NUNC COCNOSCO EX PARTE
THOMAS J. BATA LIBRARY TRENT UNIVERSITY
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TONGAN MYTHS AND
TALES
COMPILED BY
EDWARD WINSLOW GIFFORD
Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 8
BAYARD DOMINICK EXPEDITION Publication No. 8
HONOLULU, HAWAII
Published by the Museum 1924.
KRAUS REPRINT CO.
New York 1971
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Edward Winslow Gilford served as a member of the Bishop Museum staff for
THE YEAR 1920-1921, SPENDING NINE MONTHS OF
this time in Tonga. In July, 1921, he re¬ sumed his duties as Associate Curator of the Museum of Anthropology of the Uni¬ versity of California.
Reprinted with the permission of the original publisher
KRAUS REPRINT CO.
A U.S. Division of Kraus-Thomson Organization Limited
Printed in U.S.A.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction . 5
Tongan mythology and the origin of the Tongans . 8
Fison’s Tales from Old Fiji . 11
Cosmogony . 14
Exploits of the Maui . 21
Tales about the Tui Tonga . 25
The first Tui Tonga . 25
The first Tui Tonga (a variant) . 38
The tenth Tui Tonga, Momo, and the chief Loau . 43
The eleventh Tui Tonga, Tuitatui, and his half brother Fasiapule . 43
Tuitatui, his sister, and his sons . 46
The origin of the name Tuitatui . 47
Tuitatui and the maiden . 47
Tuitatui and the turtle Sangone . 49
Tuitatui, Lekapai and Sangone (a variant) . 52
The thirteenth Tui Tonga, the dummy of tou wood . 55
The twentieth Tui Tonga, Tatafueikimeimua . 55
Nganatatafu brings to bonito to Haano . 55
Nganatatafu brings the bonito to Haano (a variant) . 58
The twenty-third Tui Tonga, Takalaua, and Vae . 60
Takalaua and his wife Ulukihelupe (Vae) . 62
The avenging of the murder of Takalaua., . 65
The twenty-ninth Tui Tonga, Uluakimata I. or Telea . 67
How the island of Fonoifua became the property of Tui Afitu . 68
Tales about the Tui Kanokupolu . 69
Tuutanga and Kinikinilau . 69
Tuutanga and Kinikinilau (a variant) . 70
Tales about Loau and the origin of kava . 71
The origin of kava and sugar cane . 71
The origin of kava (a variant) . 72
The origin of kava (a variant) . 74
The origin of kava (a variant) . 74
Stories of fish gods . 76
Tui Tofua . 77
Tui Tofua (a variant) . 78
Tui Tofua (a variant) . 79
Tui Tofua and Vehivehi . 81
Why the Moungaone people need not fear sharks . 81
Why the Moungaone people need not fear sharks (a variant) . 82
The origin of the fish god Seketoa . 83
How the ava fish was brought to Nomuka . 84
How the ava fish was brought to Nomuka (a variant) . 84
The origin of the ava fish at Nomuka . 85
The ava fish of Nomuka — Tanoa island (a variant) . 86
Tales about the origin of geographic features . 88
The origin of islands . 88
The origin of Tanoa island . 88
The origin of Nukunamu island . 89
The origin of Kao island . 89
The origin of Kao island (a variant) . 90
The origin of Lotuma island . 90
The origin of features of Tongatabu lagoon . 90
The consequence : The chant of Metevae . 91
The consequence (a variant) . . . 95
The origin of the artificial mound Kafoa . 96
The origin of the rocks Teuhie and Kaloafu . 98
227092
The origin of a rock near Tungua Island .
The origin of the reef Matahina . -- .
The origin of the reef Matahina (a variant) .
The origin of the springs Veefefe, Eua island .
The end of Tuutaki, the warrior of Eua .
The origin of islets of the Haapai group .
Origin of heavenly bodies .
The origin of the Magellan clouds .
The origin of the Magellan clouds (a variant) .
The origin of the Magellan clouds (a variant) .
The origin of the evening star .
The son of the sun stories . - .
Sisimatailaa, the son of the sun .
Sisimatailaa, the son of the sun (a variant) .
Sisimatailaa, the son of the sun (a variant) .
Sisimatailaa, the son of the sun (a variant) .
Sisimatailaa, the son of the sun at Felemea (a variant)
Tokelaumoetonga, the son of the sun at Kelefesia .
The stories about Muni .
Muni-of-the-torn-eye .
Pungalotohoa and Munimatamahae .
Muni-of-the-torn-eye: the song of Veehala .
The chant of Muni-of-the-torn-eye .
The adventures of Longopoa and Kae .
Kae and Longopoa .
The voyage of Kae .
Stories about visits to Pulotu, the land of the departed .
The origin of the deity Fehuluni .
The boat that went to Pulotu .
Faimalie : The Chant of Mohulamu .
A trip to Pulotu .
Hikuleo’s house .
Lupeolovalu .
The beautiful girls of Tongoleleka .
How two kinds of yams' were brought from Samoa .
Stories of Hina and Sinilau .
Hina and the origin of the coconut .
Hina and the origin of the coconut (a variant) .
Hina and the origin of the coconut (a variant) .
Hina and her husband .
Hina and the origin of sharks .
Hina and her brother .
Hina and Sinilau .
Sinilau at the isle of sweet blossoms .
Sinilau and the albinos .
Sinilau and the origin of western Polynesian kings .
Tales about Pasikole, the Samoan .
Pasikole : the song of Tangatailoa .
Pasikole (a variant) . .
Miscellaneous stories .
Tangaloa and the carpenters .
The girl, the Samoan, and the cat .
Tuavavau, the virgin of Utungake .
The origin of the stone burial vault .
The origin of the cemetery of Tukia .
Animal tales .
The octopus and the rat .
The octopus and the rat (a variant) .
The ant and the rat .
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Tongan Myths and Tales
Compiled by Edward Winslow Gifford
INTRODUCTION
The printing press has undoubtedly done more to preserve the extant Tongan myths and legends than has oral transmission. Fortunately both the \'V esleyan Methodist and the Roman Catholic churches in Tonga adopted the broad policy of publishing in their Tongan language magazines many stories from raconteurs now long dead. A number of tales presented in the following pages are drawn from these sources.
A series of stories was recorded at first hand from Tongan narrators during my nine months sojourn in Tonga in 1920-1921. For many of them the published versions, rather than the tales of some elder relative, were the relater’s source of information. For such tales I have discarded the oral account and ha-ve picscnted only a translation of the printed version.
European folk tales have also been published in Tongan foi the delecta¬ tion of the Tongan public. As a result I not infrequently found myself recording some well known story, such as Cinderella or Dick Whitting¬ ton’s Cat, under a thin disguise of Polynesian names. There were also hybrid tales in which the leading roles were played by princes, princesses, and premiers, or again by cats and ferocious mammals.
Through the diligent efforts of the late Reverend Father Francis Xavier Reiter of the Catholic Church and of the Reverend E. E. V. Collocott of the Methodist Church, a number of Tongan myths have been presented in the anthropological periodicals Anthropos and Folk-Lore. Myths thus recorded are not reproduced in this paper, except insofar as I secured variants or the original Tongan text.
Modern Tongans have a distinct national pride and feel that they con¬ stitute a nation superior to their neighbors. I am inclined to believe that this national spirit is a survival from ancient times, which has been fanned into fresh vigor under the astute guidance of that remarkable ruler, King George I. Tupou. An undoubted manifestation of this patriotic feeling is the interest taken by many Tongans in the past of their nation. As a result of this widespread interest the expedition met with hearty cooperation from Tongans as well as from Europeans.
The interest of the educated Tongan in the past of his country is well illustrated by the following Tongan verse written by the late chief Tafolo, a scion of the Tui Tonga’s house.
6
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Fakamolemole a houeiki mo ngaohi haa, He oku mamao mo faingataa ae faanga;
Koe tolutalu nae tuu holo he ngahi halanga
Kuo fuu puli pea alu mo hono tou- tangata.
Ka ne ongo ene vao fihi mo tevavaa,
Kae fai pe ha vavaku mo sia faala Kia Touiafutuna, koe uluaki maka Nae fai mei ai hotau kamataanga.
Kehe koe talatupua ia mo fananga,
Oku utuutu mei ai sii kau faa.
Pardon me, noble chiefs and lineages,
For the searching place is now far and difficult;
The old plantations' once scattered on the roads
Have now quite disappeared and gone with them their generation,
But although they now lie in very thick bush,
Search will be made at any rate
For Touiafutuna, the first rock
Where our origin began.
Though these are only traditions and fables,
’Tis here the inquirers get their facts.
My thanks are due to Her Majesty the Queen of Tonga, to the Prince Consort William Tungi, to Messrs. W. H. Murley, J. P. Maatu, E. E. V. Collocott, and to Mrs. Rachel Tonga for generously allowing me to use unpublished tales which they had recorded. The Methodist and Catholic churches, through their representatives, the Rev. R. C. G. Page, Rev. E. E. V. Collocott and His Lordship Bishop Joseph Felix Blanc courteously placed the old manuscripts in their archives at my dis¬ posal. For the patient and painstaking work of Miss Beatrice Shirley Baker in translating hundreds of pages of Tongan text I am especially grateful. To others I am indebted for similar work, to wit; Mr. Alphonse J. Gaffney, Mr. Solomon Ata, Mrs. May Laurence, Mr. E. E. V. Collo¬ cott, Mr. W. H. Murley, Mr. William Finau, Miss Georgina Sutherland and Miss Lena Hettig. Acknowledgment of the help of various Tongans who related stories is made in connection with their contributions.
Two excellent dictionaries of the Tongan language offer a choice in or¬ thography. One is the compilation of the Catholic Missionaries of the Marist Brotherhood,1 and the other is the compilation of the Reverend Shirley W. Baker.2 I have, with one exception, elected to follow the or¬ thography set forth on pages i and 2 of the Dictionnaire Toga-Francais because it conforms more closely to the orthography of other Polynesian dialects. In the present paper sixteen symbols in all are used, of which five represent vowels and eleven consonants. The vowels are a, e, i, 0, and u and the consonants are f, h, k, l, m, n, ng, p, s, t, and v. Ng is used in this paper in place of the g employed in both the Catholic dic¬ tionary and Baker’s dictionary.
Baker’s dictionary differs from the Catholic dictionary in using both b and p instead of p alone ; and ^ and j instead of s alone. Consequently, in
1 Missionnaires Marist'es, Dictionnaire Toga-Francais et Francais-Toga-Anglais. Paris, Ch, Chadenat, 1890.
2 Baker, Shirley W., An English and Tongan Vocabulary, also a Tongan and English Vocabulary, with a list of idiomatic phrases; and Tongan Grammar, Auckland, N. Z., 1897.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
7
following the Catholic dictionary I have consistently written p for b and s for j in order to secure uniformity throughout the paper. To this extent I have altered certain of the printed Tongan texts that I have quoted. In the word Tongatabu, however, I have followed the customary spelling, as the b is too well established in general use to make the change to Tongatapu desirable.
8
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
TONGAN MYTHOLOGY AND THE ORIGIN OF THE TONGANS
Though it is premature for a detailed comparison of Tongan mythology with other Polynesian mythologies, the writer has attempted a rough ap¬ proximation of the affinities of Tongan mythology to the mythologies of the great areas of the Pacific as presented in Roland B. Dixon’s “Oceanic Mythology.”3
Having Tongan mythology quite thoroughly in mind, Dixon’s book on Oceanic mythology was read and a check mark entered in the margin wher¬ ever an episode appeared to have a Tongan parallel. If error was made it was on the side of entering too many check marks, for undoubtedly some of the episodes checked as having Tongan parallels, in truth have not, as the resemblance in certain instances was rather remote. Upon completing the book it was found that there were sixty-seven check marks in the Poly¬ nesian part, forty-eight in the Indonesian, twenty-seven in the Micronesian, ten in the Melanesian, and six in the Australian. These figures undoubt¬ edly represent in a rough fashion the affinities of Tongan mythology. It was to be expected that resemblances to Polynesia would be numerous, and undoubtedly when the other members of the Bayard Dominick Expedition have published their reports the number of resemblances will be materially increased.
The number of parallels between Indonesia and Tonga are astonishingly large, being more than four times the number that are found between Tonga and Melanesia. Many of the resemblances between Tonga and Indonesia are so specific that it is hard to believe they are merely accidental. In fact, the high number of resemblances, forty-eight, would preclude accident as the sole factor, especially when contrasted with only ten resemblances between Tonga and adjacent Melanesia.
The paucity of the Micronesian material undoubtedly accounts for the fact that only twenty-seven resemblances were found between it and Tongan material. On the other hand, allowing for the scarcity of Micronesian material, this is a fairly high figure and would seem to indi¬ cate that the connection between Tonga and Indonesia is by way of Micronesia rather than Melanesia.
The Tongan myths and tales in themselves throw a little light on the geographic aspect of Tongan origins.
In looking over the field of Tongan mythology, one is struck by the frequency of derivation of plants and fishes from Samoa, from the sky, and from Pulotu (the land of the gods), and by the absence of allusions to Fiji as a place from which useful plants and animals have been derived.
3 Dixon, Roland B., The mythology of all races: Oceanic, vol. 9, Boston, 1916.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
9
It seems to me that this very absence of mention of Fiji is negative evidence of the relatively late contact with Fiji. On the other hand, the references to Samoa indicate an early contact with that group, which in the Maui tale, even furnishes the fishhook with which the island of Tongatabu is hauled to the surface. It seems to me, too, that these facts have a bearing on the theory of the probable route of migration of the Tongans ; or to state more nearly what is in my mind, that they give us some clue as to the direction from which the Tongans came; probably not by wholesale migration, but by gradual infiltration. The negative evidence of the myths and tales makes it clear that it was not Fiji, and that Fiji did not lie in their route of travel to their present habitat. The positive evidence of the myths and tales, on the other hand, makes it very clear that Samoa lay in the line of travel, and that undoubtedly when heaven and Pulotu are re¬ ferred to, it is lands beyond Samoa which are meant.
The points just adduced from the preceding myths and tales, therefore, would seem to support the theory that the Tongans have entered their present territory by way of Micronesia, rather than by way of Melanesia. The idea of the Polynesians entering their island homes by way of Micro¬ nesia rather than Melanesia, was proclaimed as early as 1799 in the Voyage of the Duff, where on pages 85 and 86 of the Preliminary Discourse, the following is set forth :
“It must not, however, be omitted, that people of the same race with the natives of the groups [Tahiti, Tonga, Marquesas] we have described, are dispersed over the Ladrone and Caroline islands, which lie north of the Equator, and extend from the 130th to the 175th degree of east longitude; and they have reached from the latter group, or from some intermediate places not yet discovered, to the Sandwich islands, which are situated between 1 55 0 and 160° west longitude, and 19° and 220 north latitude. Crossing the Equator, probably from the more eastern of the Caroline islands, they have spread over the clusters of which we have given an account, and
from the Friendly islands' have reached the large country of New Zealand, .
. ; while from Otaheite, or some of the islands south-east of it, they have
made a surprising stretch to the solitary spot called Easter Island. The language and customs of this widely scattered nation have been traced to the coasts' of the great Asiatic islands, Luzon and Borneo, and from thence to the peninsula of Malacca, the Aurea Chersonesus, beyond which the geographical knowledge of the ancients can hardly be said to have extended. The astonishing migrations of this race seem to have originated, like those of the northern Europeans, from designs of conquest. These they carried into effect on the coasts of the grand Asiatic archi¬ pelago, driving back the black natives of those very extensive islands to the interior mountains which they still occupy as a distinct and independent people. But the migrations of the fairer race from the Philippine islands to the Carolines, and farther eastward, have almost to a certainty been occasioned by stress of weather, which drove their canoes from island to island, and from one group to another, that had not before been peopled. Frequent incidents of this nature have been ascertained, and some of them have been specified in our account of the islands connected with Otaheite. The population of islands so widely scattered, cannot, for the greater part, be otherwise explained, either upon the ground of established fact, or upon that of probable conjecture.”
io Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Certain features of Tongan mythology appear to bear on the internal history of the country.
The localization of the Maui adventures in the Vavau and Tongatabu groups, to the exclusion of the Haapai group, is probably more than mere accident. Moreover the Maui tale appears to be a composite of two separate local cycles, one of which makes Koloa in the Vavau group their residence, the other of which makes Eua in the Tongatabu group their residence. The fact should not be overlooked in this connection that Mariner states that Tangaloa was the god who drew the Tonga islands from the deep to the surface of the waters.4
In Haapai the place of Maui is largely filled by the hero Muni, whose exploits somewhat resemble Maui’s. Peculiar also to Haapai are the stories of the Son of the Sun.
The mythological position of Haapai is partly paralleled in place names. Haapai and Tongatabu have 425 names in common, Vavau and Tongatabu 446, but Vavau and Haapai only 168. Both the mythological and ethno- geographical evidence point to an aloofness of Haapai anciently, particularly in respect to Vavau.
Tongatabu is pre-eminent both ethnogeographically and mythologically. In an ethnogeographic sense it was the center from which influence flowed both to Haapai and Vavau, judging by the hundreds of place names it holds in common with these two groups. Mythologically, it is the islands of Ata and Tongatabu that are hauled first to the surface of the waters by the Maui. Men, too, were created in the Tongatabu group and further¬ more, the first Tui Tonga was the son of a woman of Tongatabu by a divine mate, the god Tangaloa Eitumatupua. Even the hero Muni, although he spent his boyhood in Haapai, was of Tongatabuan origin and performed in Tongatabu his doughtiest deeds.
4 Martin, John, M.D., An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, with an original grammar and vocabulary of their language. Compiled and arranged from the extensive communications of Mr. William Mariner, several years resident in those islands. In two volumes. Vol. 2, pp. 116, 121, 1817 edition, L,ondon, John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1817.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales n
FISON’S “TALES FROM OLD FIJI”
Lorimer Fison’s Tales from Old Fiji5 include a number of stories which have Tongan parallels. As Fison’s collection is from eastern Fiji, a region with much Tongan blood in its population, the parallels are to be expected. Of the twelve tales he presents, six are matched by the Tongan tales pre¬ sented in this paper. Two others refer specifically to Tonga, but have no parallels in my collection. Of these two, one concerns Napoleon. The second concerns “The Beginning of Death” and was told by the famous Tongan chief Maafu, whose military operations in Fiji in the last century won him renown.
Maafu’s version of the origin of death, to wit: that certain gods came from Pulotu to dwell in Tongatabu and there became mortal and subject to disease and death, was not encountered in any of the tales which I gathered in Tonga. The same motive, however, is recorded in Mariner’s work on Tonga6. Included in Maafu’s tale, as a necessary preliminary to mortal existence, is the land-fishing of Maui, whereby Ata and Tongatabu are hauled from the depths. Then Tongatabu becomes the home of the run¬ away gods of Pulotu, who become mortal. Maafu’s tale conveys a strik¬ ing picture of the spiteful character of Hikuleo, who becomes the lord of Pulotu, after Tangaloa goes to the sky and Maui goes under Tongatabu to keep it from sinking. Although many details in Maafu’s story occur in other Tongan tales, for example, the “water of life” and the “tree of speech,” Maafu’s particular combination of details and episodes is unique.
Fison’s Fijian tales unquestionably are, in large measure, nothing but Tongan tales. Fison points out that many of his tales are notable for their Fijian coloring in spite of their dealing with Tongan characters. He men¬ tions especially the story of Longapoa, and stresses the references to can¬ nibalism. On the whole, references to cannibalism are rather scarce in Ton¬ gan tales.
It seems legitimate to regard Fison’s tales and my collection as two branches from a single Tongan trunk, branches which separated from the parent stem many generations ago. Each has since pursued its growth with a fair degree of independence. On the one hand, Fison’s trans¬ planted tales flourished in a new environment, where they were to a con¬ siderable extent influenced by Fijian ideas. On the other hand, the tales which were ultimately collected by me continued to develop in their own native environment. However, intercourse between Tonga and Fiji (especially the Tongan colonists in Fiji) was probably but seldom inter-
5 De la More Press, London, 1907.
6 Martin, op. cit. vol. 2, p. 126.
12
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
rupted ; hence a considerable exchange of ideas must have taken place and to a certain extent have tended to keep the two sets of myths and tales more or less similar in character.
In the account by Taliai Tupou, the lord of Naiau, of “Why the Kings of Lakemba are called Lords of Naiau,”7 there are certain incidents that are reminiscent of the Tongan tale concerning the origin of the first Tui Tonga, Ahoeitu. Of special note is the ascent to heaven by climbing a casuarina tree. There the hero, the founder of the dynasty, visits his father, the King of Heaven. This episode is too close to the Tongan par¬ allels to admit of any hypothesis other than one of common origin. The Fijian hero is said to have gone to Tonga after he had turned over the rule of Lakemba to his son, Taliai Tupou. In Tonga “also he conquered all the mighty ones ; and at length returned to his father, the Sky-King, with whom he lived ever after, receiving the worship of many lands.” The con¬ quest of the Tongan chiefs also has its parallel in the tale of Ahoeitu, who establishes a new dynasty of Tui Tonga, displacing the kings who were the descendants of the Worm (Uanga).
The tale of “How the Tongans Came to Fiji”8 is nothing more nor less than the Tongan story of the turtle Sangone. In the Lakemban ver¬ sion the voyage of the Tongans to Fiji is a sequel which is lacking in the Tongan stories of Sangone. In the Lakemban tales the Tongan crew re¬ tain one of the turtle’s plates, but tell the Tui Tonga that they left it with the Samoans. The Tui Tonga in anger orders them to voyage at once to Samoa for the missing plate and not to return without it under pain of death. Once beyond the reefs of Tongatabu the crew, in despair, decide to run before the wind, with the result that they fetched Kandavu in Fiji, from whence they were removed by the king of Rewa to Rewa, where they were given land.
