SOME LEGENDES

Tattooing

According to a local tradition, the practice of tattooing would be of divine origin. During the "PO period" (meaning "the dark period"), this practice would have been created by Mata Mata Arahu (meaning one who prints with charcoal) and Tu Ra' i Po' (meaning "one who resides in the dark sky"), the two sons of the god Ta' aroa.
These two gods, with Taere, a god of great ability and Hina Ere Ere Manua (Hina with the impetuous character), the eldest girl of the first man, Ti' i and the first woman, Hina was part of the group of craftsmen.
To preserve her virginity, Hina Ere Ere Manua was kept in a locked place, under the watchfull eye of her mother. The two brothers determined to seduce her, invented tattooing and decorated themselfves with the so called "Tao Maro" motif and succeeded in tearing away from where she was jealously kept. Pushed by the desire to be tattooed, Hina Ere Ere Manua succeeded in misleading her mother's watchfull eye and was tattooed.

Coconut

One of the Polynesian legends explaining the origin of coconut is : 
That once upon a time there was a very beautiful princess, daughter of the Sun and the Moon, named Hina. She was so beautiful that flashes of light emanated from her diaphanous body. She was promised in marriage to the king of Vahiria lake who was nothing more than an enormous and repulsive eel. Hina fled and seeked the protection of the great Maui, who stopped and regulated the Sun. From the Vairao cliff, they saw the eel who was coming to seek Hina. Maui threw is fish hook and exclaimed: "From my stronghold, no king can escape, it will become food for my gods". The eel swallowed the soft food and the hook, was captured and decapitated. Maui wrapped it in a piece of tapa and gave it to Hina, recommending  not to put the package on the ground until she was home : "The head of the eel contains large treasures for you" he said. Hina forgot the package on the ground. The tapa unwrapped itself and the head of the eel, took root in the ground and covered itself of young growth to become the first coconut.
According to this same legend, one finds on coconuts the marks of the eel's head, two symmetrical depressions corresponding to the location of the eyes and a median depression, for the mouth. When the nut falls from the tree, the eyes are said to guide its fall! The coconuts would also originate from  3 human skulls which would have germinated in a cemetery, producing the first three coconuts.

Huahine

A young warrior found, north of Huahine a princess named Motu Hiva. She had washed a shore on the beach, inside of a large sacred drum. They married and had ten sons, who gave their names to the ten districts of Huahine.

The legend tells that Hiro, god of the robbers, sliced the island of Huahine in two with his dugout canoe and would have left marks from his paddle at the bottom of the Maroe Bay, and his genital, a rock drawn up towards the sky exactly opposite the bridge which connects the 2 islands. It is for this reason that the island is now separated in two: Named Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti.

In ancient times, at the time of the sacrificial ceremonies, a goddess was in charge of designating a victim. Actually, she was opposed to the sacrifices. She resorted to a trick. One day, she voluntarily chose a woman who had her menstruations. Once on the sacrificial alter, the priest servants, when it was time to strike the head, were splashed by blood from the impure woman. The priest then decided to save the women. Since then, the women of Huahine were saved. From there came the origin of the word Huahine: "the sex of the woman" or "women's paradise"(because there are more women than men).

Raiatea

A long time ago lived a warrior originating from Tahiti whos name was Atea. Respected for his courage and his valiancy, Atea heard about the queen of Opoa Rai, in the island of Havai'i Nui. His close relatives unceasingly praised the grace and the elegance of the sovereign one to him. One day, he decided to leave for the sacred island. As soon as he saw Rai, he fell deeply in love with her. The queen, not  insensitive to the charms of Atea, love him in return, they loved each other and became lovers. A child was soon to be born from this union. But Atea had to set out again for Tahiti. He asked his beloved to grant him with a last wish: "If it is a boy, Atea will have to be his name. If it is  a girl, you will call her Rainuiatea". It was a girl, who became queen also. When she reached the age of reason, she changed and renamed Havai'i Nui to Raiatea, Rai in rememberance of her mother and Atea in memory of her father whom she had never seen.

Bora Bora

In tahitien Bora Bora means "first born". According to the legend Bora Bora ( pronounced "Pora Pora") would have been the first to emerge from the waters after the sacred island, Raiatea.

