The Birds and the Plantains

The Birds and the Plantains

(A tale from Tonga)

There were once two brothers, named Wise Malala and Foolish Malala, and they went one day and planted a plantain. On the following day Wise Malala sent his brother to see how their plantain fared, and he found that one leaf had sprouted. And so every day Foolish Malala was sent to look at the plantain. Every day for the next nine days he found that one more leaf had sprouted, until there were ten leaves. On the eleventh day the fruit spathe had appeared, and on the eighteenth day the fruit was ripe. But on the nineteenth day he discovered that the fruit had all been eaten by birds.

Then was Wise Malala very angry, and bade his brother call a meeting of all the birds, and to allow no bird to be absent. When the birds were assembled Wise Malala questioned them in turn, “Fowl, who has eaten our plantains?” The fowl denied all knowledge of the deed, as did also the rail, the pigeon, and all the birds; none knew who was guilty.

Then Wise Malala inquired if any were absent, and the names were called, and it was found that the misi had not appeared. Messengers sent to seek the misi found that he was sick; so orders were given to carry him to the meeting. When he was brought and questioned he, too, denied all knowledge of the theft; but he was made to evacuate his bowels, and the excrement was nothing but ripe plantain. So the guilt of the misi was established, and he was seized and killed.

Since then the remains of plantain have not been eaten.

Source

Tales and poems of Tonga

E.E.V. Collocott

1971

Pages: 58-59

The Clubfooted Children

The Clubfooted Children

(A tale from Tonga)

There was once a married couple who dwelt in the midst of the forest. In course of time the woman bore a son, whose feet were deformed. The woman abandoned the child, for she was ashamed before her husband of its deformity. Now a demon seeking food found the child, and took him home to his own abode, where he was about to devour him, when he bethought him that the infant was still very small, and noticed, too, the misshapen feet. So the demon determined to keep the child till he had grown bigger before eating him. He put him in the loft (fata) of his house, and fed and looked after him.

After a time the woman bore another child, whose feet, like the first’s, were deformed. This child, too, she cast away in shame, and it was found by the demon, who put him in the loft to be kept until he was bigger.

The woman continued to bear children, until she had borne ten, each of whom having deformed feet was deserted in the bush, and was found by the demon, who put him in the loft. So all the ten children were being kept in the loft until they should be big enough to eat. As the children grew their deformity disappeared, except that of the eldest, who remained clubfooted. The demon, in his daily visits, did not make very thorough examinations. He merely stood below their lodging, and called, “Clubfoot, Clubfoot, show me your feet, to see if you are big, or still small.” Then one by one the children used to thrust their feet through an opening in the floor of the loft, saying, “Here are my feet.” Now, since the feet of the nine had grown strong and well-shaped, the eldest brother used to thrust his deformed feet ten times through the opening, so that the demon thought that they were all still misshapen and small. Time went on; the nine younger brothers grew big and strong, and at last they determined to escape. One day after the examination was finished, and the demon had left them, they climbed down from the loft, and fled. The nine whose feet were strong were able to run easily, but they would not desert their eldest brother, and suited their pace to him. A few hours after they had gone the demon noticed a human smell in the compound occasioned by their passing through it, and went to see if his captives were safe. He stood and called up to the loft; but there was no reply. He climbed up to see, thinking that perhaps they were asleep; but they had disappeared. So he came down, and ran about to find their tracks. When he discovered the direction of flight he set off in pursuit. As he went he thought of a stratagem to check the flight of the brothers. He uttered an incantation, “Tuputupulefanua, let down a great basket of food, and a big pig, that they may carry.” In an instant the food appeared before the brothers, but the eldest brother cried, “Cut the food up at once and distribute,” and he took a piece of yam and a piece of pork, and gave it to one of the youths, saying, “Yours, eat as you run.” So he did to all of his brothers, and no time was wasted, but they still ran on. When the demon knew that this ruse had failed he called again, “Tuputupulefanua let down a great stone wall in their path.” But the nine younger brothers climbed the wall, and fled until they came to the abode of men, but the eldest hid beside the wall. Then the demon came to the wall, and, as he was climbing it the hidden brother shook it, and brought it down, killing the demon. Then he went on, and they all escaped.

