THE ORIGIN OF FIRE, AND OTHER STORIES.
1. The Samoans say that there was a time when their ancestors ate
everything raw, and that they owe the luxury of cooked food to one
Ti'iti'i, the son of a person called Talanga. This Talanga was high in
favour with the earthquake god Mafuie, who lived in a subterranean
region where there was fire continually burning. On going to a certain
perpendicular rock, and saying, "Rock, divide! I am Talanga; I have
come to work!" the rock opened, and let Talanga in; and he went below
to his plantation in the land of this god Mafuie. One day Ti'iti'i,
the son of Talanga, followed his father, and watched where he entered.
The youth, after a time, went up to the rock, and, feigning his
father's voice, said, "Rock, divide! I am Talanga; I have come to
work!" and was admitted too. His father, who was at work in his
plantation, was surprised to see his son there, and begged him not to
talk loud, lest the god Mafuie should hear him, and be angry.
Seeing smoke rising, he inquired of his father what it was. His
father said it was the fire of Mafuie. "I must go and get some," said
the son. "No," said the father; "he will be angry. Don't you know he
eats people?" "What do I care for him?" said the daring youth; and off
he went, humming a song, towards the smoking furnace.
"Who are you?" said Mafuie.
"I am Ti'iti'i, the son of Talanga. I am come for some fire."
"Take it," said Mafuie.
He went back to his father with some cinders, and the two set to work
to bake some taro. They kindled a fire, and were preparing the taro to
put on the hot stones, when suddenly the god Mafuie blew up the oven,
scattered the stones all about, and put out the fire. "Now," said
Talanga, "did not I tell you Mafuie would be angry?" Ti'iti'i went off
in a rage to Mafuie, and without any ceremony commenced with, "Why
have you broken up our oven, and put out our fire?" Mafuie was
indignant at such a tone and language, rushed at him, and there they
wrestled with each other. Ti'iti'i got hold of the right arm of
Mafuie, grasped it with both hands, and gave it such a wrench that it
broke off. He then seized the other arm, and was going to twist it off
next when Mafuie declared himself beaten, and implored Ti'iti'i to
have mercy, and spare his left arm.
"Do let me have this arm," said he; "I need it to hold Samoa straight
and level. Give it to me, and I will let you have my hundred wives."
"No, not for that," said Ti'iti'i.
"Well, then, will you take _fire_? If you let me have my left arm you
shall have _fire_, and you may ever after this eat cooked food."
"Agreed," said Ti'iti'i; "you keep your arm, and I have _fire_."
"Go," said Mafuie; "you will find the fire in every _wood_ you cut."
And hence, the story adds, Samoa, ever since the days of Ti'iti'i, has
eaten cooked food from the fire which is got from the friction of
rubbing one piece of dry _wood_ against another.
The superstitious still have half an idea that Mafuie is down below
Samoa somewhere; and that the earth has a long handle there, like a
walking-stick, which Mafuie gives a shake now and then. It was common
for them to say, when they felt the shock of an earthquake, "Thanks to
Ti'iti'i, that Mafuie has only one arm: if he had two, what a shake he
would give!"
The natives of Savage Island, 300 miles to the south of Samoa, have a
somewhat similar tale about the origin of fire. Instead of Talanga and
Ti'iti'i, they give the names of Maui, the father, and Maui, the son.
Instead of going through a rock, their entrance was down through a
reed bush. And, instead of a _stipulation_ for the fire, they say that
the youth Maui, like another Prometheus, _stole_ it, ran up the
passage, and before his father could catch him, he had set the bush in
flames in all directions. The father tried to put it out, but in vain;
and they further add, that ever since the exploit of young Maui, they
have had _fire_ and cooked food in Savage Island.
2. The Samoans have their stories of _a golden age_ of intelligence
long long ago, when _all_ things material had the power of speech.
