Rona—The Mora Maiden.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1629, 21 December 1912, Page 13

Rona—The Mora Maiden.

A Legend oS Bhe NgapuEil. (By Mrs. E. M. Dunlop.) m : 1 — I?il

British people aro • perhaps singularly unimaginative and liavo been prono throughout their story'to dwell rather on the practical than on the romantic side of Nature. Wo hro glad to borrow a fairy lore from the German, and thus our nurseries hail with joy Hans Andersen's delightful stories, • Grimm's "Fairy Tales,' and the "Legends of the Rhine." We can relate tales of war, of danger, of heroism, and of love, but wo do not oiten make use of Nature as viewed in sky, in sea, in forest, bird, and tree, and flower. Mrs.' Gatty'e "Parables from Naturo," Kings' ley's "Water Babies," x and the modern stories of Itichard Lo Gallienne are fine examples of attractive Nature studies applied to romance, and satisfy and charm both young and old. It may be, however, that there is still room lor "wonder tales" and popular additions to nursery lore. The Maoris of New Zealand, full oi natural intelligence and without book, fed the mind upon marvellous stories connected with tliose natural objects within the scope of their vision. Wn have been satisfied with popular ideas of the "Man in the Moon, but 1 cannot recall any story or legend common in our nurseries regarding tiio stately orb which has boon the familiar companion of every generation. The Maoris, on the contrary, possessed many legends, tales, and myths, not only about the moon, but also concerning all the btautifui and iamiliur features of the visible heavens . Maori stiries are mingled with mucli that is grotesque and absolutely unreal, yet many of I heir ideas are beautiful and poetical, containing ail the elements of a pure romance. -The mind of the Maori is extremely susceptible. to the beauties o! Nature. The fleecy cloudlets sailing over him, the ( rustling of the forest bough*, the tracery of leaves against the summer skj', the deep shadows on the mountain siue, the murmuring* of brook and naterfall, the rippie of. surf upon the sand stir the soul within him, and whisper to him of mysteries beyond bis ken. Uo endeavoured to express his awe, his curiosity, ar,d his delight in song and legend. The story of Kona, the moon goddess of the feipuhi crystallises many ol' these weird imaginings, weaving them into u garland, of poetic thoughts. It imagines an cartiiiy maiden, bound by c-arthly ties and the chosen of an earthly lover, who yet attracts the love of Marama, the mcon god. He, from his shining throne in the heavens, beholds the maiden, and deteiv mines to make her the sharer of his higli destiny. She, ignorant of the future, i> content to wander in the forest glades and to linger by the fern-fringed fountains in tne company of her earth-burn love, Ngaio, the playmate and companion of her childhood's days. All those who know and love the New Zealand forest aro familiar with the ngaio tree, from which the lover of Hona derived his name. It is a species of laurei, and possesses a, cicar and shining green leaf, of which' the beautiful vein?ry can be distinctly traced through it* transparenc,) agiimst the light. There is nothing inorij delightful than to rest beneath the ngaio in the summer afternoon, while tliß shadows lengthen and Ihe green leaves tremble overhead, forming an exquisite tracery against the empyreal blue. The ngaio is not a giant tree, but is ralher a shrub, spreading and growing, however, ol a height of about SOfl. It grows quickly, and seedlings transplanted soon become charming shrubs, with lovely thick foliage, and covered with small purple terries, which, falling and growing, coveT the ground with tiny plantlets. In abont four years the m:aio, in a suitable soil, attains its fi\ll height, and the stage ol decay begins. Each stags of its' existence, _ however, exhibits new beauties, and it is in age that the spreading branches , above show. the. most exquisite .tracery, while the grass beneath the. tree, .open to sun and air, forms a thick dry. carpet, interrupted only by a few scattered twigs and berries. The little forest birds 'find a congenial home in the flickering sun . and shade, and hop on the dry stems or chirp among the thick greenery, regardless ol the bushfarer, resting oil the soft sward below. A little brooklet near Tipples over a'stony bed, and sings the song of til* ■waterfall as it trickles through its fern.fringed channel. • Perchance a blue,.bril-•liantiy-plumagcd kingfisher perches on a : boulder and watches for an unwary insect humming over n blossom of the sweet- 1 scentcd clematis which droops over the spring. '

