Tag: 01. Creation

How the world or life began

Origin

This Philippine origin myth recounts the story of Toglai and Toglibon, the first man and woman, whose children dispersed from their home on Mt. Apo due to a devastating drought. Each group founded new tribes named after their carried possessions or settled locations, such as the Magindanau and Bilaan. Two children who stayed survived through sugarcane, leading to the Bagobo lineage.

Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916

► Themes of the story

Creation: The tale describes the origin of different tribes from the first human couple, Toglai and Toglibon.

Loss and Renewal: The drought signifies loss, leading to the dispersal (renewal) of the population into new tribes.

Conflict with Nature: The severe drought forces the characters to leave their homeland in search of sustenance.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Philippines peoples

In the beginning there lived one man and one woman, Toglai and Toglibon. Their first children were a boy and a girl. When they were old enough, the boy and the girl went far away across the waters seeking a good place to live in. Nothing more was heard of them until their children, the Spaniards and Americans, came back. After the first boy and girl left, other children were born to the couple, but they all remained at Cibolan on Mt. Apo with their parents, until Toglai and Toglibon died and became spirits. Soon after that there came a great drought which lasted for three years. All the waters dried up, so that there were no rivers, and no plants could live.

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“Surely,” said the people, “Manama is punishing us and we must go elsewhere to find food and a place to dwell in.”

So they started out. Two went in the direction of the sunset, carrying with them stones from Cibolan River. After a long journey they reached a place where were broad fields of cogon grass and an abundance of water, and there they made their home. Their children still live in that place and are called Magindanau, because of the stones which the couple carried when they left Cibolan.

Two children of Toglai and Toglibon went to the south, seeking a home, and they carried with them women’s baskets (baraan). When they found a good spot, they settled down. Their descendants, still dwelling at that place, are called Baraan or Bilaan, because of the women’s baskets.

So two by two the children of the first couple left the land of their birth. In the place where each settled a new people developed, and thus it came about that all the tribes in the world received their names from things that the people carried out of Cibolan, or from the places where they settled.

All the children left Mt. Apo save two (a boy and a girl), whom hunger and thirst had made too weak to travel. One day when they were about to die the boy crawled out to the field to see if there was one living thing, and to his surprise he found a stalk of sugar-cane growing lustily. He eagerly cut it, and enough water came out to refresh him and his sister until the rains came. Because of this, their children are called Bagobo.

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The Flood Story

Long ago, a massive crab displaced the sea, causing a flood that covered all land. Forewarned by a wise man, villagers built a sturdy raft bound with rattan to a pole. When the flood came, only those on the raft survived. After the waters receded, the raft returned near their home, leaving its passengers as the sole survivors on Earth.

Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916

► Themes of the story

Creation: This tale explains a significant event that reshaped the world, akin to creation myths that describe the origins or reformation of the earth.

Loss and Renewal: The flood represents destruction, followed by the renewal of life through the survival of the people on the raft.

Divine Punishment: The catastrophic flood can be interpreted as a form of punishment or a cleansing event, a common motif in various cultural myths.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Philippines peoples

A long time ago there was a very big crab which crawled into the sea. And when he went in he crowded the water out so that it ran all over the earth and covered all the land.

Now about one moon before this happened, a wise man had told the people that they must build a large raft. They did as he commanded and cut many large trees, until they had enough to make three layers. These they bound tightly together, and when it was done they fastened the raft with a long rattan cord to a big pole in the earth.

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Soon after this the floods came. White water poured out of the hills, and the sea rose and covered even the highest mountains. The people and animals on the raft were safe, but all the others drowned.

When the waters went down and the raft was again on the ground, it was near their old home, for the rattan cord had held.

But these were the only people left on the whole earth.

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How the Moon and the Stars Came to Be

In a time when the sky was near the ground, a spinster hung her beads and comb on the low sky while pounding rice. Striking the sky with her pestle, she caused it to rise higher. The comb transformed into the moon, and the beads became scattered stars, forever adorning the heavens, beyond her reach.

Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916

► Themes of the story

Creation: The story explains the origins of celestial bodies—the moon and stars—detailing how they came into existence.

Transformation: The narrative describes the metamorphosis of everyday objects—a comb and beads—into celestial entities, highlighting themes of change and metamorphosis.

Sacred Objects: The comb and beads, ordinary items, transform into sacred celestial bodies, emphasizing the significance and power attributed to these objects in the narrative.

► From the same Region or People

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One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a spinster went out to pound rice. Before she began her work, she took off the beads from around her neck and the comb from her hair, and hung them on the sky, which at that time looked like coral rock.

Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into the air it struck the sky. For some time she pounded the rice, and then she raised the pestle so high that it struck the sky very hard.

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Immediately the sky began to rise, and it went up so far that she lost her ornaments. Never did they come down, for the comb became the moon and the beads are the stars that are scattered about.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Flood Story

In a time when the world was flat and without mountains, two brothers, sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit, flooded the earth to raise mountains. This act drowned all but one brother and sister in Pokis. Lumawig saved them by bringing fire to warm them, evaporating the floodwaters. The siblings married, repopulating the earth, now adorned with mountains.

Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916

► Themes of the story

Creation: The narrative describes the transformation of a flat world into one with mountains, explaining the origin of the earth’s topography.

Loss and Renewal: The flood leads to the destruction of the existing world, followed by the renewal of life through the siblings who repopulate the earth.

Rebirth: The world undergoes a rebirth from a flat, lifeless expanse to a vibrant, mountainous terrain inhabited by a new generation of people.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Philippines peoples

Once upon a time, when the world was flat and there were no mountains, there lived two brothers, sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit. The brothers were fond of hunting, and since no mountains had formed there was no good place to catch wild pig and deer, and the older brother said: “Let us cause water to flow over all the world and cover it, and then mountains will rise up.” So they caused water to flow over all the earth, and when it was covered they took the head-basket of the town and set it for a trap. The brothers were very much pleased when they went to look at their trap, for they had caught not only many wild pigs and deer but also many people.

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Now Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that his sons had flooded the earth and that in all the world there was just one spot which was not covered. And he saw that all the people in the world had been drowned except one brother and sister who lived in Pokis.

Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy and girl, saying:

“Oh, you are still alive.”

“Yes,” answered the boy, “we are still alive, but we are very cold.”

So Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire for the boy and girl. The dog and the deer swam quickly away, but though Lumawig waited a long time they did not return, and all the time the boy and girl were growing colder.

Finally Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer, and when he reached them he said:

“Why are you so long in bringing the fire to Pokis? Get ready and come quickly while I watch you, for the boy and girl are very cold.”

Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim through the flood, but when they had gone only a little way the fire was put out.

Lumawig commanded them to get more fire and they did so, but they swam only a little way again when that of the deer went out, and that of the dog would have been extinguished also had not Lumawig gone quickly to him and taken it.

As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis he built a big fire which warmed the brother and sister; and the water evaporated so that the world was as it was before, except that now there were mountains. The brother and sister married and had children, and thus there came to be many people on the earth.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Creation

In the beginning, Lumawig, the Great Spirit, created humanity by transforming reeds into couples with unique languages. He taught them to marry, leading to the growth of diverse populations. Lumawig provided essential resources like salt and pottery, designating their guardians based on obedience and skill. By distributing tasks and knowledge, he ensured the people thrived and learned to cooperate through trade and craftsmanship.

Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916

► Themes of the story

Creation: The tale explains the origin of humanity and various cultural practices.

Origin of Things: It describes the beginnings of essential resources like salt and pottery.

Cultural Heroes: Lumawig acts as a foundational figure shaping society by teaching essential skills and assigning roles.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Philippines peoples

In the beginning there were no people on the earth. Lumawig, the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds. He divided these into pairs which he placed in different parts of the world, and then he said to them, “You must speak.” Immediately the reeds became people, and in each place was a man and a woman who could talk, but the language of each couple differed from that of the others. Then Lumawig commanded each man and woman to marry, which they did. By and by there were many children, all speaking the same language as their parents. These, in turn, married and had many children. In this way there came to be many people on the earth.

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Now Lumawig saw that there were several things which the people on the earth needed to use, so he set to work to supply them. He created salt, and told the inhabitants of one place to boil it down and sell it to their neighbors. But these people could not understand the directions of the Great Spirit, and the next time he visited them, they had not touched the salt.

Then he took it away from them and gave it to the people of a place called Mayinit. These did as he directed, and because of this he told them that they should always be owners of the salt, and that the other peoples must buy of them.