They not only spoke, but they had evil natures as well, and quarrelled
with each other and fought, very much like the races of mankind. We
have already referred to the early battles of cosmogony, and to the
wars of the rocks and fires and earth and stones. It was the same with
the flora and fauna. Or to give it in their own words: "The small
stones fought with the grass, the stones were beaten and the grass
conquered. The short grass fought with the strong weedy grass, the
short grass was beaten and the strong grass conquered. The strong
grass fought with the long grass of the bush, the strong grass was
beaten and the bush grass conquered. The bush grass fought with the
trees, the grass was beaten and the trees conquered. The trees fought
with the creepers, the trees were beaten and the creepers
conquered--and then began the wars of men." Pity but the wars of _men_
had been as bloodless as those which preceded them!
The principle seems to be that whenever one thing prevails to excess
above another thing, or is in any way superior, be it rock, stone,
earth, grass, or tree, we are sure to find some tradition of its
battle and victory. The old poetic Samoan forefathers who framed these
fabulous fights added a deal of circumstance and minuteness to their
tales, and all was seriously believed by some of their more prosaic
posterity.
3. A story is told of _a battle between two trees_--a Fijian Banian
tree and the Samoan tree called Tatangia (_acacia laurifolia_). A
report reached Samoa that the trees of Fiji had fought with the Banian
tree, and that it had beaten them all. On this the Tatangia and
another tree went off from Samoa in two canoes to fight the Fijian
champion. They reached Fiji, went on shore, and there stood the Banian
tree. "Where is the tree," they inquired, "which has conquered all the
trees?" "I am the tree," said the Banian. Then said the Tatangia, "I
have come to fight with you." "Very good, let us fight" replied the
Banian. They fought. A branch of the Banian tree fell, but Tatangia
sprung aside and escaped. Another fell--ditto, ditto--the Tatangia.
Then the trunk fell. Tatangia again darted aside and escaped unhurt.
On this the Banian tree "buried its eyes in the earth," and owned
itself conquered. As many of the towns and districts are spoken of
figuratively by the names of trees noted for strength or beauty, the
inference as to the real actors in these tree fights is obvious. The
present generation, however, will hardly admit that they may describe
the wars of _men_.
The following is a specimen story of a piscatorial fight:--A shark
which had its habitat in a cave on the south side of Savaii mustered
all the fish in the neighbourhood to go and fight with the great red
fish of Manu'a. The Manu'a fish with their red leader met them in the
ocean between Tutuila and Manu'a. They fought. The Savaii fish were
beaten, and fled pursued by their conquerors. Most of them took refuge
under stones and rocks and escaped, but their leader, the shark, fled
to his own cave. He was pursued, however, and killed by the red fish
of Manu'a. I tell them that the shark, red fish, etc., must have been
mere figurative names for chiefs and districts, and the finny troops
under them were doubtless living _men_, but in all these stories the
Samoans are rigid literalists, and believe in the very words of the
tradition. And yet at the present day they have towns and districts
bearing figurative names, distinct from the real names, such as the
sword fish, the stinging ray, the dog, the wild boar, the Tongan cock,
the frigate bird, etc. And if such creatures had been known of old in
Samoa, they would no doubt have had their bear, their lion, and their
eagle, and stories too of their battles.
4. We have also accounts of battles fought by the birds on the one
side and the fish on the other. The fish and the birds were in the
habit of paying friendly visits to each other. The inanga, or small
fry of a fresh-water fish, were offended at not being hospitably
received on shore by the birds; on the other hand, the birds despised
the inanga for being so small. They fought, and the fishes conquered,
and it ended in the fish becoming birds and the birds fishes; and
hence they say the back-bone of the inanga projects so much. But after
that there was another battle, in which the fish were beaten and the
birds conquered; and ever since the birds have had their wings, and
their supremacy, and the right of going to the sea, or the river, as
they please, to pick up the fish which come within their reach.