A version of the tale of the Son of Sun is included in Fison’s Fijian col¬ lection,9 having been told him by Taliai Tupou, the lord of Naiau and king of Lakemba. In general this tale closely parallels the Tongan versions, but ends with the death of the sun-child when he opens the unlucky package Monuia. The marriage to the Tui Tonga’s daughter is not even hinted at in the Lakemban version. The Lakemban story is a tale about Tonga, not Fiji. (See pp. 101-120.)
Fison10 presents a version of the Muni tale from Fiji. It is entitled “The Adventures of Matandua, the One-Eyed.” It far exceeds any
7 Fison, Uorimer, Tales of Old Fiji, pp. 49-57.
8 Told by Ratu Taliai Tupou, lord of Naiau and king of Lakemba, op. cit. pp. 19-26, London, 1907.
* Op. cit., pp. 33-39.
10 Op. cit., pp. 99-133.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
13
Tongan version in wealth of detailed elaboration. Just how much of this is the work of Fison and how much of the raconteur, Roko Sokotukevei, is difficult to determine. That some of the elaboration is Fison’s seems likely from the following statement in the preface of his book: “Each one of them [the tales] contains a genuine legend as its skeleton, so to speak. For the flesh with which that skeleton has been covered, the most that can be claimed is that it is of the native pattern.”
In Fison’s version the hero is called Matandua instead of Muni Mata- mahae. The youthful years of the hero’s life are spent in the island of Ono
in Fiji, thus betraying a localization, at least in part, for the story. The
hero’s parents, however, are Tongan, but his foster parents Fijian. As in the Tongan versions he goes to Tongatabu after reaching maturity and
becomes the deliverer of his people from the clutches of a cannibal giant.
The hero throughout had the aid of the spirit of his dead mother, a feature not even hinted at in the Tongan versions, in which all accomplishments are through his own great strength.
A tale concerning Longapoa, related by Taliai Tupou, the lord of Naiau and king of Lakemba, is incorporated in Fison’s Tales from Old Fiji.11 Although the hero is the Tongan Longopoa, he is represented as a chief of high rank and not merely as a chief’s attendant. Kae, his companion in the Tongan versions, and the chief Loau, are entirely omitted. Longa- poa’s wife, who is a scold, plays an important role in this Fijian version, but is entirely omitted in the Tongan versions given here. The Fijian tale, however, deals wholly with Tongan characters and professes to be a Tongan tale, not a Fijian tale. (See pages 139-148.)
The fragmentary Tongan tale about Tangaloa and the carpenters (page 201) suggests the Fijian tale told by Taliai Tupou, the lord of Naiau and king of Lakemba,12 and entitled “How the Fijians learned to build their canoes.” In the Fijian tale the patron god of the carpenters (boat builders) is Dengei the Great Serpent, of the hill of Kau-vandra in Great Fiji. As the Tongan tale came from but a single informant and as its incidents are not clearly connected, I am inclined to regard it as a variant of the bijian story. Of course the possibility of its being an old Tongan tale, now largely forgotten, should not be overlooked.
11 Op. cit., pp. 65-85.
13 Fison, Lorimer. Tales from Old Fiji, pp. 27-31, London, 1907.
14
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin COSMOGONY
Tongan cosmogony, unlike some other Polynesian cosmogonies, does not tell of a void in the beginning, but instead tacitly assumes the pre¬ existence of the sky, the sea, and the land of Pulotu (the home of the souls of departed chiefs).
The Tongan creation myth has happily been published in both Tongan and French by Father Reiter.13 In 1910 Josiah Martin 14 published a por¬ tion of the Tongan creation story in which the fishing up of the island of Tongatabu is related. Reverend E. E. V. Collocott 15 has published a free translation of the account of the origin of the gods and of the world. Creation myths have also been published in the Tongan language.16
In the present paper only the variants of these published accounts are recorded.
The account by Father Reiter and that by Collocott disagree as to the paternity of the Maui, the former naming the god Taufulifonua as the father, the latter the god Biki (Piki). The manuscript of J. P. Maatu agrees with Father Reiter’s account in proclaiming Taufulifonua the father of the Maui. But Maatu’s manuscript goes further and lists them as Maui Loa, Maui Puku, and Maui Atalanga. Collocott lists them as Maui-motua, Maui-buku, and Maui Atulanga.
Again Maatu’s manuscript is specific where the published accounts are not. It states that the particular sort of kin (snipe or plover), in which Tangaloa Atulongolongo became incarnate in his search for land, was the tulione. A second version in Maatu’s manuscripts is not so specific. It does, however, state that the writers of the version were Kelekele and Tokemoana, who with Tonga valevale and the Tamaha Amelia were the writers of a similar account that I obtained from Jonathan Fonua of Neiafu, Vavau.
In the Tongan cosmogonical tales there is no hint of the creation of the sea, sky, sun, moon or stars. Their preexistence is either stated or tacitly assumed.
The account of the origin of the gods in the old manuscript in the pos¬ session of Mr. John Panuve Maatu describes the origin of sexual intercourse by the twin deities Taufulifonua (male) and Havea Lolofonua (female) : “And Piki and Kele made a new country which they named Tonga Mamao (Distant Tonga) and took their children Taufulifonua and Havea Lolofonua
13 Reiter, P., Traditions tonguiennes, Anthropos, vol. 2, pp. 230-236, 438-443; 743-750, 1907.
14 Martin, Josiah, Origin of the name of Tonga Island: Jour. Poly. Soc., vol. 19, pp. 163- 166, 1910.
15 Collocott, E. E. V., A Tongan theogony: Folk-Rore, vol. 30, pp. 234-238, 1919.
18 (1) By Taufapulotu, Koe tupuaga o mamani mo hono kakai, Koe Fafagu, vol. 4, pp. 122- 127, 1906; (2) By the Tamaha, Kelekele, Tokemoana, and Tongavalevale, the origin tale, published in Koe Makasini a Koliji, vol. 4, pp. 22-26, 5 1-55, 74-78, 1881-1883; (3) Koe talanoa ki Eua, Koe Makasini a Koliji, vol. 4, pp. 109-111, 1881-1883.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales 15
there. But not yet did those two know each other. They were still inno¬ cent and went about naked, for they were not ashamed. So it was until one day when they went to bathe in the sea and were lying face downwards with their feet in the water. The tide was flooding and began to break upon their feet. On and on it came, until it covered their bodies. Subito piscis qui 00 appellabatur, nnda adlapsns cunnum puellae exhauriebat. She was in pain and cried and kicked her feet about in the sand, because of the suffering caused by the oo’s sucking. Neither she nor her brother knew what to do to relieve her agony. Molliter cunnum manu mulcebat; reque tamen ex eo puella quam minimum solatium cepit. Denique penem inseruit et ex eo magnum solatium cepit. That was the beginning of their knowledge and they cohabited regularly thereafter.”
Garbled verbal accounts of the cosmogony were obtained from various informants. In one of these, the three human beings created from the maggot or worm are designated as a man, a woman, and a third person. The woman is called Kohai, the man Momo, and the name of the third was forgotten. The three names, however, are assigned a mystic signifi¬ cance, Kohai standing for the future, Momo for the present, and the third name for the past. This is probably a connotation introduced solely by the raconteur, James Lilo, of Lotofoa, Foa island, Haapai.
In certain of the accounts a clear distinction is made between the islands fished up by the Maui (Tongatabu, Haapai, Vavau, Niua, and Samoa) and those which they did not fish up.
“They did not fish up Kao, Tofua, Hunga Haapai, Hunga Tonga, Late, or Fonualei [all volcanic islands]. Nor was all of Fiji fished up. The countries that were not fished up were thrown down from heaven. Therefore they are called the land-stones ( makafonua ) of Hikuleo, the maker of all the countries that are full of unevenness, that jump backward and forward [i.e., are subject to earthquakes] and that are full of holes and pits, for they are the countries which were not fished up by the Maui.”
A brief version of the Maui land-fishing story told by Lie, a man of Koulo, Lifuka island, Haapai, makes Eua the starting point of the expedi¬ tion, makes the woman, who becomes enamoured of one of the Maui, the daughter of the hook owner instead of his wife, and makes the first land hauled up Rarotonga instead of Tokelau.
An important text dealing with the origin of the wind and of various food plants forms a sequel to the tale about the creation of man on Ata. This text, which might appropriately have formed part of the series pub¬ lished by Father Reiter in Anthropos, was courteously placed at my dis¬ posal by the Right Reverend Bishop Joseph Felix Blanc of Tonga. Be¬ cause of the importance of the tale I present the original Tongan text as
16 Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
written by Father Reiter parallel with a translation by Miss Beatrice Shir¬ ley Baker.
Pea nae osi a Ata hono ngaohi, koe motua fonua ia. Pea nae ikai tupu aki ae kongo oe uanga a Kohai mo Koau mo Momo; ka naa nau tupupe kinau- tolu ihe uanga, pea fakahako ai ae kakai o mamani.
Ka nae toki fekau e Tamapouliala- mafoa, koe tui ia oe langi ; pea mo Tangaloa Eiki, pea mo Tangaloa Tu- funga, aia oku tuki toki, koia oku hingoa ko Tangaloa Tufunga, mo Ta¬ ngaloa Atulongolongo, o nau fekau moe kau Tangaloa ke o hifo a hono tui o Ata. Pea nau pehe ange ki he faahi- kehe, ko Laufakanaa, hono hingoa : “Hau, koe Laufakanaa ; ke ke alu ki lalo, ki mama ; ko ena ho fonua, ko Ata ; ke ke pule ai mo ke faiteliha ihe mea kotoape oe fonua koia. Pea ke alu koe, Laufakanaa moe matangi ; ke ke fakatupu ha matangi : Ka ai ha vaka e matangi kovia, pea hau kiate koe Laufakanaa, o humai kiate koe mo kole mai kiate koe, pea ke tuku ha matangi lelei ki he vaka koia, ke alu lelei ihe vaka, pea tau lelei ki ha fonua e alu kiai; kae oua naake tuku ha matangi kovi, pea mate ai ae vaka ihe tahi, ka he fakatupu ha matangi lelei.”
Koia oku nofo ai ae tevolo ko Laufa¬ kanaa ihe motu ko Ata, koeuhi ka ai leva ha vaka e matangi kovipe, pea alu leva o hu mo kole kia Laufakanaa ke ne tuku mai ha matangi lelei kihe vaka koia, pea loloi i he vaka koia. Pea loloi i he vaka koia ae ma o loloiaki ae niu ko ave ma ae tevolo ke kai ; ko enau feilaulau, koeuhi ke ofa a Laufa¬ kanaa ihe vaka koia ; pea folau leva ia, kuo tuku e Laufakanaa ae matangi lelei ke nau folau ai.
Pea nae alo hifo a Laufakanaa mei langi mo hono kupenga o fai i Ata ; koe kupenga ika koia oku toutai ika ae fonua koia. Oku nau fai ae aho ika oe Tui Tonga: Ka koe tupu i he kupenga nae o hifo e Laufakanaa.
And Ata (island) was finished mak¬ ing and that was the first land. And were not made from the pieces of the worm (the men) Kohai (Who) and Koau (It is I) and Momo (Crumb) ; but they arose from the worm and the people of the world were their descend¬ ants.
Then Tamapoulialamafoa commanded, — he was king of the sky; and (he commanded) Tangaloa Eiki, and Tan¬ galoa Tufunga, who is axe-maker, and (hence) is called Tangaloa Tufunga (carpenter), and Tangaloa Atulongo¬ longo, and he told the Tangaloa to send down a ruler for Ata. And they said to a god, Laufakanaa was his name ( lau , speak; fakanaa, to silence): “Come you Laufakanaa; go below to the earth; there is your land, Ata; it is for you to rule and you may please yourself about everything in that land. And you go, Laufakanaa, and make the wind; you will create the wind. If there is a vessel that has bad (or stormy) winds, and (the people) come to you, Laufakanaa, and sue and solicit you, then you must give fair winds to that vessel, for the vessel to go (sail) well, and to anchor safely at the land to which it is' going; and you must not give a bad wind, for the vessel to die (or to be lost) at sea, but you must create a good wind.”
That is the reason why the god Laufakanaa dwells at the island Ata, because should there be a vessel that has bad wind, and (the crew) go and sue and solicit help from Laufakanaa, it is for him to give a fair wind to that vessel. Then (the people) of that vessel (must) cook the native bread ( ma ) with the oil of the grated coco¬ nut and take it to the god to eat; that is their offering to Laufakanaa, for him to love their vessel ; and the vessel sails, and Laufakanaa gives' a fair wind with which to sail.
And Laufakanaa went down from the sky with his fishing net and used it at Ata; and that (sort of) fishing net is used by (the inhabitants' of) that land to fish. And they use it on the fishing day of the Tui Tonga: and that sort of net originated from the fishing net that Laufakanaa brought down with him.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
1 7
Pea o hifo leva ae hopa mei langi, ke tuu i Ata. Ko hono hingoa oe hopa koia, koe putalinga, koe hopa fungani lelei ; ka oku ikai ha hopa ilaloni ; ka koe tupu mei langi ae hopa koe puta¬ linga. Pea toki movete ai o tuu kotoape i he fonua kehekehe ; ka koe o hifo mei langi o fua tuu i Ata. Koe ngoue o Laufakanaa, pea o hifo ai leva moe akau koe si, hono hingoa. Aeni oku tao hono foha o ngau, pea ngaahi aki ae ma o hingoa koe poopooi, pea ngaahiaki ai mea kai kehekehe ; he koe akau oku lelei, pea aonga ; he oku kau foki ki he ngaahi mea kai kotoape.
Pea o hifo foki ae ufi ; ko hono hingoa koe nguata, koe o hifo ia ke tuu i Ata. Pea o hifo foki ae ufi e taha, koe tuaata, hono hingoa, o o hifo foki ia o tuu i Ata. He koe ngaahi akau kai koia, koe tupu mei Ata. Pea koe toki fakatupu kehekehe e ngaahi tevolo niihi ae meakai kehekehe. He kou osi ae talanoa ki Ata.
And the native banana was brought down from the sky and planted at Ata. The name of that banana is putalinga, a very nice banana ; there was no banana here below, but originally there came from the sky the banana puta¬ linga. Then it was scattered and it grew in all the different lands; how¬ ever it came from the sky and first grew at Ata. Its (appearance on earth) was the work of Laufakanaa, and (he) also brought the plant called si. The root of this is baked and chewed, and is also cooked with native bread, and is called poopooi, and other kinds of food are made from it ; because it is a very good root, and useful ; therefore it is used in many kinds of food.
And the yam was brought down also ; its name is nguata, and it was brought down to plant at Ata. And was brought down another yam, called tuaata, which was planted at Ata. All these food plants grfw first on Ata. And then some of the gods created other kinds of food plants. That is all of the nar¬ rative about Ata.
The printed Tongan tales of the origin of the first Tongan land do not make it clear whether the Ata island, which the myths designate together with Eua island as the first land, is the low Ata island lying a few miles north of Tongatabu or the lofty and probably volcanic Ata or Pylstaart island lying more than fifty miles south of Tongatabu. Collocott maintains that it is the adjacent island that is meant and several elderly natives whom I interviewed held the same view. Among these natives were two former inhabitants of the distant Ata or Pylstaart. Furthermore, Tongan legends place the discovery of Pylstaart only a few generations ago.
On the other hand, Bishop Blanc 17 takes the stand that it is the distant Ata or Pylstaart that is referred to in the myths, thus making the two first created lands (Eua and Ata) both lofty in contradistinction to the low-lying Tongatabu, later hauled to the surface with Maui’s fish hook. Comman¬ der Wilkes, U. S. N.,17« and the Reverend Walter Eawry17& explicitly state (both from the same missionary source) that the Ata referred to is Pylstaart. No modern native evidence supports these assertions. How¬ ever, Maafu’s account18 of the land-fishing of the Maui makes mention of
17 P. Soane Malia, Chez les Meridionaux du Pacifique, chapter 3, Librarie Catholique Em¬ manuel Vitte, 1910, Lyon, Paris.
17o Wilkes, Charles, U.S.N., Narrative of the U. S. Expl. Exped., 1838-1842, vol. 3, p. 23, Philadelphia, 1845.
17fc Lawry, Walter, Friendly and Feejee Islands, 2nd ed., p. 113, London, 1850.
18 Fison, Lorimer, Tales from Old Fiji, page 144, London, 1907.
i8
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
mountains on the Ata that was hauled from the sea : “And leaping ashore, he [Maui] sprang to the top of the highest mountain, and stamped upon it with his feet. And, as he stamped, the earth shook, and the mountain crumbled away beneath his feet, and rolled down into the valleys below, till they were filled up to the level on which he stood. This he did to four of the seven hills, leaving the other three untrodden, for he grew weary of the work.”
When Tongatabu was hauled to the surface, Maui trod down all of the hills 19 “into rich and fertile plains ; on which, even as he trod, there sprang up grass and flowers and trees, while the earth swelled into hillocks round his feet, bursting with yams, and sweet potatoes, and all manner of food.” Here we have an origin of the food plants quite different from that set forth in the tales that I obtained. The sky, foreign lands, and a buried human body are the sources given in the tales here published.
The concept of multiple skies is found in Tonga and is clearly set forth in a recitative ( fakaniua ) given by the crippled man Taufa, and in the archives of the Methodist church by Dr. J. E. Moulton. The Tongan text, with a translation by Miss Beatrice Shirley Baker, follows :
Ke fanongo mai e tama hiva ni, Kae fai siemanu lau langi : Langi tuo taha, langi tuo ua Teke e Maui ke maolunga,
Kau eva fakamofutofuta ;
Ko hotau fonua oku ua,
Ko langi ni pea mo lolofonua. Langi tuo tolu, langi tuo fa, Nofo ai a ufia mo lata,
Koe langi kehe langi uha Ne ne ufia langi maa.
Langi tuo nima, langi tuo ono, Nofo ae laa mate toto,
Sii fetuu ene fakaholo Ne hange ha tuinga tokotoko; Pea hanga hake ki ai e nofo.
Langi tuo fitu, langi tuo valu, Nofo ai a Hina mo Sinilau ; Koe langi ape e tamutamu Ha mea e leo lahi ange fau, Oka ita oka longolongo tau, Langi tuo hiva, tuo hongofulu, Koe langi ne fulufulu motuku, Koe langi ape oku uulu,
Kae fefei e tala tuku.
Listen, O poet,
While I tell of the skies :
First sky and second sky Pushed by Maui to be high,
So that I could walk stately;
Our lands are two,
The sky and the underworld.
Third sky and fourth sky,
Dwell there the covered and inclouded, The different sky, the sky that rains And that hides the cloudless sky.
Fifth sky and sixth sky,
Dwells there the sun, who dies in crim¬ son,
The little stars moving in succession Like a string of walking-sticks ;
And look up to them the dwellers on earth.
Seventh sky and eighth sky,
Dwell there Hina and Sinilau ;
The sky of the thunder With a great loud voice,
When angry or giving omen of war. The ninth sky and the tenth,
The sky feathery like herons,
The sky of uncertain rumbling,
Perhaps telling of parting.
The three following short cosmogonical tales obtained from living Ton- gans are of interest. The first is really a divine genealogy and was told
“ Op. cit., page 145.
Gifford, — Tongan Myths and Tales
19
by John Takataka, of Hihifo, Lifuka island, Haapai. It is of special in¬ terest because it makes two chiefs, besides the Tui Tonga, the descendants of gods — namely, the chief Faingaa and the famous Loau. Descent from the Maui is ascribed to Faingaa and is corroborated by the published tales of the Maui.20 Takataka’s derivation of the chief Loau from Hikuleo, the great god of Pulotu, the world of the departed, lacks corroboration, as does the statement that the great chiefs called Tui Haatakalaua constituted Loau’s descendants.
Takataka’s tale follows:
Kele and Limu drifted to Pulotu and wedded. Two children were born, a male named Toiukamea and a female named Maimoaalongona. These two married and twins were born, a male child named Taufulifonua and a female child. Later appeared the twins Fonuuta and Fonutahi, and also the twins known as Velesii and Velelahi. These twins intermarried.
Taufulifonua wedded his twin sister, from whom sprang Havea Hikuleo. Fonuuta and Fonutahi married and from their union came the Maui. Velesii and Velelahi married and from them the Tangaloa arose.
When Taufulifonua was close unto death he divided the universe, say¬ ing: “The Tangaloa shall rule the sky. The domain of the Maui will be this world. Havea Hikuleo, thou shalt rule Pulotu and this world.” The path to Pulotu is between Eua and Kalau islands and a great rock known as Makaooa stands there.
The descendants of the Tangaloa were the Tui Tonga. The descendant of Maui Motua was Faingaa of the Tui Talau. The descendant of Havea Hikuleo was Loau, from whom arose the Tui Haatakalaua.
The second tale, told by Mesake Lomu, of Fotua, Foa island, Haapai, speaks of the three Maui (Motua, Atalanga and Kisikisi) as brothers and bestows upon them their sister Hina. In most versions they are treated as grandfather, father and son. Hina bore to Kisikisi four children — Tangaloa, Io, Kohai and Afulunga. From the standpoint of the pub¬ lished Tongan cosmogony, the tale is a hopeless jumble. Mesake Lomu’s story is as follows:
The husband of the goddess Heimoana, whose incarnation was the sea snake, was Malekulaulua. Heimoana’s first son was Maui Motua, her second son was Maui Atalanga, her third son Maui Kisikisi, and her fourth child was Hina, a girl.