her view, while her tears, fell around him like drops of dew. Close over us the silver star, thy guide,!! Shines in those tremulous eyes that fill with tears; The old mysterious glimmer steals From thy pure brows and from' thy shoulders pure. Alas! for his grey shadow onoe a man, " ■ So glorious in his beauty and thy choicel Thou see'st all things—thou wilt see my grave. .... .. \ And thus the earthly loyer returns to earth, and Eona dwells alone;in the'.jnoon with Slarama—immortality linked with, immortality. There she still performs her pleasing.tasks, and spreads her canopies of fleecy clouds and. lights her, starry torches. There are moments, when you may hear her sigh,. and thei night wind bears a murmurous lament, to earth, as the thoughts and wishes of Eona return thither, and lonely amid her splendour, she sighs for her earth-born love, and laments the fate, however splendid, which parted her from his faithful .arms.. sTou may family find hdr if you. look for,, her when the moon is a and discern the face, of Eona' bending 'iii' earnest contemplation, and searching through the endless ages for the long-lost ■ form ad face of Ngaio; in whose memory.. she heaps up leaves, of the'tree, which;' flourishing around her, bears his-name, : and brings to her remembrance summer wanderings in the grassy, dells of a littlo island set in the midst'of & silver circist of ever-murmuring seas. ~ ■

; Snch a scene was haunted by the maiden ■ I?ona, whos? duty it was to carry wafer from the spring at her mother's bidding, and in such a scene she lingered with her lover even when the moonlight had faded and the moon had risen, easting long glances in rays of light, falling between the tall stems of the forest pines. The beards of the long white moss looked, ghostly in the moonlight, and the cry of tho owl or morepork startled the lovers, yet they knew no fear as they stray* d in the beautiful forest glades. But Marama, the man in the moon, was jealous, and when the maiden came along to the fountain he snatched her from earth and bore hor to the sky, hoed'ess ot tiie anguish of Kgaio, who arrived in time to hear her parting cry growing fainter and fainter as she ascended to tho skies. There was a Maiden now as well as a Jl;m in the Moon, according' to the legend of the Ngapuhi, and Bona, in her hasty flight had carried with her the seeds ol' the ngaio treo, which rapidly grew and throve. She became reconciled to her moon life and to the company of Marama, the Moon God, for whom she gathered leaves and twigs oi the ngaio trre to feed tlio heavenly fires. He appointed her tasks to perioral, in which she learned to take delight. Her duties were to draw the curtains and spread. the canopy oi night, to dispel the mists of morning and sweep away tiie cobwebs which might hinder the dawn, to spread and arrange the fleecy covering of clouds .with which the' Moon God is wont to veil his face, and to light with fairy torch tiie lamps oi night, touching each twinkling star to UicKering flame. So denghttul 'were the duties of Kona that she iorgot for a timo her early love;' yet oid tnemories • were awakened as the ngaio erew and spread its shadows in the moony dells, and fie,' looking up througn exquisito gruen traceries, beneid the kindly laco of Marama,. wlio could deny lier nothing. At her dosire he consented to receive the earth lover in his paradise, .and permitted Kona to seek him and convey iiiin thither. In hor company he spent many happy years, assisting her in her delightful tendance of the benevolent Moon God. The earth lover, however,, was but human, and could not be endowed. with immortality. Like Tithonus, of the Greeks, it was his fate, i while growing old.himself, to behold his beloved ever blossoming more fully into eternal youth, a gift bestowed upon her, and upon her alone, by the Moon God. Old in the presence ol' eternal youth, Ngaio longed lor death, and might have cried with Tithonus in the language of the Master: The Bteam Floats up from yon groen fielos about the homes Of happy men that have tho power to die! Release me and restore mo to the ground! Why should a man desire in any way To vary from tho kindly race oi men?

Tea, hold mo not for over in thine East. Bona was torn with conflicting owotions. Her loving spirit still clung to tlic earth-born 2vgaio, yet sho realised tho unfitness of his fato—porpetual age doomed to immortality in the presence of porpetual youth. Sho therefore sought the presence of tho Moon God, and entreatod him to release her lover, Marama was unable to restore him to youth, and Death was not permitted to enter his realm. Ho therefore granted to Eona the use of tho rainbowfor her lover's cscapo. She, strong to immortal strength, 'assisted him to mount tho rf.inbow ladder, which formed a circlet, as on some misty summer around tho moon. Ngaio, ready tor his'departure, cast many a backward look of lingering regret upon the radiant face of his early iovo ere, grasping the rainbow's quivering are, ho abandoned himself to his descent, and. aUdlnj wlftly doirmrards, vanished from