A battle also between the owl and the serpent is noteworthy. It runs
as follows:--There were ten brothers, whose names were Sefulu, Iva,
Valu, Fitu, Ono, Lima, Fa, Tolu, Lua, and Tasi, and so named from the
ten numerals, which in those days began with Sefulu as 1, and ended
with Tasi as 10. These ten brothers went to the forest to cut wood for
a large canoe. They came upon an owl and a serpent fighting. Sefulu
was walking first, and to him the owl called out; "Sefulu, you come
and kill my enemy here, the serpent, and if you do, you shall have a
right to the Ifilele and Maota timber trees" [_Afzelia bijuga_, and
_Dysoxylon Sp._]
"No, let us pass on," said Sefulu, "there are plenty of other trees
which will answer our purpose." Then the owl turned to Iva and all the
others on to Lua, and implored help in killing the serpent, but each
in turn answered as did Sefulu. Tasi, however, replied to the entreaty
of the owl, and said, "Yes, I will," and grasping his felling axe,
struck out at the serpent and killed it. "Well done, Tasi!" said the
owl, "and to keep in remembrance for all time to come your bravery,
and respect for me, you shall stand foremost in everything that is
numbered. Sefulu who has been _first_ shall now be _last_, and you who
have been last shall always be first." And so it has continued to the
present day--the first, Tasi, and the tenth, Sefulu.
5. The appearance or forms of things, as in this latter instance
perhaps, have also suggested some other _fabulous stories_. They say
that the rat had wings formerly, and that the large bat or flying fox
at that time had no wings. One day the bat said to the rat: "Let me
try on your wings for a little, that I may see how I like flying." The
rat lent the bat his wings, off flew the bat with the wings, and never
came back to return them. And hence the proverb applied to a person
who borrows and does not return: "Like the bat with the rat."
Take another illustration. With the exception of the mountain plantain
(_Musa uranospatha_) all the bananas have their bunches of fruit
hanging downwards towards the earth, like a bunch of grapes.
The plantain shoots up its bunch of fruit erect towards the heavens.
As the reason of this, we are told that of old all the bananas held
their heads erect, but they quarrelled with the plantain, fought, were
beaten, and, ever since, have hung their heads in token of their
defeat, whereas the plantain is erect still, and the symbol of its own
victory.
6. They have a number of _other fabulous stories_ referred to in
proverbial language in daily use. Take the story of the fowl and the
turtle. A fowl made her headquarters over a rock from which a cool
spring of fresh water ran out into the adjacent stream. One day a
turtle made its appearance. It was enjoying the cool fresh bath, and
rising now and then to look about, when it was addressed roughly by
the fowl: "Who are you?" "I am a turtle." "Where have you come from?"
"From the hot salt sea." "What are you doing here?" "Bathing, and
enjoying the fine cool fresh water." "Be off, this is my water." "No,
it is mine as much as it is yours." "No, it is mine, and you must be
off." "No I won't. I have as much right to be here as you." "Well,
then," said the fowl, "let us decide in this way which of us will have
it. Let each of us go away, and whoever is _first_ here in the morning
shall have the right to the spring." "Let it be so," said the turtle,
"I'm off to the briny sea; you go away to the village."
The turtle was back from the sea, up the river, and at the spring,
very early in the morning. The fowl thought there was no need to
hurry, as she could with _one_ bound on her wings be at the rock; and
so she roosted till the sun was rising, and then flew over to the
rock, but there was the turtle before her! "You are there, I see,"
said the fowl. "Yes, I am," replied the turtle, "and the spring is
mine." And hence the proverb applied to the lazy and the late: "Here
comes the fowl, the turtle is before you!"
7. Here is another of these fabulous stories:--There were three
friends, a rat, a snipe, and a crab. They thought they would like to
look about them on the sea, and so decided to build a canoe and go out
on a short cruise. They did so, and when the canoe was ready off they
went. The snipe pulled the first paddle, the crab the second, and the
rat steered. A squall came on, and the canoe upset. The snipe flew to
the shore, the crab sank and escaped to the bottom, and the rat swam.
