs of the Pacific," 290.) 
 
 When a human being was sacrificed at Samoa, the cry used was, 
 " Taumaa Kongo, toonika ! Kongo slay thy fish ! " In New Zealand, 
 Ika means fish generally ; the word also denotes a captive, a warrior 
 a victim. 
 
 Ika was formerly used to denote several beings and things of first 
 and greatest consequence and value. (W. Colenso, F.K.S., F.L.S., 
 " Tide-lore.") 
 
 The N. Island of New Zealand was called Te Ika-a-Maui, or the 
 fish brought up by Maui on his magic hook. The Milky Way is 
 called Ika, or Ikaroa, long fish, or Mangoroa, long shark. In Hawaii 
 it is called la, fish. 
 
 " The Fish of Tu," — i.e., human sacrifices, and the lizard-god. In 
 an ancient lament, sung in chorus over the illustrious dead by the 
 whole tribe (White, "Ancient History of the Maoris," iii. preface), 
 this allusion to a lizard-god is given, and to the slain— z>., "the fish 
 of Tu " : 
 
 " Turn ye, and look upwards, 
 The peak on Rangitoto — see, all distant and alone. 
 And know the lizard-god, the unknown one 
 Has now for ever left his home, and westward gone 
 On ocean's foaming white-crest wave. 
 ***** 
 
 In your presence lie the corpses, the slain, the fish of Tu (god of war)." 
 
 Matarau is the lizard-god of the Samoans. (See Gill, " Myths and 
 Songs of the Pacific") The word mata means eye ; mataia one keen 
 to see fish, to look out for fish. The Samoans regarded the monu- 
 ments of lizards in times of sickness and of war as good or bad omens. 
 Moo is Samoan for lizard ; mo'otai, sea-snake. The Hawaiian word 
 Moo denotes lizard, reptile. 
 
 In the Fijiian group a god called Naengi was represented with the 
 head-part of the body like a serpent, and the rest of rough stone. 
 (" Fiji and Fijians," Thomas Williams.) 
 
 Fornander, in " History of the Polynesian Race," says : " The 
 Hawaiian legends frequently refer to moo of an extraordinary size 
 living in caverns, amphibious in their nature, and which were the 
 terror of the people. As no very large lizards are found in the Poly- 
 nesian groups, it is evident that the tradition of these monsters must 
 have been handed down from times when the people lived in other 
 habitats, where such large reptiles, possibly alligators, abounded. 
 (See also C. O. Davis, Native Interpreter, " Maori Mementos.") A 
 
Notes 185 
 
 lizard-god of the Maoris is called Moko-moko. (See reference to 
 moko or moo, reptile, lizard, serpent — Tregear, " M. Comp. Die") 
 The Maoris are very superstitious concerning lizards. They believed 
 in many lizard-gods, all of which were supposed to be the the cause of 
 trouble and sickness to human beings by gnawing the vital parts. 
 
 " THE BLIND GODDESS, AND TAWHAKI'S CLIMB 
 TO THE HEAVENS." 
 
 This legend is found in New Zealand, and in many of the Pacific 
 islands. (See fragmentary variants. White, "Ancient History of the 
 Maoris," i. 56 to 67, and 95 to 130; also Tregear, " M. Comp. Die. 
 Tawhaki.") 
 
 Heart of a victim given as an offering. — See notes tale " Niwa- 
 rfika."— K. C. 
 
 Ceremonies of Baptism. — "The priest dips a green bough into a 
 calabash of water, sprinkles the child, at the same time reciting 
 prayers. The prayers differ according to the sex of the child." 
 (Diffenbach, " Travels in New Zealand," 28.) 
 
 Water was considered by the Maoris to be sacred to Tan^. 
 
 In Gudgeon's " History and Traditions of the Maori People," page 
 122, it is said that, soon after the birth of a child, ceremonies were 
 performed to take the tapu off the mother and the village, and to give 
 the child strength, and that both mother and child were sprinkled 
 with water from a kaimara branch which had been dipped in a brook. 
 After this the real baptism of the child took place. No one was 
 allowed to be present at this ceremony except the heads of the tribe 
 and the parents, who went with the priesf to a stream, all wearing as 
 clothing the maro only (an apron made of leaves). The priest went 
 into the water, and, taking the infant in his arms, he sprinkled it with 
 water with a kumara branch, whilst repeating incantations and 
 prayers. If the child were a boy, he was baptized to Tu, the god 
 of war, and that god was besought to make him a strong and 
 mighty warrior. If it were a girl, she was baptized to Hine-tei-wai-wa. 
 the goddess of the necessaries of life. The incantations used at 
 baptism varied slightly with the different tribes, but the ceremony was 
 the same. At the baptism a portion of food was set apart for the 
 atua, or gods, of which the Maoris believed the gods, being spirits, 
 consumed only the essence. 
 
