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Niuē-fekai (or Savage) Island and its People
Gini-fale
Gini-fale
67. Ko e fifine ne higoa ko Gini-fale ne fa ui foki ko Mata-ginifale, ko e fifine tufuga a ia ke helehele hiapo. Kua nofo a ia he tapa he tahi mo e helehele fakakupukupu e tau hiapo ke he fohi; ne tuku e falu a fohi ke he mapua he felevehi ka e gahua e falu. Ne hau e Taufuā mo e ūlo hake e tau pokoihu mo e ta hana tapakau ke he kili moana. Kua amuamu hifo a Gini-fale mo e va hifo, “Taufuā ulu pekepeke ! taufilei, taufilei !”
68. Kua lagona e Taufuā ati ita mo e hake tatao hake ha ne hifo a Gini-fale ke fagota he uluulu. Ne hagatua atu ke he moana, kua fakaolo mai e lima, ko e vaha loa e tapakau, kape aki e fifine, ti hapini he hana finefine, ti puku he hana gutu, ti fofolo atu ke he manava.
69. Kua hola e ika-lahi ke he toka hokulo; kua moui a Gini-fale i loto he ika; ti mau atu e ia e fohi helehele tutū hana, ha ne toka he mapua felevehi, ne toto mai he hana lima, ti hele aki e ia e manava he ika. Kua mamahi e ika, ati mioi a ia mo e hola-fano, kua go fano e fatu ke he tau maka, ka e gahua e Gini-fale ke hele. Ti pē ke he motu ne higoa ko e Toga. Kua mahē tuai e fatu he Taufuā ki fafo; ati hu mai a Gini-fale mo e hake ke he motu; ti nofo ai mo e fakalala ai ke he lā ha kua lahi e makalili.
70. Kua hifo mai e tau tagata he motu, ti moua e lautolu e fifine; kua uta e lautolu a ia mo e taute mo e leveki. Ko e fifine mitaki a Gini-fale; kua hoana he taha iki he motu a ia. Kua fatu e fifine ti tagi mau e tāne he tau aho oti. Ti huhu a Gini-fale, “Ko e ha ne tagi ai a koe?” Ti pehe e tāne, “Kua tagi au i a koe, he tama i loto!” Ha ko e mahani he motu ke īhi e manava to ta mai e tama,
page 116which shells she had in the recepticle of her girdle, others she used in her work. There came a whale, who blew out his nostrils, and struck his fins on the surface of the ocean. Gini-fale derided and mocked him, saying, “Whale with the rough head! taufilei ! taufilei!”
68. When the whale heard this he was angry, and drew near and hid when Gini-fale came dowh to fish on the reef. When she turned away from the sea the whale stretched out his limb (the long fin) and seized the woman, carried her in his fins, put her into his mouth, and swallowed her, right down to his belly.
69. The great fish made off to the depths of the ocean, but Gini-fale remained alive within it. She took from her garment one of the shells she had for marking the hiapo and cut the belly of the fish. The fish felt the pain and writhed, and went off rapidly to some rocks where he rubbed his belly, whilst Gini-fale continued to cut, and the whale was stranded on an island called Toga. The Whale's belly was cut open, and then Gini-fale came forth and went ashore, where she sat and warmed herself in the sun, because the cold was great.
70. The people of the island came down and found the woman whom they took and cared for. She was a handsome woman was Gini-fale, and a certain chief of the island took her to wife. When the woman became pregnant, the husband used to cry every day. Gini-fale asked him, “What do you cry for?” The husband said, “I am crying on your account, because of your child.” It was the custom of that island to split open the belly and then take the child out, but the mother died. This was the reason Lei-pua was so sorry. Gini-fale said, “O thou ! I will show you the way the child shall come (be born).”
71. When the child was born it was a male, and they called its name Mutalau. When he had grown up he learnt that his mother came from Motu-tē-fua (Niuē), and he desired much to return to his mother's home.
(For paragraphs Nos. 72 to 77, see Part IV. hereof).*
* Page 6, Vol. xii. J. P. S.