THE WATERS OF LOVE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 117, 31 January 1940, Page 2

THE WATERS OF LOVE

TE AROHA'S MINERAL SPRINGS PICTURESQUE MAORI LEGEND First of all it is ncccssary to realise that the name "Aroha" signifies "love," and that the 3000 ft mountain towering above the town of Te Aroha was literally to the Maoris of old "The Love-Mountain." It was revered by them as a landmark of spiritual .significance. It was the habit in the old days for Hovers to plight their troth by the steadfast powers of the unchanging and everlasting peak, while many an ancient treaty in the tribal days was made binding by the mere mention of its name. So many legends and so many .superstitions clung around the green pinnacle that reaches the greatest height in the Coromandel Range, that the mountain itself came to be -regarded as the very symbol and embodiment of love and the guardian of all that stood for lofty ideals. In its huge bulk, according to the Maori mind, it sheltered an unexplicablc "something" which became very precious as time went on, figuring prominently in Maori song and story. The rocky heart of Aroha represented to the Maoris, all that Venus, the Godess of Love, did to the ancient Greeks. An Ancient Tale. The legend is interesting. Long, long ago. when ancient tales were new aind fairy tales trin, the son of ihe chief of the tribe which inhabited the Bay of Plenty became lost in the great waste of swamp and scrub which was then the Thames Valley. Te Mamoe, for that was the young Maori's name, had been on a visit to some distant kinsmen on the West Coast.

With two slaves he came at length to the foot of Whakapipi (now Bald Spur) and seeing the peak towering deckled to climb it and ascertain his position. The arduous tiask of breaking a way through the virgin bush was at length accomplished, and the exhausted trio feasted their weary eyes on the vast panorama of the Bay of Plenty. Far to the [south-east a pencil of sand showed their own native Maketu, with the Maunganui sugarloaf and. the Tauranga inlet trembling in the middle distance. • In the heart of Mamoe as he drank ;n the glorious view and saw the first glimpse of his beloved home, a great love was born and welling to lips found expression in a prayer of thankfulness. Filled with yearning for his native Maketu he ; cried: "This mountain shall be called the! 'Mountain of Aroha.' It is mine, and herein shall lie forever the great love of Mamoe." So the name "Aroha" was born. Romance of the Past. As the years passed the legend gathered greater and greater appeal. Young Maori lovers often made the mountain their try Sting ground, invoking the kindly spirit of Mamoe to safeguard and bring great happiness to their union:-Romantic maidens turned their heads to the cloudblurred peak, praying for some sign or power that would win for them the attentions of the braves for whom they cherished a secret longing. Young Maori warriors had the habit of addressing their affairs of the heart to the spirit animating the mountain, seeking the way to some high spirited maiden's affections and pledging a love as great

and as good as that of Mamoe himself should their desires be fulfilled. When the lowering clouds enveloped the peak and clung about the lower slopes, the Maoris were in the habit of saying that the brooding spirit of the mountain was shrouding it with a further token of his undying love. It was a continual reminder of a legend which had a wide and ever growing appeal. : The Healing Waters. But Mamoe was npt satisfied with merely the cloud display, The great spirit beheld with warm and kindly pleasure the l'nith of the lovers who appealed to him, so from the heart of the sacred mountain he caused a stream of clear crystal water to flow. It was warm to the touch, pleasant to the taste, and possessed healing qualities the like of which had not been known before. It gushed from the foot of the mountain "in a never ending flood, forming clear glass-Like pools from Which the silver bubbles arose in strings of light. • ■ But the people were afraid, fearing that a terrible evil was about to overtake them. Reports were cir-

culated that the ground had trembled as it did- at far off Rotorua. The chiefs called a meeting of the warriors, and it was noted by all that the mists of Mamoe no longer clung about the peak. This ancient informed the assembled braves that the spirit was displeased, that the waters were yet a further symbol of his love, that they represented :i blessing for mankind and not his destruction. So the people went home rejoicing. The warm springs were used by young and olid. People became * stronger for drinking them, sufferers were relieved, and sick were made whole. The Lover's Spring. On a higher level a cleft in the stone Showed a pool of great depth, so lear and opalescent that it was cfaimed to be the mirror of Mamoe himself. To this glade came the lovers of Maori history. To this pool. after their nuptial ceremonies came dusky bride and groom, to drink together the waters which would bring them luck a,nd happiness. Whether tfie good spirit brought about the fulfilment of al',l their hopes can never be konwn, but the story is a pretty one and lacking in the less desirable appendages of Maori tradition of fighting, and feasting. r \ The favoured tribe wliiViv possessed the remarkable w r aters was the Ngati Maru. Long before the curious pakeha ventured to sample and bathe, the Maoris in the South Auckland knew and appreciated the healing waters of Te Aroha. Sufferers from every kind of ailment visited the place, and the Ngati Maru^ 1 were very kindly hosts, realising that it was their duty as guardians of the giift of nature to make the. waters available to all who should ■ be in need of them.