 A part of the branch which had been used for the sprinkling was 
 afterwards carefully planted, and if it grew it was supposed to be a 
 
 N 
 
1 86 Maori Legends 
 
 good sign, for there was believed to be a mystical connection between 
 it and the life of the child. When such a branch became a tree it was 
 caUed a Kawa, and if it flourished, it was then said the child, if a boy, 
 would be a mighty warrior ; or, if a girl, a capable wife. These cere- 
 monies were long precedent to the introduction of Christianity. 
 
 Fish-hooks. — When it was known that fish-hooks had been made 
 out of the stolen bones of man, his tribe often avenged the insult by 
 making war upon the offenders. The human-bone hooks used by 
 Tawhaki brought evil consequences to his wife. Hooks made out of 
 an enemy's stolen leg-bone were supposed to be most lucky ones for 
 catching fish. " How the old man buried there bites ! " the fisher 
 would exclaim when having a good haul through using them. 
 
 The tenth or highest heaven, to which Tawhaki is said to have 
 climbed, is called the heaven of Rehua, the lord of kindness. (White, 
 A.H.M.I. 40.) Amongst the traditions of the Ngai-tahu tribe is given 
 this incantation as being sung by Tawhaki as he climbed the spider's 
 
 thread : 
 
 " Tawhaki climbs to the first heaven. 
 Climbs up Tawhaki to the second heaven. 
 Tawhaki goes on to the tenth heaven, 
 And arrives at the pleasant heaven 
 Where man is nourished." 
 
 Also the following statement regarding the god Rehua ; 
 
 " It was Rehua who dispersed sadness and gloom from the minds of 
 the weak as well as the strong. He was the lord of kindness. His 
 innumerable hosts reside in the heavens." 
 
 (" Ma Rehua e takiri te mata pouri o te tangate mate, me te tangata 
 ora. He ariki pai a Rehua toua mano tiui whaioio e noho mai ana i 
 runga i te rangi.") 
 
 " O Heaven, the soul is far above — 
 Above in all creation's space, 
 In light supreme, in blaze of day." 
 
 {" Mouri kei runga ; te mouri e Rangi. 
 Mouri ke pu kei waho 
 Kei te what ao, ke te ao marama.") 
 
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 equitable remuneration to authors and artists, and 
 beauty and durability of get up. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 FAIRY TALES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 
 
 WORKS BY HIS HONOUR JUDGE E. A. PARRY. 
 
 WORKS BY MRS. RADFORD. 
 
 WORKS ILLUSTRATED BY MISS WINIFRED SMITH. 
 
 WORKS BY OSCAR WILDE, MRS. LEIGHTON, ETC. 
 
 All works in the present list may be had post free from the 
 Publisher at the annexed prices, and are kept on sale by the leading 
 booksellers of the United Kingdom. 
 
"The Ideal Qift^Books of the Season." 
 - FAIRY TALES OF THE 
 
 BRITISH EMPIRE. 
 
 Collected and Edited by JOSEPH JACOBS. 
 Illustrated by J. D. BATTEN. 
 
 M 
 
 R. JACOBS' FAIRY TALES, which have been appear- 
 ing since 1890, have won immediate and widespread 
 acceptance. The choice of matter, the simplicity and 
 suitable character of the language of the text, the beauty, humour, 
 and charm of Mr. Batten's illustrations, and the large and 
 legible type, have commended the series alike to children and to 
 lovers of art ; whilst the prefaces and elaborate notes, parallels, 
 and references added by the- Editor, have made them indispens- 
 able to the increasingly large portion of the public interested in 
 the history and archaeology of popular fiction. 
 
 "Fairy Tales of the British Empire" are to be had in two 
 forms, at 3^. 6d. and at 6s. a volume. 
 
 In so far as Tales and Illustrations are concerned, the ^s. 6d. 
 Edition will be the same as the original 6s. one. But the Editor's 
 Prefaces, Notes, Parallels, and References are omitted. 
 
