CHAPTER VI
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.'
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.
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]
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!'
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]
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.
[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.
[3] The apteryx, a curious, small, wingless bird.
[4] The gods collectively, or Fate.
[5] A mythical monster, presumed to be a saurian, inhabiting the sea or vast forests, and regarded with deepest awe by Maoris.
[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.