Then Lumawig went to the people of Bontoc and told them to get clay and make pots. They got the clay, but they did not understand the moulding, and the jars were not well shaped. Because of their failure, Lumawig told them that they would always have to buy their jars, and he removed the pottery to Samoki. When he told the people there what to do, they did just as he said, and their jars were well shaped and beautiful. Then the Great Spirit saw that they were fit owners of the pottery, and he told them that they should always make many jars to sell.

In this way Lumawig taught the people and brought to them all the things which they now have.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Land of Yomi

From the heavenly realm, Izanagi and Izanami, the divine pair, created Japan and myriad deities. Tragedy struck when Izanami died giving birth to the Fire God. Izanagi pursued her to Yomi, the underworld, where he saw her decayed form. Fleeing, he sealed Yomi’s entrance with a boulder. Izanami cursed him, but Izanagi vowed greater births, thus becoming purified while Izanami ruled the dead.

Source
Japanese Fairy Tales
by Grace James
Macmillan & Co., London, 1912

► Themes of the story

Creation: The narrative begins with the deities Izanagi and Izanami creating the islands of Japan and numerous deities, detailing the origins of the land and its divine inhabitants.

Underworld Journey: Izanagi’s descent into Yomi, the land of the dead, in an attempt to retrieve Izanami, represents a classic journey into the underworld.

Loss and Renewal: The story depicts the loss of Izanami and Izanagi’s efforts to bring her back, followed by his purification and the continuation of creation, symbolizing cycles of loss and renewal.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Japanese Mythology & Folklore

From the glorious clouds of High Heaven, from the divine ether, the vital essence, and the great concourse of eternal deities, there issued forth the heavenly pair–Izanagi, His Augustness, the Lord of Invitation, and Izanami, Her Augustness, the Lady of Invitation.

Together they stood upon the Floating Bridge of High Heaven, and they looked down to where the mists swirled beneath their feet. For to them had been given power and commandment to make, consolidate and give birth to the drifting lands. And to this end the august powers had granted them a heavenly jewelled spear.

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And the two deities, standing upon the Floating Bridge of Heaven, lowered the jewelled spear head-first into chaos, so that the mists were divided. And, as they waited, the brine dripped from the jewels upon the spear-head, and there was formed an island. This is the island of Onogoro.

And His Augustness, the Lord of Invitation, took by the hand Her Augustness, the Lady of Invitation, his lovely Younger Sister, and together they descended to the island that was created. And they made the islands of Japan; the land of Iyo, which is called Lovely Princess; the land of Toyo, which is called Luxuriant Sun Youth; the land of Sanuki, which is called Good Prince Boiled Rice; and Great Yamato, the Luxuriant Island of the Dragon Fly; and many more, of which to tell were weariness.

Furthermore, they gave birth to many myriads of deities to rule over the earth, and the air, and the deep sea; and for every season there were deities, and every place was sacred, for the deities were like the needles of the pine trees in number.

Now, when the time came for the Fire God, Kagu-Tsuchi, to be born, his mother, the Lady Izanami, was burned, and suffered a change; and she laid herself upon the ground. Then Izanagi, the Prince who Invites, asked, “What is it that has come to thee, my lovely Younger Sister?”

And she answered, weeping, “The time of my departure draws near … I go to the land of Yomi.”

And His Augustness Izanagi wept aloud, dropping his tears upon her feet and upon her pillow. And all his tears fell down and became deities. Nevertheless, the Lady Izanami departed.

Then His Augustness, the Prince who Invites, was wroth, and lifted his face to High Heaven, and cried, “O Thine Augustness, my lovely Younger Sister, that I should have given thee in exchange for this single child!”

And, drawing the ten-grasp sword that was girded upon him, he slew the Fire God, his child; and binding up his long hair, he followed the Lady Izanami to the entrance of Yomi, the world of the dead. And she, the Princess who Invites, appearing as lovely as she was when alive, came forth to greet him. And she lifted up the curtain of the Palace of Hades that they might speak together.

And the Lord Izanagi said, “I weary for thee, my lovely Younger Sister, and the lands that thou and I created together are not finished making. Therefore come back.”

Then the Lady made answer, saying, “My sweet lord, and my spouse, it is very lamentable that thou camest not sooner unto me, for I have eaten of the baked meats of Yomi. Nevertheless, as thou hast dearly honoured me in thy coming here, Thine Augustness, my lovely Elder Brother, if it may be, I will return with thee. I go to lay my desire before the Gods of Yomi. Wait thou here until I come again, and, if thou love me, seek not to look upon me till the time.” And so she spoke and left him.

Izanagi sat upon a stone at the entrance of the Palace of Hades until the sun set, and he was weary of that valley of gloom. And because she tarried long, he arose and plucked a comb from the left tress of his hair, and broke off a tooth from one end of the comb, and lighting it to be a torch, he drew back the curtain of the Palace of Yomi. But he saw his beloved lying in corruption, and round about her were the eight deities of Thunder. They are the Fire Thunder, and the Black Thunder, and the Cleaving Thunder, and the Earth Thunder, and the Roaring Thunder, and the Couchant Thunder, and the Young Thunder. And by her terrible head was the Great Thunder.

And Izanagi, being overawed, turned to flee away, but Izanami arose and cried, “Thou hast put me to shame, for thou hast seen my defilement. Now I will see thine also.”

And she called to her the Hideous Females of Yomi, and bade them take and slay His Augustness, the Lord who Invites. But he ran for his life, in the gloom stumbling upon the rocks of the valley of Yomi. And tearing the vine wreath from his long hair he flung it behind him, and it fell to the ground and became many bunches of grapes, which the Hideous Females stayed to devour. And he fled on. But the Females of Yomi still pursued him; so then he took a multitudinous and close-toothed comb from the right tresses of his long hair, and cast it behind him. When it touched the ground it became a groove of bamboo shoots, and again the females stayed to devour; and Izanagi fled on, panting.

But, in her wrath and despair, his Younger Sister sent after him the Eight Thunders, together with a thousand and five hundred warriors of Hades; yet he, the Prince of Invitation, drew the ten-grasp sword that was augustly girded upon him, and brandishing it behind him gained at last the base of the Even Pass of Hades, the black mouth of Yomi. And he plucked there three peaches that grew upon a tree, and smote his enemies that they all fled back; and the peaches were called Their Augustnesses, Great Divine Fruit.

Then, last of all, his Younger Sister, the Princess who Invites, herself came out to pursue. So Izanagi took a rock which could not have been lifted by a thousand men, and placed it between them in the Even Pass of Hades. And standing behind the rock, he pronounced a leave-taking and words of separation. But, from the farther side of the rock, Izanami called to him, “My lovely Elder Brother, Thine Augustness, of small avail shall be thy making of lands, and thy creating of deities, for I, with my powers, shall strangle every day a thousand of thy people.”

So she cried, taunting him.

But he answered her, “My lovely Younger Sister, Thine Augustness, if thou dost so, I shall cause, in one day, fifteen hundred to be born. Farewell.”

So Her Augustness, the Lady who Invites, is called the Queen of the Dead.

But the great lord, His Highness, the Prince who Invites, departed, crying, “Horror! Horror! Horror! I have come to a hideous and polluted land.” And he lay still by the river-side, until such time as he should recover strength to perform purification.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Story of Susa, the Impetuous

Izanagi, after purifying himself from Yomi, birthed three deities: Ama Terassu (Sun), Tsuki-Yomi (Moon), and Susa (Sea). Susa rebelled, wept, and was banished for his destruction and chaos. Expelled, he slew an eight-headed serpent, rescuing a maiden. From the serpent’s tail, he retrieved a divine sword, gifting it to Ama Terassu. Susa built a palace and lived peacefully with his bride.

Source
Japanese Fairy Tales
by Grace James
Macmillan & Co., London, 1912

► Themes of the story

Creation: The narrative begins with Izanagi’s purification, leading to the birth of three deities: Ama Terassu (Sun), Tsuki-Yomi (Moon), and Susa (Sea).

Quest: Susa undertakes a perilous journey to confront the serpent, aiming to save the maiden and restore peace.

Sacred Objects: From the serpent’s tail, Susa retrieves a divine sword, which he gifts to Ama Terassu, symbolizing power and reconciliation.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Japanese Mythology & Folklore

When Izanagi, the Lord who Invites, turned his back upon the unclean place, and bade farewell to Yomi, the World of the Dead, whither he had journeyed upon a quest, he beheld once more the Land of Fresh Rice Ears, and was glad. And he rested by the side of a clear river that he might perform purification.