 ,A full list of the Series, a specimen of Mr. Batten's beautiful 
 Illustrations, and a very small selection from the numberless kindly 
 notices which the Press has bestowed upon the Series, will be 
 found on the following pages. 
 
Fairy Tales of the British Empire. 
 
 English Faity Tales. Complete Edition, xvi., 255 pages, 9 
 full-page Plates, and numerous Illustrations in the text. 
 Designed Cloth Cover, Uncut or Gilt Edges. 6s, 
 
 The same. Children's Edition, viii., 227 pages, 7 full-page 
 Plates, and numerous Illustrations in text. Cloth, Cut. 3s, 6d. 
 
 More Ens:lish Fairy Tales. Complete Edition, xvi., 243 pages, 
 8 full-page, and numerous Illustrations in text. Designed 
 Cloth Cover, Uncut or Gilt Edges. 6s. 
 
 The same. Children's Edition, viii., 214 pages, 7 full- 
 page Plates, and numerous Illustrations in text. Cloth, Cut. 
 3S. 6d. 
 
 Celtic Fairy Tales. Complete Edition, xvi., 274 pages, 8 full- 
 page Plates, numerous Illustrations in text. Designed Cloth 
 Cover, Uncut or Gilt Edges. 6s. 
 
 The same. Children's Edition, viii., 236 pages, 7 full-page 
 Plates and numerous Illustrations in text. Cloth, Cut. 3s. 6d. 
 
 More Celtic Fairy Tales. Complete Edition, xvi., 234 pages, 8 
 full- page Plates, numerous Illustrations in text. Designed 
 Cloth Cover, Uncut or Gilt Edges. 6s. 
 
 The same. Children's Edition, viii., 217 pages, 7 full-page 
 Plates, and numerous Illustrations in text. Cloth, Cut. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 Indian Fairy Tales. Complete Edition, xvi., 255 pages, 9 full- 
 page Plates, and numerous Illustrations in text. Designed 
 Cloth Cover, Uncut or Gilt Edges. 6s. 
 
 No Children's Edition of the "Indian Fairy Tales" 
 will be issued for the present. 
 
 N.B. — A few copies of the Japanese Vellum Issues, printed in 
 large 8vo, with double state of the plates, are still to be had of 
 Indian, More Celtic, and More English Fairy Tales. Prices may- 
 be learnt on application to the Publisher, The special issues of 
 English and Celtic Fairy Tales, entirely out of print, command a 
 heavy premium. 
 
Specimen of Mr. Batten's full-page Illustrations to " Fairy Tales 
 of the British Empire." 
 
 4 
 
Some iprcss IRotlces 
 
 OF 
 
 JACOBS' AND BATTEN'S FAIRY TALES. 
 
 English Fairy Tales. 
 
 Daily Graphic. — "As a collection of fairy tales to delight children of all 
 ages, ranks second to none." Globe. — "A delight alike to the young people 
 and their elders." England. — "A most delightful volume of fairytales." 
 Daily News. — "A more desirable child's book .... has not been seen for 
 many a day." Athenaum. — " From first to last, almost without exception, 
 these stories are delightful." E. S. Hartland. — "The most delightful 
 book of fairy tales, taking form and contents together, ever presented to 
 children." Miss Thackeray. — "^This delightful book." Review of Reviews. 
 — " Nothing could be more fascinating." 
 
 Celtic Fairy Tales. 
 
 Scotsman. — " One of the best books of stories ever put together. Free- 
 man's Journal. — "An admirable selection." Ariel. — "Delightful stories, 
 exquisite illustrations by John D. Batten, and learned notes." Daily 
 Telegraph. — " A stock of delightful little narratives." Daily Chronicle. — " A 
 charming volume skilfully illustrated." Pall Mall Budget. — "A perfectly 
 lovely book. And oh! the wonderful pictures inside." Liverpool Daily 
 Post. — " The best fairy book of the present season. " Oban Times. — " Many 
 a mother will bless Mr. Jacobs, and many a door will be open to him from 
 Land's End to John o' Groat's." 
 
 More English Fairy Tales. 
 
 Athenaum. — "Will become more popular with children than its prede- 
 cessor." Notes and Queries. — "Delightful and in every respect worthy of 
 its predecessor." Glasgow Herald. — " A more delightful collection of fairy 
 tales could hardly be wished for." Glasgow Evening News. — "The new 
 volume of ' English Fairy Tales ' is worthy of the one that went before, 
 and this is really saying a great deal." 
 
