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'Mother of my child, oh, return once more to me!' But she in reply called down to him: 'No, no, I
shall now never return to you again.
Tawhaki once more called up to her: 'At least, then, leave me some one remembrance of you.'
Then his young wife called down to him: 'These are my parting words of remembrance to you-
take care that you lay not hold with your hands of the
[1. According to some traditions her name was Hapai.]
loose root of the creeper, which dropping from aloft sways to and fro in the air; but rather lay fast
hold on that which hanging down from on high has again struck its fibres into the earth.' Then
she floated up into the air, and vanished from his sight.
Tawhaki remained plunged in grief, for his heart was torn by regrets for his wife and his little
girl. One moon had waned after her departure, when Tawhaki, unable longer to endure such
sufferings, called out to his younger brother, to Karihi, saying: 'Oh, brother, shall we go and
search for my little girl? And Karihi consented, saying: 'Yes, let us go.' So they departed, taking
two slaves with them as companions for their journey.
When they reached the pathway along which they intended to travel, Tawhaki said to the two
slaves who were accompanying himself and his brother: 'You being unclean or unconsecrated
persons must be careful when we come to the place where the road passes the fortress of
Tongameha, not to look up at it for it is enchanted, and some evil will befall you if you do.' They
then went along the road, and when they came to the place mentioned by Tawhaki, one of the
slaves looked up at the fortress, and his eye was immediately torn out by the magical arts of
Tongameha, and he perished. Tawhaki and Karihi then went upon the road accompanied by only
one slave. They at last reached the spot where the ends of the vines which hung down from
heaven reached the earth, and they there found an old woman who was quite blind. She was
appointed to take care of the vines, and she sat at the place where they touched the earth, and
held the ends of one of them in her hands.
This old lady was at the moment employed in counting some taro roots, which she was about to
have cooked, and as she was blind she was not aware of the strangers who stole quietly and
silently up to her. There were ten taro roots lying in a heap before her. She began to count them,
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Just at this moment Tawhaki quietly slipped
away the tenth, the old lady felt everywhere for it, but she could not find it. She thought she must
have made some mistake, and so began to count her taro over again very carefully. One, two,
three, four, five, six, seven, eight. just then Tawhaki had slipped away the ninth. She was now
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POLYNESIAN MYTHOLOGY
32
quite surprised, so she counted them over again quite slowly, One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight; and as she could not fmd the two that were missing, she at last guessed that
somebody was playing a trick upon her, so she pulled her weapon out, which she always sat
upon to keep it safe, and standing up turned round, feeling about her as she moved, to try if she
could find Tawhaki and Karibi; but they very gently stooped down to the ground and lay close
there, so that her weapon passed over them, and she could not feel anybody; when she had thus
swept her weapon all round her, she sat down and put it under her again. Karihi then struck her a
blow upon the face, and she, quite frightened, threw up her bands to her face, pressing them on
the place where she had been struck, and crying out: 'Oh! who did that?' Tawhaki then touched
both her eyes, and, lo, she was at once restored to sight, and saw quite plainly, and she knew her
grandchildren and wept over them.
When the old lady had finished weeping over them, she asked: 'Where are you going to? And
Tawhaki answered: 'I go to seek my little girl.' She replied: 'But where is she? He answered:
'Above there, in the skies.' Then she replied: 'But what made her go to the skies? And Tawhaki.
answered: 'Her mother came from heaven. She was the daughter of Whatitiri-matakataka.' The
old lady then pointed to the vines and said to them: 'Up there, then, lies your road; but do not
begin the ascent so late in the day, wait until to-morrow, for the morning, and then commence to
climb up.' He consented to follow this good advice, and called out to his slave: 'Cook some food
for us.' The slave began at once to cook food, and when it was dressed, they all partook of it and
slept there that night.
At the first peep of dawn Tawhaki called out to his slave: 'Cook some food for us, that we may
have strength to undergo the fatigues of this great journey'; and when their meal was finished,
Tawhaki took his slave, and presented him to the old woman, as an acknowledgment for her
great kindness to them.
The old woman then called out to him, as he was starting: 'There lies the ascent before you, lay
fast hold of the vine with your hands, and climb on; but when you get midway between heaven
and earth, take care not to look down upon this lower world again, lest you become charmed and
giddy, and fall down. Take care, also, that you do not by mistake lay hold of the vine which
swings loose; but rather lay hold of the one which hanging down from above, has again firmly
struck root into the earth.'
Just at that moment Karihi made a spring at the vines to catch them, and by mistake caught hold
of the loose one, and away he swung to the very edge of the horizon, but a blast of wind blew
forth from thence, and drove him back to the other side of the skies; on reaching that point,
another strong land wind swept him right up heavenwards, and down he was blown again by the
currents of air from above: then just as he reached near the earth again, Tawhaki called out:
'Now, my brother, loose your hands: now is the time!'-and he did so, and, lo, he stood upon the
earth once more; and the two brothers wept together over Karihi's narrow escape from
destruction. And when they had ceased lamenting, Tawhaki, who was alarmed lest any disaster
should overtake his younger brother, said to him: 'It is my desire that you should return home, to
take care of our families and our dependants.' Thereupon Karihi at once returned to the village of
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