And Izanagi-no-Mikoto bathed in the upper reach. But he said, “The water of the upper reach is too rapid.” Then he bathed in the lower reach; but he said, “The water of the lower reach is too sluggish.”

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So he went down for the third time and bathed in the middle reach of the river. And as the water dropped from his beautiful countenance there were created three sublime deities–Ama Terassu, the Glory of High Heaven; Tsuki-Yomi-no-Kami, the Moon-Night-Possessor; and Susa, the Impetuous, the Lord of the Sea.

Then Izanagi-no-Mikoto rejoiced, saying, “Behold the three august children that are mine, who shall also be illustrious for ever.” And, taking the great string of jewels from his neck, he bestowed it upon Ama Terassu, the Glorious, and said to her, “Do Thine Augustness rule the Plain of High Heaven, shining in thy beauty by day.” So she took the august jewels and hid them in the storehouse of the gods.

And the Lord of Invitation commanded Tsuki-Yomi-no-Kami, saying, “Do Thine Augustness rule the Dominion of the Night.” Now this was a youth of a fair and pleasant countenance.

And to the youngest of the deities, his Augustness the Lord Izanagi gave the Sea Plain.

So Ama Terassu ruled the day, and Tsuki-Yomi-no-Kami softly ruled the night. But Susa, the Impetuous, flung himself upon the ground and violently wept, for he said, “Ah, miserable, to dwell for ever upon the confines of the cold sea!” So he ceased not in his weeping, and took the moisture of the valley for his tears, so that the green places were withered and the rivers and streams were dried up. And evil deities increased and flourished, and as they swarmed upon the earth their noise was as the noise of flies in the fifth moon; and far and wide there arose portents of woe.

Then his father, the Lord of Invitation, came and stood terribly by him and said, “What is this that I do see and hear? Why dost thou not rule the dominions with which I charged thee, but lie here, like a child, with tears and wailings? Answer.”

And Susa, the Impetuous, answered, “I wail because I am in misery and love not this place, but would depart to my mother who rules the Nether Distant Land, who is called the Queen of Yomi, the World of the Dead.”

Then Izanagi was wroth and expelled him with a divine expulsion, and charged him that he should depart and show his face no more.

And Susa, the Impetuous, answered, “So be it. But first I will ascend to High Heaven to take leave of Her Augustness, my sister, who is the Glory of Heaven, and then I will depart.”

So he went up to Heaven with a noise and a great speed, and at his going all the mountains shook and every land and country quaked. And Ama Terassu, the Light of Heaven, she also trembled at his coming, and said, “This coming of His Augustness, my brother, is of no good intent, but to lay hold of mine inheritance, and to take it by force. For this alone does he invade the fastness of High Heaven.”

And forthwith she divided the hair that hung upon her shoulders and rolled it in two august bunches to the left and to the right, and adorned it with jewels. So she made her head like the head of a young warrior. And she slung upon her back a great bow and a quiver of arrows, one thousand and five hundred arrows, and she took in her hand a bamboo staff and brandished it and stamped upon the ground with her armed feet, so that the earth flew like powdered snow. So she came to the bank of the Tranquil River of Heaven and stood valiantly, like unto a mighty man, and waited.

And Susa, the Impetuous, spoke from the farther bank: “My lovely sister, Thine Augustness, why comest thou thus armed against me?”

And she answered, “Nay, but wherefore ascendest thou hither?”

And Susa replied, “There is nothing evil in my mind. Because I desired to dwell in the Land of Yomi, therefore has my father deigned to expel me with a divine expulsion, and I thought to take leave of thee, and so I have ascended hither. I have no evil intention.”

And she, bending her great eyes on him, said “Swear.”

And he swore, by the ten-grasp sword that was girded on him, and after that he swore by the jewels in her hair. Then she suffered him to cross over the Tranquil River of Heaven, and also to cross over the Floating Bridge. So Susa, the Impetuous, entered the dominions of his sister, the Sun Goddess.

But his wild spirit never ceased to chafe. And he pillaged the fair lands of Ama Terassu and broke down the divisions of the rice-fields which she had planted, and filled in the ditches. Still the Light of Heaven upbraided him not, but said, “His Augustness, my brother, believes that the land should not be wasted by ditches and divisions, and that rice should be sown everywhere, without distinction.” But notwithstanding her soft words Susa, the Impetuous, continued in his evil ways and became more and more violent.

Now, as the great Sun Goddess sat with her maidens in the awful Weaving Hall of High Heaven, seeing to the weaving of the august garments of the gods, her brother made a mighty chasm in the roof of the Weaving Hall, and through the chasm he let down a heavenly piebald horse. And the horse fled hither and thither in terror, and wrought great havoc amongst the looms and amongst the weaving maidens. And Susa himself followed like a rushing tempest and like a storm of waters flooding the hall, and all was confusion and horror. And in the press the Sun Goddess was wounded with her golden shuttle. So with a cry she fled from High Heaven and hid herself in a cave; and she rolled a rock across the cave’s mouth.

Then dark was the Plain of High Heaven, and black dark the Central Land of Reed Plains, and eternal night prevailed. Hereupon the voices of the deities as they wandered over the face of the earth were like unto the flies in the fifth moon, and from far and near there arose portents of woe. Therefore did the Eight Hundred Myriad Deities assemble with a divine assembly in the dry bed of the Tranquil River of Heaven, there to hold parley, and to make decision what should be done. And His Augustness the Lord of Deep Thoughts commanded them. So they called together the Singing Birds of Eternal Night. And they charged Ama-tsu-mara, the Divine Smith, to make them a mirror of shining white metal. And they charged Tama-noya-no-mikoto to string together many hundreds of curved jewels. And, having performed divination by the shoulder-blade of a stag of Mount Kagu, they uprooted a sacred tree, a sakaki, of five hundred branches. And they hung the jewels upon the branches of the tree, and they hung the mirror upon its branches. And all the lower branches they covered with offerings, streamers of white and streamers of blue, and they bore the tree before the rock cavern where the Sun Goddess was. And immediately the assembled birds sang. Then a divine maiden of fair renown, who for grace and skill in dancing had no sister, either in the Land of Rice Ears or upon the Plain of High Heaven, stood before the cavern door. And there was hung about her for a garland the club moss from Mount Kagu, and her head was bound with the leaves of the spindle-tree and with flowers of gold and flowers of silver, and a sheaf of green bamboo-grass was in her hands. And she danced before the cavern door as one possessed, for heaven and earth have not seen the like of her dancing. It was more lovely than the pine-tops waving in the wind or the floating of sea foam, and the cloud race upon the Plain of High Heaven is not to be compared with it. And the earth quaked and High Heaven shook, and all the Eight Hundred Myriad Deities laughed together.

Now Ama Terassu, the Glory of Heaven, lay in the rock cavern, and the bright light streamed from her fair body in rays, so that she was as a great jewel of price. And pools of water gleamed in the floor of the cavern, and the slime upon the walls gleamed with many colours, and the small rock-plants flourished in the unwonted heat, so that the heavenly lady lay in a bower and slept. And she awoke because of the song of the Eternal Singing Birds, and she raised herself and flung the hair back over her shoulder, and said, “Alack, the poor birds that sing in the long night!” And there came to her the sound of dancing and of high revel and of the merriment of the gods, so she was still and listened. And presently she felt the Plain of High Heaven shake, and heard the Eight Hundred Myriad Deities as they laughed together. And she arose and came to the door of the cavern, and rolled back the great stone a little way. And a beam of light fell upon the dancing maiden where she stood, panting, in all her array; but the other deities were yet in darkness, and they looked at each other and were still. Then spoke the Fair Glory of Heaven: “Methought that because I was hidden the Plain of High Heaven should be dark, and black dark the Central Land of Reed Plains. How, then, doth the Dancing Maiden go thus, adorned with garlands and her head tired? And why do the Eight Hundred Myriad Deities laugh together?”

Then the Dancing Maiden made answer: “O Thine Augustness, that art the sweet delight of all the deities, behold the divine maidens are decked with flowers, and the gods assemble with shouts. We rejoice and are glad because there is a goddess more illustrious than Thine Augustness.”