 More Celtic Fairy Tales. 
 
 Daily Chronicle. — "A bright exemplar of almost all a fairy-tale book 
 should be." Saturday Review.—" Delightful for reading and profitable for 
 comparison." Notes and Queries. — "A delightful companion into a land of 
 enchantment." Irish Daily Independent.—" Full of bold and beautiful illus- 
 trations." North British Daily Mail. — "The stories are admirable, and 
 nothing could be better in their way than the designs." News of the World. 
 — " Mr. Batten has a real genius for depicting fairy folk." 
 
 Indian Fairy Tales. 
 
 Dublin Daily Express. — " Unique and charming anthology." Daily News. 
 
 "Good for the schoolroom and the study." Star. — " Illustrated with a 
 
 charming freshness of fancy. " Gloucester Journal.— '' A book which is some- 
 thing more than a valuable addition to folk-lore ; a book for the student as 
 well as for the child." Scotsman.— " lAkAy to prove a perfect success." 
 Literary WoW^i.—" Admirably grouped, and very enjoyable." 
 
 5 
 
WORKS BY HIS HONOUR 
 JUDGE EDWARD ABBOTT PARRY. 
 
 Illustrated by ARCHIE MACGREGOR. 
 
 THE issue of Katawampus : its Treatment and Cure, in the 
 Christmas Season of 1895, revealed a writer for children 
 who, in originality, spontaneity, and fulness of humour, 
 as well as in sympathy with and knowledge of childhood, may be 
 compared, and not to his disadvantage, with Lewis Carroll, And, 
 as is the case with "Alice in Wonderland," an illustrator was 
 found whose sympathy with his author and capacity for rendering 
 his conceptions have won immediate and widespread recognition. 
 Judge Parry's second volume, Butter-Scotia, will, it is con- 
 fidently anticipated, rival its predecessor in popularity. A speci- 
 men of the illustrations will be found below, and a small selection 
 from the press notices overleaf. 
 KATAWAMPUS: its Treatment and Cure. Second Edition. 
 
 96 pages, Cloth. 3s. 6d. 
 BUTTBR'SCOTIA, or, a Cheap Trip to Fairy Land. 180 pages. 
 Map of Butter-Scotia, many full-page Plates and Illustrations 
 in the Text. Bound in specially designed Cloth Cover. 6s. 
 
 Got him this time 
 
 6 
 
KATA WAMPUS : Its Treatment and Cure. 
 
 By His Honour Judge E. A. PARRY. 
 
 - Illustrated by ARCHIE MACGREGOR, 
 Second Edition, Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 press iRotfces. 
 
 " One of the very best books of the season." — The World. 
 
 " A very delightful and original book." — Review of Reviews. 
 
 " The general topsy-turveydom of the adventures in goblin- 
 •land makes very good reading. The book is one of rare drollery, 
 and the verses and pictures are capital of their kind." 
 
 Saturday Review. 
 
 "We strongly advise both parents and children to read the 
 book." — Guardian. 
 
 "A book which will delight not only children but grown-up 
 people as well." — Lancet. 
 
 "A truly delightful little book Healthy, amusing to 
 
 children of , all ages, and extremely skilful is this little storj^ It 
 ranks high in the class of these rare works, and unless we are 
 mistaken it will live long. It is choke full of the most laudable 
 moral, and yet there is not a namby-pamby line in it from start to 
 finish. One word we would say for the illustrator — namely, that 
 his drawings are nearly worthy of the text, and that is high praise 
 indeed." — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 " A tale full of jinks and merriment. We are personally willing 
 to guarantee^ that his tale will be as popular in twelve months' 
 time as it is certain to be this Christmas." — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "The brightest, wittiest, and most logical fairy-tale we have 
 read for a long time." — Westminster Gazette. 
 
 "Its fun is of the sort that children revel in and 'grown-ups' 
 also relish, so spontaneous and irresistible is it." 
 
 Manchester Guardian. 
 
 " A delightful extravaganza of the ' Wonderland ' type, but by 
 no means a slavish imitation." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 " Since 'Alice in Wonderland ' there has not been a book more 
 calculated to become a favourite in the nursery." — Bady. 
 
 . 7 
 
THE BOOK OF WONDER VOYAGES. 
 
 Edited with Introduction and Notes by JOSEPH JACOBS. 
 Illustrated by J. D. BATTEN. 
 