Source

Tales and poems of Tonga

E.E.V. Collocott

1971

Pages: 59-61

The Story of the Sun-Child

                        The Story of the Sun-Child                        

(A Legend from Tonga)

Once upon a time, there was a great chief in Tonga who had a beautiful young daughter. She was so fair that her father hid her from the eyes of men so that no one could see her, for he had not found a man whom he thought worthy to be her husband.

The chief built a high, thick fence down on the shore. Behind this, she was allowed to sit and bathe in the sea every day, until she grew up to be so beautiful that there was no maiden to compare with her.

Now it happened one day that the Sun looked down from his home in the sky and saw her as she rested on the white sand. Immediately he fell in love with her, and after a time a child was born to her, and she called him the Sun-Child.

The child grew and developed into a handsome lad. He was proud and strong and used to beat the other children as if he were the son of a great chief. One day while all the village lads were playing together on the green he was angered by something. And he picked up a stick and beat them with it until their bodies were sore and his arm ached.

Then they rose up and taunted him, saying, “Who are you, and why should you beat us? We know who are our fathers, but you-you have no father!" At this, the Sun-Child was filled with a great rage, and he would have tried to kill them. But he seemed to be rooted to the ground, and his voice became hoarse and his eyes brimmed with tears.

For a moment he stood and glared at them. Then with a loud cry he ran quickly to his own house. His mother was inside, and he seized her by the arm, crying out. “Tell me, mother, who is my father? What do the village boys mean?" And he burst into tears.

“Hush, my son," said his mother, “take no notice of them and do not let them trouble you, for you are the son of a greater chief than their fathers."

“But who is my father?" asked the lad again.

His mother laughed scornfully and said. “Who are those village boys, and why do they despise my son? They are the children of men, but the Sun is your father."

So the Sun-Child wiped away his tears and was happy. “I will not talk to those children of men any longer. I will not even live with them, for I scorn them. I shall go and find my father," he said defiantly.

He called “Farewell” to his mother and set off without ever a backward glance, and she gazed after him until he was hidden by the bushes and the trees. Through the forest, he strode until he came to the beach where his own canoe lay, and at high tide, he launched it and sailed away to find his father.

Now it was the early dawn when he hoisted his sail, and he steered toward the east, where the Sun was rising, but as time passed the Sun rose higher and higher, and though the boy shouted loudly his father did not hear him.

Then he tacked and sailed over to the west as the Sun began to dip toward the horizon, but although he made a fair speed he could not reach his father before he disappeared beneath the waves. The boy was left alone in the wide sea to ponder his next plan.

“My father climbs up out of the water in the east,” he said to himself, “so it is there I must go to catch him.” He tacked again and sailed eastward all night, and as morning dawned and the Sun rose close to him he shouted aloud. “Look, father, I am here!”

“Who are you?” asked the Sun as it climbed steadily higher.

“Surely you know me! I am your son." cried the lad, “and I have left my mother behind in Tonga. Stay, oh, stay awhile and talk to me."

“I may not stay,” said the Sun, “for the people of earth have already seen me. You should have been a little earlier. Now I must go on my way." He bade his son goodbye and rose even higher in the sky.

“Father, stay,” cried the lad. “Could you not hide your face behind a cloud and then slip down and talk to me.

“Truly you are wise, my child,” said the Sun, laughing. “For a mere lad you have much wisdom." Then he called for a cloud, and when he had disappeared behind it he slipped down again into the sea. There he met his son and greeted him, and he asked after his mother, and they talked of many things.

“I can stay no longer," he said after a little while, “but listen to me: if you remain here until the darkness comes over the water, you will see my sister the Moon. She is your aunt, so call out to her when she begins to rise from the sea. She has two very precious things: ask her to give you one of them. You must ask for the one called Melaia, and she will give it to you. The other is called Monuia, and you may not have that. Now remember what I have told you and all will be well, but beware of evil if you disobey me."

Then the Sun leaped above the cloud again, and the world men thought how slowly he was climbing into the sky that day. Meanwhile, the Sun-Child furled his sail and lay down on the folds in his canoe and slept until evening. When he awoke he hoisted his sail and waited for the first pale streaks of moonlight. Then he hastened with all speed to his aunt, and he was close upon her before she had risen above the water.

