There may be some doubt as to whether a New Zealand myth of a kindred character is to be considered as an off-shoot from the folk-tale of the Bird-wife; but that it is so seems to be indicated by its resemblance to the tale of Celebes, already mentioned.[1]
There are several tales from the New World, which, though much modified, seem probably of the same origin; yet this conclusion cannot be regarded as certain, nor is it clear whether the tales are to be supposed to have reached American aborigines from Europe or Asia.[2]
The first section of our tale, that which recites how a bird-maiden is captured, and ultimately recovers her feather-robe and returns to her own heavenly country, is widely diffused as a separate narration. It is not to be assumed that all these stories are derived from our longer tale by the suppression of the second portion; on the contrary, many of them seem to be independent, and to give only one of the elements out of which the later märchen has been formed. In some cases, however, it would
- ↑ G. Grey, Polynesian Mythology, London, 185J, pp. 59-80. Tawhaki (a mythological character whose prayers cause a deluge) is visited by a maid from heaven, who becomes offended with him, and departs. He searches for her, comes to the house of a blind ancestress, and gets directions as to his route; he climbs by the tendrils of a vine, and reaches the dwelling of his wife.
- ↑ (a) Eskimo, H. Rink, Tales of the Eskimo, trans. R. Brown, Edinb., 1885, p. 154. A man seizes the robes of a bird-maiden, and takes her home; children are born, on whom she places wings, and they fly away, the mother at last doing the same during the absence of her husband. The man returns, and is sad; he obtains directions from an old man, and, sitting on the tail of a salmon, is carried to a shore inhabited only by women. A woman with a pug-nose presses him to marry her; the man endeavours to recover his wife, but the women are transformed into gulls, he into a duck, [This introduction of the ugly rival of the heroine seems very much like a reminiscence of a form of the European tale.] (b) Algonkin Schoolcraft, Algic Researches, N. Y., 1839. "The Celestial Sisters," i, 67, a Shawnee tale. Maidens from sky descend to the earth in a basket; the hero, taking various forms (compare Malagasy tale), succeeds in seizing one. A son is born, who makes a basket, and goes to heaven, together with the wife. The hero, proceeding in quest of the latter, comes to heaven, and is allowed his choice of gifts. He selects a white hawk's feather, which takes him and his wife to earth. Another tale, "Nishosha," ii, 91, opens curiously like that of Somadeva. The hero, going to seek an arrow, comes to the house of a magician. The daughter of the latter takes pity on him. He is sent to gather gulls' eggs, and deserted on a desert island, but finally induces the heroine to become his wife.