And Ama Terassu heard and was wroth. And she covered her face with her long sleeves, so that the deities should not see her tears; howbeit, they fell like the falling stars. Then the youths of the Court of Heaven stood by the sakaki tree, where hung the mirror that was made by Ama-tsu-Mara, the Divine Smith. And they cried, “Lady, look and behold the new paragon of Heaven!”

And Ama Terassu said, “Indeed, I will not behold.” Nevertheless, she presently let slip the sleeves that covered her countenance and looked in the mirror. And as she looked, and beheld, and was dazzled by her own beauty, that was without peer, she came forth slowly from the rocks of the cavern. And the light of her flooded High Heaven, and below the rice ears waved and shook themselves, and the wild cherry rushed into flower. And all the deities joined their hands in a ring about Ama Terassu, the Goddess of the Sun, and the door of the rock cavern was shut. Then the Dancing Maiden cried, “O Lady, Thine Augustness, how should any Deity be born to compare with thee, the Glory of Heaven?”

So with joy they bore the goddess to her place.

But Susa, the Swift, the Brave, the Impetuous, the Long-Haired, the Thrice Unhappy, the Lord of the Sea, him the deities arraigned to stand trial in the dry bed of the Tranquil River of Heaven. And they took counsel, and fined him with a great fine. And, having shorn him of his hair, which was his beauty and his pride (for it was blue-black as an iris, and hung below his knee), they banished him for ever from the heavenly precincts.

So Susa descended to earth by the Floating Bridge with bitterness in his heart, and for many days he wandered in despair, he knew not whither. By fair rice-fields he came, and by barren moors, heeding nothing; and at last he stayed to rest by the side of the river called Hi, which is in the land of Izumo.

And as he sat, moody, his head on his hand, and looked down at the water, he beheld a chopstick floating on the surface of the stream. So Susa, the Impetuous, arose immediately, saying, “There are people at the river head.” And he pursued his way up the bank in quest of them. And when he had gone not a great way, he found an old man weeping and lamenting very grievously, among the reeds and willows by the water-side. And there was with him a lady of great state and beauty, like unto the daughter of a deity; but her fair eyes were marred with many tears, and she moaned continually and wrung her hands. And these twain had between them a young maid of very slender and delicate form; but her face Susa could not see, for she covered it with a veil. And ever and anon she moved and trembled with fear, or seemed to beseech the old man earnestly, or plucked the lady by the sleeve; at which these last but shook their heads sorrowfully, and returned to their lamentations.

And Susa, full of wonder, drew near and asked the old man, “Who art thou?”

And the old man answered, “I am an earthly deity of the mountains. This is my wife, who weeps with me by the water-side, and the child is my youngest daughter.”

And Susa inquired of him again, “What is the cause of your weeping and lamentation?”

And he answered, “Know, sir, that I am an earthly deity of renown, and I was the father of eight fair daughters. But a horror broods over the land, for every year at this time it is ravaged by a monster, the eight-forked serpent of Koshi, that delights in the flesh of young virgins. In seven years have my seven sweet children been devoured. And now the time of my youngest-born is at hand. Therefore do we weep, O Thine Augustness.”

Then said Susa, the Impetuous, “What is the likeness of this monster?”

And the deities of the mountain made answer: “His eyes are fiery and red as the akakagachi (that is, the winter cherry). He has but one body, with eight heads and eight scaly tails. Moreover, on his body grows moss, together with the fir and the cryptomeria of the forest. In his going he covers eight valleys and eight hills, and upon his under side he is red and gory.”

Then the Lord Susa, the Impetuous, cried, “My lord, give me thy daughter.”

And the earthly deity, seeing his strength and great beauty and the brightness of his countenance, knew that he was a god, and answered, “With all reverence do I offer her unto thee. Howbeit, I know not thine august name.”

And Susa said, “I am Susa, the Sea God, the exile of High Heaven.”

[Illustration: The Story of Susa, the Impetuous.–P. 99.]

And the mountain deity and also his fair wife spoke, saying, “So be it, Thine Augustness, take the young maid.”

And immediately Susa flung away the veil and saw the face of his bride, pale as the moon in winter. And he touched her on the forehead, and said, “Fair and beloved, fair and beloved….”

And the maid flushed faintly to stand thus barefaced. Howbeit, she had little need, for the tears that stood in my lord Susa’s eyes were veil enough for her modesty. And he said again, “Dear and beautiful, our pleasure shall be hereafter, now we may not tarry.”

So he took the young maid at once, and changed her into a crown for his head. And Susa wore the crown gallantly. And he instructed the earthly deity, and together they brewed saké, refined eight-fold; and with the saké they filled eight vats and set them in readiness; and when all was prepared they waited. And presently there was a mighty noise, like the sound of an earthquake, and the hills and valleys shook. And the serpent crawled in sight, huge and horrible, so that the earthly deities hid their faces for fear. But Susa, the Impetuous, gazed upon the serpent with his sword drawn.

Now the serpent had eight heads, and immediately he dipped a head into each vat of saké and drank long. Thereupon he became drunken with the distilled liquor, and all the heads lay down and slept.

Then the Lord Susa brandished his ten-grasp sword, and leapt upon the monster and cut off the eight heads with eight valiant strokes. So the serpent was slain with a great slaying, and the river Hi flowed on, a river of blood. And Susa cut the tails of the serpent also, and as he struck the fourth tail the edge of his august sword was turned back. So he probed with its point, and found a great jewelled sword with a blade sharp as no known smith could temper it. And he took the sword and sent it for an offering to the Sun Goddess, his august sister. This is the herb-quelling sword.

And Susa, the Impetuous, built him a palace at the place called Suga, and dwelt there with his bride. And the clouds of heaven hung like a curtain round about the palace. Then the Lord Susa sang this song:

“Many clouds arise.
The manifold fence of the forth-issuing clouds
Makes a manifold fence,
For the spouses to be within.
Oh, the manifold fence….”

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The Beginning of Death

This myth recounts the origins of humanity, mortality, and the earth’s creation. Maui, a god, fished islands from the sea, including Tonga, and brought life to them. However, rebellion led by Maui’s son, Ata-longa, severed the gods’ connection to Bulotu, the divine land, resulting in sickness and death. Earthquakes signify Maui holding up Tonga. Mortals, descended from worms, serve the gods as soulless beings.

Source
Tales from Old Fiji
by Lorimer Fison
Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
at the Ballantyne Press
by Alexander Moring Ltd
London, 1904

► Themes of the story

Creation: It narrates the origin of the world and humanity, detailing how the god Maui fished islands from the sea, including Tonga, and introduced life to them.

Prophecy and Fate: The narrative explains the predetermined fate of humans to experience sickness and death due to the severed connection with the divine realm, Bulotu.

Eternal Life and Mortality: The story addresses the transition from immortality to mortality for humans, marking the beginning of death and the human condition as we know it.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Fijians

as told by Ma’afu, a Chief of Tonga

This is the account of how men came upon the earth, and of how they became subject to decay and death.

In the beginning there was no land, save that on which the gods lived; no dry land was there for men to dwell upon; all was sea; the sky covered it above, and bounded it on every side. There was neither day nor night; but a mild light shone continually through the sky upon the waters, like the shining of the moon when its face is hidden by a white cloud. Thus it was in the beginning.

The gods dwelt in Bulotu; but we cannot tell where that island is, though some say that the words which have come down from our fathers declare it to be where the sky meets the waters in the climbing-path of the sun.

► Continue reading…

Here dwelt the gods, Maui, the greatest of them all, with his two sons [Ata-longa and Kiji-kiji] and his brothers [Tanga-Ioa, Hemoana-uli-uli, and Hiku-Ieo].

There are many others — a countless host — some small, and some great, but gods all. The gods whose names I have told you are the rulers; all the others are under subjection to them, gods though they too be.

A fine land is Bulotu, and happy are its people; for there, close to the house of Hiku-leo, is Vai-ola, the Water of Life, which the gods drink every day. Oh that we had it here on earth, for it will heal all manner of sickness! Moreover, near the brink of the fountain stands Akau-lea, that wondrous tree, the Tree of Speech, under whose shadow the gods sit down to drink kava, the tree acting as master of the ceremonies, and calling out the name of him to whom the bowl shall be carried.

THE FISHING OF MAUI

Here once upon a time they sat drinking kava; and after the bowl had gone round the circle, then outspake Maui, the king of them all —

“I am weary, ye gods,” he cried. “I am weary of this life of ours. We eat, and drink, and sleep, and do nothing. My soul is stirred within me. Let my canoe float. Drag it down to the water, and let the crew get ready for sailing.”

