THE STORY OF THE GREENSTONE MERE
Te Turi, my ancestor, one day called to him his two friends, Te Weri,
the Centipede, and Te Waerau, the Crab, whom he loved best after
Ngahue, and taking a sailing canoe, with three men to row upon
windless days, set out from Te Ika A Maui on a course to the south.
And when they had sailed for many days, they came to the mouth of a
river, and there they ate food and landed.
And as they stepped ashore, Te Turi chanted a prayer of propitiation
to the Spirit of the Land, and they six prayed together and
humiliated themselves. And afterwards, looking about them, they saw
that the land was very fair; for the _pohutukaua_ trees[1] and the
_ratas_[1] were ablaze with red blossoms, and the white flowers of
the _puawananga_[2] were shining like stars in the deep green of
lofty boughs. And the blue sky smiled down upon them, and the warm
sun of morning stirred their blood, and the sweet scents of the
forest beguiled their senses, so that with one accord they cried
aloud, 'Behold! The new land which the gods have given us is very
good.'
[1] The pohutukaua and rata trees belong to the myrtle order.
[2] The puawananga is a variety of clematis with large, star-like
white blossoms. In the flowering season the effect of these white
stars amid the dark metallic green of the overhead foliage is most
beautiful.
But of a sudden the forest grew denser, till at last they saw neither
sun nor moon, nor could they find food to eat or water to drink--not
even fern-roots or _kanini_ berries, which might have stayed the
terrible pangs of hunger.
So then the five began to blame Te Turi that he had brought them out
of a land of plenty into this wilderness, and Te Turi, being sorry
for them, bade them rest while he went on to seek deliverance.
So Te Turi walked alone, and, as he walked, it grew so cold that he
drew his mat of _kiwi_[3] feathers close about him. Yet still was he
cold as death, and at last, crying to the gods to show him a way
whereby his friends and the three men might be saved, he fell prone
upon the ground.
[3] The _apteryx_, a curious, small, wingless bird.
Now the blackness of night was around him, though it was yet full
day; but, though he feared the darkness, he feared more for his
companions lest they should die of cold and hunger and thirst. 'For
then,' said he, 'the blame shall be mine, for I it was who brought
them to this pass.' Wherefore he prayed for his friends more than
for himself.
But presently he rose and made a fire of sticks to warm his blood.
But, though the fire burned, neither did it warm him nor give any
light beyond itself. Wherefore Te Turi was sure that the gods were
angry, and he prayed that he might propitiate them by the sacrifice
of the best thing he had, though he himself should die for want of it.
So he laid his beautiful mat of feathers upon the fire, which
greedily devoured it, and then he scattered the ashes to the four
quarters of the earth and chanted a prayer to ATUA.[4]
[4] The gods collectively, or Fate.
Then lo, a marvel! For of a sudden Te Turi grew warm and the dark
forest fell away, and before him opened a glade, rich in flowers and
fruit, and in the midst of it a stream of water, crystal pure.
Then, filled with joy, Te Turi stretched out his hand, for he was
very hungry. Yet even in that moment he remembered his friends and
the men, and, having first gathered fruit and filled a gourd with
water for them, he ate and drank his fill.
And now, being strengthened in spirit and in body, Te Turi bowed his
head and gave thanks to ATUA and prayed to his ancestors.
And, as he lifted his head, lo, before him was a mat of kiwi
feathers, larger and more beautiful than he had ever seen, and very
soft and perfect, as a mat sent from the gods ought to be. For Te
Turi knew that the gods had sent him the mat because he had thought
of his friends before himself. So, marvelling, he put it on and
turned to rejoin his companions.
But a voice cried 'Stay!' and Te Turi, seeing no one, feared, and
turned again.
And the voice was dull and muffled, as though it came from the bowels
of the earth, and it said: 'O Te Turi, I am HAUMIATIKITIKI, god and
father of men and of the foods which men gather and eat. For all thy
life abundance of such food shall be thine. Behold, I have spoken!'
Then Te Turi gave thanks and turned to go. But another voice cried
'Stay!' and he remained.
And the voice came from the surface of the ground and from the
tree-tops, and it said: 'O Te Turi, I am RONGOMATANE, god and father
of men and of the foods which men prepare for themselves. For all
thy life abundance of such food shall be thine. Behold, I have
spoken!'