 Square denly 8vo, sumptuously printed in large clear type on 
 specially manufactured paper, at the Ballantyne Press. With 
 Photogravure frontispiece, and many full-page illustrations 
 and designs in the text. Specially designed cloth cover, 6s. 
 
 Contents, — The Argonauts — The Voyage of Maelduin — The 
 Journeyings of Hasan of Bassorah to the Islands of Wak-Wak — 
 How Thorkill went to the Under World and Eric the Far- 
 Travelled to Paradise. 
 
 27iis the latest of the volumes in which Mr. Jacobs and Mr. 
 Batten have collaborated with such admirable results, will be 
 welcomed as heartily as its predecessors by the children of the 
 English-speaking world. A specimen of Mr. Batteris illustration 
 is appended. 
 
WORKS ILLUSTRATED BT MISS WINIFRED 
 SMITH^ Silver and Gold Medallist, South Kensington, 
 Winner of the Princess of Wales' Prize, etc. etc. 
 
 CHILDREN'S SINGING GAMES, with the Tunes 
 
 to which they are Sung. Collected and Edited by Alice 
 Bertha Gomme. Pictured in Black and White by Winifred 
 Smith. Two Series, each 3s. 6d. 
 
 Charming albums in small oblong 
 4to, printed on antique paper and 
 bound in specially designed cloth 
 cover, and serving equally for the nur- 
 sery, the schoolroom, and the drawing- 
 room. Mrs. Gomme, the first living 
 authority on English games, has care- 
 fully chosen the finest and most inter- 
 esting of the old traditional singing 
 games, has provided accurate text and 
 music, has given precise directions for 
 playing, and added notes pointing out 
 the historical interests of these survivals 
 of old world practices. The humour, 
 spirit, and grace of Miss Winifred 
 Smith's drawings may be sufficiently 
 gauged from the annexed specimens and 
 from the following press notices. 
 
 Some iprcse IRoticcs of " CbilOren's 
 Singing ©amcs." 
 
 Baby. — " A delightful gift for little boys 
 and girls. . . . Cannot fail to become quickly 
 popular." 
 
 Journal of Education. — " Most charmingly 
 illustrated." 
 
 Saturday Review . — "A truly fascinating 
 book. . . . It is hopeless to make a choice 
 which is best. The traditional rhymes and 
 music, so quaintly and prettily illustrated, 
 with moreover so much humour and go in 
 all the designs, are charming." 
 
 Scotsman. — " The pictures must please any. 
 body who can appreciate delicate humour." 
 
 Bookman.—" The designs are witty, pretty, 
 and effective." 
 
 Sylvia's Journal. — "The illustrations are 
 charming." 
 
Iprese mottcee ot " Cbilftren's Singing (Barnes." 
 
 Sketch. — "A picture book and a very charming one." 
 
 Birmingham Daily Post. — "The illustrations are remarkable for their 
 quaintness of invention, for their appreciation of the humour of children, 
 and for vigorous drawing. ' ' 
 
 Glasgow Herald. — " Winifred Smith has such a fine sense of humour that 
 we suspect she must be a Scotchwoman." 
 
 Manchester Guardian. — "The illustrations in old woodcut style are 
 excellent." 
 
 Westminster Gazette. — " The quaintest of illustrations." 
 
 Lady's Pictorial. — "A more delightful and useful addition to the literature 
 of the nursery it would be impossible to find." 
 
 Speaker, — " Should be in every nursery and school library." 
 
 New York Tribune. — " A quaintly and artistically decked out publica- 
 tion." 
 
 NURSERY SONGS AND RHYMES OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Pictured in Black and White by Winifred Smith. Small 
 4to. Printed on hand-made paper. In specially designed 
 cloth cover, 3s. 6d. 
 
Some ©tees flottces* 
 
 Literary PToj-W.— "Delightfully illustrated." 
 
 Athenaiim. — " Very cleverly drawn and humorous designs." 
 
 Manchester Guardian. — " All the designs are very apt and suited to the 
 comprehension of a child." 
 
 Scotsman. — " The designs are full of grace and fun, and give the book an 
 artistic value not common in nursery literature." 
 
 Globe. — "The drawings are distinctly amusing and sure to delight 
 children." 
 
 Star. — " Really a beautiful book. . . Winifred Smith has revelled into 
 old rhymes, and young" and old alike will in their turn revel in the results 
 of her artistic revelry." 
 
 Pall Mall Gazette. — "No book of nursery rhymes has charmed us so 
 much." 
 
