Page:Folklore1919.djvu/249

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A Tongan Theogony.
237

the light colour of shallow water over a sand-bank. On his return to the sky Atulongolongo reported to his Tangaloa brethren the result of his quest, adding that he was wearied through being forced to fly about with no place whereon to rest. Tama-bouli-kae-ala-mafoa thereupon bade him go to Tangaloa-tufunga, and suggested that he pour out the dust and chips of his workship, as perchance land might thereby be formed whereon he could alight. Tangaloa-tufunga readily acquiesced in this scheme of spring-cleaning, and on Atulongolongo's again visiting the world he found that the experiment in land-building had been a complete success, for the heap of heavenly leavings stood boldly up as the high island of Eua. Moreover, the light colour of the patch of shallow water was more pronounced than ever, and after a further wait of seven days in the sky, Atulongolongo found a reef on which he was able to stand. Therefore the Tongan people still say when the tide is low, "A snipe can stand on the reef." After a short sojourn in Eua the divine visitor returned once more to the sky. The reef continued to emerge further and further, becoming at last the island of Ata, which, naturally enough, was as yet without vegetation. On Atulongolongo's reporting progress to his brethren, Tangaloa-eiki presented him with the seed of a plant like a large creeping bean. This seed was planted in Ata, and soon the whole island was covered with the creeper. Atulongolongo was then bidden to go down and break the stem of the plant, and after a time the broken stem decayed and bred a maggot. Again Atulongolongo resorted to his brethren for instructions. Being bidden now to break the maggot in two he hastened to comply, but through misfortune or clumsiness he failed to make a clean job of it. The head and the tail were severed, but part of the body stuck to the beak of the snipe-god. These pieces, the head, the tail, and the fragment attached to the beak, became men, and Atulongolongo returned to the sky to get names for them. The heavenly council decreed that he who arose from the head should be called Kohai (Who), that he who was born of the tail should be called Koau (I), and that he who owed his origin to the fragment should be called Momo (Fragment). Human history is now