After attaining maturity the sons went to their work, leaving Hina and their parents at home. One day, while Hina was thus remaining at home, Maui Kisikisi hung chesnut (iff) leaves about his neck and stole back to his parents’ house. He touched Hina’s chest just above her breasts and she
20 Reiter, P., Anthropos, vol. XIV-XV, 141, 1919-1920; Collocott, E. E., Folk-Lore, vol. XXXII, 57, 1921.
20
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
became pregnant. She was delivered of a male child, who was called Tangaloa. Again she became pregnant and gave birth to Io. Once more she gave birth to a girl, who was called Kohai, and lastly to a male child, who was named Afulunga. The offspring of Hina intermarried and from their progeny sprang the dynasty of Tui Tonga.
A third cosmogonical tale was related by Sophia Pahulu, of Faleloa, Foa island, Haapai. It refers to the land-fishing of a pair of twins which resulted in the appearance of Tongatabu. The transformation of a god¬ dess and a man into cats and later into rats gives the story a rather un- Tongan flavor. The narrative follows:
This is the story of the fishhook that pulls up lands.
There was an old god named Tongamatamoana, who had a daughter in this world. His daughter, however, had been taken away and placed in the sky.
A house was situated at the foot of the road that, led to the girl’s abode. The road itself was a fishing line. Many people had been killed upon it. However, a goddess came along and essayed the journey up to the girl’s abode, taking with her a man. The two changed themselves into cats. The two cats climbed almost to the girl's abode. The road became too narrow for further progress, so they transformed themselves into rats and without difficulty entered the house where the girl dwelt.
The goddess now said to the man who had accompanied her : “I have no further regard for you. You have safely reached this woman. So, fare¬ well.” The goddess descended again and the man remained in the sky and married the girl, the daughter of Tongamatamoana. In due course the woman became pregnant and bore twins.
After a time the twins complained of their abode and said that they were tired of living in space. They inquired of their mother what they might do to get some land on which to reside. She told them to go to their grandfather, Tongamatamoana, in the world, and obtain from him the fish hook that hauls up land. Thereby could they pull up some land upon which to live. Their mother further informed them that the old man pos¬ sessed numerous fish hooks, but that the hook for pulling up land was dif¬ ferent from all the others, being dull and old in appearance.
The twins proceeded to their grandfather’s abode. The old man told them to take one of the bright, shiny hooks, but to leave him the dull, old hook. The twins, however, stole the dull hook, because they knew that that was the one for pulling up land. When the old man discovered that they were making off with his precious hook, he called to them: “Go, and the land that you pull up shall be called Tonga [Tongatabu].” So the twins pulled up Tongatabu and brought their parents down from the sky to re¬ side there.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales EXPLOITS OF THE MAUI
21
The full Tongan cycle of the exploits of the Maui (exclusive of the land-fishing expedition which is incorporated with the Tongan cosmogony) has recently been published in Tongan with an accompanying French trans¬ lation.21 The Reverend E. E. V. Collocott subsequently published a free English translation of the same Tongan account.22 Tongan accounts have also appeared in two Tongan publications.23
Since the subject has been so fully covered there is but little left for me to present. However, there is a brief Tongan poem about Maui, ac¬ companied by a prose account of him. These were obtained by the Rev¬ erend J. E. Moulton and made available to me by Messrs. R. C. G. Page and E. E. V. Collocott. The poem and prose account, with Miss Baker’s translation, follow :
Lau koe ngataanga e langi e teve,
Pea tuu a Maui o teketeke Aki e u kae alu e fefine faele Ae langi na ka tau haele.
Tupaheo !
It is said that the boundary of the sky was a teve plant,
That Maui stood and pushed up the sky With a stick for a confined woman So that we might under the sky walk upright.
Tupaheo !
Kulo moe hafu hau ta tukua Matatolu siene tafe mo puna.
Uinu »1 a Maui i F.ua Tao aipe ke moho huhua.
Tupa !
Pot and drift come and let us leave The spring Matatolu which runs and flows.
Maui at rtua si rnnf
Until it was juicy.
Clap!
Koefe a Maui nae vave? Naa ne lava ki hake e toke He luo he ana i Kulukave.
Tupa !
Where is Maui who was quick?
He was able to lift the eel From the hole of the cave in Kulukave. Clap!
Ko Utukakai mo Talaamohi, Ko Namalata kuo toka kovi, Koefe a Maui ne tafoki Ke mavava kae fakafai foki?
Tupa !
[The places] Utukakai and Talaamohi, [The place] Namalata was very rough Where is Maui who when he turned Shook the earth and did it again? Clap!
Ko Kohi hono tuuanga u.
Koefe a Maui nae lau, Naa ne lavai e vanahuhu, Pea moe koka nae feuu?
Tupa !
[The place] Kohi where he thrust in his stick.
Where is Maui they talk about,
Who overcame the stinging sea-urchin, And the koka tree that bites?
Clap!
Koefe a Maui nea toa, Where is Maui who was brave,
Naa ne tolotolongi e moa Who threw stones at the fowl
21 Anthropos, vol. XII-XIII, 1026-1046, 1917-1918; XIY-XV, 125-142, 1919-1920.
22 Folk-Lore, vol. XXXII, 45-58, 1921.
22 (1) Koe talanoa ki he kau Maui, Koe Makasini a Koliji, vol. 4, pp._ 111-114, 133-136, 152- 155, 1881-1883; vol. 5, pp. 14-17, 1883-1885; (2) Koe talanoa kihe kau Maui, Koe Fafagu, vol. 5, pp 104-108 125-130 146-150, 167-172, 184-188, 197-202, 211-216, 1907. The author is Taufapulotu.
22
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Mei Eua i he ene hola
Aki ae maka i he tua Tonga?
Tupa !
Pea toki lavea e moa i Toloa;
Ka ai ha mamata,
Pea ui, “Moa,”
Fasi e peau kuo fakakonga.
Tupa !
Ke fanongo a Tonga ni fua pe,
Koe ngata s'ieku viki e
Kia Maui Motua mo sii ene pele.
Koe tapui o Maui e !
Tupaheo !
The prose account of the Maui i
Ko eku talanoa sii eni kia Maui. Ka hala pea mou kataki pe he koe toki tupu au.
Koe uluaki mea ko enau omi mei Pulotu. Tuu mua a Maui Motua mo Maui Kisikisi mo Maui Atalanga moe Maui e taha oku ikai teu ilo. Koe mea naa nau omi mo kinautolu koe afi. Oku lau tokua nae ikai ha afi i mamani, pea koia naa nau omi ai ae afi. Pea nae
omi pe tokua kae toe ave d? ki
Pulotu, pea nae lau tokua koe mahi o Maui Motua nae ai ai ae afi. Ko hono mui mahi nae tutu ia o moui faaki.
Pea oku lau tokua ko enau fuofua ngaue nae fai i mamani koe huo, pea talaange e Maui Motua kia Maui Kisi¬ kisi, “Ke oua e huo mo sio ki mui telia naa toe tupu ae mohuku.” Oku pehe e Maui Motua moe talanoa ki ai, ka huo tuo taha pe ae mohuku pea e ikai
toe tupu ai ha vao o taengata, kae
maalaala aipe. Pea ta na kaka a Maui Kisikisi o huo pe mo sio ki mui. Koia tokua oku toe moui ai ae mohuku ni sii ae launoa. Pea i he ena huo kuo ongoi e Maui Motua ki hono sino kuo mamahi mo vaivaia, pea ne filifili ai he mea foou kuo hoko ki hono sino, pea ne tafoki ai o sio ki mui, sio atu sio atu kuo tutupu ena huo. Ta nae sio pe ki mui a Maui Kisikisi, pea ita leva a Maui Motua kia Maui Kisikisi.
Pea hanga ai a Maui Kisikisi o motuhi ae afi i he mui mahi o Maui Motua, o fokau leva o Maui Kisikisi ke hola ae afi ki he akau kotoape, aeni tokua oku i ai ni, o au mai ki he taimi ni. Pea hili ia pea hola a Maui
From Eua when it fled Before the flying stones to the weather shore of Tonga?
Clap!
And was wounded the fowl at Toloa; If anyone wishes to see,
Then call, “Fowl,”
And half of the wave will foam.
Clap!
O listen, all Tonga,
This is the end of my praising Of Maui Motua and his little pet.
O respect to Maui !
Tupaheo !
as follows :
This is a short narrative about Maui. If anything is' wrong you must excuse me, for I have just grown up [i.e., I am of this generation].
The first thing was their coming from Pulotu ; first Maui Motua, then Maui Kisikisi and Maui Atalanga, and an¬ other Maui, whose other name I do not remember. And the thing that they brought with them was fire. It is said that there was no fire on earth. That is why they brought the fire. It was Only brought to be taken back to Pulotu. It was wrapped in the end of Maui Motua’s loin cloth, which smould¬ ered.
And it is' said, that the first work done on earth was to weed. Maui Motua told Maui Kisikisi, “Don’t look behind when you dig, lest the grass grow again. When the grass is first dug it will not grow again and no other bush or weed will grow forever, but ("the land] will be clear forever.” But Maui Kisikisi cheated when he weeded, for he kept looking back. That is the reason why the grass keeps' growing. What nonsense ! While they were weed¬ ing Maui Motua felt his body pain him and he felt weak; then he turned and looked back, and behold all the weeds had grown where he had dug. Maui Kisikisi had kept looking behind as he weeded, Maui Motua was very angry with Maui Kisikisi.
Maui Kisikisi tore off a piece of the loin cloth of Maui Motua that had the fire smouldering in it, and told the fire to run into the different trees. That is where it is now. After that Maui Kisikisi ran and Maui Motua chased
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
23
Kisikisi kae tuli e Maui Motua ki Pulotu. Pea koe ngata ia o eku talanoa kovi kia Maui, ka oka hala mou kataki pe he koe kii sii au.
him to Pulotu. That is the end of my poor story about Maui. Please excuse me if it is wrong, for I am only of the present day.
An account of the exploits of the Maui, obtained from Wellington Lavaka of Haakio, Vavau, states that before the sky was pushed up to its present height it was supported by certain plants which were known as teve ( Amorphophallus). In Lavaka’s account it is Maui Kisikisi who raises the sky, not Maui Atalanga. In the sequel concerning Tui Motuliki it is stated that he landed first at Tefisi in Hihifo, Tongatabu. “Tui Motuliki and his friends were the origin of the Haa Falefa,” the attendants of the Tui Tonga.
Other tales about the Maui were related by a number of informants, but apparently all were based on the published Tongan versions with two exceptions that introduce new incidents. One told by Moli, of Lotbfoa, Foa island, Haapai, attributes the sky-raising to Maui Motua instead of Maui Atalanga because his oven poker got jammed in the sky. This mo¬ tive is reminiscent of Philippine tales in which the sky was said to be so low that a spear could not be plied (Ifugao), that men bumped their heads against it (Tagalog), and that a woman struck it with her rice pestle (Manobo).24
Moli’s version of the sky-raising is as follows:
It is said that the sky was low in olden days. The elder Maui (Maui Motua) was preparing his earth oven. When he used his poker it got jammed in the sky. Then he reversed his poker and pushed up the sky until it was very high. They say the reason of the sky being black is be¬ cause the end of Maui’s oven stick was dirty.
An unpublished Maui episode was related by Silas, of Feletoa, Vavau, and recounts the origin of two islets in the Vavau group. The narrative follows :
Maui resided at Ngaunoho in Utungake island, Vavau group, and lived there with his wife and children. Every day he only walked around, and his wife and children wept. He at last inquired of them the reason of their tears. So his wife replied: “We are weeping because you always go away and leave us starving.”
“Very well,” said Maui, “I will go and plant something for us to eat.” He went between Ngaunoho and Utungake and he started digging the soil there. He dug so hard that the land rocked and his children and his wife cried.
24 Dixon, R. B., The Mythology of all Races: Oceanic Mythology, p. 178, 1916, Marshall Jones Company, Boston.
24
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Maui heard them and he returned and asked them what was the matter and why they were crying. They told him: “We are frightened.’’ And Maui said: “You are frightened because I went to plant something to eat.” Then he killed his two sons and threw them into the sea. The names of the boys were Mosolahi and Mososii and two little islets are called after them, because when the two boys were cast into the sea they were trans¬ formed into these two islets.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales 25
TALES ABOUT THE TUI TONGA
A considerable number of tales relate to the Tui Tonga, or kings of Tonga. Not only is the origin of the dynasty related, but there are also a number of stories of the adventures and achievements of the various kings. Despite the infrequent references to kings in some of the stories, the tales have been arranged so far as possible in chronological order, basing the arrangement on the list of thirty-nine kings (page 35). In some stories the king himself is not mentioned, but other characters in the story make clear the reign to which it refers. Thus in “The Narrative About Sang- one,” the Tui Tonga Tuitatui is not mentioned, but his half brother Fasiapule plays a prominent part in the tale.
The placing of the Tui Tonga tales between the Maui cycle and cos¬ mogony, on the one hand, and the tales about various other gods, on the other hand, perhaps requires a few words of justification, since many of the Tui Tonga tales do not transcend the realm of mortal experience. But the fact that the first Tui Tonga is of semi-divine origin, being the son of one of the Tangaloa, makes this position the natural one, at least for the story of this one king. Inasmuch as the narrative does not cease with him, it appears that this is the best position in which to place all of the Tui Tonga stories.
In the following pages there are first given two general accounts of the Tui Tonga, one furnished by Father Reiter, the other by the Rev. Jon¬ athan Fonua. These two accounts are the same in general trend, but the first is the fuller. I present the second account because of the original Tongan text which seems well worth recording.
THE FIRST TUI TONGA25
There first appeared on the earth the human offspring of a worm or grub, and the head of the worm became Tui Tonga. His name was Kohai and he was the first Tui Tonga in the world. The descendants of the worm became very numerous.
A large casuarina25® tree grew on the island of Toonangakava, between the islands of Mataaho and Talakite in the lagoon of Tongatabu. This great casuarina tree reached to the sky, and a god came down from the sky by this great tree. This god was Tangaloa Eitumatupua.
25 This tale is a translation by Miss Beatrice Shirley Baker of the original Tongan as related by Taufapulotu and Tongavalevale and published by Father Francis Reiter in the Catholic magazine Koe Fafagu, vol. 5, pp. 6-12, 26-32, 41-48, 60-64, 1907. The arrangement of the ma¬ terial has been altered slightly in order to secure proper chronological sequence The original Tongan accounts are under two headings: (1) Koe Tupuaga oe Tuitoga (pp. 6-12), by iauia* pulotu; (2) Koe talanoa kihe g. Tuitoga, by Tongavalevale.
“a The causarina is generally known in the Pacific islands as ironwood.
26
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
When he came down there was a woman fishing. Her name was Ilaheva and also Vaepopua. The god from the sky came to her and caught her, and they cohabited. Their sleeping place was called Mohenga.
The god ascended to the sky by the big casuarina, but again returned to the woman. They went and slept on the island of Talakite. They overslept and the day dawned. There flew by a tern, called tala, and found them. The tern cried and the god Eitumatupua awoke. He called the woman Ilaheva : “Wake ! it is day. The tern has seen us, because we over¬ slept. Wake! It is day.” So that island was called Talakite (Tern-saw) in commemoration of the tern finding them. Another island was called Mataaho ( Eye-of-day ) .
The god returned to the sky, but came back to the woman and they co¬ habited. The woman Ilaheva became pregnant and gave birth to a male child. The woman tended the child on earth, but the god dwelt in the sky. After a time the god returned and asked the woman about their child.
“Ilaheva, what is our child?” Ilaheva answered: “A male child.” Then said the god: “His name shall be Ahoeitu (Day-has-dawned). Moreover, the god asked the woman: “Is the soil of your land clay or sand?” The woman replied: “My place is sandy.” Then said the god: “Wait until I throw down a piece of clay from the sky, to make a garden for the boy Ahoeitu, and also a yam for the garden of our child.”
So the god poured down the mount (near Maufanga, Tongatabu) called Holohiufi (Pour-the-yam), and brought down the yam from the sky. The name of the yam was heketala (slip-tern). That was the garden he brought down.
The god returned to the sky, while the woman and child remained on earth, on their land called Popua (the land to the east of Maufanga in Ton¬ gatabu, on which rises the hill Holohiufi). The mother and son lived to¬ gether until the child Ahoeitu was big. Ahoeitu asked his mother: “Vae¬ popua, who is my father? Tell me so that I may go some time and see him.” And the mother told him that his father was in the sky. “What is his name?” the boy asked. “It is Eitumatupua,” replied the mother.
The boy grew big and one day he told his mother : “I want to go to the sky, so that I can see my father, but there is nothing for me to go in.” His mother instructed him : “Go and climb the great casuarina, for that is the road to the sky; and see you father.” She gave him a tapa loin cloth and anointed his head with oil. When he was ready, he asked : “How will I know my father, as I am not acquainted with his dwelling place in the sky?” His mother replied: “You will go to the sky and proceed along the big wide road. You will see you father catching pigeons on the mound by the road.”
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
V
Ahoeitu climbed the great casuarina tree and reached the sky. He went along the road as his mother had directed, found the mound, and saw his father catching pigeons. When his father saw him approaching, he sat down because he was overpowered at seeing his son. Ahoeitu spoke when he saw his father sit down, as if paying respect to him, his own son. That is why he spoke at once to his father, saying: “Lord, stand up. Do not sit down.”
The lad went to his father and they pressed noses and cried. Then the father asked him: “Where have you come from?” “I have come from earth, sent by Ilaheva, my mother, to seek you, my father Eitumatupua.” His father responded: “Here am I,” and he put forth his hand and drew his son’s head to him and again they pressed noses and cried. The god W'as overpowered at the realization that here was his son. Leaving the pigeon catching, they went to Eitumatupua’s residence, to the house of Ahoeitu’s father. There they had kava and food.
That day the celestial sons of Eitumatupua were having an entertain¬ ment. They were playing the game called sikaulutoa (played with a reed throwing-stick with a head of toa or casuarina wood). The god sent Ahoeitu to his brothers, saying: “You had better go to the entertainment of your brothers, which they are having on the road in the green ( malae ).” So Ahoeitu went and looked on at the game of throwing reeds at the casuarina trunk. The people saw the lad and all gazed at him with one accord. They liked him, because he was very handsome and well formed. All of the people at the entertainment wondered who he was and whence he had come. His brothers were immediately jealous of him.
Some of the people said that they knew that he was the son of Eituma¬ tupua, who has just come to the sky from the earth. Then all the people of the entertainment knew, and also his brothers knew that this lad was their brother. The brothers were very angry and jealous that it should be said that this strange lad was the son of their father. They, therefore, sprang upon and tore him to pieces, then cooked and ate him. (Some ac¬ counts say his flesh was eaten uncooked.) His head was left over, so they threw it among the plants called hoi. This caused one kind of hoi to become bitter. There is another kind that is sweet. The bitter kind became so be¬ cause Ahoeitu’s head was thrown into it. That kind of hoi is not eaten, because it is poisonous.
After a little while Ahoeitu’s father, Eitumatupua, said to a woman: “Go, woman, and seek the lad at the entertainment, so that he may eat, lest he become hungry.” The woman went at once to the entertainment and asked: “Where is Ahoeitu? The lad is wanted to come and eat.” The people answered: “He was here walking around and observing the sika
28 Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
game.” They searched, but could not find him at the entertainment. So the woman returned to Eitumatupua and reported: “The lad is not to be found.”
Eitumatupua suspected that Ahoeitu’s brothers had killed the lad. There¬ fore, he sent a message for them to come. He asked them: “Where is the lad?” and they lied, saying: “We do not know.” Then their father said: “Come and vomit.” A big wooden bowl was brought. They were told to tickle their throats, so that they would vomit up the flesh of the lad and also the blood; in fact, all the parts they had eaten. They all had their throats tickled and they vomited, filling the wooden bowl.
They were then asked: “Where is his head?” The murderers replied: “We threw it into the bush, into the hoi bush.” Then the god Eitumatupua sent a messenger to seek the head of Ahoeitu. They also collected his bones and put them together with his head into the bowl and poured water on to the flesh and blood. Then were plucked and brought the leaves of the nonuhaha tree. The leaves of this tree placed on a sick person possess the virtue of bringing immediate recovery, even if the person is nigh unto death. So the nonuhaha, or the Malay apple ( Eugenia ■ malaccensis) , leaves were covered over the remains of Ahoeitu, and the bowl containing them was taken and put behind the house. They visited the bowl continually and, after a time, poured out the water. The flesh of his body had become compact. They visited the bowl again and again and at last found him sitting up in it.
Then they told Eitumatupua that Ahoeitu was alive, for he was sitting up. They were told to bring him into the house, into the presence of his father. Then Eitumatupua spoke, ordering that the brothers of Ahoeitu, who ate him, be brought. Their father then addressed them.
“You have killed Ahoeitu. He shall descend as the ruler of Tonga, while you, his brothers, remain here.” But the brothers loved Ahoeitu, as they had just realized that he was their real brother and had one father with them. Therefore, they pleaded with their father to be allowed to accom¬ pany Ahoeitu, a plea which was finally granted.
Ahoeitu returned to earth and became Tui Tonga, the first (divine) Tui Tonga of the world. The Tui Tonga who originated from the offspring of the worm were displaced.