“Luff, luff, child of the earth." she cried out, “or you will pierce my face with the stem of your canoe."

So the Sun-Child altered his steering oar and kept away a point, but he almost touched the moon's face as he passed. Then luffing into the wind suddenly, he shot up alongside her and caught hold of her firmly.

“I am no child of the earth,” he said. “I am the Sun's child, and he is your brother, so you are my aunt."

“Oh, are you indeed !" said the Moon. “That is a great surprise, but you are hurting me, nephew, so I beg you to loosen your hold."

“No, no," said the boy, “if I let you go you will leave me, and then you will not give me the present that my father told me to ask for."

“Truly I will not leave you, nephew,” replied his aunt. “I am indeed glad to see you, only let me go.” So the lad loosened his hold, and then the Moon asked what it was that the Sun had bade him ask for.

Now all this time the Sun-Child, who was a disobedient and high-spirited youth, had made up his mind not to follow his father’s instructions. So he said. “My father told me to ask for Monuia."

“For Monuia ?” cried his aunt with surprise “Perhaps, nephew, you have forgotten your father’s words? Did he not tell you to ask for Melaia

“No, he did not,” the lad replied indignantly. “He said I might have Monuia, and that you were to keep Melaia."

This is strange indeed, thought the Moon. Surely my brother cannot hate the boy and wish to harm him, and yet I must obey his commands. Then aloud she said to her nephew, “Very well, you shall have Monuia. It is only a little thing and wrapped in a piece of cloth. See, I will put it inside yet another wrapping and I will bind it around and around many times to make it firm so that it cannot come open by itself. Take it now, and I implore you to remember my words. Do not undo the wrapping and take out the present while you are still at sea. Now away with you, and set your sail for Tonga, and I warn you once more not to look at Monuia until you have landed or a terrible evil will befall you."

She bade him good-bye and climbed upward in the sky, giving her pale light to many. The mariners at sea welcomed her, and the children in the villages came out of their houses and started to dance on the grass.

Then the Sun-Child steered for Tonga and sailed for two nights and a day until on the morning of the second day he saw land. Then he could wait no longer, for he was an impatient lad and self-willed. So he took up the parcel that his aunt, the Moon, had given to him and untied the string. He unrolled each fold of cloth until at last, he held Monuia in his hand.

It was a most beautiful pearl shell of an unusual red colour. Such a one had never been seen before, and it shone in his hand as he gazed at it. He thought how fine it would look like an ornament hanging around his neck, and how all the boys would envy him.

At that moment he heard a mighty noise like a rushing and a splashing over the water. He looked up and saw from every side a great throng of fishes swimming toward him. There were fish of every kind, and great whales and sharks, porpoises and dolphins and turtles, and they leaped upon him in their eagerness to reach the shell. So great was their weight that his little canoe sank beneath the waves, and the Sun-Child was seen no more.

Source:

Tales from the South Pacific Islands

Anne Gittins

1977

Pages: 60-65

Lasa and the Three Friendly Spirits

Lasa and the Three Friendly Spirits

(A Tale from Tonga)

There was once a man named Lasa who dwelt on Vavau Island in Tonga. One day he went out into the bush to cut down a tree to make a canoe. After a whole day of toil, a tree was felled and Lasa went home to sleep. During the night the god Haelefeke, who was half octopus, came to the felled tree and said to it, “Lasa's tree, stand upright," and all the chips of wood flew together and the tree stood up again in its place. In the morning Lasa came and spent another whole day in felling the tree. That night, while he slept at home, the Octopus came again and restored the tree to its place. This happened three times. After hewing down the tree for the fourth time, instead of returning home Lasa hid himself and lay in wait. This time when the Octopus came Lasa sprang out and seized him and held him until he had promised to help build the canoe. So they built the canoe together, and when Lasa was preparing to sail away in it, the Octopus said, “If you should see anyone beckoning to you, do not refuse to take him with you."

Vava'u, Tonga

Lasa set sail, but after he had gone a little way he saw someone beckoning to him from the shore. So he stopped and took this man on board, and it happened to be the Hungry Spirit. A little farther on he saw someone else beckoning, and went to him, and took on board the Thieving Spirit: and still, farther on he found the Octopus himself and took him on board as well.