Moruroa

Rodo and his father Tuko had armed, in1945, the goélette "Rava Rava" and had obtained a concession for fishing "mother-of-pearl" in the lagoon of Moruroa. They had no difficulties finding a crew of eight men and ten free diving divers including two deep sea divers, all of them Polynesians. The voyage and the installation in Moruroa were done without any problems. But  problems started soon afterwards. The divers took for excuse the great number of sharks and refused to dive, they feared also that their comrades in charged of the air supply pumps would take advantage while they were at the bottom to cut their  air supply. In short, they refused to work and Rodo had to organize the free diving while his two deep sea divers spent most of their time on shore. Their coming and going  to shore intrigued Rodo until the day when he learned that the divers had not come to dive but to seek a treasure which the traditions says was  "hidden  in one of the  motu " in the Southern part :

"Once upon a time there was a three masts ship which transported between Peru and Spain, the treasures recovered by the Spanish conquerors. The business was too tempting for the captain to resist so he decided to leave without awaiting his escort. He thus set sail on a beautiful moonless night and sailed towards sparsely settled places where he was less likely to be noticed by corsairs or the king's ship. A combat took place nevertheless against a sloop of which the crew was made prisoner and taken on board. After days,on a West cours this three-masted ship reached Moruroa whose lagoon allowed for a safe anchoring, to replenish with water and food. The captain made the decision then to hide in the ground part of his treasure and charged his lieutenant and two men to have the prisoners dig a hole large enough to contain the trunks. During the operation the prisoners revolted and killed the lieutenant and his men. The rebellion was quickly subdued and the furious captain, killed all the prisoners whom he burried with his trunks in the hole that had been prepared. This captain and his ship never had a chance because it sank little afterwards and nobody til this day has found, on the "Motu Te Papa" the treasure which is hidden within twelve steps to the West from a sign representing a hand".

I don't know if there is any truth to this legend but I wonder whether the atoll would not owe its name to him in which it would be necessary to interpret like that of an island which has its great secrecy.

Marquesas

Haakakai te henua enana :
Keystone of the marquesas mythology and reflection of the heart of it's people, this legend tells in an allegorical way the creation of the Marquesas Islands.
On the dawn of humanity, two divinities, Oatea and Atuana, reigned on the oceanic vastness. One day, Atuana expressed her wish to live in a house. Oatea, her husband,did not know what to do. He turned to his divine powers within him and promised Atuana to complete the house before the following day at dawn. He turn to incantations and chose a site for the future house. He started by erecting two posts and exclaimed: "Here is Ua Pou!". He then took a purlin beam which he set on top of the two posts. After attaching it with coconut fibre cords, he exclaimed: "Here is Hiva Oa!". He continued his work of assembly. After installing the rafters, he exclaimed: "Here is Nuku Hiva!". He then made the roof of the house with nine coconut palms and exclaimed: "Here is Fatuiva!". To hide the vegetations wastes which littered the ground, he dug a hole.
Atuana caught a glimpse of dawn on the horizon. "It is Tahuata!", exclaimed Oatea. And Atuana to add: "the song of the morning bird is heard!". Otea answered: "Here is Mohotani!". He quickly threw the waste in the hole and exclaimed: "Here is Ua Huka!". In a last breath, feeling his divine powers leaving him with the rising sun, he murmured: "Here is Eiao!".
This myth founder compares the creation of the archipelago to the erection of a hae (house). It relates only to the islands which were formerly inhabited. Mohotani and Eiao are no more inhabited.

Tikehau

Thereafter, Tiehau changed in Tikehau, that means "peaceful landing".Formerly the atoll was called Oropaa. A man by the name of Tii established himself there. While in Tahiti, he fell under the charm of Hau, a woman whom he kidnapped and brought back to Oropaa in a dugout. A child was born from their union. Unable to agree on the choice of the first name, they chose Tiehau who had the advantage of associating their two first names. Thereafter, Tiehau changed into Tikehau, which means "peaceful landing".

The legende of Maiore

It was a very long time ago, well before the arrival of the white man in our islands, at a time when famine and drought afflicted all of the islands.