Ahoeitu’s brothers followed and joined him. They were Talafale, Mata- kehe, Maliepo, Tui Loloko, and Tui Folaha. Eitumatupua told Talafale that he was to go to the earth, but that he would not be Tui Tonga, as he was a murderer. He was, however, to be called Tui Faleua. Eitumatupua said that Maliepo and Matakehe were to go to guard the Tui Tonga. Tui Loloko and Tui Folaha were to govern. Should a Tui Tonga die, they were to
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
29
have charge of all funerary arrangements, just as though it were the funeral of the Tui Langi (King of the Sky), Eitumatupua.
It is the descendants of Ahoeitu, he who was murdered in the sky, who have successively been Tui Tonga. The descendants of Talafale are the Tui Pelehake. The descendants of Matakehe26 are not known, having become extinct. The descendants of Maliepo are called Lauaki. The de¬ scendants of Tui Loloko are still called Tui Loloko.27
The Tui Tonga and their families are of the highest rank, because Ahoeitu came originally from the sky. He was the first chief appointed from the sky, the Tui Tonga of all the world of brown people as far as Uea (Wallis island), the ruler of the world. His divine origin makes his descendants real chiefs. In fact, it became customary to ask of one who is proud or thinks himself a chief: “Is he a chief? Did he descend from the sky?”
The son of Ahoeitu was Lolofakangalo, and he became Tui Tonga when Ahoeitu died ; and the son of Lolofakangalo was Fangaoneone and he be¬ came the third Tui Tonga. The son of Fangaoneone was Lihau, and he was the fourth Tui Tonga. The son of Lihau was Kofutu ; he was the fifth Tui Tonga. Kaloa, the son of Kofutu, was the sixth Tui Tonga. His son Mau- hau was the seventh Tui Tonga. Then followed Apuanea, Afulunga, Momo, and Tuitatui. It was Tuitatui who erected the Haamonga-a- Maui, or Burden-of-Maui (the well-known trilithon of Tongatabu).
The following account concerns the Tui Tonga Tuitatui and what he did on the raised platform house ( fale fatataki). His sister went to him. Her name was Latutama and she was female Tui Tonga. Her attendant followed her to Tuitatui’s house. After his sister arrived Tuitatui ascended to his platform and then he began his lies, for, behold, he had desire for his sister to go up to the platform, so that they might have sexual inter¬ course. From above he said to his sister below : “Here is a vessel coming, a vessel from Haapai very likely; a very large vessel.”
And Latutama answered: “Oh, it is your lies.” “It is not my lies,” retorted Tuitatui. “Come up and see the vessel yourself.’ Ihen his sister climbed up and sat with him on the platform, while her attendant remained below, and Tuitatui and his sister had sexual intercourse. That was the way of that Tui Tonga, and it was known to the attendant.
They dwelt together at their place of abode in Hahake (eastern Tonga- tabu), the name of which was Heketa (near the modern village of Niutoua). The trilithon called the Burden-of-Maui and Tuitatui’s terraced stone tomb are situated there. There was also there the Olotele 28 (or dwelling-place
2« Matakehe is mentioned in some texts as “a band of Tui Tonga’s warriors.”
27 For a brief account of the kings of various countries being sent down from the sky by
Sinilau, see page 194.
26 Cf. Olotele, a mountain in
Tutuila, Samoa; Olokele, a mountain in Maui, Hawaiian Islands.
30
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
of the Tui Tonga) and the course for the game played by the Tui Tonga with the sikaulutoa (a reed throwing-stick with a head of toa, or casuarina wood).
The sons of Tuitatui were Talaatama and Talaihaapepe. When Tui- tatui died, his son Talaatama succeeded him.
Then Talaatama spoke to his brother Talaihaapepe concerning the un¬ desirability of Heketa as a place of residence. Said he: “Let us move and leave this dwelling place, because of our love for our two vessels ; lest here they go aground and be broken to pieces, for this is a very bad anchorage.” His brother Talaihaapepe replied: “It is true, but where will we go?” And Talaatama answered: “To Fangalongonoa ( fanga , shore; longonoa, quiet), lest our vessels get wrecked.” That is the reason why they moved their vessels to Fangalongonoa and made their dwelling near by. The place where they dwelt was called Mua. They took their two vessels with them. The name of one vessel was “Akiheuho,” and the name of the other vessel was “Tongafuesia.”
That is the reason why Laufilitonga 29 dwells at Mua. It is the dwell¬ ing place prepared by Talaatama and Talaihaapepe. It was they who first moved from Hahake (referring to Heketa on the northeast coast of Tong- atabu) and it was they who prepared Mua. And all of the Tui Tonga who have succeeded them have dwelt there, even unto Laufilitonga, the present Tui Tonga.
When Talaatama died, he was succeeded by Tui Tonga Nui Tama Tou. This was not a person, but a piece of tou ( Cordia aspera ) wood which Talai¬ haapepe caused to be set up as Tui Tonga, for he did not himself wish to become Tui Tonga immediately after his brother Talaatama. It being Talaihaapepe’s desire that a dummy Tui Tonga be enthroned, the piece of tou wood was dressed in tapa and fine mats and duly appointed. A royal wife (moheofo) , too, was appointed for the Tama Tou. After it had been three years Tui Tonga, the vault stones were cut for the tomb and the Tama Tou was buried in the vault.30 Then it was pretended that his wife was pregnant, so that she might give birth to a Tui Tonga. The fictitious child was none other than the wily Talaihaapepe, the brother of Talaatama, who was then proclaimed Tui Tonga. A proclamation was made to the people of the land that the Tui Tonga’s wife (the moheofo ) had given birth to a son whose father was the recently deceased Tui Tonga Tama Tou. The truth of the matter was that it was really Talaihaapepe, who was at once proclaimed Tui Tonga.
28 The last Tui Tonga, who was living when this account was first written, and who died on Dec. 9, 1865.
30 William C. McKern, my colleague in Tonga, carefully examined the terraced stone tomb re¬ puted to be that of the Tama Tou, but could find no trace of a vault.
Gifford — T origan Myths and Tales
31
These are the things that those three Tui Tonga, Tuitatui, Talaatama and Talaihaapepe, did.
Then followed in succession the Tui Tonga Talakaifaiki, Talafapite, Tui Tonga Maakatoe, Tui Tonga i Puipui, and Havea.
Havea was assassinated. He died and his body was cut in two and his head and chest floated on shore. He was murdered while having his bath, and the name of the expanse of water where he bathed is Tolopona. It is by the roadside at a place called Alakifonua (modern village of Alaki, Tongatabu island). After his head and chest floated on shore, a gallinule ( Porphyrio vitiensis ) called kalae came and pecked the face of the dead chief. In consequence that beach was called Houmakalae. When Lufe, the chief of the dead Tui Tonga’s mother’s family, learned of the king’s death, he said: “The Tui Tonga is dead. He has died a bad death, for he is cut in two. Come and kill me and join my buttocks and legs to the Tui Tonga’s trunk, so that the corpse may be complete.” His relatives obeyed him. They slew him to make the Tui Tonga’s body complete and then buried the remains. Thus it was done for the Tui Tonga Havea who was slain.
Another Tui Tonga was Tatafueikimeimua ; another was Lomiaetupua ; another Tui Tonga was Havea (II.), who was shot by a Fijian man called Tuluvota ; he was shot through the head and he died.
Another Tui Tonga was Takalaua. His wife was a woman called Vae. When she was born, she had a head like a pigeon’s head, and her parents deserted her. Her father’s name was Leasinga and her mother’s name was Leamata. They left her at the island of Ata (near Tongatabu), while they sailed to Haapai.
Ahe, the chief of the island of Ata, went down to look at the place where the boat had been beached, and he said, “Perhaps the canoe went last night.” He walked about near the place where the canoe landed, and he saw some¬ thing moving. It was covered with a piece of tapa. Behold, a woman had given birth to a girl child and deserted her, because she and her husband disliked the infant and were afraid of their child. Her parents were Lea- singa and Leamata. Because she had a head like a pigeon’s, they decided to abandon her. The chief of Ata went and unwrapped the moving bundle, and said : “It is a girl with a pigeon’s head.”
He took her, did the chief of the island, and fed and cared for her, and adopted her as his daughter, and called her Vae. She lived and grew big, and the beak of the bird was shed, and her head, like a pigeon’s, was changed. She grew very beautiful, and she was brought to Mua as a wife for the Tui Tonga Takalaua. The woman who was born with the pigeon’s head bore children to Takalaua, the Tui Tonga. Her first son was Kauulu- fonuafekai, and her second son was Moungamotua, and the third was
32
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Melinoatonga, and the fourth was Lotauai, and the fifth was Latutoevave ; that child talked from his mother’s womb. Those were all Vaelaveamata s children to the Tui Tonga Takalaua.
Vae had five male children, some were grown up and some were still young when their father Takalaua the Tui Tonga was murdered. His children, Kauulufonuafekai, Moungamotua, and his other sons, were very angry over their father’s murder, and they said : “Let us go and seek the two murderers.”
They made war on Tongatabu and conquered it, and the two murderers fled to Eua. And Kauulufonuafekai and his people entered a vessel and pursued the two murderers, whose names were Tamasia and Malofafa, to Eua. They fought the people of Eua, and conquered them, and the two fugitives fled to Haapai. Kauulufonuafekai and his brothers sailed in pursuit to Haapai. Haapai was waiting ready for war with the avengers, and they fought and Haapai was conquered. The two murderers then fled to Vavau, and Kauulufonuafekai pursued, and conquered Vavau. Again the two murderers fled, this time to Niuatoputapu. Kauulufonuafekai pur¬ sued, and fought and conquered Niuatoputapu. Thence the two murderers fled to Niuafoou. Still they were pursued. Kauulufonuafekai fought and conquered Niuafoou also. The two murderers again fled, but whither? Kauulufonuafekai went to Futuna to seek them, and fought and conquered Futuna.
Kauulufonuafekai had spoken in the vessel to his brothers and warriors: “Do you think my bravery is my own, or is it a god ( faahikehe ) that blesses me and makes me brave?” And his brothers, warriors, and people in the vessel all answered : “What man in the world is strong in his own body, and brave in his own mind, if not blessed by a god? You are brave and strong, because a god blesses you. That is the reason why you are strong and brave.” Kauulufonuafekai replied : “I am not brave because of the help of a god. My bravery is the bravery of a man.” Then his brothers said to him: “It is not. You are brave and strong from a god.” Kauulufonua¬ fekai replied : “I will divide my body into two parts when we go and fight at Futuna. I will leave my back for the god to bless and protect, while I guard my front myself, and if I am wounded in front, it will be a sign that I am brave and strong because a god blesses me ; but should I be wounded" in my back, it will be a sign that it is my own bravery, and that a god has nothing to do with it.”
They went and fought the Futunans, who attempted to drive the Tong- an vessel away. Then the Tongans in turn chased the Futunans on the sea and drove their warriors inland. But they were fighting for nothing, for the murderers were not at Futuna; they were at Uea. Thus Futuna was
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
33
fought for nought, as it was thought that the murderers were there. They fought Futuna and the warriors from the vessel of Kauulufonuafekai, chased the people of Futuna, and caused them to flee. Kauulufonuafekai ran up the road in pursuit. A man in ambush speared Kauulufonuafekai through his back into his chest. The chief turned and clubbed the man who had speared him. And Kauulufonuafekai, returning, said : “I told you. Don’t you say that I am brave through a god. Here I am wounded in the place that was left for the god to guard. I am not wounded from my front. My wound came from my back, which I left for him to guard ; therefore I am not brave and strong from any god. It is my own bravery and the strength of this world. Come and we will go on board the vessel.”
They went on board and sailed, but one of their brothers, Lotauai, was left behind at Futuna, for the people of Futuna had captured him. They did not kill him, but they let him live.
The vessel of Kauulufonuafekai sailed, and after voyaging for five days Kauulufonuafekai said: “Let us return to Futuna, because I have love for my brother, who is detained there ; and my wound is itching, because it wants to fight.” So they returned and Futuna saw the vessel coming, and the Futunans spoke to the lad, the brother of the chief, whom they had taken and they called his name: “Lotauai! the vessel is returning; the brave chief is coming again.” And Lotauai, the lad that they held, said: “I told you that the chief would return with his warriors. It is for love of me, because you hold me prisoner. Had the chief and his warriors come for love of me, and come and found me dead, you having killed me, Futuna would indeed have died (been exterminated). But I am alive, so no one will be killed and you will not he punished.”
Then the people of Futuna said to the lad : “Lotauai, what can we do to live !” They were afraid that the chief would come and kill them.
The chief’s brother said: “Come and put on fine mats (ngafingafi) , and pluck leaves from the chestnut (ifi) tree and put them round your neck. That is the thing to do to live, for it is the recognized Tongan way of beg¬ ging mercy. Come and sit with bowed head at my back, while I sit in front, so that the chief that you are afraid of will see that I am still alive. That is the means by which you will live. Also prepare for his reception; cook food, and bring kava. After we have pacified the chief by sueing for mercy, then bring the kava and food, then we (Tongans) will drink it and g-o away.” The vessel arrived and the people of the land came with loin mats ( ngafingafi ) round them, and chestnut leaves around their necks. And came the brave chief, and found his young brother still alive. And his young brother told the chief : “The people of the land are sueing for mercy, to live, because they are afraid.” Kauulufonuafekai replied: “They live, and I am thankful that my brother still lives.”
34 Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Then the kava and food were brought by the people of Futuna. They had kava with the chief and made friends. Then Kauulufonuafekai gave a Tongan boat to the people of Futuna, and said: “I have no wealth (tapa and mats) to give you, but here is a present for you, that I give you: Any vessel coming from Tonga is yours, but do not kill its people. All goods that are brought in it from Tonga are to be your present. That is my pay¬ ment to you, because you allowed my brother, whom you took, to live, and I received a wound from you in the fight. That is why I give you the goods from the Tongan vessels.” Hence comes the meaning of the ex¬ pression: “Vete fakafutuna, to seize like the Futunans.”
Then the vessel left to go and seek the murderers in Fiji. Kauulu¬ fonuafekai went and fought the different islands of Fiji, but the two mur¬ derers were not found in Fiji. They returned from Fiji and went to Uea, and fought and conquered Uea.
The two murderers were not able to flee from Uea, but were overtaken there, for they were prisoners held for sacrifice. When the Uea people came to sue for mercy, after they were conquered in the fight, the two mur¬ derers came with them. Kauulufonuafekai did not know the faces of the two murderers, but he knew their names. When the Uea people came to sue for pardon they all had long hair ; but the two murderers, wlho came with them, had short hair which was just beginning to grow, their heads having been shaven. The chief knew them by their short hair, as all the Ueans had long hair. The chief called: “Tamasia!” for that was the name of one. He answered: “I am here.” Then the chief called out the name of the other one: “Malofafa!” and he answered: “I am here.” The chief then said: “What a long time you have been. Thanks to the god that you fled and that you are still alive. Come, you two Tongan men, we will sail for Tonga.”
The vessel conveyed the two men to Tonga. There Kauulufonuafekai commanded that the two murderers should be brought and cut up alive as food for Takalaua’s funeral kava. They were brought and cut up, and after they were cut up, their pieces were collected and burned in the fire.
It is said that Kauulufonuafekai had had their teeth pulled out at Uea, and then he had thrown them a string of dry kava, that he had worn round his neck most of the time since he had left Tonga. Upon throwing the dry kava to them, he told them to chew it. They tried to chew, with their bleeding gums, but were not able in the least to chew. After a very long, long time of thus giving them pain, from the morning of one day to the next day, Kauulufonuafekai told them to enter the vessel for them to leave for Tonga.
Takalaua, the Tui Tonga that was murdered, was buried, and Kauulu¬ fonuafekai was appointed Tui Tonga. He, the child of the woman with
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
35
the pigeon’s head, was Tui Tonga. The brother of Kauulufonuafekai, Moungamotua, was appointed Tui Haatakalaua (tui, king; haa, family; Takalaua, his father’s name) and he went and lived at “Kauhalalalo” in Fonuamotu near Loamanu (at Mua, Tongatabu), in order to rule from there the land. And he was to be called Tui Haatakalaua. Moungamotua was the first Tui Haatakalaua, the brother of Kauulufonuafekai, the Tui Tonga.
Kauulufonuafekai was the first to arrange that the apaapa, or master of ceremonies in the kava ring, should sit at a distance, not near to him, because he was afraid of being murdered, as his father, the Tui Tonga Takalaua, was murdered. Therefore the kava ring was formed so that the people in it sat at a distance from the chief. He instructed some of his brothers to sit at his back to guard him lest he should be murdered. The name given to those brothers that sat behind him, was huhueiki ( huhu , to suspect; eiki, chief).
Another Tui Tonga was Vakafuhu; another was Puipuifatu ; another was called Kauulufonua; another Tui Tonga was Tapuosi I., and another Tui Tonga was Uluakimata I., (Telea). His vessel was called Lomipeau ( lomi , keep under; peau, waves). That was the ship that often went to Uea to cut and load stones for the terraces ( paepae ) of the royal tombs. Paepae o Telea is the name of the grave yard of the Tui Tonga Telea. Fatafehi he was the son of Telea ; his mother was Mataukipa. Another Tui Tonga was Tapuosi II., and another Tui Tonga was Uluakimata II. His sons were the Tui Tonga Tui Pulotu I. and his brother, Tokemoana. The latter was appointed Tui Haauluakimata (tui, ruler; haa, family; Uluaki¬ mata, his father’s name). Their sister Sinaitakala, was the female Tui Tonga; Fatani was their brother, also Faleafu, all of one father.
The son of Tui Pulotu was Fakanaanaa and he was Tui Tonga; another Tui Tonga was Tui Pulotu II.; and another Tui Tonga was Maulupeko- tofa. The son of Pau was Fatafehi Fuanunuiava, and the son of Fuanu- nuiava was Laufilitonga, the Tui Tonga that is alive in the world. That is the end of the Tui Tonga. The old Tui Tonga, the offspring of the Worm, are gone. The list of female Tui Tonga is not given, but only the list of the male Tui Tonga.
Here are their names in order: (i) Ahoeitu, (2) Lolofakangalo, (3) Fangaoneone, (4) Lihau, (5) Kofutu, (6) Kaloa, (7) Mauhau, (8) Apuanea, (9) Afulunga, (10) Momo, (11) Tuitatui, (12) Talaatama, (13) Tui Tonga Nui Tama Tou, (14) Talaihaapepe, (15) Talakaifaiki, (16) Talafapite, (17) Tui Tonga Maakatoe, (18) Tui Tonga i Puipui, (19) Havea I., (20) Tatafueikimeimua, (21) Lomiaetupua, (22) Havea II., (23) Takalaua, (24) Kauulufonuafekai, (25) Vakafuhu, (26) Puipuifatu,
36
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
(27) Kauulufonua, (28) Tapuosi I., (29) Uluakimata I. (Telea), (3°) Fatafehi, (31) Tapuosi II., (32) Uluakimata II., (33) Tui Pulotu I., (34) Fakanaanaa, (35) Tui Pulotu II., (36), Pau, (37) Maulupekotofa, (38) Fatafehi Fuanunuiava, (39) Laufilitonga.
The Tui Tonga Uluakimata, he who was called Telea, had many wives. One of his wives was Talafaiva. She was said, by the people of Mua who saw her, to be the most beautiful of women, for there was not another woman in the world so beautiful as she — she was unsurpassed. She was also a very great chief, for both her parents were chiefs. There was not another woman of such high rank, or so beautiful, or so well formed. She was the only woman called by all the world fakatouato (chief by both parents). Talafaiva brought fifty other wives ( fokonofo ) to Telea. The second wife of Telea was Nanasilapaha, and she brought fifty other wives to Telea. The third wife of Telea was Mataukipa and she brought one hundred other wives to Telea.
Mataukipa was the wife that always received the tail of the fish, and rump of the pig every day. “Why is the head of the fish, and the head of the pig, and the middle cut of the fish, and back of the pig always taken to Talafaiva and Nanasilapaha?” This was the question which troubled Ma¬ taukipa, so she decided to confer with her father. “I will go to my father, Kauulufonuahuo (head-of-the-land-cultivators), and ask him if it is good or bad this thing that the Tui Tonga is doing to me.” So she carried her child on her back and went to the place called Mataliku, where Kauulu¬ fonuahuo dwelt. He was an industrious gardener, growing yams, bananas, kape (a root like the taro), taro, uhlei (a small sweet yam), hoi (fruit tree), and large bread fruit trees.
Her father saw his daughter coming, and went to greet her. “You have come. Who is with you ?” His daughter, Mataukipa, answered : “Only we two.” Then the father asked : “Why was there no one to come with you? Why only you two? Are you angry?” and Mataukipa replied: “No!” Her father said: “You stay here while I go and prepare some food, then I will take you back to Mua.”
They had their kava prepared twice. Then the people went and pre¬ pared the oven and baked yams and a pig. Afterwards the daughter spoke to her father: “Why are the Tui Tonga’s wishes like that?” she asked, and her father inquired: “How?” His daughter replied: “When our fish and pig is brought, the two women always eat the head and back of the pig, and the head and middle part of the fish, and I always get the tail of the fish and the rump of the pig.”
The father of the woman laughed, and made this reply to the woman: “And are you grieved at it?” The woman answered: “I am grieved at it.”
Gifford — Tangan Myths and Tales
37
The father replied to the woman : “Don’t be grieved. Your portion is the rump of the pig and the tail of the fish, because the land will come event¬ ually to your children. They will be rulers.”
