376 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



him ?' said the daring youth ; and off he went, humming a 

 song, towards the smoking furnace. ' Who are you ?' said 

 Mamie. 'I am Ti'iti'i, the son of Talaga. I am come for 

 some fire.' ' Take it,' said Mamie. He went back to his 

 father with some cinders, and the two set to work to bake some 

 tare They kindled a fire, and were preparing the taro to put 

 on the hot stones, when suddenly the god Mafuie blew up the 

 oven, scattered the stones about, and put out the fire. ' Now,' 

 said Talaga, ' did I not tell you Mafuie would be angry ?' 

 Ti'iti'i went off in a rage to Mafuie, and without any cere- 

 mony commenced with, ' Why have you broken up our oven 

 and put out our fire ?' Mafuie was indignant at such a tone 

 and language, rushed at him, and there they wrestled with each 

 other. Ti'iti'i got hold of the right arm of Mafuie, grasped it 

 with both hands, and gave it such a wrench that it broke off. 

 He then seized the other arm, and was going to twist it off next, 

 when Mafuie declared himself beaten, and implored Ti'iti'i to 

 have mercy, and spare his left arm. ' Do let me have this 

 arm,' said he ; 'I need it to hold Samoa straight and level. 

 Give it to me, and I will let you have my hundred wives.' 

 'No, not for that,' said Ti'iti'i. 'Well, then, will you take 

 fire ? If you let me have my left arm you shall have fire, and 

 you may ever after this eat cooked food.' ' Agreed,' said 

 Ti'iti'i;' 'you keep your arm, and I have fire.' 'Go,' said 

 Mafuie ; ' you will find the fire in every wood you cut.' And 

 hence, the story adds, Samoa, ever since the days of Ti 'iti 'i, 

 has eaten cooked food from the fire which is got from the 

 friction of rubbing one piece of dry wood against another. . 

 The Natives of Savage Island, 300 miles to the south of 

 Samoa, have a somewhat similar tale about the origin of fire. 

 Instead of Talaga and Ti'iti'i, they give the names of Maui the 

 father, and Maui the son. Instead of going through a rock, their 

 entrance was down through a reed bush. And instead of a stipu- 

 lation for the fire, they say that the youth Maui, like another 

 Prometheus, stole it, ran up the passage, and, before his father 

 could catch him, he had set the bush in flames in all directions. 

 The father tried to put it out, but in vain ; and they further 

 add, that ever since the exploit of young Maui, they have had 

 fire and cooked food in Savage Island." 



The Bovvditch Islanders (Tokelau Islands) also knew the 

 legend, and called the fire-goddess Mafuike; but she was blind, 

 a fact coincident with other versions related further on. 



In the Hervey Islands the legend is (at Mangaia) as fol- 

 lows : — 



" Originally fire was unknown to the inhabitants of this 

 world, who of necessity ate raw food. In the nether world 



Samoa, a Hundred Years ago," G. Turner, LL.D., p. 209. 