The flowers had died, the trees were agonizing. The coconut trees themselves, like large dead birds, were letting there redish dried up palms hanging down along side their rough trunks. The taros, yams and potatos fields and the banana trees deprived of water, dried up with the sun. In this desert, the population was dying. The sky was of a pure blue, without any promise of rain.
Inside of a fresh fare of bamboo, on a pandanus carpet, Moe erected her bronze bust. Then standing upright, she seemed in a daze giving herself to a dream. Her long black hair made her look like royalty with her mother-of-pearl teeth and half-opened blood red lips.
A few steps away, Arutua, her fiance was contemplating her. How beautiful she was, the one who was soon to be his wife! And to accompany the dream of his sweet fiance, he sang:
"Moe, Moe, the night is clearer than your ebony hair and less fresh than your throat. May the night cover us to hide us from this earth where dies the hinano and the tiare flowers.
Moe, Moe, I can navigate my dugout among the reefs of the lagoon, and my arm became powerful from the use of the hatchet. But how useless it is, ô Moe, to be strong and daring if life is to pass over us! Moe, Moe, you are more beautiful to me than the rising sun. I will seek in your hair ô Moe, the tiare scent of the monoi perfume".

Moe had listened to the song of her fiance. This song had penetrated her gently. She no longer thought of death looking for them. She wanted to live, live to always hear the soft voice of Arutua, always feelling his force and his love close to her. Then, in turn, she said :
- Arutua, you are my beloved. Your lips sing like the evening wind in the aito leafs of the beach. By our desire of living, ô Arutua, we will resist death who circles around us. I know in the mountain, Taaroa, a wise old man. On the day of my birth, he said to my mother that I would be beautiful like the morning star and that he was ready to sacrifice his life for me. Thus let us find him!
They left for the mountain where lived Taaroa.

Moe and Taratua leave for the mountain where lives Taaroa

They travelled deep in the valleys in search for the residence of Taaroa and it was a long and tiring walk, under a burning sun. The long line of tribes followed Moe with confidence.
In the evening, Taaroa appeared to them finally.
Long snowy hair framed his bony face, and he was leaning on a branch of orange tree, rid of its thornes. He had such an air of calm and strenght that at first sight, the famished tribes really understood that they could trust him. Moe continued her march to the large stone, then stopping, she exclaimed: " Wise old man, I remembered the promise made on the day of my birth and I came to seek you so that you give us life, we want to live and love each other!

Taaroa answered her saying :
- Hello to you, Moe! I know you from the cradle, beautiful like the teina and fresh like the tiare flower. For you, I will make beauty eternal!
You have chosen the one who will be your companion in life. His neck raises with love when he contemplates you. For you, I will make abundance eternal! And the miracle occurred.

The body of wise Taaroa is transformed into Maiore

The body of wise Taaroa seemed like it was melting in the evening air which came down from the valleys, then he took strange forms, his chest became knotty like the bark of the old trees, his legs were fixed to the ground like roots, has his arms became branches, leafs and fruits were born. Thus was born the maiore.
The miracle was complete. Water ran again in the  dry river beds, the fields were green again. At times the juicy fruits made the branches bend under their weight, and the tribes returned to their fare by singing praises to Moe.
All through the night they rejoiced, and the following day, they celebrated the marriage of Arutua and  Moe. >From that moment, they lived happily ever after, hiding their great happiness, in their modest fare hidden on the beach, amongst the puraos.

(by Y.MALARDE)
Bulletin of the Oceanian Study Society
(Bulletin de la Société des Etudes Océaniennes)
Volume 4 - n°38 - pp.110-114

Vaiete = Papeete ?

Vaiete or Vai' ete (water which spouts out) could be the old name of Papeete, Vai meaning water, just like Pape. But, the word would have become tapu (prohibited), because the custom called Pi' i formerly prohibited the use of a term forming part of the name of a Chief (it could have been due to Chief Vaitua).Consequently, Vai would have been replaced by Pape to give the name of the town of Papeete.
Which explains also the fountain of the Vaiete plaza, " the water which spouts out " what better illustration than this fountain. Vaiete thus found its true meaning!!!!

Vaiete

Origin of the name Tipaerui

Tipae (arrived) rui (the evening) or according to the old term, Tipae Po (the night), would hold its name from the path to be taken  to come from the district. While leaving in the morning in a dugout canoe, the inhabitant of the peninsula would indeed arrived at Tipaerui, at dusk.

Some books

Te mau a'ai ma'ohi
Legends of Tahiti and its islands
Publishing house Polyèdre Culture
Centre territorial de recherche et de documentation Pédagogiques
Po Box 5683 - Pirae (Tahiti)
Fax : (689) 43 31 95

Jean François Favre
Polynesian legends
Woodcutting
Publishing house Haere Po no Tahiti
Po Box 1958 - Papeete (Tahiti)

E.V. Dufour
Tahiti and sea south tales and legends
Publishing house Fernand Nathan
18 rue Monsieur Le Prince - 75006 Paris