“Whither are you going?” Hiku-leo asked in a mocking tone; for a saucy god was he; angry too, and evil of soul. “What will you do? What do you want? This is a fool’s business truly.” And he laughed a scornful laugh.

“Stay you behind, Hiku-leo,” answered Maul. “ We know you of old, how peevish are your ways. When was a word ever spoken by others to which you said, ‘It is good’? Stay therefore at home, and watch lest any of the boys should steal your tail.” For Hiku-leo was known among the gods by his tail, which had eyes in it, he alone of them all being thus adorned. And when Maui had spoken, there was a chorus of smothered laughter, which none could help; only they were afraid to laugh aloud, because they feared Hiku-leo. But the Tailed One shook with rage; fierce was his anger.

“Go then!” he cried, “and may evil go with you! May you never return! May the waters swallow you up! May the fogs hide the land from your eyes! May you find it no more, but wander for ever to and fro on the face of the sea! Go quickly, fools that you are, hateful to my eyes! As for me, I shall stay behind, and reign here in Bulotu, for you will return no more.”

Then, with a loud shout of fierce anger, the two sons of Maui leaped to their feet; but before they could say a word, there was a rustle and a stir among the leaves of the Tree of Speech, as if a sudden blast were sweeping through its branches; and all the gods kept silence, for they knew it was going to speak.

“Hear my words, Maui,” it said. “Hear my words, Hiku-leo, and gods all. Go not! Evil will come to ass if you go — an evil so great and terrible, that you 3uld not understand if I were to tell you what it is. I pray you not to go.”

“Let it come! “ cried Maui, for his spirit was roused. “Let those who are afraid stay with Hiku-leo. Come, my sons, both of you. And are not both of you also coming, O my brothers?”

“We are going,” they answered with a shout; and all the other gods clapped their hands, and cried.

“Good is the sailing!” Then Hiku-leo rose with an angry growl, and went on his way snarling.

So the gods ran down to the beach, and dragged the great double canoe into the water. But when the two brothers of the god Maui were going on board, Maui drew them aside. “Look you, my brothers,” he said, “it will be well for you to stay behind and watch that evil one, lest he do mischief while we are away. I will take the two lads and a full crew. Why should I take more? They would only burden the canoe. Do you keep the rest together, and have a care of Hiku-leo. What if he should cut down the Tree of Speech, or defile the Water of Life! There is nothing too evil for him when he is in one of his raging moods.”

“Good are your words,” the two gods replied. “Go you then with the lads. As for us, we will stay here and watch. Go in peace and fear not; we shall not sleep.”

So the King went on board with his two sons and a picked crew, whom he chose from among the Bulotu folk, all of whom were eager to go; and, hoisting the sail, they stood out to sea before a fresh breeze that was blowing over the waters. For a long time they ran before the wind; for how long we cannot tell; but we know that they must have gone far, very far, from Bulotu; because many of our heroes have sailed far and wide in search of it, but none have been able to find it, as they would have done if it had not been so far away, unless indeed some of those whom we mourned as lost at sea may perhaps have escaped thither alive, and returned to us no more. But however this may be, when the gods had sailed over a very great stretch of water, Maui ordered the sail to be lowered.

The crew sprang willingly to the work, for they had never been so far away from Bulotu before, and fear was growing upon them. The sail was soon lowered upon the deck, and made fast. Then Maui came down from his seat on the top of the deck-house, holding in his hand an enormous fish-hook, which he threw far away from him into the sea, paying out the line as the hook sank, and the gods looked on in wonder.

“Have we come all this way to fish?” cried Ata-longa. “Are there no fish in the waters of Bulotu that we must sail thus far over the sea to catch them? What is the meaning of this, my father?”

“Wait and see,” answered Maui. “Know this, moreover, my son, that it is not seemly for youths to question the doing of their elders.”

“But so foolish a thing as this!” cried Ata-longa.

“Silence!” interrupted his father. “How do you know that it is foolish? You have been too much with that little-father [uncle] of yours, Hiku-leo, and it will be well for you to curb your tongue, lest I have to teach you that I am your king as well as — Ha! Here it is! I have

it! Come hither, all of you. Quick! Haul on the line! Haul steadily, lest it break!” And, pulling on the line, they were aware of something very heavy that the hook had caught. “Truly a monster of a fish is here!” said one, as they tugged and strained. “What can it be?” cried another. “It is no fish, for it makes no struggle,” said a third. But then the waters rose bubbling and foaming around the canoe, and smoke came from them with a thunderous rumble and roar, and the gods cried out in deadly fear. But Maui cheered them on. “Haul away, my lads!” he cried. “You shall take no harm. Put your strength on the rope, my children, and we shall soon see what it is.”

So they pulled and hauled with all their might, and presently the sea grew dark; and, looking down, they saw, as it were, a great black shadow beneath the waves. “What is this, Maui?” they cried. “We are afraid,” and some of them ran away from the rope, and crouched down and hid their faces.

“Fear not!” shouted Maui, seizing the rope with both hands, and hauling lustily upon it. “Fear not! Come back, little-livered cowards that you are! There is nothing to be afraid of.”

Then the gods shouted, pulling with a mighty will; and from the midst of the waters rose a land, mountain after mountain, till there were seven mountains in all, with valleys between, and flat lands lying at their feet.

“Here is something worth sailing for,” cried Maui. “This is better than staying at home in Bulotu and drinking kava. What about its foolishness now, my sons? What do you think of it?”

“Wonderful! Wonderful!” they rephed. “True are your words, my father. Here indeed is something worth sailing for. But is there not one little thing that might perhaps be mended. Those seven hills, are they not too high? I, for one, should not like to have to climb them.”

“Is that all? “said Maui. “That is easily mended.” And, leaping ashore, he 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. Now this land was Ata, the first land that Maui fished up from the depths of the sea.

Thence they sailed away again, and Maui threw out his hook once more, and raised this land of Tonga above the waves. Here he trod all the hills down 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, so that the gods shouted aloud for joy.

Next he fished up Haabai and Vavau and Niua and the other islands near them; but whether he raised Samoa and Fiji at this time, or after his return to Bulotu, is not clear to us; for herein the words of our fathers do not agree. Some say one thing, and some another. There are some indeed who declare that it was Tanga-loa who brought Papa-langi (Whitemansland) to the surface, but we cannot tell whether it was so or not. One thing only is certain, that it was Maui who fished up Tonga from the bottom of the sea.

After a long stay in this fruitful land, Maui and his crew sailed back in great glee to Bulotu, where he triumphed over Hiku-leo to his heart’s content, making him tenfold more spiteful than he was before. But, when the gods met together round the Water of Life to hear the report of the voyage, Akau-lea gave forth the most pitiful sighs and groans, such as had never before been heard in Bulotu, so that Maui had no heart to tell his tale. The kava was drunk in silence, and they went to their homes with heavy hearts, fearing they knew not what of evil.

ATA-LONGA’S REBELLION

Now Ata-longa’s soul was very sore because of his father’s words, which had put him to silence and shame before all the younger gods who had sailed with them. Great was his shame, great was his anger, and his soul grew ever darker and more evil towards Maui, as he thought upon his words on that day. At last he hatched a scheme by which he could at once vex his father and escape from under his control. He gathered together a number of the younger gods, his companions, and spoke to them of the tyranny of Maui; how they were checked and curbed by him, and how much better it would be for them to flee away, and to live in peace and plenty in the new land, where they would be free from the continual interference of tyrannical elders.

“This we could not have done aforetime,” he went on to say; “but now it is easy enough. Maui himself has made it easy, for he has fished up a beautiful land from the bottom of the sea. And if you would know what manner of land that is — those of you who stayed behind when we went sailing — ask any one of the crew. It is a land of plenty; no evil is there, and nothing good is wanting. Why then should we stay here in Bulotu, to be for ever snubbed by our elders? Are we not gods as well as they? Let us go — let us go to the new land, and leave Bulotu to the stay-at-homes.”

Then followed a long silence, and Ata-longa’s hearers looked inquiringly at one another. They were all minded to follow him; but no one cared to be the first to speak.

“It is my mind to go,” said one of them at length, Fifita by name. “True are the words we have heard about the goodness of the new country. I saw it with my own eyes. Happy should we be if we were there. But how then are we to go?”