Then they sailed away to Fiji and landed on an island where a demon lived. They smoothed out their footprints in the sand, hid the canoe, and went to the demon’s house. Lasa climbed up to the ridgepole of the house, while the three spirits each stood close to a post. The demon was not home, but he presently returned, bringing weeping people whom he had stolen. At once he began to sniff suspiciously, saying. "I smell the smell of humankind," and catching sight of Lasa, he hauled him down from his perch. Then he saw the three spirits and tried to pull them out into the open, but the Octopus clung so tightly to his post that the demon could not pull him away: indeed, his hauling seemed likely to pull the house down. So the demon asked the Octopus to let go his hold on the post and promised that he would not harm him.

The demon brought in food, saying. “If you do not eat up every bit of this, you shall surely die." The Octopus and the Thieving Spirit both ate as much as they could, but still the food was not nearly finished. “Hungry Spirit, you must save us." Said Lasa. So the Hungry Spirit saved them by devouring the huge meal and, finally, the leaves and the bowls that the food was brought in.

The demon then told them that he was going to shake his vi tree and that they would die if any of the fruit fell to the ground. Lasa looked up and saw that the tree was so laden with fruit that not a single leaf could be seen. “Now surely we shall die." he murmured sadly, but the Octopus saved them by spreading himself out under the tree and catching all the fruit with his tentacles so that not one escaped him.

After this, the demon thought of yet another way to outwit the strangers. He called one of his Fijians and told him to go with the Thieving Spirit to gather land crabs, and that they were to have a race. "This time nothing shall save your lives," he shouted, “unless you can beat my man." So the two went off, and as the Fijian knew the place well he had his basket filled before the man from Tonga had caught even a single crab. As they were about to return, the Thieving Spirit asked the Fijian to climb a coconut tree to get nuts for them to drink. When the Fijian was up in the tree, the Thieving Spirit began to sing, “Tongan wakeful eye. Fijian sleepy eye; Tongan wakeful eye, Fijian sleepy eye." And he kept on singing until the Fijian fell asleep in the tree. Then the Thieving Spirit quickly filled his own empty basket with coconut husks and exchanged it for the Fijian’s basket of crabs. Having done this, he woke the Fijian, who came down from the tree and seized the basket of husks, not knowing that it had been exchanged. When the trick was discovered the demon flew into a great rage, and he told Lasa and his three friends to leave quickly and return to their own land. They obeyed immediately, and Lasa journeyed home without any further dangers.

Source:

Tales from the South Pacific Islands

Anne Gittins

1977

Pages: 79-81

The Consequence

The Consequence

(A Legend from Tonga)

Listen, you of enlightened minds,

While I tell you a tale of the shore.

Two sisters who lived together Hava and Ila,

They were wives of Naa ana moana.

They lived together then they quarrelled.

What a sad thing is jealousy-

Ala!

Here in Tongatapu long ago a chief named Naa ana moana had two wives who were sisters. Hava and Ila. They-two came from across the sea at Nukunukumotu, and Ila was the favourite wife.

Tongatapu Island

Those wives went fishing for Naa's food, they always tried to please him with their catch. When there was a raui on fishing in the lagoon, they went out on the reef for crabs. But the time came for the raui to be lifted, therefore they tied up leaves for torches and went night fishing in the lagoon once more. But they went off separately, those two.

Hava went along the shore past the mangroves and Ila went on the shallow part of the lagoon. With their spears and torches, they looked for good food.

Beyond the mangroves, Hava came to a cave in the land, and in that cave, she found a hole that was covered with a stone.

Came and opened it,

She thought it was a crab-hole.

Looking in she saw the fish with

pouting mouths.

Brought her basket,

Opened it out,

Chose the biggest fish,

Lifted up her load,

Wishing to have something to take to her husband.

Indeed Hava lifted the stone from that hole and found that it was filled with mullet: all the mullet of the world were in that hole. Therefore she fetched her basket and picked out the biggest fish and took them to Naa. When she had gone the hole was teeming with mullet again.

Mullet fish

Now Ila her sister brought home only crabs that night, and when she saw the many mullet which Naa was scaling and cutting she was jealous, for Naa was pleased with Hava.

