604 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 



wife Rei. Now Rei conceived, and in due time gave birth to 

 a daughter called Ina. A long while afterwards Rei again 

 conceived. The husband, judging from her appearance, con- 

 cluded that there would be twins, and said to his wife, "If 

 my expectations prove correct, we will name the first-born 

 Taramaakiaki, the second Taramahetonga." 



One day they determined to go to the ocean to dive for 

 clams. Accordingly they launched their canoe and paddled 

 to a distance where they knew clams to be abundant. Now 

 a female demon, Tuherepunga, whose home was at the 

 bottom of the ocean, caught sight of Rei, who was indeed a 

 woman surpassingly beautiful to look upon. The demon 

 coveted the lovely form of Rei and resolved that it should 

 become hers. 



Utterly ignorant of the plottings of this foe, Tu and his 

 wife arrived right over the vast bed of clams, and Rei^ at 

 once dived down to the coral bottom amongst them. While 

 the wife was thus busy, the envious demon rose up out of the 

 ocean in human form, exactly like Rei in face, locks, and 

 even the size of her abdomen. Tu gazed on the woman and 

 concluded that it was his wife. The demon said to Tu, " Let 

 us paddle a httle farther on." Forthw^ith she got into the 

 canoe and away they paddled, Tu all the while believing her 

 to be his wife. But they had not paddled far, say a dozen 

 fathoms,^ when Rei came up from the bottom bearing with 

 her some clams. To her surprise she found that Tu and the 

 canoe were gone. On looking again, she saw her husband 

 with a woman in the canoe paddling away from her. She at 

 once shouted out, " Oh, Tu, 'tis a stranger woman that you 

 have in the canoe. Here am I, even Rei." 



At this the female demon said to To, " Do not gaze upon 

 her, for she is the evil spirit, Tuherepunga, calling to us. Fix 

 your eyes on me, for I am Rei and there are twins in my 

 womb." Thus was Tu deceived and led to forsake his true 

 wife. Tu, assisted by the female demon, now paddled back 

 to shore. 



In her distress Rei prayed^ [to her god] for a great billow 



^ Only one could dive ; the other must remain in the canoe to prevent it 

 from capsizing or drifting away. Bei is appropriately represented as diving, 

 clam-diving being now, as from time immemorial, women's work on those 

 atolls. 



^ Polynesians always measxire by the fathom, i.e. both arms of a tall man 

 outstretched. 



* Rei being enciente, felt that she could not swim to land after the exliaustion 

 of diving. The only resource left was to invoke the aid of her god. 