“How are we to go!” cried the son of Maui. “That truly is a small thing. Is there not my father’s canoe? What should hinder us from taking it when he is sleeping heavily after the kava drinking? There is no difficulty if we only hold our tongues, and say nothing about it to the women and children till it is time to go on board with a rush. Get you the canoe ready for launching, with all its fittings, and I will see that Maui will not wake to-morrow till the sun is high over the land. We will sail to-night.”

So they bound themselves by an oath to silence and secrecy, and went to their homes to make ready for the flight. But Ata-longa went to his plantation, and dug up the largest root of kava he could find; and when he had washed it, he took it to Maui, presenting it with great humility, and with much respect.

“Be not angry with me, my lord,” he said, “because of my foolish words when you were fishing up Ata. My soul is very sore because of my offending; therefore have I brought this root of kava to be my offering of atonement, that my wrongdoing may be buried, and that you may remember it no more.”

“Why should you bring me an offering, my son?” Maui replied. “Am I not your father? Is it then so hard a matter to forgive the hasty word of a youth? I take the kava, not as a peace-offering, but as the love-gift of my son. Truly a fine root! Come, let us drink! Call my brothers and Kiji-kiji, and let some of your people sit down and chew it.”

“Nay, my lord,” said Ata-longa. “If you are indeed of a good mind towards me, drink you the kava and you only, for you only have I offended.”

“Chew then,” said Maui, “and let it be as you say.”

So Ata-longa’s young men whom he had brought with him to carry the big root, and to wait upon him, cut up the root, and chewed it, and when it was watered and strained, Ata-longa passed the drink to his father, cup after cup, till the kava bowl was empty. And when Maui had drunk it all up to the dregs, he lay down, and sank into a deep sleep; whereupon the deceitful youth hastened to the beach; and when it was dark, he and some of his followers dragged the canoe down to the water and poled her over the shallows to a place where the rest of the plotters were in hiding with their wives and their little ones, some two hundred in all. These were hurried on board, the sail was hoisted in silence with all speed, the great canoe moved swiftly over the waters, and none of the gods in Bulotu saw the fugitives as they sailed away. Alas! alas! for the Beginning of Death!

Maui slept heavily for many hours. He had drunk so much kava that the day had risen over the land long before he awoke, and not till he had been astir for several hours did any one observe that the canoe-house was empty; for Bulotu is a sleepy land, a land of rest, and its people are not for ever astir, as are we dwellers on the earth. But at length a messenger came to the great house reporting that the canoe was gone, and that Hiku-leo, with Ata-longa and many others, was missing.

THE TWISTING OF HIKU-LEO’S TAIL

Now, Hiku-leo had been so enraged by the mocking words of Maui that he could not endure to stay near him; so he had gone far away into the forest, where he hid himself in a cave; and there, bursting with spite, he remained for many days. So when Maui heard that he was absent, what should he think but that it was he who had taken the canoe?

“Aha!” said he to Tanga-loa, who was with him when the messenger came, “Hiku-leo has gone fishing, has he? Good be his sailing! Let us wait, and see what sort of fish he will catch. But is Ata-longa gone with him? “

“He also is gone, my lord,” the messenger replied. “He and many more.”

“That is bad, Tanga-loa,” said Maui, when the messenger had departed. “The lad is always with Hiku-leo, and nothing but evil will he learn from him.”

“It is true, my brother,” said Tanga-loa; “but this thing, after all, is no great matter. Is it to be wondered at that he should be eager for a sail? He is but a boy, you know. However, it will be well for us to scold him when he comes back, and to warn him against that evil-souled brother of ours.” And so the matter dropped.

But after another long while, one day, as the gods were sitting under the shade of the Tree of Speech, drinking kava as their manner was, who should step into the ring but Hiku-leo himself! Sulkily, and without a word of greeting, he stepped within the ring, and sat down on the grass in his accustomed place. The gods looked behind him, expecting to see Ata-longa and the others; but he was alone.

“The lads are ashamed to come,” whispered Maui to his two brothers, who were sitting with him. “They have had no luck. Good is your sailing, Hiku-leo! Good is your sailing; but where are the lads?”

“Have done with your fooling!” growled Hiku-leo, his tail wagging angrily behind him. “Do you think you have a right to be for ever mocking me, because you went fishing and hooked up a bit of dirt? Let there be an end of it, for I will suffer it no longer.”

“Mocking you!” cried Maui. “I am not mocking you. Where have you been? Where is Ata-longa?, Where are the lads? And where is the canoe?”

“What do you mean?” snarled Hiku-leo. “What do I know about Ata-longa and his following of fools? And what do I know about your canoe? Am I your slave that you should ask me? Where is your canoe, indeed 1 Ask your slaves.”

“Look you, Hiku-leo!” cried Tanga-loa in a rage, “we have had enough of your evil ways.” And, springing nimbly behind him, he seized his tail, and twisted it till the surly god bellowed with pain. “Where is Ata-longa?” cried Tanga-loa, keeping ever behind him, as he writhed, and spun round and round. “Where is the canoe? Where have you been? What have you been doing?” And at every question he gave the tail a fresh twist, till it was curled closely up into a hard lump.

“Are you mad?” roared Hiku-leo, kicking viciously. “Let me go, Tanga-loa! You wretch, let me go!”

“Not till you answer,” said Tanga-loa, keeping a firm hold of the tail.

“I know nothing about them,” yelled the miserable god in his agony. “Oh, wretch that you are! Let me go, I say! Wah-h-h! Make him let go, Maui! Help, brother of Maui! Help, ye gods! I never saw them. I’ve been in the forest all by myself. Ah-h-h! I swear it! True are my words! Have mercy, Tanga-loa!”

“Let him go, Tanga-loa!” said Maui. “Let him go! It is enough. There! Sit down, Hiku-leo. Sit down, and let us talk the matter over.”

“Sit down, indeed!” cried Hiku-leo, foaming with rage as he rubbed himself. “How can I sit down? No, Tanga-loa! Be quiet! I will sit.” — For Tanga-loa had moved as if about to make another spring for his tail. — “What is it all about, my lord? What wrong have I done?”

“What wrong?” cried Maui. “Is it no wrong to take the canoe without asking me? and Ata-longa? and all the crew?”

“None of this have I done,” Hiku-leo declared with great earnestness. “If they are gone, and the canoe, I have had no part therein. I hear of it now for the first time. Ever since your coming back from the sailing I have been in the forest. I fled thither from your jeering words.”

“Is this true, Hiku-leo?” Maui asked.

“It is indeed true. I swear it. Why should I lie to you?” was the reply.

“Where then is Ata-longa?” asked the King in great perplexity. And all the gods were silent, each looking in wonder upon his neighbour’s face.

Then a deep groan from the Tree of Speech broke in upon the silence, and a wailing sound was heard among its branches, whence a sprinkling, as of rain, fell down upon the surface of the Water of Life, like the falling of many tears.

“It has come,” said a mournful voice. “The evil, of which I warned you, has come! Why did you go, Maui? Why did you go?”

“What is it, O Tree of Speech?” cried Maui in a startled tone. “What is this great evil? For that a great evil has befallen us I feel within my soul, though I know not what it is.”

“They are gone!” said the Tree with a groan. “Ata-longa has taken them away to the new land. They are gone, never to return. Alas! alas! for the folly of the disobedient ones. Evil is now their lot — hunger and thirst — trouble and sorrow — sickness and Death!”

At this dreadful word the voice of the Tree ceased, and an awful silence fell upon the host — a silence of dread — broken only by the low moan of wailing among the branches, and by the falling as of tear-drops into the Water of Life. And a shudder ran round the circle of gods, with the sound of a deep-drawn breath; nor did any one ask the meaning of the word, for they felt its meaning within their hearts, though they had never heard it before.

Then a chill blast came sweeping through the branches, mingling a sound of sobbing and sighing with the wailing moan; and many of the leaves, evergreen heretofore, faded, and withered, and fell, scattered hither and thither by the sudden blast. And the gods, looking up in awestruck wonder — for never before had such a thing been known — saw that the branch, from which the leaves had fallen, was sapless and dead. And, even as they looked, a dismal groan sounded from the midst of the Tree, and the branch dropped into the Water of Life, breaking into three pieces, two large and one small, as it fell. Then the fearful gods beheld a wondrous thing; for, as the pieces sank down into the waters, they took the form of three canoes, two large and one small; so sank they slowly down till they were lost in the depths. Then with a heavy sigh rose Maui and the rest of the gods, and in mournful silence they went to their homes.