Those wives again went fishing on another night, and Ila thought there was something Hava knew. They-two went down to the mangroves and they fished there for a while. Then Ila set off for her lagoon-place again, and seeing her go, Hava left her torch burning on a mangrove tree and went on to her cave.

Ila also deceived her sister. She too left her torch burning in a mangrove tree, and in the dark, she followed Hava.

And Hava, thinking that she was alone, went in and lifted up the stone and filled her basket to the brim with fish. Then she returned to her husband.

Ila went in also and lifted the stone, she filled her basket with fish to take to Naa. But she was angry with Hava, angry because of her secret. Therefore she threw away the stone and called to the fish:

‘You come out and you go!’

And all those mullet came, they streamed in thousands from the hole and leapt into the sea. They were the first mullet in the world.

When Hava reached their home at midnight she was cold. She, therefore, put on clothes while Naa cleaned the fish. But while he was doing this Hava heard a great rushing sound like thunder and she cried, ‘The fish! The mullet! They have all been let out by Ila!’

Straight off she rushed, she dashed out in the night to prevent her mullet from escaping.

She looked for rocks to block their way, that woman. And with her hands indeed she pulled in the islands Kanatea and Nuku to close the cave. When they would not do so she pulled Houmaniu close. Then the teeming fishes turned in their flight and like a wind, they rushed to the other shore, which caused the small bay which is there today.

Then Hava seeing them escaping pulled with all her strength at Toa as well, but the fishes sped back to Folaha, and dented that shore also with their rushing force.

Still, Hava persevered, she pulled the ends of the land, Haaloausi and Houmatoloa. She also tugged at Mataaho, the island where the giant ironwood tree is growing; but that tree would not move.

Was nearly dragged along the toa tree;

But the fish turned,

Which made the inlet at Lifuka,

And the inlet at Faihavata,

And the beach at Fatufala-

Ala!

Pulled out Haaloausi,

Turned the fish to the other side,

Which caused the inlet at Umusi

Near to the rock called Tuungasili,

Afterwards known as Tui-

Ala!

When daylight came and the flowing of the fish had not been stopped Hava grew intensely angry, she cried out to her own land across the sea, to Nukunukumotu, for all her people to come and catch the fish.

All Nukunukumotu stood and waited for the fish, but they escaped at Fota, Nukunukumotu could not stop them, those mullet utterly escaped.

Then indeed Hava turned herself into a coral rock. And the mullet escaped and increased, and mullet thenceforward were everywhere.

After this Hava was a coral rock forever, but her husband joined her. From his love for her, Naa also became a stone. And Ila said what is the use of living and became a stone as well.

They are standing together in the lagoon-entrance of Tanumapopo. Hava on the one side and Ila on the other, and Naa ana moana in between them. This is true.

Source:

Legends of the South Seas

Antony Alpers

1970

Pages 285-288

The Creation of the Tongan Islands, People, and Kings

The Creation of the Tongan Islands, People, and Kings

(A Legend from Tonga)

Tangaloa, the god of art and invention, sat in his sky home of Bolotu, where death was not known and decay did not exist. He looked down at the vast south sea. “I am hungry. Hungry for fish." He got out his great turtle hook and let it go down, down, down to the sea far below. Soon something big and heavy pulled on the line.

Tangaloa

Tangaloa pulled and pulled, but he could not pull up the hook. He peered down at the ocean and laughed. He had not caught a fish. He had caught an enormous rock! No, a whole row of rocks. He yanked and tugged. He could not shake loose his hook. He laughed again and rubbed his empty stomach. “Today I will not eat,” he said. "Today I shall have great fun making islands."

Tangaloa pulled up the very bottom of the sea, just as the rocky tip was about to break through the surface, the fishing line broke. Instead of remaining one long continent, the land broke into dozens of islands.

If you wonder if this story is true, go to Tongatapu and there you will see a rock with a hole about two feet in diameter. This is the hole that held the great fishing hook of Tangaloa. If your doubts still are not satisfied, go speak with Tu‘i Tonga, the divine chief. Until only a few years ago, he still possessed this mighty hook. Unfortunately, when his house caught on fire and burned right to the ground, the sacred basket that held the hook was burned to ashes. Those who know this fishing story know also that the hook was made of tortoise shell from Samoa and strengthened with a whale bone.

