The Wandering Mountains

 The Wandering Mountains 

(A Story from New Zealand)

In the centre of the North Island there were once many more mountains standing together than there are today. There was Tongariro, the chief; at that time his top had not broken off, and his snow-covered peak pointed to the sky. Tongariro also comprised Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. Taranaki, Putauaki and Tauhara were nearby. They were all males, proud and aggressive. 

The only female was Pihanga, a smaller mountain with soft and gentle curves, clothed in a cloak of brilliant green. Pihanga was desired by all the warrior mountains, and eventually they came to blows over who was to have her as his wife. 

The winner of the battle was Tongariro; with a mighty roar he blew his top right off and frightened the other suitors away. That night Putauaki and Tauhara decided to head east, in the direction of the rising sun. Putauaki travelled to the farthest edge of the Kaingaroa Plain before he was stopped by the light of day. 

Tauhara, on the other hand, kept turning back to look once more at his lost love, so that he managed to go no further than the northern shore of Lake Taupo, from where he still gazes at Pihanga. 

The hole left by the departure of these two mountains filled with water and became known as Rotoaira. 

Taranaki, the mightiest of the three, declared that he would seek the place where the sun sets. With a roar he set off to the west, digging a great chasm as he went, down which now flows the Wanganui River. 

Pihanga still remains with Tongariro, and when the people of the mountains see the mists enfolding her green cloak, sent from Tongariro’s warm springs, they say: ‘See! The Great One sends greetings, as in the days of old!’ 

Source 

Maori Legends

1993

Pages: 39-43