Rori-of-the-Rocks

Rori-of-the-Rocks

(A Legend from Cook Islands)

On the island of Mangaia once lived a famous hermit, known as Rori-of-the-West or Rori-of-the-Rocks. This is his story.

Rori's grandfather was Una, and his father was Rongo-ariki. Both Una and Rongo-anki were great craftsmen. They knew how to carve beautiful canoes and tools from wood, and how to weave the strongest sennit from coconut fiber. They also had the secret knowledge of how to carve images of the gods. Una and Rongo-ariki kept this knowledge safe and passed it on to Rori when he was a young man.

Rori and his sister were very happy living on Mangaia. Rori was a fast runner and loved especially to climb the steep cliffs that surrounded his village.

In those days, there was much fighting. The day finally came when a battle was fought right in Rori's village!

It was a terrible battle. Both Rori's beloved father, Rongo-ariki, and his lovely sister, Amio, were killed. Just before he died, Rongo-ariki instructed his son, “Fly, Rori, fly to the black rocks and keep our family knowledge safe.”

Rori obeyed his father, though it hurt him terribly to leave his side. He climbed up the steep cliffs, so fast that none of his enemies could get even close. From far above the valley, he watched as his village was burned and his friends killed or captured.

Rori sadly turned from the valley and surveyed his new home. He was in a small valley, full of razor-sharp rocks. There were caves here in which he could hide, and the pointed stones would slow down any enemy spies.

Night after night Rori built up his hiding place. He smoothed hundreds of tiny sharp pebbles until he made a smooth path on which he could run in case someone was chasing him. Rori put these small stones down so cleverly that even the slightest weight on the stones set off a low rumble, a sound that alerted Rori to danger.

All of his work was successful, for he remained undiscovered for many years. He was all but forgotten by the villagers. They thought he had died in the rocky waste.

Using the skills his father taught him, Rori was able to make sharp tools. Using his special path and strong body, Rori was able to slip quietly into the fertile valleys when it was dark. Thore he could find fresh food, especially fruits and the nuts of the mahogany tree. Rori was so clever that he always replaced the good nuts he found in the valley with rotten nuts he found in the rocks. This wav, no one ever suspected someone was stealing from the village trees. To this day, mahogany nuts are called “Rori's Chestnuts” or “Rori's Delight.”

***

The seasons passed. Rori was no longer young. His skin was as dry and sunburned as an old leather hide. But he could still run over the rocks faster than any man alive. On one or two occasions, when Rori became careless in his food-gathering, men tried to capture him. But Rori was too fast. He would leap high into the air, landing on the rocks and disappearing like the mist.

Finally, Rori became lonely for the company of others. He had lived alone, like a hermit, for almost all of his life. One time before, he had tried to return to live among people. He thought all of his former enemies were dead. He was mistaken, and was lucky to escape back to the rocks before he was killed and eaten!

This time, his enemies were truly gone. For the first time in years, the whole island was at peace. But there was no one left with the skills to carve images of their gods. No one but the scarcely remembered Rori-of-the-Rocks.

From time to time a shriveled and burnt old man had been sighted, but he had always been too quick to be captured. “This old man must be Rori,” thought Manaune, who had known Rori when he was still a young man. “This man will have the knowledge we need to make our carvings.”

Manaune called to the rocks where Rori was known to hide, far above the villagers below. “Rori, come back! Come back and teach me to carve my god!”

Rori heard the calling and was shocked. He had not heard anyone speak his name for many years. Was this some sort of trick?

When Rori realized that it was Manaune, whom he trusted, and that peace had come to their island, he agreed to return to the village on Mangaia. Great was the joy at his return.

Rori lived with his people for many more years, until the coming of Captain Cook. He carved images of the many gods of his people. He instructed the young people in the arts of carving and weaving. He even had time to get married and have sons of his own!

To this day, the people of these islands have the special skills and knowledge brought back to them by Rori, the hermit of the rocks. 

Portrait of a "man of Mangaia", c. 1796

Source:
Pacific Island Legends: Tales from Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Australia
Nancy Bo Flood, Beret E. Strong, William Flood,
1991
Pages: 178 - 181