After fishing up islands, the great Tangaloa Matua decided to create something to live on the beautiful islands. He called his two sons, Tangaloa Tufunga and Tangaloa Etumatatupua. The sons sat next to their father, who was sitting cross-legged, carving. They waited a long time. Until their father spoke, they would remain silent.

Tangaloa set down the wood he was carving. He pointed the long knife at the pile of shavings. “Look, my sons. I will shake down these wooden shavings. Let them mix with the water. Good. Now," he said to one of his sons, “become a little brown plover and fly down and tell me what you see."

His son became a plover and flew down to earth. Unfortunately, all he saw was wooden shavings floating on the sea. This he reported to his father.

Day after day Tangaloa Matua continued carving and shaking the shavings down to earth. Each day his son flew down as a plover. But each day he reported that nothing had changed.

Finally, one day when he flew down to earth. Matua’s son was amazed to see that the shavings had become a lovely little island. He flew back to his father. “What a beautiful island you have created!”

Tangaloa Matua smiled. "Good. Now put this seed in your beak. Plant it on that island.”

Soon the seed grew at creeper vine. The vine grew and grew until it covered the island. The plover flew down. He peeked at the root until it split in two. Then the root quickly rotted. All this the plover reported back to his father.

Again Tangaloa Matua smiled. “Now you will be surprised. Fly back one more time. Look carefully in the warm damp place where the root is rotting."

The plover returned to the island and found a big juicy white worm. He pecked it. The worm split in two. From the top, a man came out. This man the gods called Kohai. The lower part of the worm also turned into a man. This man was called Kuau. The little plover felt something stuck to his beak. He shook his head. A tiny piece of the worm fell off. This third piece turned into a man called Momo.

Very pleased with what had been created, the gods then named the island Eueiki, the first island inhabited by men. These first men of Tonga began the long line of the earliest rulers, the Tu‘i Tongas. Kohai was the first man. But he came from a worm. Ahoei would be the first true man, for he would be born from a woman, a beautiful woman who mated with the great god Tangaloa His birth, the birth of Ahoei, would continue the divine line of Tongan kings. It would also cause many troubles!

Ahoei is still considered the first ruler of Tonga. Both Tongans and Western historians have calculated that Ahoei lived in AD. 950. He began the divine line of Tu‘i Tongas,  the royal kings of Tonga. The members of this royal family ruled one after the other until the death of King Laufilitoga. This forty-eighth and final Tu‘i Tonga died in 1865.

This first true man and first Tu‘i Tonga, Ahoei, was half human and half divine. Ahoei's mother was the beautiful earth maiden Ilaheva Ve‘epopua. Little is known about how she came to be.

Ahoei’s father was the god Tangaloa. This brazen young god, Tangaloa, came down to earth from heaven by climbing down a huge ironwood tree. The ironwood tree liked to tease Tangaloa. The tree was so tall its branches scraped the clouds. Sometimes it caused the rain to fall. It dared the lizards and geckoes to scamper up. It dared Tangaloa to climb down to the world.

There on earth, Tangaloa saw an irresistible scene. The beautiful maiden, Ilaheva, was wading in the tide pools searching for shellfish. Her long black hair flowed down her smooth golden back like seaweed flowing in a gentle ocean current. Her dark flashing eyes sparkled with delight as she discovered bright blue starfish hiding under coral rocks. Tangaloa stared at her. He felt as if his heart were suddenly being tossed and tumbled in the waves of the sea.

When he was in heaven, all Tangaloa could think about was returning to earth. That is exactly what he did. There the beautiful woman, Ilaheva, waited where the waves kissed the shore. Tangaloa visited her often. But he had his own wife and children in the sky. He was lonely for his sky family. His trips down the ironwood to see Ilaheva became fewer and fewer until there were none at all.

But Ilaheva found that she would soon have a child. A beautiful boy was born to her. She named him Ahoei, "day of exclamation." The boy grew to handsome manhood. Eventually, he asked to visit his father.

Ilaheva knew the journey to the heavens would be dangerous. It was important for Ahoei to know his father. The wise mother oiled her son's body with sweet-smelling sandalwood oil. She then draped a tapa cloth over his shoulders. He was ready for his dangerous journey. She showed Ahoei the ironwood tree once so often used by his father.