The woman’s mind was at peace after her father’s explanation as to why she always was given the tail of the fish and rump of the pig, but before that she was jealous of the two women, and thought: “The chief loves the two women more than me.” Consequently she was jealous.
They returned to her place and the woman was content, because of the explanation of her father, and they all lived together. When the Tui Tonga Telea died, the woman Mataukipa had a son called Fatafehi, and a daughter called Sinaitakala-i-langi-leka. Fatafehi was appointed Tui Tonga and Sinaitakala became female Tui Tonga. Thus what Mataukipa’s father had told her came true; her son became Tui Tonga and her daughter female Tui Tonga and her descendants were Tui Tonga, the last being Laufili- tonga.
The Tui Tonga Telea dwelt in the bush, because he preferred it, and was more at home there, especially on the weather shore of Vavau. Each of his dwelling places and sleeping places at the weather shore of Vavau has a name, and each place is named after the thing he did at that place.
Telea and his wife Talafaiva came and dwelt on the island of Euakafa. Their house was built on the top of the mountain, and a reed fence was erected round the place. There was a big tree called foui growing there, and Talafaiva told Telea: “It is not a nice tree. You had better have it cut down.” But Telea answered: “Oh, leave it. It is all right.”
They had dwelt there for some time, when a man called Lolomanaia came from a place called Makave (in Vavau island). His vessel landed at the place where Telea dwelt, because Lolomanaia was in love with Tala¬ faiva. He ascended and waited till it was dark. When it was dark he went to the place of Telea. He pushed the gate to see if it was closed or open. When he pushed it he found that it was closed, and he tried and tried to find some way to get inside the fence. He went round outside of the fence and found the big tree that Talafaiva had told Telea to cut down. He climbed the tree and thereby gained access to the enclosure. He slept with the woman Talafaiva, the wife of Tui Tonga Telea. After they had slept he tattooed a black mark on her abdomen, to annoy Telea, for him (Telea) to know that he (Lolomanaia) had committed adultery with his wife.
Telea slept with Talafaiva in the day, and he saw what had been done to his wife’s abdomen. Telea asked her: “Who, Talafaiva, has tattooed your stomach?” Talafaiva replied: “It is true! Chief, will you pardon me? It was Lolomanaia, who came to me. Don’t you be angry, because you
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Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
know I told you, on the day that the fence was made for our enclosure, to cut down the big foui tree, because the tree was badly placed, and you said to leave it. The man climbed up it and came to me. His name was Lolo- manaia.” Telea was very wroth and arose and went out. He called his man servant by name. “Uka ! come here, for me to tell you. Go and beat Talafaiva. She has had intercourse with a man.”
Uka took a club, and went with it to her. Telea did not know that he was really going to kill Talafaiva. He only meant that he should beat her. After Telea’s wrath cooled, he found that Uka had really killed Talafaiva, and that she was dead. The beautiful and well formed woman was dead. Uka came to report to Telea, and Telea asked: “Have you beaten Tala¬ faiva?” and Uka, the man servant, answered: “I have beaten her.” The chief asked: “And how is she?” Uka replied: “She is dead,” and Telea asked: “Is she quite dead?” and Uka replied: “She is quite dead.” Again Telea asked: “Is she quite dead, my wife Talafaiva?” and Uka made reply: “She is quite dead.”
Telea was grief stricken: “Oh! oh! my misplaced confidence! I did not mean that you should really go and kill her. I only meant for you to beat her a little because I was angry. I really loved my wife, whom you have killed. You are an old fool!” Telea went and wept over Talafaiva, who was really dead, for a night and a day.
Then Telea the Tui Tonga said: “We will go and cut stones for a vault for Talafaiva.” So they went and cut the stones for the vault, and made the vault. Then Talafaiva was buried in the vault. The grave yard with the vault standing in it is on Euakafa island. The big casuarina tree at the graveyard is called Talafaiva. That is all about Talafaiva, the wife of Telea, about her ways and the meaning of what we hear about her. After Talafaiva’s death Telea went to Tonga (Tongatabu) and lived there and died there.
The stones for the vault of this Tui Tonga Telea were cut at Uea, and the terrace stones were cut there also. This is the Tui Tonga that owned the vessel called Lomipeau, and this is the vessel that brought the stones for his vault and the terrace round it.
THE FIRST TUI TONGA31 (A Variant)
Nae tomua fakakakai a mamani ehe hoko o Uanga : pea koia nae uluaki nofo a Kohai koe Tui Tonga o ma¬ mani. Pea nau nofo ai nofo ai ae kakai koia.
Ka koe fuu toa nae tuu i he motu ko Toonangakava, pea au ki langi hono fuu
This world was first inhabited by the offspring of the worm, and Kohai was first made Tui Tonga of the world. And his people were dwelling there (in Tonga).
There was a casuarina tree that grew on the island of Toonangakava, and
81 Supplied by the Reverend Jonathan Fonua of Neiafu, Vavau, after the original Tongan as published in Koe Makasini a Koliji. Translated by William Finau, of Neiafu, Vavau.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
39
loloa. Pea faifai pea alu hifo i he fuu toa ae eiki mei langi. Ko hono hingoa ko Eitumatupua. Pea nae alu hifo oku fai tokua ae fangata ae finemotua. Ko Ilaheva hono hingoa, pea ko hono hingoa e taha ko Vaepopua. Pea alu atu leva ae eiki mei langi ki he fine¬ motua o puke o na o o mohe : Hili ia pea ne kaka pe ihe fuu toa o alu ki langi. Koe ikai motu ene alu hifo ki he finemotua. Pea faifai one feitama pea fanau koe tama. Pea ne tauhi pe i laloni kae nofo pe i langi a Eituma¬ tupua. Pea faifai one alu hifo o fehuiange kia Vaepopua : “Koe tamasii ha etu tamana.” Pea talaange e Ilaheva : “Koe tamasii tangata. Pea pehe ehe Eiki ko hono hingoa eni teke ui ko Ahoeitu.
Pea ne fehuiange ki he fefine, oku kelekele umea ho fonua, pe oku touone pe? Pea ne talaange oku touone pe hoku fonua. Pea pehe ehe eiki, oua keu alu ki he langi, peau li hifo ha konga kelekele umea ke tuu ai ha ngoue ae tama na : pea e ohifo mo ha ufi ke to ai. Koe li hifo anga ia oe mounga ko Holohiufi. Nae ohifo moe ufi oku ui koe heketala ke to ihe kelekele koia. Pea toki haele ae eiki ki langi, kae nofo pe ae finemotua mo tama i mamani, i hona potu fonua ko Popua.
Pea na nonofo nonofo pea lahi a Ahoeitu. Koe aho e taha naa ne fehui ki he ene fae, “Vaepopua, kohai koa eku tamai ? Keke fakaha mai ke mea mou alu ki ai.” Pea talaange ehe ene fae, “Oku i langi hoo tamai.” Pea fehui ange ae tama. “Kohai hono hingoa?” Pea tali ehe ene fae, “Ko Eitumatupua.” Pea faifai pea peheange ehe tama ki he ene fae, “Kuou fie alu ki langi, o mamata ki he eku tamai, ka kuo ikai ha mea keu alu ai.” Pea talaange ehe ene fae, “Alu o kaka i he fuu toa, pea teke au ki langi o feiloaki mo hoo tamai.” Nae ange leva ae ngatu o fakavala aki, pea pani hono ulu mo takai : pea kuo osi hono teuleu naa ne fehui ange ki he ene fae, “Teu ilo ki fe eku tamai, he oku ikai teu ilo hono nofoanga i langi?” Pea talaange ehe ene fae, “Teke au ki langi, pea ke alu ihe hala oku lahi mo ata, pea ko hoo tamai oku fai ene heu ihe sia ihe hala.”
reached up to heaven. One time a chief from heaven climbed down that tree. His name was Tangaloa Eituma¬ tupua. And when he came down he found a woman looking for shellfish. Ilaheva was her name, and her other name was Vaepopua. And the chief from heaven went out to the woman and laid hold of her, and they went and slept. After that he went up to heaven on the tree. He frequently came down to the woman. After a while the woman was with child and she was delivered of a boy baby. She looked after the boy on earth while Eitumatupua stayed in heaven. After a while he came down and asked Vae¬ popua : “What sort of a baby is our child?” Ilaheva told him: “A male baby.” And the chief gave him the name of Ahoeitu.
And he asked the woman, what kind of soil her land had, and she told him her land was composed of sandy soil. Then the chief told her that he would go up to heaven and drop down some clay soil that their boy might plant it ; and he said he would also send down a yam to plant in it. He did so, and that is how the hill of Holohiufi orig¬ inated. He also sent the yam that is called heketala to plant in that soil. Then the chief went to heaven, but the woman and her child stayed on the earth on their piece of land called Popua.
They lived there for a good while and Ahoeitu grew big. One day he asked his mother, “Vaepopua, who is my father? Tell me so that I may go to him some time.” His mother told him, “Your father is in heaven.” Then the boy asked again, “What is his name?” The mother replied, “His name is Eitu¬ matupua.” After a while the boy said to his mother, “I should like to go to heaven to see my father, but I don’t know how to get there.” His mother told him, “Go and climb the great casuarina tree and you will get to heaven and see your father.” The mother gave him a piece of tapa cloth for a garment, and rubbed his head and body with coconut oil. When ready, he asked his mother, “How shall I find my father and where, for I do not know his dwelling place in heaven?” The mother replied, “You go to heaven and, when you get there take the wide main road, and your father will be catching pigeons on the mound near the road.”
40
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Pea alu leva a Ahoeitu o kaka i he fuu toa oau ki langi. Naa ne alu leva ihe hala nae fekau ehe ene fae ki he sia oku fai ai ae heu lupe ene tamai Pea hanga mai ae eiki ki he aluange ae tama, pea ne nofo hifo ki lalo he kuo ne mapua one lau eia koha fuu eiki, kae osi ko hono foha. Pea toki lea ange ae tama i he ene hanga kuo nofo ki lolo ene tamai, “Eiki, afio pe i olunga kae oua te ke afio ki lalo.” Pea alu ange ae o na fekita; pea toki fehui mai a ene tamai, “Kohoo hau meife?” Pea tali ehe tama, “Koeku hau mei mama. Koe fekau e Ilaheva ko eku fae keu hau o kumi mai ki he eku tamai ko Eitumatupua.” Pea talaange leva ehe ene tamai, “Koau eni.” Pea ne toe ala ange o puke mai ae ulu o hono foha ona toe uma, mo na fe- tangihii i he ene toki iloia.
Pea tuku leva ae heu, ka nau alu hake ki honau api ki he fale o ene tamai onau faikava mo fafanga ae tama. Ka oku lolotonga fai ae katoanga ae fanau ae Eiki. Ko ene fanau ia i langi. Koe katoanga sikaulutoa. Pea fekau ai ehe Eiki kia Ahoeitu, “Mea pea ke alu o mamata i he katoanga aho ngahi taokete koena oku fai i he hala i he malae.” Pea alu ai a Ahoeitu o mamata i he sikaulutoa. Pea kuo vakai ae kakai ki he tama ene fotu ange, pea nau sio taha pe kia teia; he koe tama fakaofoofa o toulekeleka. Pea kuo fui hono fili ehe kakai, pe koe tama kuo hau mei fe. Pea pehe ange ehe kakai niihi, “Kuo mau, iloi. Koe alo ena o Eitumatupua nae toki alu hake i lolo mei mama.” Pea toki ilo e hono ngahi taokete moe kakai kotoape ae katoanga. Pea pehe e hono ngaahi taokete. Ta ko hotau tehina ae tangata ni. Pea kuo nau ita kiateia, koenau meheka i he mousioa ae katoanga ki ai, he kuo tooa honau loto i hono fakaofoofa.
Pea kanoni aki ae pehe koe foha oenau tamai. Pea kuo ikai te nau faa kataki, pea nau oho o haehae ia, o ota hono kotoa, ko hono ulu pe nae toe, pea nau hanga o li ia kihe akau koe hoi. (Nae melie ae hoi, kae talu ae li ki ai ae fofonga o Ahoeitu, pea toki kona ai ae faahinga hoi e taha o ikai ke kai.)
Pea toki fekau e Eitumatupua ke alu ha fefine o kumi mai a Ahoeitu meihe
Ahoeitu then climbed the casuarina tree and entered heaven. He went up the road that his mother had described to him and came to the mound where his father was snaring pigeons. When the chief saw the young man coming, he sat down. He felt a great respect for the stranger, thinking that this per¬ son who was approaching was a great chief, not knowing it was his' own son. The young man as he saw his father sitting down spoke to him, “Lord, you may stand — do not sit down.” He stepped up and kissed him ; and his father asked him, “Where have you come from?” The son replied, “I have come from earth. Ilaheva, my mother, sent me to look for my father Eituma¬ tupua.” Then his father said to him, “Here I am,” and held out his hand to his son’s head and they kissed again. They both cried when they knew each other.
The catching of pigeons stopped, and they went to the house of the father for a bowl of kava and to have some¬ thing to eat. The chief’s sons were having a sports contest. These were his sons in heaven. Sikaulutoa was the name of the game. And the chief sent Ahoeitu, saying, “Go over and see your elder brothers'’ sports which they are holding on the road in the green.” Ahoeitu went to see the sikaulutoa. The people saw the young man coming and soon everyone fixed their eyes on him, for he was a handsome young man. The people could not make out whence the young man came, but some of them said, “We know. That is Eitumatupua’s son who has just come up from the earth.” So his elder brothers knew him and also all the gathering. His elder brothers' said to themselves, “So this is our younger brother.” They knew that all the people admired their young brother, they were jealous of him for they had never seen so handsome a young man as he.
The elder brothers could not tolerate the thought of him as their father’s son. As they could bear it no longer they rushed upon him and tore him to pieces and ate him all, except his head which they threw into a clump of shrubs called hoi. (The plant was good to eat before the death of Ahoeitu, but it has been changed ever since and now can not be eaten, for it is poisonous.)
Eitumatupua sent a woman to tell Ahoeitu to come from the game and
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
4i
katoanga ke hau o kai. Pea ihe alu ae fefine ki he katoanga, kuo ikai i ai ae tama. Pea ne fehui atu kiate kinautolu, “Kofaa a Ahoeitu, ke aluange o kai?” Pea tali mai ehe kakai, “Nae alu fano pe hena, o mata sika.” Pea kumi holo ehe fefine kae ikai ilo. Pea alu leva ae fefine, o talaange ki he eiki kuo ikai iloa ae tama.
Maholo leva a Eitumatapua kuo faka- pongi e hono ngaahi taokete a sii tama. Pea alu leva ene fekau ke nau alu ange, pea ne fehui atu, ‘Kofa ia ae tama?” Pea talaange ekinautolu, “Oku ikai te mau iloa.” Pea peheange ehe eiki, “Mou omi o lua.” Pea omi ae fuu kumete o tuku, pea fekau ke uhui a honau kia koeuhi ke nau lua ki ai ; he naa ne ilo kuo nau tamatei ae tama o kai. Pea i he enau fai nae fonu ae kumete ihe kakano moe tolo oe tama. Pea ne fehui atu, “Kofaa hono ulu?” Pea nau tali ange, “Kuo mau li ki he vao, ki he pupunga hoi.” Pea toki fekau ehe Eiki ke o o kumi mai, pea tanaki ange mo hono hui o ave o ai ihe kumete, pea lingi ki ai ae vai, pea toki paki mai ae lau oe akau koe nonu- fiafia. Koe akau ia oku ilonga e kuo teitei mahaki; pea omi hono lau o ai ki ai, pea moui leva, tokua. Pea ufiufi ae kakano moe tolo moe ulu, pea moe hui o Ahoeitu aki ae lou akau ; _ pea ave o tuku i he tuafale, kae tau aahi pe. Nae alu atu hono fua vakai kuo kamata, fakatahataha ae hui moe tolo moe kakano; pea toe vakai atu kuo mei maopoopo : toe aahi atu kuo maopoopo a hono sino, pea i hono vakai fakamui kuo tangutu ki olunga i he loto kumete. Pea fakaha kia Eitumatupua, pea fekau eia ke nau o o tataki mai ki fale, pea hau o nofo i he ao oene tamai.
Pea toki fekau e Eitumatupua ke kumi mai ene fanau i langi. Pea nau hau pea ne lea atu kiate kinautolu, “Koeni kuo mou tae ofa ia Ahoeitu, pea ne mou fakapongi. Pea tukua ia ke alu ki lalo o Tui Tonga, ka mou nofo pe kimautolu fakapongi, heni.” Pea fetangihi ae kau tama i he enau toki ilo mooni kohonau tehina, he kuo nau ofa iateia. Pea teu a Ahoeitu ehe ene
have something to eat. When the woman reached the entertainment, she could not see him. And she asked the people, “Where is Ahoeitu ; he is to come home for his meal?” A reply came from the people, “He just went about there, looking at the sika game.” The woman went all over the place but could not find him. So she returned and told the chief she could not find the lad.
Eitumatupua thought at once that his' sons had killed the boy. He sent for all of them to come to him, and he asked them, “Where is the boy?” They replied, “We do not know.” And the chief said, “You all come and vomit.” They brought a large wooden bowl, and they were told to tickle their throats so that they should vomit into the bowl, for he knew they had killed and eaten the lad. Each vomited the contents of his stomach till the bowl was full of the flesh and blood of the boy. And Eitu¬ matupua asked them, “Where is his head?” and they replied, “We have thrown it into the bush, where the hoi plants are.” And the chief sent them out to look for the boy’s head, and they brought the bones' and placed them in the bowl and poured water into it, and they also brought the leaves of the Malay apple. This plant is used when someone is near death ; the leaf of this plant is then brought and put over him, and he is cured. The flesh and blood and the head and bones of Ahoeitu were covered with the leaves of the plant ; and were placed outside the house, and watched. At the first in¬ spection it was found that the bones and flesh had b,egun to assemble, and on the second examination they were found to be almost completely united. On the third occasion when they were examined, the body was well formed, and at last they found Ahoeitu sitting up in the bowl. When this was told to Eitumatupua he ordered them to bring the boy inside. Ahoeitu came and sat down before his father.
Eitumatupua ordered that his children in heaven should enter. So they came and he spoke to them, “Here you have been cruel to Ahoeitu, and you killed him. Therefore I will let him go down to earth and become Tui Tonga, but you murderers must stay here.” The young men now loved their younger brother and were all crying, knowing that he was their real brother. Ahoeitu was
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tamai, pea toki tuku ke alu hifo ki mamani o Tui Tonga ai, koe uluaki Tui Tonga ia mei langi. Nae liua leva ae Tui Tonga ihe hoko oe Uanga.
Nae toki mui hifo ae ngaahi taokete o Ahoeitu mei langi ko Talafale, mo Matakehe, mo Maliepo, mo Tui Loloko, mo Tui Folaha. Nae folofola a Eituma- tupua kiate kinautolu. “Koeni te mou alu ki mamani. Pea ko Talafale e ikai te ke Tui Tonga, koeuhi kuo ke faka- po; ka ke alu, pea e hingoa koe ko Tui Faleua ; ko Maliepo mo Matakehe, te mo leohi ae Tui Tonga; pea ko Tui Loloko mo Tui Folaha e pule : pea ka fai ha putu oe Tui Tonga, ke mo fai o hange ko haku putu o oku.”
Pea nau alu hifo o fai pe o hange kae tuutuuni aenau tamai. Koe hako eni o Ahoeitu aia oku kei Tui Tonga tuku fakaholo ni. Koe hako o hono ngaahi taokete ko Talafale ko haana eni oku Tui Pelehake; ko Matakehe oku ikai ke kei iloa hoona hako ; ko Maliepo ko haana eni oku Lauaki. Pea koe hako o Tui Loloko ae faahinga koeni oku ui koe Tui Loloko; ko Ahoeitu koe Tui Tonga nae alu hifo mei langi, pea koia oku eiki ai mo hono faahinga. Pea koemea ia oku fakahilihiliaki, ka pauu mo fieeiki leva e, pea pehe atu leva ki ai, “Koe eiki koe he naa ke to mei langi?” Koia koe Tui Tonga nae ta hono uho koe eiki. Pea nae Tui Tonga o aau ene pule ki Uea.
Kae alo o Ahoeitu ko Lolofaka- ngalo, pea nae Tui Tonga ia ihe hala a ene eiki, pea koe alo o Lolofakangalo ko Fangaoneone pea ihe hala a ene eiki nae Tui Tonga ia. Kohono toho tolu ia. Pea koe alo o Fangaoneone ko Lihau. Naane Tui Tonga foki, pea alo o Lihau ko Kofutu, pea koe alo o Kofutu ko Kaloa. Pea ko hono foha aona ko Mauhau. Pea kae Tui Tonga e taha Apuanea mo Afulunga mo Momo mo Tuitatui (kaia naane ngaohi ae Haamonga-a-Maui) .
Pea mo Talaatama ; mo Tui Tonga Nui aia ko Tama Tou hono hingoa. Nae fekau e Talaihaapepe ke Tui Tonga ae Tama Tou. He ikai fie Tui Tonga ia koeuhi naa na fehokotaki mo hono taokete. Koe Tama Tou ko hono uhinga koe kupui tou, aia kuo omi o fakavala mo teuteui. Pea ange hano
prepared by his father, and sent down to earth and became the Tui Tonga of this world, the first Tui Tonga from heaven. The title of the Tui Tonga was then taken away from the offspring of the Worm.