The rat was soon fatigued, but an octopus came along, and from it the
rat implored help. "Come on my back," said the octopus. The rat was
only too happy to do so. By-and-by the octopus said: "How heavy you
are! my back is getting painful." "Yes," said the rat, "I drank too
much salt water when I was swimming there; but bear it a little
longer, we shall soon be at the shore."
When the octopus reached the shore off ran the rat into the bush. The
octopus felt the pain still, however, and now discovered that the rat
had been gnawing at the back of its neck. The octopus was enraged,
called all his friends among the owls to assemble, and begged them to
pursue and destroy the rat. They did so, caught it, killed it, and ate
it, but there was hardly a morsel for each, they were so many. And
hence the proverb in exhorting not to return evil for good:--"Do not
be like the rat with the octopus, evil will overtake you if you do."
8. Here is a story of Toa and Pale, or Hero and Helper.
The King of Fiji was a savage cannibal, and the people were melting
away under him. Toa and Pale were brothers, they wished to escape
being killed for the oven, and so fled to the bush and became trees.
It was only the day before a party were to go to the woods to search
for a straight tree from which to make the keel of a new canoe for the
king. They knew this, and so Pale changed himself into a crooked stick
overrun with creepers, that he might not be cut by the king's
carpenters, and advised Toa to do the same. He declined, however, and
preferred standing erect as a handsome straight tree.
The party in search of a keel went to the very place, liked the look
of Toa, and decided to cut it down. They cut, and Toa was felled to
the ground, but Pale, who was close by, immediately raised him up
again. The carpenters were confounded--cut again--but it was just the
same. They persevered, and the cutting, falling, and rising again,
went on till night fell, when they gave it up. After they left Toa
said to Pale, "What a Toa (trouble) I have been to you!" and hence
_the proverb_ to this day, when a person or thing has been a trouble
to another, he says to the sufferer in a sympathising or apologetic
tone: "_What a Toa it has been to you!"_
9. The following are a few more of these _proverbs_, but stated more
briefly.
(1) "One and yet a thousand," is a common description of a clever man,
and equivalent to our own expression: "He is a host in himself."
(2) "Only the appearance of plait." Spoken of a thin worn-out person
reduced to a mere shadow. Not a real plaited mat, but only the
appearance of one.
(3) "Many footprints." Spoken of a large settlement which makes many
at a festival, or night-dance, or public meeting of any kind.
(4) "A single cocoa-nut." Referring to a single nut hanging from a
tree. This is said of a man who has no brothers, and who is therefore
called the single nut of the family.
(5) "Great and yet small." Applied to a populous place which has no
_courage_. Or a large family, but without one who has any pluck.
(6) "The emptiness of a large basket." A good deal of food seems but
little if put in a large basket. Also the population of a large
village, if the houses are widely apart, seems small until they really
come together.
(7) "The break of a cocoa-nut leaf net." This leaf net is an
arrangement for enclosing fish by a long string of cocoa-nut leaves,
which, if the leaves break, can be easily tied again. This is spoken
of a chief who dies but leaves a number of sons to take his place.
(8) "Afterwards touched." If a family is numerically strong, no one
dares to injure them. If, however, a number die, then those who
survive are more liable to insult or injury from the neighbourhood. In
the event of such ill-usage they throw it back on their injurers: "You
dared not touch us before."
(9) "Helping with the burden." As one may run in and stretch out his
hand to ease the shoulder of a weak person struggling under a load, so
a person who prompts a public speaker in a difficulty is said to help
with the burden.
(10) "Covering the dead bird." If a pigeon sees its mate fall dead it
will drop down and cover the body with its wings even if it should be
killed also. To this the Samoans compare a brother who will rush in
among troops after his wounded brother even if he should be killed
himself.