Many other instructions Ilaheva gave to her son to protect him. All of these instructions Ahoei followed.

Sadly, when Ahoei's divine step-brothers saw him they immediately hated him. They were afraid this earth brother would be favoured by their father. Enraged with jealousy and fear, they killed Ahoei. With one swift slice, they cut off his head, threw it into the bushes, and ate his body.

Ahoei’s father, the great god Tangalna, learned of this brutal slaying. He ordered his sons to find Ahoei’s head. He set it in a sacred kava bowl. Then he commanded his sons to vomit into the howl. All night the step-brothers were ordered to stand around the have bowl.

At dawn, a strange light filled the skies. Something began moving in the bowl. Ahoei rose up from the bowl, whole and healed.

Tangaloa commanded his sons: "Ahoei came here in peace and friendship. You treated him with hate and jealousy. Go down to earth. All of you! Ahoei shall be the earthly king ruling over all of you. He shall be known as Tu‘i Tonga, the King of Tonga. He and his children shall rule Tonga forever.”

Source:

Pacific Island Legends: Tales from Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Australia.

Nancy Bo Flood, Beret E. Strong, William Flood

1991

Pages: 185 - 189

The Origin of Kava

The Origin of Kava

(A Legend from Tonga)

The chief called Loau, down in Tongatapu, had an attendant whose name was Fevanga and whose home was on the island of Eueiki. After being the chief’s attendant for a time Fevanga returned to live at Eueiki with his wife Fefafa and their daughter who was leprous. Fevanga often visited Loau, and one day he begged that chief to sail across to Eueiki and visit him.

Now the time when Loau chose to visit Fevanga was a time of great scarcity on Eueiki. The gods in their anger had blown a thousand coconut trees upon their sides and spoiled the taro plots, there was no good food left. All that remained on Fevanga's land was one big kape plant, growing near his house. That bitter kape root was all that Fevanga had to offer to his guest.

When Loau arrived, Fevanga came down to greet his visitors and they answered saying, 'Happy to see you in good health in this land.’ Then Loau's party pulled up his canoe into the shade. They laid it near Fevanga's house with its outrigger against the kape. And Fevanga and Fefafa began to prepare their oven, whispering how they might dig up the kape without being impolite to Loau. For Loau also was seated near that plant, and they wished very much to get it without disturbing him. Therefore they asked Loau to go inside their small house, and he did so since they said it would be cooler there. To please them that chief went inside.

Then Fevanga and Fefafa dug up the kape and made it ready for the oven. But there was no fowl or pig to be a relish with it, therefore Fevanga with a club killed his leprous daughter Kavaonau and they made good food for Loau.

 And the food was cooked and they brought it front the oven and put it before the chief, and he thanked them for their kindness, but he asked them, ‘Why have you destroyed your child?‘

Then Loau told them to take that food away. He told them that they must bury her head in one place and her body in another, and he said, ‘You must watch them carefully.’ After this they made their farewells and Loau returned in his canoe to Tongatapu.

For five nights Fevanga and Fefafa kept visiting the grave of their daughter, and after five nights there was growing from her head a kava plant, and from her guts there grew a sugar cane. That kava grew large, and the cane grew also.

One day when they were almost fully grown Fevanga saw a rat gnawing at the kava plant. That rat became silly, and could not move. Then it gnawed the sugar cane, and it recovered and ran about. This thing it did repeatedly; this is how the people of Tongatapu here learned that sugar cane is to be eaten when kava is drunk.

Then the plants grew large, they were fully ripe, and Fevanga and Fefafa dug them up and brought them here to Loau. And Loau laughed, and he cried out:

‘Chewing kava, a leprous child of Fevanga and Fefafa in Eueiki! Bring some coconut-husk to strain it, bring a bowl to hold it, bring a person to make the kava, bring someone for the bowl to be turned toward!’

Therefore this was done, the kava was split up and chewed by persons sitting on that side of the bowl where common persons sit; and the kava was strained and served to those of rank and all was done correctly.

Kava

This is the origin of kava. The shoots of the plant when they grow become grey and scaly because of that daughter who was leprous.

Source:

Legends of the South Seas

Antony Alpers

1970

Pages: 271-272