THE DEATH-CANOES

Merrily over the waters went Ata-longa in the stolen canoe with his crew of runaways. Merrily sailed they over the waters; the son of Maui, and those who had been with him on the former voyage, telling of all the wonders they had seen, and they who had stayed at home listened with greedy ears. Pleasant was the breeze, and swiftly glided the canoe over the laughing waves, till Tonga rose out of the waters in their course; and they soon reached the shore, shouting aloud at the beautiful prospect before them; for of all lands under the heavens this Tonga of ours is the loveliest and the best, even as we, its people, are foremost among the sons of men.

The gods were full of joy, and made the whole island ring with their merry laughter and shouts of glee, as they rambled about in companies, and found new beauties to admire, or more and more abundant food supplies, ripe and ready to their hands, yams and breadfruit, and coconuts in all stages of growth, with shoals of fish leaping out of the water here and there. The women sat on the seashore watching the children as they gambolled along the sands, some of them rushing into the water and spearing fish with their little spears. Fires were soon lit, food was baked, and all were full of delight. “This is a better land than that we have left,” they said. “Here will we stay. Never more will we return to Bulotu.” Little did they think what a fearful truth lay in those gladsome words!

They took the big canoe to pieces, and made out of it eight smaller ones, with which they explored the coast, fishing as they went, and catching good fish, more than they could eat. Thus they lived happily for a long while; but at length there came upon them a terrible woe, changing their joy and gladness into deadly fear and deep anguish of soul.

Thus it came about. The fine young god, Fifita, of whom you have heard before, was a great friend of Ata-longa’s, and came with him as a matter of course; he and his wife Moa, and their little girl, their only child. A loving couple were they, and dearly they loved their little one, the darling of their hearts. So it fell upon a day that Fifita, coming home from the fishing, wondered that his wife and his little daughter had not come down to the seashore to welcome him according to their wont; for they were always waiting on the beach when he came back. looking out for him. And, when he landed, the little girl would run to meet him with glad cries of “Father! my father!” that he might lift her in his arms, and kiss her, and carry her on his shoulders up to the house; while she would pull his hair and his beard, shouting aloud for joy, and laughing at her mother, who walked smiling behind them, with the fish-basket on her back. Therefore Fifita wondered greatly because they were absent; and leaping ashore, he went hastily up to the house, where he found his wife stretched upon the mats, with the child lying beside her.

“Ah, lazy ones!” he cried. “Must you then be always sleeping, that you cannot welcome me home from the fishing?”

Languidly then his wife looked up at the sound of his voice; and Fifita saw that her eyes were dim — those eyes that were wont to sparkle so merrily.

“What is wrong with you, Moa?” he cried in sudden terror. “What ails you? Why are your eyes so dim?”

“I know not,” she replied in a low tone and faint. “I know not what has befallen me, but it is not with me as it was. Come nearer, and let me take you by the hand while I speak. Give me your hand; sit down here beside me; nearer still; for strange are the thoughts I find within my soul. It is to me as if I were drifting away on a strong current; but whither I know not, nor why. What is it, my husband? Are you also going, or do you remain behind?”

“What words are these?” cried Fifita. “Why do you speak thus? Surely you have been dreaming, and are not yet fully awake?”

“It is no dream,” she replied, “for I have not been sleeping. We two went together down to the beach to wait for your return as our manner is, and I sat on the grass while our little one played with the other children to and fro on the sand. As I sat watching her, she suddenly stopped in her play; and shading her eyes with her hand, she looked out seaward. Then she ran to me; and climbing on my lap, she threw her arms round my neck, crying, “Ah, the canoe! the little canoe! Clasp me in your arms, for I am cold. Oh mother! Oh my dear mother!” And holding her tight in my arms, I felt that she was intensely cold; so I rose, and carried her up to the house, for she had fallen asleep upon my breast. She has been sleeping ever since; and I too, I would fain sleep, for I am weary. What is it, my husband? What can it be? And what is this chill which I feel creeping upwards to my heart? Come nearer to me, for it is growing dark, and I cannot see your face.”

Her voice grew ever fainter as she spoke, till it died away in a low whisper; and Fifita sat by her side, holding her hand, with a sickening terror at his heart. Then, suddenly, she started, and raised her head. “What is this?” she cried in a full-toned voice. “ How can this be? Is not this my child that I hold in my arms? How then do I see her yonder sitting on that little canoe? She smiles, Fifita, and beckons me away. There also is another canoe, larger than hers. Ah! I see it now! I am going. Farewell, my husband! I must leave you. I come, my child, I come!” Then, with a long-drawn sigh, her head sank again upon the mats, her eyes closed, and she was still.

Fifita sprang to his feet with a cry of horror. “Wake, Moa, wake!” he cried, shaking her violently by the hand. “Sleep not thus, my wife! Open your eyes, and look upon me!” But she heard him not.

Startled by his frantic cries, all the gods came running together to his house. “What is the matter, Fifita?” asked the foremost. “What has befallen you, that you are crying thus?”

“My wife! My wife, and my child also! Look at them! Wake, Moa, wake!” he cried, shaking her again, and dragging madly at her hand. “Oh! what is this dreadful sleep? Her hand is cold. What is this terrible coldness? Help, my friends! Help me to waken them! Moa! Moa!” But still she heard him not.

Suddenly, with a start, he raised his head, and turning quickly round,he gazed out seaward, while there stole over his face a bewildered look, which brightened into a happy smile.

“Here now is a wondrous thing!” said he, speaking slowly and in an altered tone. “Have I then been dreaming too? Ah, Moa, how could you frighten me so? But how did you get there to the canoe?”

“What canoe, Fifita?” asked one of the gods. “Here lies Moa, and here is her child. To whom then are you speaking? There is no canoe.”

“Nay, but there are three,” Fifita said; “two big ones and a little one, and one of them is empty. It is for me. Do you not see them? Look! There sits Moa; never before was her face so beautiful. And our child — she too is there on the small canoe. They call me; smiling, they call me. I come, my wife! I come, my darling! Stand aside, my friends, that I may go.”

Then the gods saw a strange look pass athwart his face; a lofty and solemn look, such as they had seen never before. And the light faded from his eyes, over which the lids closed wearily; and with a deep-drawn breath, he sank down by the side of his wife, whom he had loved so well.

Then, as they stood, gazing in awestruck wonder on the prostrate forms, suddenly a shrill cry rose in their midst; and one of them fell to the ground, writhing and shrieking as if in mortal agony, his hands clutching the air, his eyeballs rolling, his muscles twisted into knots, foam flying from his lips, which were drawn apart, showing his teeth set in a horrible grin, his flesh twitching and quivering beneath his skin, and his whole body convulsed, a fearful sight to see. And through the gathering darkness came a wailing moan, mingled with sobbing and sighing, and a faint rustling as of leaves. Then deep groans came struggling from the chest of him who was smitten down, and among them words, awful words, which the gods had never before heard spoken, but the meaning of which they felt in their hearts; and the boldest of them shuddered as they heard; for they knew the voice — it was the voice of the Tree of Speech!

“Subject to disease and death! Subject to disease and death! That is the doom of the disobedient ones who have left the Waters of Life. Bury the dead! Let the earth hide them! Thus shall ye all be, for now you are all given over to Disease and to Death.”

Ah then, the loud wailing, the loud wailing and the bitter fear! But the evil was done; it was past recall; neither tears nor wailing could awaken the dead. So they dug a grave deep and wide for Fifita and Moa, and the child they laid upon its mother’s breast.

When they had filled the grave with sand, they sat down in the Council-ring with heavy hearts; and they resolved to build another canoe, in which some of them might go sailing to Bulotu, and ask pardon of Maui for their evil deeds, praying also that they might be allowed to return to the land of the gods, and that the awful doom of “disease and death” might be taken from them. So they built the canoe; but those who sailed in her came back after a long absence, weak and worn with hardship and fasting. They told of storms and roaring waves, and fearful monsters of the deep; but Bulotu had been hidden from their eyes. Thus also has it been with us ever since that woeful day. Many of our heroes have sailed far and wide in search of the good land, but never have they reached its shores. Some of them, indeed, have told us that they saw it lying in the sunlight with its wooded hills, and its white ring of surf on the coral reef around it; but it has always faded away as they sailed onward, till they have passed over the very spot where they saw it lying, green and beautiful, in the midst of the sea.

