ARORANGI MYTHS AND LEGENDS« Ati and the People from the underworld A long time ago, there lived a humble farmer, on the island of Rarotonga. His name was Ati. He lived alone in the village of Arorangi. He spent most of his time in his plantation. Ati planted taro, tarotarua, bananas, sweet potatoes and yams. He visited his plantation every day. As the vegetables began to mature, he noticed when he visited the plantation that half the taro had gone. Then he made a plan to sleep near his plantation. One night, he was awakened by sounds coming from the water. There in front of him were white human creatures, coming out of the pond, near his taro patch. Ati had heard from his ancestors before about the “Momoke” people. He never believed that they were real. He was fascinated watching then cutting bunches of bananas, and stealing taro and yam. There were quite a few of them with white skin, and white or black hair. As dawn broke, the last Momoke disappeared in the pond. Ati knew the pond was deep, but was not sure how deep. He decided not to tell anyone. So he made a plan. Ati borrowed a fishing net from a friend. The next night when the moon was high, Ati heard the Momoke’s return like the night before. While they were gathering food, Ati spread his net over the pond. Then he walked around the plantation and started shouting- Oi ! Ae ! Ae!. The Momoke people rushed towards the pond and Ati chased them. They were all caught in the net but because of their weight, one of the anchors snapped. He could not control it and they all disappeared except for one that was tangled in the net. It was a woman. Ati took her home before the village people woke up. Ati kept the Momoke woman in his house for months as his wife. She only went out at night. Her whiteness fascinated those who saw her. After some years, she decided to go back to her own people in the underworld. Every night she would cry. She told Ati that she was going to have a baby, and she will die because they will cut her stomach up. Ati assured her that it would not happen to her in his world. She believed Ati. Then the baby was born and she did not die. This was wonderful experience for her. As the baby grew older, she begged Ati to allow her to return to her people to share this new experience. Ati wanted to accompany her. So they prepared themselves. On a chosen moonlight night, Ati, his wife and their son went to the pond and took their dive. After trying a few times Ati gave up and could not hold his breath any longer. He realised his wife had not surfaced with him. Ati waited for quite a while and his wife was still under water. He knew she would never come back. So he sat on the rock with his son and sang. Te Tua o Ati e te Momoke. (Cook Islands Translation) I tetai au tuatua i topa akenei, te no’o ra tetai tangata tanukai i runga i te enua ko Rarotonga. Tona ingoa ko Ati. E no’o ana aia koia anake i roto i tona ngutuare, i te oire ko Arorangi. I te katoa ‘anga o te taime, e anga’anga ana aia i roto i tana ngā’i tanu kai. E tanu ana aia i te au tu kai mei te taro, tarotarua, meika, kumara e te u’i. E meitaki e te ruperupe te tupu o teia au kai tanu. Kia vaitata tana au kai i te manga, kua kite aia e kare tetai āpa o tāna taro, kua keiā ia. Kua manamanatā a Ati. Kua parāni aia no te moe ki te pae i tana ngāi tanu kai. Kia tae ki tetai po, kua itirere mai aia mei roto i tana moe. Kua akarongo aia i te māniania mei roto mai i te punavai. I reira, kua kite atu a Ati i teia au tangata rikiriki e kake mai nei ki runga mei roto mai i te punavai ki vao. Kua akarongo ana a Ati i te au tuatua no teia au tangata e “momoke”. Kare aia e irinaki ana e au tangata tikai teia. I tona kite atu’anga, kua umeremere tikai aia i to ratou pakiri i te teatea, e to ratou rauru i te teatea e te kerekere. Poitirere tikai a Ati ma te riri, i tona kite’anga atu ia ratou e tipu ra i te meika ma te uuti i te taro. Kia ta’a te ata mārama, kua kite atu ā Ati, okotai momoke e pou atūra ki roto i te punavai. Kua kite aia e ō’onu te vai, kāre ra i pāpū iaia e, ea’a te ō’onu. Kare aia i akakite ki tetai ua atu tangata, i teia tei tupu. Kua kimi aia i tetai parāni ōu nana. Kua pati a Ati i te kupenga tautai a tona taeake. Kia tae ki tetai po marama, kua akarongo a Ati i te maniania. Kua āite ki te po i topa akenei. Kite atu a Ati, teia akaou taua au momoke ra, i te keikeiā i tana au kai tanu. I reira kua o’ora aia i te kupenga ki runga i te punavai. Kua takapinipini aia ma te kapiki atu, Oi! Ae! Ae! I reira kua pūtakaiti te au momoke, ma te pou ki roto i te punavai. No te maata ia ratou, kua teima’a te kupenga e kua motu te taura i tapekaia ai. I tona uuti’anga mai i te kupenga, kua tāīī okotai momoke ki runga i te kupenga. Kia akara meitaki aia, e vaine teia. Kua tapekapeka aia i teia momoke, e kua apai aia ki tona kainga, i mua ake ka ara mai ei te oire tangata. Kua uuna a Ati i teia ei vaine nana ki roto i tona ngutuare no tetai au ra roa. E ao ua tona taime e aere ana ki vao. Kua umere tikai tetai au tangata i te kite’anga i teia momoke nei. Kia tae ki tetai po, kua aue aia. Kua akakite aia kia Ati e nui aia, te mataku nei aia e ka mate aia no te mea, i tona ngāi, ka tīpū’ia te kopu o te vaine me nui. Ka mate koe. Kua akakite a Ati kia ia e kare aia e mate. Kua irinaki aia ia Ati. Kua anau ta rāua pēpē e tamaroa. Kua mataora tikai teia vaine momoke. E kia maata mai ta rāua tamaiti, kua pati aia kia Ati me ka tika kia oki ana aia ki te ngā’i no reira mai aia. Ka inangaro aia i te akakite i tana i kite ki tona iti tangata. Kua āriki a Ati i tona manako ma te akateateamamao ia ratou no te aere’anga. Kia tae ki tetai po marama tau tikai kua pou atu a Ati, tana vaine, e ta raua tamaiti, ki roto i te punavai. Kua tauta rai a Ati e te tamaiti, kare i rauka ana ia raua i te no’o roa ki roto i te vai. Kua ‘ea akaou mai raua ki runga. Kua tiaki rai a Ati no tetai tuatau roa, e kare rai tana vaine i ea mai ki runga. Kua pāpū meitaki ia Ati e, kare tana vaine e oki akaou mai. Kua no’o aia ki runga i tetai toka e tana tamaiti e kua imene i teia imene.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 09:28:49 +0000
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