Kuikueve

Kuikueve

(A Tale from Mangareva)

Kuikueve was of both worlds, she was a woman of this world and also of the world below. Her husband's name was Tu. Kuikueve lived in his house and two children were born to them, but after a time Kuikueve grew tired of her human husband and left this world. She went down to her other world, Te Po, and left her children with their father.

Mangareva

After he had finished sorrowing for Kuikueve, Tu took another wife, whose name was Ruaia. This Ruaia was greedy, and she was unkind to her husband's children. When he was at home for meals she would give them their share of the fish, but when he was away she gave them nothing. One day they-two were sitting beside a spring and crying because they were so hungry. They cried ‘Me ko to taua kui i ara ra ko Kuikueve, e makona taua', which means, ‘If it were our other mother, Kuikueve, we'd have things to eat.’

Now the spring-water carried their voices to Kuikueve in the world below. She heard them crying and heard what they said, and she came up bringing food for them. She came up through the water of the spring from the darkness below, bringing fish and popoi, and lizard, and puputa. And they ate up all these good things, and went home with cheerful faces.

Their father had grown used to seeing them sad. When he saw their cheerful faces he asked them what had made them happy, and they told him. Then Tu, as well, wanted to see Kuikueve again. He asked them to help him catch her and bring her back so that they could all be together again. ‘Next time,’ he said, ‘you two wait here beside the spring, and when she comes out, get her to put the food as far away from the pool as you can.’

So the children went to the spring when next they were crying with hunger, and they cried and waited, and their mother came, and they did as Tu had told them, and Tu was hiding in the bushes. Their mother came out, shining from the water, carrying baskets of good things for her children, and they tried to coax her from the spring. But Kuikueve would not come. She remained there, saying, ‘I can feel your father’s influence and I am afraid of him.’ So the children went on crying, out of hunger, and would not take the food from Kuikueve’s hands; and so at length, they made her come right out. Then Tu dashed into the spring, to prevent her from escape.

When she saw what had happened Kuikueve dived back like a bird, but her husband caught her in his arms and they-two struggled in the water, and Tu was laughing. He made it seem a joke and the children called out to him to hold their mother, and Kuikueve at length gave in, and she agreed to remain here in this world.

Therefore Tu went home alone, leaving his children and their mother at the spring. And he took Ruaia out in his canoe, to go fishing. They paddled over to Marutea, where certain fish are caught that are tapu to women. And Ruaia was very greedy as always and wanted to eat those forbidden fish where no one could see her do so except her husband. Tu, therefore, gave her urua and pu’i, that is cavally and sea eels, and she was so greedy, she ate till she was filled.

That woman died of eating tapu fish. In this way was Ruaia paid for her greed, and from that time on Tu and Kuikueve lived happily together with their children.

Source:

Legends of the South Seas

Antony Alpers

1970

Pages 227-228