A XMAS TRAGEDY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXV, Issue 10392, 9 May 1927, Page 9 (Supplement)

A XMAS TRAGEDY.

MAORI GIRL’S DEATH N EAR ' 1 HOROERA. DROWNED liY A TANIWHA! io4‘^' v days before Oiivistxiiiis of -o/'o four young girls, one o? \vhoj._ was a half-caste, y» e.A co ~..ihe in water-hole at Waipapa, on the East ' . . It; sp happens that tliis water-hole had, in legend,' been the abode, i.om time immemorial, of a taniwha (a fabulous ..reptile) named the Taininuwlnna, which had, it was believed by the credulous Natives’ of the district, been seen frequently during,the time the Hau Hau trouble. . The girls,, on arriving at the bathing place, divested themselves ot their garments, plunged in and swam to the opposite shore, ilOne of them named Mereana, aged 13 years, ; seeing a number of rata flowers floating on the edge of the water, forthwith collected a quantity of them and commenced sucking them. ' The three others then landed ana Rahera, the half-caste, ascended to the branch or a. rata tree overhanging the river, from which point she leapt into the water. On her return to the shore Mereana was still sucking the rata flowers. - ' Again Rahera ascended the tree and again she plunged into the water . On again landing she found that Mereana had left the water and was reclining on a flat rock about three feet above the surface of the water. - Her legs were stretched out and her eyes were fixed on the water, Raliera called to Mereana to join her in the sport of jumping from the branch of the rata tree, but Mereana continued to suck the -rata flowers and answered not a word As Rahera got closer in shore she observed that a change had come over the countenance of Mereana, who, almost immediately afterwards, slipped off the rock into the water. At the same moment the other two, Heni and Peti, who were on shore, screamed out. They afterwards said that they knew the taniwha was there, because of the whirling of the water at the spot where Mereana had disappeared. Rahera attempted to seize hold of her before she sank, J.mt without avail. She then dived after her into the deep hole and ' continued her downward course until she was obliged to return to the surface . for breath. As she recovered herself, Peti and. Heni, who were on shore called out “Rahera! It was a taniwha —a taniwha!” Rahera then saw that the surface of the water was broken into waves and she heard the noise of a commotion. Looking behind her, she saw the water rising up high, like the spouting of a whale. On reaching the shore, she noticed that the water had become discolored with,the mud from the bottom. Peti and Heni had run away in fear and had crossed over at the mouth of the stream, where the water was shallow. Rahera then swam across to the opposite and they all dressed, weeping on account of the loss ot their companion. When they got. home their mother, Raniari, sent them to inform the people at Horoera, a place about three miles distant, of what had happened. At this time all the men were away at Horoera. Wikiriwi te Mataura said that if Taminawhina, the taniwha, had crried off Mercna, it was because she had transgressed by sucking the flowers of his sacred rata tree and that lie would return her body to the shore. A search party of twenty, women as well as men, then set out for the water hole. They saw that the water about the taniwha’s- hole was discolored, whilst tiie water all round was clear. In vain did they search and then did'the bravest of them, Hercmaia te Ari, dive down into the hole. It was said that lie descended five' fathoms but did not touch the bottom. In the evening the party returned home, but, on the fourth day, they found the body lying face downwards on the rock from which she had fallen. It was covered with silt, whereas the rock was perfectly clean. Washing away the silt, they found that the left eye had been picked out and the blood was still trickling from the socket. A week afterwards, Charley, a Spaniard, and his children saw some seaweed floating in the hole and they fled in fear—it was broad-leaved, thick-stemmed deep seaweed. In the evening some people went to look at it but it had disappared. ’Twas in-vain that the Rev. Mom Turei tried to "dissuade the Natives from the belief that a taniwha bad caused the girl’s death. He explained to them that her death must have been due to an accident and that, if the body were found as described, it must have been drawn from the water and placed on the rock for the purpose of mystifying the Mnoiis.