And again Te Turi gave thanks and turned to go. But a third voice
cried 'Stay!' and, marvelling, he stayed.
And the voice was like to the murmur of waving boughs, the humming of
bees, and the sweet singing of birds, and it said: 'O Te Turi, I am
TANE MAHUTA, god of the forests and the birds. The trees shall be
thine for thy dwellings, and the hardest trees for canoes and spears
and clubs; and the birds shall be thine for food and dress as long as
thou livest. Behold, I have spoken!'
And once more Te Turi gave thanks and turned to go. But a fourth
voice cried 'Stay!' and with wonder in his heart he stood still.
And the voice was like the leaping of fish and the croaking of frogs,
and it said: 'O Te Turi, I am TANGAROA, god of fish and reptiles.
All through thy life thou shalt have fish to eat and sharks' teeth
for ornament, and whalebone and whales' ribs for thy weapons. And
the little lizards shall not affright thee, nor the great
_Taniwha_[5] harm thee. Behold, I have spoken!'
[5] A mythical monster, presumed to be a saurian, inhabiting the sea
or vast forests, and regarded with deepest awe by Maoris.
And again Te Turi gave thanks and essayed to go. But a fifth voice
cried 'Stay!' and, filled with awe, he halted where he was.
And the voice was like the roaring of a mighty wind, and the sound of
trees falling in the bush, of rain and hail beating upon the hard
ground, and thunder rolling among the caverns of the clouds upon the
mountains. And it said: 'O Te Turi, I am TAWHIRI-MA-TEA, god of the
winds and storms, and whether thou walkest upon dry land or sailest
upon the bosom of the deep waters, harm shall be far from thee.
Behold, I have spoken!'
Then Te Turi gave thanks and turned to go. But a sixth voice shouted
'Stay!' and he stayed, his heart melting within him for fear.
For of a sudden there arose a mighty noise, and such a clashing and
clanging and screaming and shouting and shaking of the earth, as
though all the warriors of all the world ran to and fro over it,
contending in battle. And then, also of a sudden, there fell a great
silence, and Te Turi waited with bowed head for the sixth god to
speak.
But, when at last he heard no voice, he lifted his eyes, and lo, a
rat which sat upon a bough and fished in the river with a line.
Whereat Te Turi was amazed, fearing magic. But, when the rat drew in
the line, behold, not a fish, but a piece of greenstone of the best
and purest was on the end of it. And the rat swung the line so that
the stone came near to Te Turi, who put forth his hand and caught it.
And then the sixth voice spake and said: 'Hold fast that which thou
hast gotten, O Te Turi, for never weapon like it was given to mortal.
I am TUMATAUENGA, god and father of men and war. In the fight I will
guard thee, and in battle thou shalt prevail so long as the _Mere of
TUMATAUJENGA_ remains thine. And so shall it be with thy seed after
thee, until the _mere_ shall pass to one of a strange race, and then
there shall be an end. Behold, I have spoken!'
And Te Turi looked, and lo, in his hand was a most perfect _mere_ of
greenstone, with flaxen wrist-loop, and on the narrow end the print
of two fingers and a thumb, where TUMATAUENGA had held it. Whereat
Te Turi marvelled exceedingly, thinking not of the prophecy which
went with the gift, and, bowing his head, he gave thanks to the six
great brethren.
And now once more he turned to go; but, even as he turned, lo, a
Thing, a great and horrible Thing, stood in his way.
The Thing was as a bird, but bigger than any bird of the forest, for
it stood thrice the height of a man. Its neck was the length of a
tall man, its legs the thickness of a man's trunk, and on its feet
were claws the length of a whale's rib and sharp as the teeth of a
shark. Its wings were little, but its beak was as long as two
spears, and the gape of its mouth was as wide as the cavern through
which men pass to enter Te Reinga.[6]
[6] Probably Te Turi encountered a Moa (Dinornis Moa), the gigantic
wingless bird, believed now to be extinct in New Zealand. His
imagination, excited by danger, doubtless added to its already
enormous proportions.