Ahoeitu’s elder brothers came down from heaven afterwards. They were Talafale, Matakehe, Maliepo, Tui Lolo¬ ko, and Tui Folaha. Eitumatupua said to them, “You will go down to earth, and Talafale, you will never be Tui Tonga, because you are a murderer, but you go down and you will be called Tui Faleua; Maliepo and Matakehe, you two shall guard the Tui Tonga; and Tui Loloko and Tui Folaha shall rule, and the funeral of the Tui Tonga shall be as my own funeral.”
And they went down and carried out their father’s orders. The descendants of Ahoeitu have been Tui Tonga. The descendants of his elder brothers were : Talafale, who is now known as the Tui Pelehake; Matakehe, whose de¬ scendants are no longer known ; and Lauaki, who is the descendant of Malie¬ po. And the Tui Loloko of to-day is of the family of the Tui Loloko (who came down from heaven) ; and Ahoeitu was the Tui Tonga who came from heaven, and the chiefs belong to his family. This is why people are often heard to say to a wicked or proud person, “Were you the chief that came down from heaven?” For the Tui Tonga was absolutely a high chief in himself. As Tui Tonga he ruled all places right up to Uea.
The son of Ahoeitu was Lolofaka¬ ngalo, and he became Tui Tonga after the death of his chief (father), and the son of Lolofakangalo was Fangaoneone who was Tui Tonga after his chief (father) died. He was the third Tui Tonga. And the son of Fangaoneone was Lihau. He was Tui Tonga, and the son of Lihau was Kofutu, and the son of Kofutu was Kaloa. And his son was Mauhau. Apuanea and Afu¬ lunga were also Tui Tonga and also Momo and Tuitatui (who made the Burden of Maui).
And Talaatama (was Tui Tonga). Then there was the Tui Tonga Nui who was known as the Tama Tou (Child of Tou Wood). Talaihaapepe gave orders that the Tama Tou be made Tui Tonga. He did not want to be Tui Tonga immediately after his brother (Talaatama). The Tama Tou
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43
unoho ; pea lau ehe kakai koe mooni. Ka osi oku ikai hili ae tau tolu pea hono fonualoto o ave ae tamatou o hifoaki ki ai. Pea fanongonongo i Tonga ni, kuo hala e Langi. Pea fai mea fakaeiki ae kakai. Nae lohiaki i foki kuo feitama hono unoho. Koeuhi ke ne famuf ha Tui Tonga e taha. Pea tau ongoongo ehe kakai moe fonua kuo aloi ehe Moheofo ki he Tama Tou ae Tui Tonga koe osi ko Talaihaapepe, koe tehina o Talaatama.
was' a piece of tou wood that had a garment just like a real person. It was also given a wife ; and the people really thought it was a man. After three years they made it a vault tomb, and the Tama Tou was taken there. It was then made known throughout Tonga, that the Tui Tonga was dead. It was a great funeral they had. The people were also made to believe that the Tama Tou had a son who was to be the next Tui Tonga. The people all scattered the news concerning the son of the Tama Tou who was born by the Moheofo (the royal wife). This supposed son was Talaihaapepe, the real younger brother of Talaatama.
THE TENTH TUI TONGA, MOMO, AND THE CHIEF LOAU32
This tale is about the chief Loau of Haamea, in central Tongatabu. It is said that he had two daughters. The elder was Nua. The name of the younger is not known.
A message was brought from the Tui Tonga Momo to Loau, asking him to let him have cuttings of yams to complete the planting of his little yam patch, meaning that Loau should give him one of his daughters in marriage. The Tui Tonga’s attendant ( matapule ) was sent with this message to Loau.
Loau told the matapule to tell the Tui Tonga that the seed yams for the year were shrivelled and old and that it was too early otherwise to get seedlings. He meant that Nua already had children and that the other daughter was too young. But the Tui Tonga said that even though Nua was old he wanted her. Then Nua was taken to live with the Tui Tonga.
THE ELEVENTH TUI TONGA, TUITATUI, AND HIS HALF BROTHER,
FASIAPULE34
Tuitatui was perhaps the greatest of the line of Tui Tonga, if we may judge by the tales which deal with him and his contemporaries. To him is attributed the building of the Trilithon of Tongatabu.
There was a Tui Tonga named Momo, who sent his attendant Lehauli to the chief of Haamea (in Tongatabu) who was named Loau, telling him that he wanted “new yams and old yams” to complete the planting of his little yam patch. Lehauli did not understand the meaning of the message he bore. He really thought that the Tui Tonga wanted yams. Before he spoke to Loau, however, Loau guessed what he had come for. So Lehauli delivered his message.
82 Told by Solomon Ata, of Nukualofa, Tongatabu.
94 Told by Fakauta, a chief of Eua island.
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Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Loau told him to tell the Tui Tonga that he had “no new yams but he had an old yam and bush yams,” meaning one married daughter and “daughters in the bush,” i. e., illegitimate daughters. The attendant took this message to the Tui Tonga, who again sent him to Loau to tell him that he wanted Nua, Loau’s married daughter. She was married to Ngongo- kilitoto of Malapo, Tongatabu, who was chief of Haangongo (probably a clan or other group of people).
So Loau came to Malapo and spoke to Ngongokilitoto, telling him that the Tui Tonga wanted Nua. Ngongokilitoto told Loau to go and wait on the road until he had talked with Nua, for their marriage was a marriage for love.
Ngongokilitoto told Nua that he released her from marriage in order that she might go to the Tui Tonga, but he would visit her regularly. He told her that if she heard water dripping on a kape ( Arum costatum ) leaf as on a rainy night, that it was a sign that he was outside.
Loau then took his daughter to the Tui Tonga. For some time Ngongo¬ kilitoto visited her. Whenever she heard the dripping on the kape leaf she went out to meet her husband. Nua had already borne Ngongokilitoto a son called Fasiapule. She was anxious to bear a child to the Tui Tonga, so she told Ngongokilitoto that he had better cease his visits. She wanted to have a child that was without doubt the Tui Tonga’s. After Ngongo¬ kilitoto ceased his visits to Nua she became pregnant to the Tui Tonga. She bore a son who was named Tuitatui.
When the Tui Tonga died, Tuitatui became king. Tuitatui did not know that he had a brother. One morning they had a ceremony in which the Haangongo people presented yams and other products to the Tui Tonga. Fasiapule came with the people. He brought a basket in which he carried a piece of charcoal, one ripe mamae (a sort of banana), one toto (a fruit), and the pithy inside of a banana tree through which a fiber ran.
During the kava drinking Fasiapule came inside the kava ring with his basket. Then he made a speech. First he picked up the banana pith and broke it in half, but it was still united by the fiber within. He told Tuitatui that it was like themselves, that they could not break away from each other, because they were born of the same woman. Then he picked up the mamae to show that the two half brothers will pity each other. If Fasiapule were to commit a wrong, Tuitatui would have pity for him in his mind.
Then Fasiapule picked up the toto and told the Tui Tonga that they two were of one blood and united like the toto. Then he picked up the charcoal and told the Tui Tonga that his mind was dark like the charcoal, for he did not know until now that he had a brother in Fasiapule.
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45
After the kava party broke up and the visitors had all departed, Tuitatui sent for his female servant. She had served his father and his mother. He asked her if she knew Fasiapule. The servant told Tuitatui: “Yes. Fasiapule is the son of Nua by Ngongokilitoto. Therefore you and Fasia¬ pule are brothers.”
Fasiapule went to Fiji in an attempt to flee from his two goddesses, Sisi and Faingaa, whom he had tired of providing with food. These god¬ desses had become very angry with Fasiapule, so Fasiapule told them he would show them a trick which they would appreciate. He had two cocoa- nut leaf baskets made. He put Faingaa in one basket and Sisi in the other and told them to look always skyward. He carried them on a pole on his shoulder. When he came to a satisfactory tree, he hung the pole with the two baskets over a limb. The goddesses, ever looking at the sky and clouds moving over them, thought that they were still being carried by Fasiapule. They hung on the tree until the baskets rotted and they fell through. Meantime Fasiapule had changed his appearance by cutting his hair and beard. When the goddesses fell from the baskets they found that Fasiapule had duped them. So they searched all of the country for Fasia¬ pule. He heard of it, and he ran away to Fiji.36
When he returned from Fiji after some time, he learned that Tuitatui was in Eua island. So he proceeded to Eua with a Fijian companion. From Tonga he had seen a light in Eua. So he embarked in a canoe and went over to Eua.
When Fasiapule and his companion landed in Eua, they proceeded southward to the place called Tutu, where the light was. Upon reaching Tutu, Fasiapule found that the light was from the funeral torches of his brother Tuitatui, whom the Euans were about to bury.
Fasiapule killed his Fijian companion and took him to the house where Tuitatui’s body lay and substituted the Fijian’s body for Tuitatui’s. He then carried his brother’s body away. When he had gone a distance, Fasia¬ pule felt tired from the weight of the body. He put it down and got some hibiscus fiber to lash the body to a pole for greater ease in carrying. The place where he did this is called Fautapu ( fan , hibiscus; tapu, sacred), even at the present time.
He proceeded with the body. Over the head of the corpse was a holo (an old piece of tapa used for towel). This piece of tapa dropped off the head of his brother. The place where it dropped is today called Holotapu. At last he arrived with the body at the beach, put it in his boat, and started to paddle to Tongatabu.
“This episode is evidently borrowed from the sale of Pasikole. See page 196.
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He became weary and stopped at Motutapu, which was named Sacred (tapu) Island ( mot-u ) on that account. When he had rested, he proceeded on his voyage. Again he became weary and stopped at Moungatapu in the bay of Mua, Tongatabu island. From this fact the island is called Moungatapu (Sacred Mountain).
From Moungatapu it is not certain where Fasiapule took the body and buried it. Some say it was taken to Haangongo at Malapo, some to the royal tombs in Lapaha (.mV!).37
TUITATUI, HIS SISTER, AND HIS SONS38
There was a Tui Tonga named Tuitatui and he had a sister named Latutama who was Tui Tonga also, that is, she was female Tui Tonga. Tuitatui had a house with a loft at Heketa, which was the place of resi¬ dence of the Tui Tonga before they moved to Lapaha (Mua).
One day the Tui Tonga’s sister Latutama and her maidens visited Tuitatui at his house. After conversing for some time, Tuitatui said: “Re¬ main down here while I go up into the loft.” Tuitatui had designs on his sister, and he called down: “There are some boats arriving from either Haapai or Vavau.” Latutama controverted him, saying: “It is not true.” “I am telling the truth,” Tuitatui asserted, “but climb up and see for your¬ self. It is a large fleet, one boat, two boats, three boats, four, five, about a hundred boats, I think.”
Latutama then ascended and Tuitatui seized her. While the maidens were waiting below, they noticed blood trickling down and they asked : “What is that trickling down.” Tuitatui answered from above: “It is from a flying fox.” To this day the place where this occurred is called Toipeka (drop of blood of the flying fox).
It was Tuitatui who built the Haamonga-a-Maui (the famous trilithon) and there are also a green ( malae ) and a sika course attributed to him. At Heketa there were large houses belonging to Tuitatui, the lofts (fata) of which were built of fehi wood and for that reason were called fatafehi.
The children of Tuitatui were Talaatama and Talaihaapepe. On the death of Tuitatui, Talaatama became Tui Tonga. Talaatama conferred with his younger brother and said : “Let us move our dwelling place from here (Heketa) before some disaster overtakes our two boats. This spot is bad, for it is rocky and rough.” Talaihaapepe said: “Very well, but whither shall we move?” Talaatama replied: “My idea is that we move to the Fangalongonoa, before we lose our boats.” This is how it came about
” According to tradition the royal tombs of Lapaha were not yet constructed. Heketa is probably meant, for in another account this is the reputed burial place of Tuitatui (p. 29).
88 Recorded in Tongan by the Tamaha Amelia, May 27, 1844. Preserved in the genealogical records of Her Majesty Queen Charlotte Tupou. Translated by Mrs. May Laurence.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
47
that they moved from Heketa to Fangalongonoa and lived there. They named the new place of residence Mua and they took their boats there. The name of one boat was ‘‘Akiheuho” and the name of the other was "Tongafuesia.” Thus the living of the Tui Tonga at Mua began with the time of Talaatama and Talaihaapepe, the sons of Tuitatui.
THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME TUITATUI 39
There was a Tui Tonga named Tuitatui, who was so named because the kava maker of early days did not sit in the same fashion as nowadays, but sat in the center of the ring of chiefs. The chiefs were encircled by the people, which made the assassination of the Tui Tonga quite easy. But this Tui Tonga, when at a kava party and surrounded by the people, had a very long stick with which he used to beat the knees of anyone who came too close to him. This made them move away and keep at a distance from him, and they called him Tuitatui ( tui , king; ta, to strike; tui, the knee) and since that time the kava circle has been arranged as he made it.
TUITATUI AND THE MAIDEN40
Ko Tuitatui, koe Tui Tonga, nae eiki, pea ngeia, pea manavahe ai ae kakai oe otu fonua ni.
Ko Tuitatui, eni nae alu ene aalo ki Halakakala, pea akemai one iloi ae fefine oku hekeheka i he tualiku o Eueiki, kae fakataupe a hono vae ki tahi ; o iloi ai e Tuitatui, moe ongo tangata. Koe iloi tokua e he tangata nae nofoa mua, pea ne pehe ange : “Ongo tamani, mo mate eku tupua.” Pea na pehe mai: “Koeha?” Pea pehe e he tangata : “Ko eku tupua, koe kalia, oku langolango i he tuahilu o Haa- kame.” Pea na matei ae tupua, pea ikai ke na ilo, pea toki tala e he ta¬ ngata, one pehe : “Ko eku tupua eni ; mo sio ange ae vaei fefine, koeni oku fakataupe ki taki, ka oku hekeheka, i he vaafau, kae mama ae konga tahi, nae feounga moia.” Pea nau sio kotoa ki ai, ka nae alo mui a Tuitatui, pea lea mai : “Ongo tama, tau ange mo kimoua, ke mo aalo vave, ke tau ilo ape, koe mama, pe koe tevolo.”
Tuitatui, the Tui Tonga, was chief, and terrible, and feared by all the people of the groups of islands.
Tuitatui went in a canoe to Halaka¬ kala, and approaching the shore he saw a woman sitting on the weather shore of Eueiki, and dangling her legs into the sea; and Tuitatui and his two men saw her. She was seen first, it is said, by the man that sat in front, and he said : “You two lads, guess my riddle.” And they said, “What is it?” And the man answered : “My riddle is this, the double-boat is raised on the weather shore of Haakame.” And they tried to guess the riddle, but failed. Then the man told them : “This is my riddle ; you see there the legs of a woman, that are hanging into the sea, but she is sitting, on the branch of the fau (hibiscus) tree, while there is a light on the sea, opposite her.” And they all looked. But Tuitatui was paddling in the stern, and he spoke : “You two lads, it is with you, to paddle quickly, for us to discover if it is human, or a spirit.”
8* From the original Tongan of a manuscript in the possession of John Panuve Maatu. Trans¬ lated by Alphonse J. Gaffney.
48 From the original Tongan of a manuscript written by the late Elia Malupo, an attendant ( matapule ), made available through the courtesy of Her Majesty Charlotte Tupou the Queen of Tonga and His Highness William Tungi the Prince Consort. All of Malupo’s tales were copied from an early account written by Romano Tongavalevale and corrected by the Tui Tonga Laufilitonga. Translated by Miss Beatrice Shirley Baker
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Pea nau au atu ki ai, pea lea ange a Tuitatui : “Taahine, malo ae tau moe tualiku ni.” Pea lea mai ae taahine: “Io, malo pe ae fakaope i hakau.” Pea toe lea mai a Tuitatui, one pehe: “Ta neinei te mau fiu he sio, ikai te mau ilo ha laumanu, i hakau: Ta koeni, oku i uta ni !”
Pea ne pehe: “Heka mai, ka tau ake.” Pea pehe ange ae taahine. “Tau ake ki fe? Ki Tonga, pe ki motu ni? ke mou malolo, pea tau toki folau apongi- pongi ki Olotele.” Pea lea ange a Tuitatui, one pehe, “Vakai pe ka mea e faingofua, he naa mau sio ange oku loka ae ava.” (Ko ene loipe; ka oku nongape ae ava.)
Ka oku kei lotolotouape a Tuitatui, pe koe tevolo pe koe mama. Pea lea mai ae taahine o ne pehe : “Oua teke alu, mo oua; he oku ikai ha mea e faingataa, kapau oku ikai, ke atu, mooua ae loto, kae ha ae loka. Ka oku taka- vale pehe e ae finengalona, pea mou haele ki Olotele, kau nofo au, he ikai teu heka atu.”
Pea toki iloi e Tuitatui, ta koe ma- mape ! Pea toki kole mai a Tuitatui, one pehe mai : “Taahine, fakamolemole, ka ke mea mai o heka ke tau folau ki Tonga. Kapau, e ikai, teke mea mai, te mau matape a i tahi ni.” Pea toki heka ae taahine. Pea nau tau atu ki uta, pea fehui ange a Tuitatui: “Taa¬ hine, kohai koa ko huafa?” Pea pehe mai e he taahine : “Ei, ko Nua sioku hingoa.” Ka nae toka iloipe a Tuitatui, ehe taahine, i he e nau tau ange, nae fangono he talanoa ko Tuitatui koe eiki ulu fuolahi, pea loloa, oku ikai ke pehe ha ulu o ha tangaja. Pea siope ae taahine, pea ne iloi leva ko Tuitatui eni.
Pea na nonofo, pea feitama a Nua, pea faele, koe tangata ko Uanga ; pea toe faele koe tangata ko Afulunga; pea toe faele, koe taahine ko Fatafehi ; pea toe faele, koe tangata ko Sina. Nae toko fa ae fanau koia.
Koe ngaue a Tuitatui ae langi ke Heketa, moe maka fanekinanga, moe langi ko Moungalafa. Nae toko fa ae fanau koia.
Pea nofonofo a Tuitatui, pea ne pehe ange : “Kau tama, fai mo fai haa mou ngaue, oku ou kei moui.” Ko ene
And when they reached it, Tuitatui spoke and said: “Maiden, it is well your being here at the weather shore.” And the girl responded: “Yes, and it is well your paddling on the reef.” And Tuitatui spoke again, and said : “No wonder we got tired of looking, and not seeing any birds (indicating fish), on the reef. Why here it is, on the shore !”
And he said : “Come on board, and let us go.” And the girl replied: “Where shall we go? To Tonga or to this island (Eueiki) for you to rest, and to leave to-morrow for Olotele (Tuitatui’s residence at Heketa, Tonga- tabu island) ?” And Tuitatui answered, and said, “We will see which is the easier, because we saw the the en¬ trance was' rough.” (It was all his lies; the entrance was not rough.)
But Tuitatui was still undecided whether it was a spirit or a human being. The girl spoke and said : “Don’t you go, don’t, for there is nothing dif¬ ficult if you do not go with unheeding mind when the breakers are seen. But if you are in want of food, well, go to Olotele, and I will stay. I will not come on board.”
Then Tuitatui knew that it was only a human being! Then Tuitatui begged her, and said: “Maiden, please, come on board so that we can leave for Tonga. If you don’t come we shall die in this sea.” Then the maiden went on board. And when they reached the shore, Tuitatui asked her : “Maiden, what is your name?” And the maiden answered : “My lord, Nua is my name.” But the maiden knew who Tuitatui was, for when they arrived, she heard people saying that Tuitatui was the chief with the very big long head, and that no other man had a head like his. And the maiden looked, and knew at once that this was Tuitatui.
And they lived together, and Nua was pregnant, and gave birth to a son called Uanga ; then to a second son, Afulunga ; then to a daughter Fatafehi ; then to another son called Sina. There were four children.
The works of Tuitatui were the terraced stone tomb at Heketa, and the resting stone, and the terraced stone tomb of Moungalafa. Four of his chil¬ dren are buried there.
And dwelt for a time Tuitatui, and said : “Lads, make haste and do your work, while I am still alive.” He
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Gilford — Tongan Myths and Tales
pehe, ke ngaohi hano langi, ke fai he kuo vaivai. Ka nae ikai ke pehe ae loto oe kau tangata. Koia nae fai aipe a Tuitatui, i he teetanu, oe ngaohi oe Haamonga. Ka nae fai ange ae lau a Tuitatui, pea nau loto leva, ke nau ngaohi ha mea ki ui koe Haamonga-a- maui, ke oua naa toe auhi e ha taha.
Pea nau kamata ae ngaue koia, aki ae inasi, o ngata mei he otu muli, ko Lotuma, mo Futuna, mo Uea, moe ongo Niua, mo Haamoa. Nae ta ae maka e tolu, o to ae maka e ua, pea langa ia o tuu. Pea tanu o tatau moe funga maka ae kelekele. Pea toki tekai ki olunga, o hilifaki, pea toe keli o fetuku ae kelekele, o tanu aki ae ngahi sia, ae nae tanu ai a Tuitatui, kae tuu ae Haamonga koe matanga.
Koe ngaue a Uanga mo hono foto- tehina, ae Haamonga, moe langi i Mua, ko Langileka. Koe ngaue a Uanga ae hiki ki Mua, i he longo aia a honau tuofefine ko Fatafehi, aia oku ui koe na kakai e hono utulongoaa. Nae faka- kakai e hono tuongaane ki mui.
Oku ikai ke iloi ae kau Tui Tonga, i he vahaa o Uanga, mo Tuitatui. Koe tama a Nua nae fai ki ai ae aokai. Pea oku ikai ke iloi ae kau Tui Tonga ihe vahaa o Tuitatui, naane ngaohi a Heketa, moe Eiki nae to mei langi.