 Magazine of Art. — " Quite a good book of its kind." 
 
 Woman. — "Miss Smith's drawings are now celebrated and are indeed 
 very beautiful, decorative, and full of naive humour." 
 
 WORKS Br MRS. £RNEST RADFORD. 
 
 SONGS FOR SOMEBODY. Verses by Dollie 
 
 Radford. Pictures by Gertrude Bradley. Square 
 crown 8vo. Six plates printed in colour by Edmund 
 Evans, and 36 designs in monochrome. Coloured cover 
 by Louis Davis. ' 3s. 6d. 
 
 GOOD NIGHT. Verses by Dollie Radford. 
 
 Designs by Louis Davis. Forty pages entirely designed by 
 the artist and pulled on the finest and the thickest cartridge 
 paper. Boards and canvas back with label, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Some press mottces. 
 
 Ddily Chronicle.—'' As far as we know no one else sings quite like Mrs. 
 Radford ; hers is a bird's note — thin, high, with a sweet thrill in it, and the 
 thrill is a home thrill, a nest thrilh " 
 
 Commonwealth. — " We have read with pure enjoyment Mrs. Radford's 
 slight but charming cycle of rhymes." 
 
 Star. — "A tender spirit of motherhood inspires Mrs. Radford's simple 
 little songs." 
 
 Review of Reviews. — " Very charming poems for children not unworthy 
 evep to be mentioned in the same breath with Stevenson's ' Child's Garden 
 of Verses.'" 
 
 Athenaum, — " ' Good Night ' is one of the daintiest little books we have 
 seen for years. The verses are graceful and pretty, and the illustrations 
 excellent. It will please both young and old. " 
 
 Literary World. — " Charming little songs of childhood." 
 
 New Age, — " Mrs. Radford is closely in touch with a child's mind, and 
 her ideal child is a nice, soft, loving little creature whom we all want to 
 caress in our arms. " 
 
 /4j^jsf.— "Since Blake died never has a book been produced which can 
 so truly be described as a labour of love to the artist as ' Good Night.' " 
 
some ©rcss 1FloticC6 — (^Continued). 
 
 Manchester Guardian. — "Louis Davis's illustrations are full of tender 
 feeling and truth." 
 
 speaker. — " Louis Davis's designs are charming." 
 
 Scotsman.— "The poems are set in pictorial designs of a tenderness and 
 truth of feeling that fit them well." 
 
 Birmingham Daily Gazette. — " • Good Night ' is one of those quaint, old- 
 world productions that are a delight to handle." 
 
 Ecclesiastical Gazette.—" ' Songs for Somebody ' is full of delightfully 
 artistic designs and coloured pictures printed in the best style of, Mr. 
 Edmund Evans." 
 
 MEDIAEVAL LEGENDS. Being a Gift-Book to 
 
 the Children of England, of Five Old- World Tales from 
 
 France and Germany. Demy 8vo. Designed cloth cover, 
 
 3S. 6d. 
 
 Contents. — The Mysterious History of Melusina — The Story of 
 
 ^sop — The Rhyme of the Seven Swabians — The Sweet and 
 
 Touching Tale of Fleur and Blanchefleur — The Wanderings of 
 
 Duke Ernest. 
 
 Some press notices. 
 
 Saturday Review. — " A capital selection of famous legends." 
 Times. — " There can be no question as to the value of this gift." 
 Morning Post. — " Full of romantic incident, of perilous adventure by land 
 and sea." 
 Guardian. — " This delightful volume. . . . In all respects admirable." 
 World. — " An elegant and tasteful volume." 
 
 THE HAPPY PRINCE, and other Tales. By Oscar 
 
 Wilde. ii6 pages, small 4to. Beautifully printed in old- 
 faced type, on cream-laid paper, with wide margins. Bound 
 in Japanese vellum cover, printed in red and black. With 
 three full-page Plates by Walter Crane, and eleven 
 Vignettes by Jacomb Hood. Second Edition. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Some press Notices. 
 
 Christian Leader. — "Beautiful exceedingly; charmingly devised— exqui- 
 sitely told." 
 
 Universal Review. — " Heartily recommended." 
 
 Atheneeum. — " Mr. Wilde possesses the gift of writing fairy tales in a rare 
 degree." 
 
 Dublin Evening Mail. — " A beautiful book in every sense." 
 
 Glasgow Herald, — " It is difficult to speak too highly of these tales."