Now Te Turi was a very brave, strong man, but his legs shook under
him as he saw this ugly, fearful Thing. And the Thing, noting his
fear, gaped and rushed to swallow him, and out of its mouth came a
vast roaring, as of the sea breaking upon a pebbly shore.
Then Te Turi dropped his greenstone club and fled for his life,
crying aloud to TANE MAHUTA: 'Where is now the dominion thou gavest
me over the birds? If indeed this monster be a bird, and not a
_taipo_ (devil), which much I doubt.'
But it seemed as if the gods were angry with Te Turi; for, when he
would have hidden in the forest, lo, in a moment there grew up a tall
hedge of thorns and supple-jacks, through which neither man nor beast
could pierce. So then Te Turi gave himself up for lost.
And, as he sped round and round the glade, the roaring of the evil
Thing shaped to a voice which cried after him: 'Malign now thy gods,
Te Turi, and I will cease from pursuing thee, and will make thee
great; but if thou worship not me thou shalt perish.'
Then Te Turi knew that the Thing was indeed a _taipo_; but he would
not revile the gods, but only called more loudly upon ATUA for aid.
And, as he called, his foot caught in a root and he fell headlong,
and the spear-bill of the Thing sped at him, coming so near that it
grazed his skin, and the blood flowed. And the point of the bill
drave into the ground for the half of its length, and there stuck
fast.
Now when Te Turi saw this, he flung himself upon the long neck of the
Thing and strove to snap the bone, but his hands were not large
enough to encircle it, and meanwhile the Thing had freed half of the
buried part of its bill, and the earth flew this way and that, as it
scratched and tore and twisted, striving to loosen itself and finish
Te Turi.
Then Te Turi went blind with rage, forgetting his danger, and, just
as the Thing won free, he rushed upon it once more and smote it so
mighty a blow that its head was crushed like the shell of an egg, and
the Thing fell to the ground with a dreadful crash, and sprawled
there in the agonies of death.
Then did Te Turi swell out his chest and roll up his eyes and poke
out his tongue at the Thing, and because he was very glad, he
chanted: 'Behold, I have slain the evil Thing which sought to devour
me. Ha! With one blow of my naked fist I have slain it, for the
gods have made me very strong.' And he looked at the fist which had
done this wonderful deed.
But lo, a marvel! For the greenstone club, which had dropped from
his hand, was now firmly clasped therein, and with the _mere_ of
TUMATAUENGA, and not with his naked fist, had he slain the Thing.
Now when Te Turi knew that TUMATAUENGA, seeing his extremity, had
brought the _mere_ to his hand, he left off boasting, and chanted:
'Lo now the kindness of ATUA! Behold the goodness of TUMATAUENGA!
When I forget the debt I owe to TUMATAUENGA, then may ATUA forget me!'
So he gave thanks for his great deliverance, and took the skin and
the tail-feathers of the dead Thing to make mats for a memory of the
marvel, and with a glad heart set off to rejoin his friends and the
three men.
Yet, even as he thought of them, lo, he heard their voices, and was
back at the spot where he had left them. And they ate and drank and
were merry, knowing nought, for they had neither seen nor heard
anything, so that Te Turi might have thought that he had fallen
asleep and dreamed, but for the mat of _kiwi_ feathers and the
greenstone club and the parts of the great Thing.
And so they six returned to Te Ika A Maui, taking with them many
pieces of greenstone and other good things, and so they came home.
And Te Turi made mats out of the skin of the Thing; and one he gave
to Ngahue, and one to Te Weri, and one to Te Waerau, and one to his
wife, and one he made for himself. Yet was there enough left to make
mats for all his children who came afterwards, of whom there were ten.
But the greenstone _mere_ with the finger-prints of TUMATAUENGA Te
Turi kept for himself, and as often as he looked at it, so often did
he wonder at the prophecy which the god had spoken with the gift.
But at last, remembering that the _mere_ was to pass to his
children's children, he ceased from troubling upon a matter which he
could not mend.
And Te Turi lived long and fought many good fights, being worsted in
none. And in the fulness of time this mighty chief passed to join
his ancestors, and the _mere_ of TUMATAUENGA and the prophecy he
bequeathed to his son and to his son's son after him through all
time, until at last they came down to me who tell the tale of them.