Koe ngaue a Tuitatui, tehina o Fasia- pule, koe foha ia o Ngongokilitoto ; ko ia naane ilo a Sangone mei Haamoa, ko fekau e hono tehina Tui Tonga, ke alu o kumi a Sangone : pea ne ilo.
meant for them to prepare his terraced tomb, because he was getting old. But his men were not so minded. So Tuitatui urged the carrying of the earth, for the making of the Haamonga (the great trilithon of Tongatabu). But after Tuitatui had thus spoken they de¬ cided to make something that no one could ever surpass, and call it the Burden of Maui.
And they began this work with an inasi ceremony, which was attended by the distant islands of Rotuma, and Futuna, and Uea, and the two Niuas, and Samoa. They cut three stones and buried two of them which stood up¬ right, and they piled up the earth till it reached the top of the two stones. And the third stone was rolled up the mound and placed on the top. Then the earth was dug and carried away to make the mound where Tuitatui was buried, while the Haamonga stood as an observatory.
The work of Uanga and his younger brothers was the making of the Haa¬ monga and the terraced stone tomb at Mua, called Langileka. Uanga’s work was the removing to Mua, his sister Fatafehi by her silence consenting, which was called by their people utulongoaa ( utu , carry; longoaa, silent). And Mua was peopled by her brother later.
Unknown are the Tui Tonga between Uanga and Tuitatui. The child of Nua was the one to whom the provisions were brought, that is to say he was the Tui Tonga. And unknown are the Tui Tonga between Tuitatui, who made (the structures at) Heketa, and the chief (Ahoeitu) that came from the sky.
This was the work of Tuitatui, younger (half) brother of Fasiapule, who was the son of Ngongokilitoto : he brought Sangone from Samoa ; his' younger brother the Tui Tonga sent him to seek Sangone and he found her.
TUITATUI AND THE TURTLE SANGONE41
Ko Sangone koe fonu ae taahine ko Hinahengi mei Pulotu. Nae hau ene ulu umea i mamani pea hake ki Moko- tuu, o fakamoamoa ai pea fie mohe, pea tokoto o mohe. Pea hau ae
Sangone was a turtle belonging to the lady Hinahengi from Pulotu. She (Hinahengi) came to wash her hair with clay in this world and came on shore at Mokotuu to dry her hair and,
41 From a manuscript copied by Elia Malupo, a matapule (attendant), from the account written by Romano Tongavalevale and corrected by the Tui Tonga Eaufilitonga. Translated by Miss Beatrice Shirley Baker.
50
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Haamoa ko Lekapai oku mohe a Hina- hengi pea ne fetuutuutaki a hono lou ulu, ki he ngahi fuu akau. Pea ne toki fafangu ae taahine, mo ne pehe: “Taa- hine, tuu hake,” pea tuu hake a Hina, kuo mau hono ulu i hono hai, pea pehe ange e Hina: “Fakamolemole, ka ke vevete, kata nonofo mo koe,” pea vete leva ae ulu oe taahine, pea na nonofo o fuoloa.
Pea kog aho e taha, nae pehe e Leka¬ pai : “Kuou fie alu au ki Haamoa, ki hoku kainga,” pea tala ange e Hina : “Kapau te ke fai ki he mea teu tala atu, pea atu a eku fae ke mo o ki Haamoa, pea tata ange e Lekapai: “Teu fai ki ai.” Pea pehe e Hina : “Ka ke au ki Haamoa, pea ke alu o hui mai ha fui niu, mo ha loutakapau, pea omi ki ai ke hau moia; pea ke toki alu o feilongaki mo ho kainga.”
Pea ikai ke fai ki ai a Lekapai, kae alupe ia o feiloaki mo hono kainga. Pea ahoia ae fonu o mahaia, pea hau ae utu tahi o ne iloi a Sangone, pea alu o tala ae fonu oku mahaia. Pea hau ae kolo o toho o ave a Sangone o tao, kae ave ae uno o keli ae luo, o tanu ai. Ka oku tuu ae tamasii ko Lafaipana, pea puke e Loau ae ulu oe Lafai, mo ne pehe: “E Lafai, te ke pana, pea ke pana, pea koe aho e iloi ai a Sangone, pea ke toki mate.” Ko Loau ia ; nae i Haamoa ; ko ene kumi ae laa. Ko Loau Tuputoka ia, ka oku ikai ko Loau Tongafisifonua. Pea li ki ai, ae foi tuitui e Loau. Pea folau mai a Loau ki Tonga ni, o talanoa ae uno o Sangone, oku tanu i Haamoa.
Pea toki kekau e he Tui Tonga ko Tuitatui a hono taokete fae taha ko Fasiapule, ke alu o kumi ki Haamoa a Sangone. Pea folau a Fasiapule ki Haamoa, o tau ki Savaii, ki he kolo ko Sangone hono hingoa. Pea lea ange a Fasiapule ki he kau vaka : “E ikai, ke tufa ha taha ; ko au pe teu tufa.” Pea nau haki ki uta, pea tanaki mai ae kolo, o nau faikava. Pea kisukava a Fasia¬ pule o pehe: “Pongia i vao, tangia mo koki.” Pea ikai ke nau iloi ae kisu¬ kava e he faikava, kae alu ae fehui kia Lafaipana, pe koeha ae kisukava ae eiki Tonga. Pea tala ange e Lafaipana : “Ke mou o, o kumi mai, ae meai hopa,
feeling sleepy, lay down and went to sleep. And a Samoan called Lekapai came along while Hinahengi slept, and he tied her hair, to the big trees. Then he awoke the maiden, and said : “Maid¬ en, get up,” and Hina got up, but her head was fast in its bonds. Hina said : “Please, undo it and I will live with you,” and the hair of the maiden was undone, and they lived together for a very long time.
And one day, Lekapai said : “I would like to go to Samoa, to my relatives," and Hina said : “If you will do what I tell you, I will give you my mother to go with you to Samoa, and Lekapai said: “I will do it.” And Hina said: “When you reach Samoa, go and strip a big coconut tree (of fruit), and get a coconut-leaf mat, and give them to the turtle to bring; then you may go afterwards to see your relatives.”
But Lekapai did not do that, but went at once to see his relatives. And at dawn the turtle was still waiting in the shallow water, and some one came to get sea-water and saw Sangone, and went and told the people that a turtle was in the shallow water. And the town (people) came and dragged and took Sangone and cooked her, and took the shell and dug a hole, and buried it. And the lad Lafaipana was standing by, and Loau took hold of Lafai’s head, and said : “Oh Lafai, you will grow slowly, and you will grow slowly, and the day that Sangone is found then you will die.” That was Loau ; he was in Samoa ; he was' looking for the sun. That was Loau Tuputoka, but not Loau Tongafisifonua. And Loau threw into it (the hole) a candle nut. And Loau sailed for Tonga and told about Sangone’s tortoise shell, that was buried in Samoa.
Then the Tui Tonga Tuitatui sent his elder brother of one mother with him named Fasiapule, to go and seek in Samoa for Sangone. Fasiapule sail¬ ed for Samoa and reached Savaii, at the town called Sangone. And Fasia¬ pule spoke to the crew of the vessel : “No one shall apportion; I only shall do the apportioning.” And they went on shore, and the people of the town assembled, and they had kava. And Fasiapule called the toast of the kava and said : “Fainted in the bush, mad and scratched.” And they did not know what the toast meant at the kava ring, and sent to inquire from Lafai-
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
5i
oku tuu he vao. Oua naa mou omi ae hopa maalaala; pea moe mukai talo o kofu aki ha lou si o tunu, pea omai ke ne fono.”
Pea toe kisukava, o pehe : “Kisuhe, ngulungulu mo tokoto.” Pea ikai foki ke nau iloi, kae alu ae fehui kia Lafai- pana : “Pea koeha ae kisukava koia?” Ka tuku ae faikava anai, kae fai ha feiumu tali oe folau : “Pea mou kumi ae puaka oku ikai, ke kei faatuu, oku kai mo tokoto; pea koe puaka ia, oku kisukava ki ai.” Pea fai ae feiumu tali, o tao ae puaka pehe. Pea tauhi mai ae feiumu, pea tufa ae umu moe puaka, o pehe hono tufa : “Koena ae keu mui, moe keu mua, moe fakalaa, moe huohua, koe inasi ia o mautolu. Kae tauhi ena ko ho mou inasi ia, pea mou kai ke vave. Ka mou hau ke tala ae fekau oku mau folau mai ai.”
Pea katoa mai, pea fehui atu a Fasia- pule: “Oku ikai ke mou ilo ae feituu oku tanu ai a Sangone?” Pea nau tala mai, “Oku ikai aupito te mau iloi.” Pea pehe e Fasiapule : “Ka kohai naa ne ilo, eku kisukava?” Pea nau tali mai : “Koe tamasii ko Lafaipana, naa ne tala mai.” Pea pehe e Fasiapule: “Oku kei moui a Lafaipana?” Pea nau tali mai : “Oku kei moui.” Pea fekau ke taki mai, o fehui atu : “Ko Lafaipana koe nae paki e Loau?” Pea tali mai e Lafaipana : “Ko au.” Pea pehe e Fasia¬ pule : “Oku mau folau mai, koe fekau e he Tui Tonga ke mau kumi a San¬ gone ke o ange. Pea oku ke iloi totonu ae mea oku tanu ai?” Pea pehe ange e Lafaipana : “Kapau te tau aluni o keli, ka eku kole eni, ke ke fakamole- mole. Kae oua ke tau toki keli. Ke ke kumi mai mua, ha tuula o eku lupe, naaku matepe, oku heeki ai ke tuula eku lupe.” Pea tala ange e Fasiapule: “Oku lelei teu folau ki Niua.”
Pea folau a Fasiapule o ta toa i Niua. Pea folau mai, pea eke atu e Lafaipana: “Koeha ena?” Pea pehe atu e Fasiapule : “Koe tuula o hoo lupe.” Pea pehe mai e Lafai : “Ta! Koe tohi faivavale koe oku lahi, koe ta mai e koe ae toa ke ma mohe. Ko eku laupe
pana, what was the toast of the chief from Tonga and Lafaipana said: “For you to go, and seek and bring the wild banana, that stands in the bush. Do not bring the cultivated banana. Bring the young leaves' of the taro, and wrap them in the si leaf and cook on the ashes, and bring it for him to eat with his kava.”
And he gave another toast, and said: “Drink, grunt, and lie down.” And again they did not know it, and a mes¬ sage was sent to Lafaipana : “What is this toast?” When the kava ring dis¬ persed, while the food was brought for the visitors (Lafaipana said) : “You will seek the pig that cannot stand, be¬ ing so fat, that it eats and lies down; the pig that the toast was drunk to.” And the food was prepared for the visitors, and a pig like that was baked. And the prepared food was brought with the pig, and it was apportioned like this : “There are the hind foot, and the fore foot, and the part exposed to the sun [the back], and the rooter [the head], which are our portion. The remainder is your portion, and you must eat it quickly. Then come for me to tell you the message we have brought.”
And all came, and Fasiapule asked them : “Do you not know the place where Sangone is buried?” And they replied, “We do not know in the least.” And Fasiapule said : “But who knew my kava toast?” And they replied: “It was the boy Lafaipana — he told us." Then Fasiapule asked, “Is Lafaipana still alive?”, and they replied: “He is still alive.” They were told to bring him, and he was asked: “Are you the Lafaipana that Loau hit?” Lafaipana replied: “I am,” and Fasiapule said: “We have sailed here, with a message from the Tui Tonga for us to seek Sangone and take her back. Do you know the right place where she is buried?” And Lafaipana said: “We might go at once and dig, but I have a request to make. Let us dig later. But first let us seek a perch for my pigeon, lest I die before there is a perch for my pigeon.” And Fasiapule said : “All right, we will sail for Niua.”
And Fasiapule sailed to Niua and cut a casuarina tree. And they sailed back, and Lafaipana asked: “What is that?” And Fasiapule replied : “It is the perch for your pigeon.” And Lafai said : “Behold! You are indeed a big fool, to cut the casuarina stick for me to sleep
52
Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
e au, teke iloi eku kole tuula lupe, he naake fakalavelavei e koe, a hoku kai- ngani, kae teke iloi foki e koe, eku kole : Ko eku lau fefine aaku.” Pea tali mai e Fasiapule : “Fakamolemole, e Lafai- pana, tonuhia koe a eku toe iloi, a hoo lau. He oku ikai ke toutangata, ka ke tatali kau folau ki Tonga, ke omai kao fakamafana.” Pea tala ange e Lafai- pana : “Oua, he kuo mou fuoloa, naa houhau ae Tui Tonga. Ka tau alu a, o keli a Sangone.” Pea nau alu hake o keli, pea ha hake ae uno, pea mate leva a Lafaipana, pea fakakoloa, o fai i he luo o Sangone.
Pea folau mai a Fasiapule moe uno, o ange kia Tuitatiii, o tuku ai koe tevolo, pea tuku fakaholo mai, o ngata ia Laufilitonga. Pea lotu a Laufili- tonga, pea ne fakatau ki he vaka papa- langi, pea alu ae vaka koia, o faka- taui i Fisi. Pea fanongo ai ae Tui, ko Maeakafa, pea alu o eke i Fisi a Sa¬ ngone, pea ne ilo, ae konga uno lahi o Sangone, pea ne omai o tuku ia te ia, pea oku kei tuku.
with. I thought you would understand my request for a perch for my pigeon, because you tried your riddles on my friends here; therefore I thought that you would know my request : I was talking about a woman.” And Fasia¬ pule replied : “Pardon, O Lafaipana, you are right, I now understand what you meant. We are not of one generation, but wait till I sail to Tonga, to bring you something to keep you warm.” And Lafaipana said, “Don’t, because you have been away a long time, and the Tui Tonga might be angry. But we will go, and dig up Sangone.” And so they went and dug, and the tortoise shell came in sight and Lafaipana died at once, and was buried with fine mats in Sangone’s grave.
And Fasiapule returned and brought the tortoise shell, and gave it to Tui- tatui, and it was used as a god, and it was handed down to Laufilitonga. And when Laufilitonga became a Christian, he sold it to a European vessel, and that vessel went and sold it in Fiji. And the King, Maeakafa (George I. Tupou), heard about it, and so he in¬ quired in Fiji about Sangone, and he found some of the tortoise shell and brought it and kept it himself. And it is still in existence.42
TUITATUI, LEKAPAI AND SANGONE43
(A Variant)
It is said that there was a man named Lekapai and his famliy. After living together for some time, he said that they would remove to Samoa. They settled in Samoa and planted breadfruit, plantains, and yams. Sud¬ denly a great storm arose and destroyed the plantation. Following the destruction Lekapai said : “Let us seek the wind and have a tussle with it.”
So they set out in search of the wind. After Samoa was out of sight a little island appeared, but there was no opening through the reef which surrounded it. When close to shore a big wave upset the boat. Lekapai,
however, made a bound and clung to a big hingano tree from which he
could look down. After a while he got ashore and found a small trail leading inland.
Lekapai went along this trail until he saw a beautiful girl standing be¬ side her house. She inquired of him : “Whence come you that you enter
42 The Tongan Prince Consort Tungi possesses a fish hook reputed to be a portion of San¬
gone’s shell.
48 Told by Utuvai, of Pangai, Lifuka island, Haapai.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
53
here?” He replied: “I have come to seek the wind that destroyed my garden. ’ The girl informed him: “The wind is my father. When he is awake the storms occur, but when he is asleep it is calm. Now you go along on tip-toe, for he is asleep. Take one side lock of his hair and make it fast to this big tree. Take the other side lock and tie it to that big tree. Then take the hair on his crown and fasten it to that big bunch of grass.” Lekapai obeyed the instructions carefully. Then he stamped on the ground and the wind god awoke. The god knew that these things had been done unto him at his daughter’s orders.
The wind god pleaded for his release, promising his daughter to Le¬ kapai. Lekapai complied and unbound the god’s hair, whereupon the latter said: “We will now go to the girl.” They went to the damsel and the wind god told her and Lekapai to live together. He himself retired to his other premises in the bush.
Lekapai and the daughter of the wind god lived together for a consid¬ erable time. One day the girl went for a walk in the garden, leaving Le¬ kapai behind in their house. She warned him : “While I am gone, do not go to the other part of the house, for my water hole is there.” Contrary to instructions Lekapai went to see the water hole just as soon as the girl left. He fell in and could not extricate himself and consequently, on his wife’s return, he was nowhere to be seen. She found him injured and im¬ prisoned in the water hole.
The two continued to live together for some time after this incident. Then Lekapai said that he had a longing to return to Samoa. His wife acquiesced and told him to fetch a bunch of coconuts, whilst she told her mother, a turtle named Sangone, to prepare to take Lekapai to Samoa. When Lekapai returned with the coconuts, his wife told him that in case he broke out with an eruption while on the voyage, he was not to break a coconut on the turtle’s head, but to crack it on her back. So Lekapai departed with the girl’s mother for transport. On the trip he dis¬ obeyed his wife’s instructions and cracked a nut on Sangone’s head. Im¬ mediately, the girl was aware of her husband’s act. Upon nearing the breakers on the coast of Samoa, Lekapai suggested that they go straight ashore and be stranded there. Then the treacherous fellow went and called the Samoans to the beach to kill the unfortunate Sangone. In hav¬ ing the turtle take him to the beach, he again disregarded his wife’s wishes, for she had expressly asked him to leave the turtle in deep water.
Whilst the turtle Sangone was being cut to pieces, Lekapai went to sleep. Upon awakening he found himself back in the girl’s house. She upbraided him and slew him, for she knew full well that her mother was dead in Samoa, that she had been eaten, and that her plates had been wrapped in a fine mat and buried beneath a candle-nut tree.
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Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Upon hearing of Sangone’s fate, the Tui Tonga prepared for a voyage to Samoa in search of Sangone’s plates. When he arrived in Samoa he found the children playing with canoes at the shore. Among them was a boy named Lafaipana, who was the leader of their play. He called out: “Pay off and luff up to that dead candle-nut tree, for Sangone’s plates are buried there.” Thus the Tui Tonga by chance learned exactly where San¬ gone’s plates were buried.
The Tui Tonga and his party went ashore and partook of kava while the food was being roasted. After a while the Tui Tonga exclaimed: “If only there were, a bunch of wild plantains (of a kind called pongiavao ) as a relish.” The Samoans, however, did not know of this sort, so the Tui Tonga ordered them to search for some other sort of wild plantain that had been planted long ago. This was obtained and used as a relish to the kava. Then the food was brought from the oven and the Tui Tonga bade the people to sit down and eat. He apportioned the food, the back ( fakalaa ) and head ( huohua ) of the pig for one side, and the hind and front feet ( keumui and keumua ) for the other side.
Having finished the food, the Tui Tonga made declaration, saying: “What I have really come for is to search for Sangone’s plates.” The Samoans answered: “We know nothing about them.” But Lafaipana cried: “They are buried under the dead candle-nut tree.” Then the Tui Tonga said: “We will go and dig for them.”
They went and dug. As they neared their goal the plates of Sangone shone forth and Lafaipana shouted : “Those are Sangone’s plates.” They dug further and, after completely uncovering the plates, took them up and bore them to the Tui Tonga. The Tui Tonga at once ordered prepara¬ tions made for the return voyage to Tonga. Whilst the Tongans were pre¬ paring for the embarkation, Lafaipana asked that he be allowed to accom¬ pany the Tui Tonga to Tonga. To further persuade the Tongans to take him he gave them a thing that they much desired, namely, a pigeon’s roosting perch. So Lafaipana accompanied the Tui Tonga.
Upon their arrival in Tonga, the Tui Tonga said he would have a casuarina tree on the weather side of the island cut down and taken to Samoa for Lafaipana, who had requested it. Whilst preparing for the trip for the casuarina tree the Tui Tonga’s wife said: “Whoever gets a woman is not to bring her to Tongatabu, but to the other islands.” When they reached the weather side of the island, Lafaipana said : “Do you think that I meant I wanted a real casuarina tree? I wish you to get me a girl that has not known a man and a woman that has not known a man.”
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales 55
THE THIRTEENTH TUI TONGA, THE DUMMY OF TOU WOOD 44
When the Tui Tonga Talaatama died, there were no sons to succeed to the title of Tui Tonga. He had, however, a younger brother who was but a child. This boy, whose name was Talaihaapepe, had a toy in the shape of a wooden doll, which he called Tama Tou. When word was brought to the boy that he was to be made Tui Tonga, he objected and desired that his doll, Tama Tou, should be made Tui Tonga instead. Of such weight was the desire of this child of high rank that no one dared to object. So the wooden doll was made Tui Tonga.
Several years later, Talaihaapepe became convinced that such a con¬ dition of affairs was foolish, and so he had it announced that the Tui Tonga Tama Tou was dead. The wooden doll was then buried with customary ceremony and mourning in the two-terraced stone tomb called Langi Tama Tou. After that Talaihaapepe became Tui Tonga.
THE TWENTIETH TUI TONGA, TATAFUEIKIMEIMUA
Tatafumeimua, one of the two brothers concerned in the tale next re¬ lated, is undoubtedly the twentieth Tui Tonga, Tatafueikimeimua. The second version of the tale speaks of the chief of the expedition to Samoa as being the Tui Tonga himself, although his name is not given. The Tui Tonga’s name differs only from that of Tatafumeimua in this story in the insertion of the word eiki, chief. Tatafumeimua : tatafu, to strike fire ; mei, from ; mua, the combined villages of Lapaha and Tatakamotonga, Tongatabu, where resided most of the Tui Tonga; hence, to strike fire from Mua. The brother of Tatafumeimua was Nganatatafu: ngana, renowned; tatafu, to strike fire; hence, the renowned one who strikes fire.