* * * * *

Though their crime was very great, Maui did not utterly forsake the rebel gods; for their fire having gone out in the time of trouble, he sent his son Kiji-kiji to Tonga with some of the sacred fire of Bulotu, that they might be able to cook their food. So Kiji-kiji brought the sacred fire to our land, and shut it up within a tree, from which we can bring it forth by rubbing two pieces of the wood together. And when he had done this, he went back to his father, taking Ata-longa with him — him and none other.

Moreover, Tanga-loa went up to the sky, where he now reigns as its king; and he drew aside the cloud-curtain, that the sun might shine down upon the earth more clearly, the moon also and the stars. And Maui’s brother took up his abode in the sea, of which he is the ruler. As for Maui, it was his mind to stay in Bulotu; but, after many days, he heard a great outcry, and shrieks for help from Tonga, whose people were crying to him in their distress, because their land had begun to sink again below the waves. Our fathers did not tell us how their cry reached his ears; but we think it must have been reported to him by the Tree of Speech. This, however, we know — that he dived beneath the waters, and took the land upon his shoulders, that he might hold it up. And there he stands to this day holding up our land. When there is an earthquake we know that it is Maui nodding in his sleep; and we shout, and stamp, and beat the ground with our clubs, that we may waken him. And when he is roused from his sleep, the earth trembles and shakes no more.

So Hiku-leo became King of Bulotu; and an evil king is he, for he delights in tormenting the souls of the dead, all of whom have to go to him when the Death-canoe brings them from the earth. They have no chance of escaping him; for the canoes must land in front of his house, where he sits watching for their unhappy souls; and whenever he goes out, he leaves his tail behind to keep watch in his place. None can escape him; for he seizes the souls of the dead, making some of them his slaves, and others he uses as posts for his out-houses, and as stakes for his fence, and as bars for his gates. So cruel and savage of soul is he, that, were it not for the check that his two elder brothers keep upon him, he would destroy everything in Bulotu when he gets into his raging moods. But his brothers have bound him round the waist with the cord that can never be broken, tied in the knot that can never be loosed; and Tanga-loa holds one end in the sky, while Maui grasps the other beneath the earth, so that they can pull him easily either this way or that way, as need may be.

The story of the Beginning of Death has now been told; but there is a sequel to it. The runaway gods, who dwelt in Tonga, peopling the land, had no slaves. But after a while, a sandpiper went forth to seek its food; and scratching the ground in a place of mud, it unearthed a heap of worms, slimy of look and evil of smell. So loathsome, indeed, were they that the sandpiper could not eat them; but, spurning them with his foot, scattered them about over the surface of the mud. And when the sun had shone on them for many days they grew into men, and our fathers, the gods in Tonga, took them for their slaves. These slaves have no souls, and when their days are ended, they die, and there is an end of them. Thus also is it with the white men. We know this, for we have asked them themselves, and they tell us that there are sandpipers in their land also. Here then is manifest the root of our greatness; and this is why we, the people of Tonga, are the noblest among the nations. All the other people are children of the earth; but we are children of the gods, inhabitants of Bulotu.

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Pele and the Deluge

Hawaiian legends link Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, to a great ancient flood known as the Kai a Kahinalii. Born in Hapakuela, Pele embarked on a journey to Hawaii in search of her husband, bringing the sea with her, which flooded the islands. Her migration aligns with geological evidence of volcanic activity, beginning on Kauai and culminating in her permanent settlement at Kilauea on Hawaii Island.

Source
Hawaiian Folk Tales
a collection of native legends
compiled by Thos. G. Thrum
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1907

► Themes of the story

Creation: The legend explains the formation of the Hawaiian Islands’ volcanic features through Pele’s actions.

Divine Intervention: As a goddess, Pele’s influence directly shapes the natural world, demonstrating the impact of deities on earthly events.

Sacred Spaces: Pele’s eventual settlement at Kilauea establishes it as a sacred site, central to Hawaiian cultural and spiritual identity.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Hawaiians

by Rev. A.O. Forbes

All volcanic phenomena are associated in Hawaiian legendary lore with the goddess Pele; and it is a somewhat curious fact that to the same celebrated personage is also attributed a great flood that occurred in ancient times. The legends of this flood are various, but mainly connected with the doings of Pele in this part of the Pacific Ocean. The story runs thus:

Kahinalii was the mother of Pele; Kanehoalani was her father; and her two brothers were Kamohoalii and Kahuilaokalani. Pele was born in the land of Hapakuela, a far-distant land at the edge of the sky, toward the southwest.

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There she lived with her parents until she was grown up, when she married Wahialoa; and to these were born a daughter named Laka, and a son named Menehune. But after a time Pele’s husband, Wahialoa, was enticed away from her by Pele-kumulani. The deserted Pele, being much displeased and troubled in mind on account of her husband, started on her travels in search of him, and came in the direction of the Hawaiian Islands. Now, at that time these islands were a vast waste. There was no sea, nor was there any fresh water. When Pele set out on her journey, her parents gave her the sea to go with her and bear her canoes onward. So she sailed forward, flood-borne by the sea, until she reached the land of Pakuela, and thence onward to the land of Kanaloa. From her head she poured forth the sea as she went, and her brothers composed the celebrated ancient mele:

O the sea, the great sea!
Forth bursts the sea:
Behold, it bursts on Kanaloa!

But the waters of the sea continued to rise until only the highest points of the great mountains, Haleakala, Maunakea, and Maunaloa, were visible; all else was covered. Afterward the sea receded until it reached its present level. This event is called the Kai a Kahinalii (Sea of Kahinalii), because it was from Kahinalii, her mother, that Pele received the gift of the sea, and she herself only brought it to Hawaii.

And from that time to this, Pele and all her family forsook their former land of Hapakuela and have dwelt in Hawaii-nei, Pele coming first and the rest following at a later time.

On her first arrival at Hawaii-nei, Pele dwelt on the island of Kauai. From there she went to Kalaupapa, [now the Leper Settlement] on the island of Molokai, and dwelt in the crater of Kauhako at that place; thence she departed to Puulaina, [the hill visible from the Lahaina anchorage to the north of Lahainaluna School, and near to it] near Lahainaluna, where she dug out that crater. Afterward she moved still further to Haleakala, where she stayed until she hollowed out that great crater; and finally she settled at Kilauea, on the island of Hawaii, where she has remained ever since.

[It is not a little remarkable that the progress of Pele, as stated in this tradition, agrees with geological observation in locating the earliest volcanic action in this group, on the island of Kauai, and the latest, on the island of Hawaii.]

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The Distribution of Animals After the Creation

Teco, the Supreme Being, apportioned resources to three nations: Whites, Bushmen (Amakosa), and Hottentots (Amalouw). The Hottentots chased a honey bird, ignoring Teco’s warnings, leading to their fate of living on wild roots and honey. The unruly Bushmen, claiming cattle, were granted only livestock. The patient Whites received cattle, horses, sheep, and property, prompting the Bushmen’s remark on their unequal share.

Source
South-African Folk Tales
by James A. Honey, M.D.
New York,1910

► Themes of the story

Creation: The narrative explains how Teco, the Supreme Being, distributed resources among different nations after the world’s creation.

Origin of Things: It provides an account of why different groups possess varying resources, attributing these differences to their actions during the distribution.

Divine Intervention: Teco’s direct involvement and decisions shape the destinies of the Whites, Bushmen, and Hottentots, illustrating the influence of a deity in mortal affairs.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Bushmen

Teco is the Supreme Being. Teco had every description of stock and property.

There were three nations created, viz., the Whites, the Amakosa, or Bushmen, and the Amalouw, or Hottentots. A day was appointed for them to appear before the Teco to receive whatever he might apportion to each tribe. While they were assembling, a honey bird, or honey guide, came fluttering by, and all the Hottentots ran after it, whistling and making the peculiar noise they generally do while following this wonderful little bird.

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The Teco remonstrated with them about their behavior, but to no purpose. He thereupon denounced them as a vagrant race that would have to exist on wild roots and honey beer, and possess no stock whatever.

When the fine herds of cattle were brought, the Bushmen became very much excited–the one exclaiming, “That black and white cow is mine!” and another, “That red cow and black bull are mine!” and so on, till at last the Teco, whose patience had been severely taxed by their shouts and unruly behavior, denounced them as a restless people, who would only possess cattle.

The Whites patiently waited until they received cattle, horses, sheep, and all sorts of property. Hence, the old Bushmen observed, “You Whites have got everything. We Bushmen have only cattle, while the Amalouw, or Hottentots, have nothing.”

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