NGANATATAFU BRINGS THE BONITO TO HAANO 45
Tokua koe Tui Tonga e taha nae toho ua hono falealo, koe hingoa oe lahi ko Tatafumeimua, koe sii ko Nganatatafu. Nae nofo pe i Mua a Tatafumeimua, kae alu a Nganatatafu o nofo ki Haano.
Koe taimi koia nae ongo mai ha fefine hoihoifua mei Haamoa ko Hina. Pea kavea ae loto o Tatafumeimua i he ongoongo nae faa au mai, o ne pehe ke alu o fai ene tango ki ai.
It is said that there was a Tui Tonga who had two sons, the name of the elder was Tatafumeimua [who became the twentieth Tui Tonga], and the younger was called Nganatatafu. Tata¬ fumeimua dwelt at Mua (in Tonga- tabu), and Nganatatafu went and dwelt at Haano (in the Haapai group).
At that time came a report about a beautiful woman in Samoa called Hina. And the mind of Tatafumeimua was taken up with the report of her that often came, and he said that he would go on a visit to her.
« Told by Joel Pangia, the chief who probably would be Tui Tonga today if the office had not been abolished.
« From the original Tongan as published in the Wesleyan Methodist paper Koe Fanogonogo, vol. I, pt. 7, pp. 7, 8, 1916. Translated by Miss Beatrice Shirley Baker.
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Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
Nae teu ae folau, pea faila honau kalia o tuku atu ae vaka. I heenau feunga mo Haano, pea lea mai a Tata- fumeimua ke nau afe ki ai o fakaheka mai hono tehina ke alu o fai haanau fekau. Pea fai.
Nae tau atu ae vaka ki Falemei aia koe fanga o Haano o fakaheka mai a Nganatatafu. Ko Ngana pe mo ene Fisi nae heka mai pea nau folau leva. Nae tau atu ae folau ki Haamoa, pea fekau e he taokete ke hifo ae vaka o hake, kae nofo a Ngana o leo vaka mo ene Fisi. Ko hono uhinga, he nae lotokovi a Tatafu ki hono tehina, koeuhi koe .tama koia nae hilu hono hoihoifua. Oku lau koe mea nae hulu ko hono langi. Tokua nae faa pongi- ngia a fafine oka nau ka vakai ki ai, he nae hange ha fuhi fa kula hono ongo tulikifanga pea ka tatala hono fau kae tulekina hono lau e he matangi “koe afi ata!”
Koe uluaki po oe folau nae po ula pe o aho, pea pehe moe ua moe tolu. Kohai te ne lau ae feauhi laupisi nae fai, he feinga ke mau ae taahine !
Faifai kuo po fa nai pe nima, pea hifo mai ha kaunanga ke utu tahi ki he fanga oku tau ai ae vaka. Kuo hifo a Ngana mo ene Fisi i he kei taohau o fuifua, pea na toki hake o ai fau o fai ena fakalaalaa i he funga puke i he katea. Nae tuu fuoloa sii kaunanga o mamata, o ne mahalo koe faahikehe ena i funga vaka, he nae hoata mai ae langilangi oe pauu na ki uta. Pea ne fakangatata ene hohoni ke sivi aki, pe koe mama pe koe faahikehe. I he fanongo a Ngana ki he pato ae hohoni, naa ne oho ki hono sisi o ai, pea ne ala hake o palei hono fau koe tai ene fakaapaapa ki he fefine. Oiau ! nae mate tuu sii kaunanga, pea i heene ofo hake nae ngalo ene utu tahi ka ne iva ki uta ke tala kia Hina ae mea foou kuo ne mata. Naa ne oho fua atu ki he fale o kalanga kia Hina, “He oku ongo mai ongo mai a Nganatatafu ke tatau moe tangata oku nofo i tahi.” Naa ne lau pehe he nae faa ongo atu ki Haamoa a Ngana. Nae fekau leva e Hina ke lele ae kaunanga o tala kia Ngana ke alu ange ki hono lotoa. Kuo mate fiemohea ae taokete i he a noa pea ikai te ne ilo mo hono lahi ae hu
The voyage was prepared for, and the double vessel set sail. When they were opposite Haano, Tatafumeimua spoke and told his people to call in and take on board his younger brother for him to go and attend on him. And it was done.
The vessel anchored at Falemei which is the anchorage of Haano and took Nganatatafu on board. Ngana brought with him his Fijian attendant and they voyaged on. When the vessel reached Samoa, his brother told all on board to go on shore, except Ngana and his Fijian attendant, who were to remain on board to guard the vessel. The reason of such arrangement was that Tatafu was jealous of his younger brother, because the latter was very handsome. It is said that his hair was' something wonderful. Women fainted when they saw it, because it was the color of red pandanus fruit over his' two temples and when his turban was off and his hair was stirred by the wind “it was just like fire!”
The first night after they arrived was spent in dancing until morning, and it was the same on the second and third nights. Who will be able to tell all the nonsense that was' done, in trying to win the girl !
On the fourth or perhaps the fifth afternoon a female servant came to get sea water at the beach where the vessel was anchored. Ngana and his Fijian had been for a swim and were sunning themselves on the deck of the vessel. The servant stood for a long time looking at them, thinking that there was a god on the deck of the vessel, because the hair of the rogue shone like noonday. So she rattled the empty coconut-shell water carriers to see whether it was a person of this world or a god whom she beheld. When Ngana heard the rattling of the coconut shells, he jumped for his girdle and put it on, and raised his hand and threw back his turban out of respect to the woman. Oh dear ! the poor ser¬ vant was dazed, and when she recover¬ ed she forgot all about getting the sea water and ran inland to tell Hina of the new thing she had seen. She rushed into the house and called to Hina, “The description that was brought about Nganatabafu fits the man who is at the beach.” She spoke thus because of all the reports that had been brought to Samoa about Ngana. Hina sent the
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales
57
ki lotoa a Ngana o mau a Hina pea nau ofo hake oku fai katoanga ae lotoa kuo mole ae fefine naa nau folau ki ai kuo mau e Ngana !
Nae teu leva ae folau ke foki mai kuo nau lili kia Ngana. Pea fai. Pea pehe e Hina kia Ngana, “Kapau teu atu ha kie e popo pea ne ongo pe koeha ka e mole pe. Oku ai eku ika koe atu, teu atu ia ke ke alu mo koe, e ta ia i ho fonua pea e ikai fai he tau kotoa, ka e fakahili tau e taha pe ua nai. Ko hono uhinga eku fai pehe ke toutou langai hoo manatu mai. Ka iloange kuou kamata ngalo pea ka fotu atu ae atu te ke toe manatu mai leva i he ha atu eku ika.”
Nae tuku mai ae vaka, pea lele mai leva ae ongo foi atu o alu pe i olo- vaha. Faifai pea nau feunga moe motu ko Ofolanga pea fekau e he taokete ke hopo a Ngana o kakau mo ene Fisi ki Haano. Naa na hopo leva o kakau, pea lele mai ae ongo ika o nau o hake. Nae vave ae kakau a Ngana o ne tuuta, kae tomui sii Fisi o ne mate, kuo mei oh ki uta. Nae toki manatu a Ngana ki he Fisi o ne hifo ki tahi ke vakai, ta ko sii Fisi ena kuo mate. Talu ai moe ui ae afua nae ilo ai ko Maukuomate. Nae hingoa ae fanga nae hake ai ae atu ko Aleipata koe tauhingoa ki Haamoa.
Nae tuku e Ngana ae tauhi oe atu ki he famili naa ne nofo ai i Haano. Koe faahikehe oe famili ko Haveatoke, naa ne vaka aki ae toke. Oku kei ha pe ae toke oka hau ae atu. Ka hau ae atu nae alu ae folau o tuku mai aki pe ae fohe ki uta, pea toki omi ae ngahi fakahaatuia o puipui aki. Ko hono puke e ikai faiaki ha kupenga, koe hau pe ; pea fakahake foki ki uta. Nae tufa e Ngana ae inasi o pehe : “Koe ika e hake ki he oneone koe inasi ia ia o houeiki he kuo ha ki he mo noa, koe mea e mau i tahi e taki taha mau pe ene fangota. E tapu aupito ke hau ki ai ae houeiki o Haano, he koe ika toongapo, pea oka ikai ke kau ai
servant back to tell Ngana to come to her enclosure. His older brother (Tata- fumeimua) was very sleepy from his long and useless vigil and did not know when Ngana entered the en¬ closure and took possession of Hina ; and when he awoke the entertainment was going on in the enclosure, but the woman he had come to win was lost to him, because Ngana had taken her !
The voyagers prepared to return (to Tonga) as' they were angry with Ngana. And they prepared. And Hina said to Ngana, “If I give you a fine mat it will rot, and it does not matter what I give you it will be lost. But there is my fish the bonito, which I will give to you to take, and it will breed in your land — not every year, but every alternate year or perhaps every third year. The reason I do this is to revive your remembrance of me. If you are beginning to forget, you wijl remember me as soon as you see the fish.”
The vessel departed, and the two bonitos came and swam and followed. As soon as they reached the island of Ofolanga the older brother ordered Ngana to jump overboard and swim with his Fijian to Haano. They jump¬ ed and swam and the two fishes went with them. Ngana swam quickly and landed, but the poor Fijian was slow and died when he was very near to land. Ngana remembered his Fijian afterwards and went back to the beach to see if he had landed, and there was the poor Fijian dead. Ever since that the place has been called Maukuomate (found when dead). The beach to which the bonitos come is called Aleipata, a name from Samoa.
Ngana gave the bonito to a family at Haano to look after. The god of the family is called Haveatoke, and his' incarnation (literally, vessel) was the eel. Even at the present time when an eel appears a bonito follows. When the bonitos come, a vessel goes and brings them in with a paddle to the shore, then the people bring coconut leaves and screen them off. When cap¬ tured they are not taken with a net, for they come of their own accord even to the shore. Ngana apportioned them thus : “The fish that come up on the sand are the portion of the chiefs for it is seen that they are a present, but of those taken in the sea, each person has
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Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
ha niihi kehe, koe mea pe ae eva mo hono kau tangata.”
Kuo maumau ae ngahi lao koia pea oku ikai kei siaa ae atu he kuo feinga ae houeiki niihi ke fakasio ki ai, pea ke hange ko ha mea fakakolo ae too- ngapo a sii Hina ki siono so oona pe. Kae kehe koe toongapo hono hingoa aia koe pehe koe “toonga-oe-po” pea koe mea oku fai fakalilolilo pe oua e uiaki fano i hala. Nae faifai pea hulu ae atu pea tau aki e he kakai hange ha tau moli. Ko hono uhinga ia oe lea “Tauakiatu.” Koe liuaki ae atu koe mea malohi tokua pea ko Tupou I. koe eiki ngu lahi pea ne faa hohaa i he lau ki he malohi oe atu i Haano i he tau e taha, pea ne mea hifo ki tahi ke sivi ae malohi oe louaki oe atu. Koe kemo kuo ne mei au ki he Hakautuaniu aia koe lua oku tuu mamao mo uta : pea toki alu ha vaka o omi.
what he catches. It is very tapu for the chiefs of Haano to come to see the bonito, because it is a fish given in remembrance, and no one has any¬ thing to do with it, except the wooer and his own men.”
The laws are all broken and now the bonito catch is poor as the chiefs want to look at it, and to make a town affair of the gift which Hina gave as a remembrance to her own lover. Anyway its name is toongapo, which is to say “toonga-oe-po” (cere- mony-of-the-night), and it is ordained that it is not to be talked about in the road. This is doaj lest the bonitos come in such numbers that they would be dried like oranges. That is the con¬ notation of the word tauakiatu (the war with bonitos). The return of the bonitos is very strong and it is said that Tupou I. a chief of great might was restless when the strength of the bonitos at Haano was talked about one year, so he went down to the sea to test the power, of the return rush of the bonito. In a minute he nearly reached the reef called Reef-ribs-of- coconut-leaves, which stands far from land ; a vessel had to go out and bring him back.
NGANATATAFU BRINGS THE BONITO TO HAANO «
(A Variant)
In Samoa, in the distant past, lived a village virgin, named Hina, of surpassing beauty. So great was her beauty that it was even spoken of in Tonga. The Tui Tonga heard of her beauty and he determined to go to Samoa and bring her back to-Tonga as one of his wives.
The Tui Tonga started from Tongatabu, but on the way put in at Haano. There he took on board his boat a chief called Nganatatafu and his two matapules or attendants. On their arrival at the village where the virgin Hina lived, the Tui Tonga ordered Nganatatafu to remain on board and on no account to go ashore without his permission. As Nganatatafu was the handsomest man in all Tonga, the Tui Tonga feared that if he went ashore Hina would prefer him.
So the Tui Tonga and his attendants went up into the village and were welcomed by the Samoans, who made much of them, bringing them kava to drink and catching bonitos for them to eat. At that time the bonito was unknown in Tonga.
Recorded by W. H. Murley, of Pangai, Lifuka Island, Haapai.
Gifford — T origan Myths and Tales
59
During the afternoon one of the girls attendant upon Hina went down to the vessel and there espied Nganatatafu sleeping face downward on the forward deck. She gazed in rapt admiration at the beautiful contour of his body and asked herself if he could be mortal. She made a slight noise in order to awaken him, but it had no effect. She tried coughing, but still he slept, and it was not until she had knocked together two empty coconut¬ shell cups that he awoke.
In a respectful manner she timidly asked : “Are you not coming ashore with the other chiefs?” He replied: “I cannot come now, but,” with marked emphasis, “tell your mistress I shall come bye and bye.” The girl departed and at the first opportunity told her mistress of the occurrence, enlarging on the man’s beauty and her doubts as to whether he was not a being from another world.
Hina ordered the girl to keep the torches alight after dusk. When the sun went down Hina went and stood several times at the door. At last her patience was rewarded by the sight of her strange lover standing just out¬ side the zone of light thrown by the torches. After a few minutes’ conver¬ sation they agreed to run away together and immediately put their plan into execution. Almost at once the Tui Tonga heard of their flight. Standing up with anger depicted on his face, he thundered out: “It is of no use for us to remain here. Come, men, get on board and if Ngana¬ tatafu does not come, he must be left behind. That is all. Quick now.”
The pair had not gone far when the noise of the embarkation reached them. Not caring to be left behind, Nganatatafu started to return. In spite of this Hina had still great love for him, so much had he fascinated her. Running after him she cried : “It will be of no use my giving you any of the fine Samoan mats, as the Tui Tonga will take them, nor can I give you anything of value as it will be lost in the same way.” By this time they were on the beach and Nganatatafu was preparing to get on board, but Hina continued : “Take this bonito with you to Haano and once every year you will see it, as a proof that my love is unchanged.” Saying this, she thrust a live bonito into his arms. He took it and placed it on board. Then the Tongans departed.
When the vessel was between the islands of Moungaone and Luahoko (in the Haapai group), the Tui Tonga said to Nganatatafu: “You and your two attendants must jump overboard and swim as best you can to Haano. See, it is not far off.” Overboard they went and the bonito with them, for it had kept alive and had been flapping about on the bottom of the boat all the way from Samoa.
When nearing the shore, one of the attendants named Fisiu, called out: “I am done; I can swim no longer.” Nganatatafu encouraged him to do
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Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
his best, as they had not far to go, but when they were close to a sandy point, Nganatatafu saw that Fisiu was floating dead. He pulled him up on the sandy beach and exclaimed : “Alas, what a disaster, brought up dead !” To this day that sandy point is called Maumate (Brought-up-dead).
Hina was true to her promise, for once a year the bonito come very close to Haano, almost onto the beach. This is reputed to be the only place in Tonga where this fish comes close to shore. But should Tui Haangana (the lord of Haano) make his appearance on the beach whilst the fish are coming in, they will straightway retreat and not return for a year, for Tui Haangana is a descendant of Nganatatafu.
THE TWENTY-THIRD TUI TONGA, TAKALAUA, AND VAE47
There was a Tui Tonga named Takalaua, and his wife was Vaelavea- mata, a woman of Ata, and child of a couple. It is related that when she was born, she had a head like a pigeon. Because of this, her parents took a dislike to her, left her on the island of Ata, and sailed away. After they had departed, a man named Ahe chanced to pass and found the child in the bush. He noticed it had a head like a pigeon, but he nevertheless took the baby to his wife and said : “Dear, here is a child for us, which I found at the residence of some people who have sailed away.” So they cared for the little girl. As she grew she gradually lost the head of the pigeon and her foster parents began to see signs of what a beauty she was going to be. When she grew into womanhood they saw that she was a very beautiful woman. Because of her great beauty they hid her in their store room when anyone approached, for fear that the chiefs would seize her.
One day some of the fishermen of the Tui Tonga, on going to Ata with their net to catch fish, caught sight of the girl sitting and sunning herself before her house. She ran into her house, but it was too late, for the fishermen had seen her. On their return to Mua, they informed the Tui Tonga of it, saying that on the island of Ata they had seen a girl who was unrivaled for beauty. The Tui Tonga ordered that a boat go to Ata and bring her over to Mua (on Tongatabu). The name of the Tui Tonga was Takalaua and the girl who was brought from Ata was known as Vae.
When Vae arrived the Tui Tonga’s dancers were dancing the Fijian dance mee. The Tui Tonga ordered the girl Vae to be placed in the last row. It was the Tui Tonga himself who was beating the drum. As the dance proceeded, the beating of the drum was very imperfect, for the Tui Tonga was attempting to beat the drum and observe the newcomer at
47 Recorded in Tongan by the Tamaha Amelia, May 27, 1844. Preserved in the genealogical records of Her Majesty Queen Charlotte Tupou. Translated by Mrs. May Laurence.
Gifford — Tongan Myths and Tales 61
the same time. Then the Tui Tonga ordered that the girl be brought from the last row and placed in the second row. The girl was brought forward and the dance continued, but still the beat of the drum was wrong. Then the Tui Tonga ordered the girl to be brought to the front row. This time the beating of the drum was correct, as he could see the girl without difficulty. The girl s name was Vae, but the Tui Tonga renamed her Vaelaveamata (Vae-face-wounder), because the drumsticks, not being properly used, had struck him on the face.
\ aelaveamata was then brought to the Tui Tonga’s house and became the wife of Takalaua. Her children were Kauulufonuafekai, Moungamo- tua, Latuteovave, Melinoatonga, and Lotauai.
Takalaua was murdered, while he was having his meal at Mataaho (an island in the lagoon of Tongatabu), by a couple of men named Tamasia and Malofafa, whose tract called Namukatuki, was situated in Haatalafale, the hereditary lands of the Tui Pelehake. A woman went to make known the news to the children of the Tui Tonga, who were sailing boats at Niutao. (Some say that they were sailing boats at Nuku, but that state¬ ment appears to be incorrect.)
The messenger arrived at Niutao and sat sideways on the beach with her feet under her. The place is named Faite in commemoration of this way of sitting. Then she spoke to the children thus : “Do leave off playing and return with me to Olotele (in Mua), as something has hap¬ pened there.” So the youths ceased sailing their boats and returned with the woman. As they proceeded they questioned her and she replied : “Only come along. I have some news ( talafoou ) for you.” Consequently, this part of country is called Talafoou.
Upon arriving at Mua and finding their father dead, they kissed his feet. Then Kauulufonuafekai said to his brothers: “Do not bury our father now, but let us go and seek the murderers and slay them. Then we shall return and bury our father.”
Then the brothers fought against the harborers of the murderers in Tongatabu and won. The murderers fled to Eua, but the brothers and their warriors forced them from that island and they fled to Haapai. Again the sons of Takalaua were in hot pursuit and forced them to flee to Vavau. They fought Vavau and won and the murderers sought refuge in Niuafoou. They were driven from there to Niuatoputapu, thence to Futuna. Although the brothers were successful in Futuna, Kauulufonua¬ fekai was wounded. From Futuna the fugitives fled to Uea, where after a conflict they were captured. Then Takalaua’s sons fought Samoa, parted company, and returned home separately, meeting, however, on some of
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Bernice P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin
the northerly islands of the Tongan group before they returned to Tonga- tabu to bury their father.
Kauulufonuafekai was appointed Tui Tonga. He apportioned certain islands for his brothers to rule. He appointed Moungamotua Tui Haa- takalaua. He was to reside at Fonuamotu (at Mua, Tongatabu) as he was to be the protector of the Tui Tonga, who was liable to be assassinated. So Kauulufonuafekai was safe as Tui Tonga, because his younger brother guarded him.
Takalaua, a son of the murdered Tui Tonga Takalaua, was made governor of Eua. Haveatuli and Niutongi (or Niutongo) were sent to Vavau to rule, while Kolomoeuto and Matauvave were made governors of Haapai. Talapalo was appointed governor of Niuatoputapu, Makauka and Hakavalu of Niuafoou, and Elili of Uea.
Moungamotua, the Tui Haatakalaua, resided on the lower portion of Fonuamotu and the Tui Tonga resided on the upper portion. Thus arose a sort of dual division of people in Tonga, the upper (those associated with the Tui Tonga) and the lower (those associated with the Tui Haata¬ kalaua, and later with the Tui Kanokupolu) and each goes its own way according to its position. Each has its own way of making kava and distributing it and of seating chiefs in a kava party.
TAKALAUA AND HIS WIFE, ULUKIHELUPE (VAE)48
Ko Ulukihelupe,