EPATE, NEW HEBRIDES. 731 



people. But it is said that two beings — men — Mauitikitiki, 

 and his sulina (offspring or grandson) Tamakaia were the first 

 men, Mauitikitiki having a wife. A contest for supeiiority arose 

 between Mauitikitiki and Tamakaia, and Tamakaia proved his 

 superiority by, among other things, hauhng or fishing up the 

 various islands constituting the world known to the Efatese 

 ancients, from the sea. At first the sky was close to the 

 surface of the earth. According to native story, a woman 

 was raking out the stones of her oven with a pole which 

 stuck in the sky ; she then smote the sky with the pole, and 

 angrily bade it ascend out of the way. It ascended and 

 ascended far beyond her wish, and kept on ascending not- 

 withstanding her entreaties to the contrary. At the beginning 

 a chief on Meli had two children which were always crying 

 and never sleeping, because the sun never set, and there was 

 no darkness or night, but only perpetual day, and therefore 

 no sleep and no rest from labour or vexation in the sweet 

 obHvion of sleep. He set out in search of night and dark- 

 ness, and, after going round the island, was directed to the 

 most eastern point to a place called Baulelo. Here, having 

 his bamboo ready, he caught the darkness of night and sleep 

 as it arose from the sea, and enclosed it in his bamboo. 

 Returning home he dispensed at every village on the way 

 these blessings which thus became the common inheritance of 

 all. According to one story, all things as yams, pigs, &c., 

 came down from Heaven, which is said (like Hades below) to 

 consist of several stages, one above another (six heavens). 

 The story runs thus : — The people of Heaven used to come 

 down, take off and lay aside their wings, or " sails," and fish 

 at low water by night. In the morning, putting on their 

 wings, they chanted a song and reascended. A man watched 

 them and hid the wings of one, a woman, who therefore 

 could not reascend, and whom he took to wife. She bore 

 two sons who bad no name ; she said, let them be called by 

 whatever name by which they address each other. Thus, the 

 one was called Karisibum, and the other Makatafaki. She 

 afterwards found her wings and returned to the sky. Her 

 two sons, after they had grown up, were able to follow her. 

 They brought, or let down in a large basket, the different 

 kinds of yams, &c., with which the world is filled. The 

 basket, let down by a rope and swinging about, at last became 

 fast between two mountains, from whence the things in it 

 were taken to all the surrounding places. This is evidently not 

 a creation story. Among the first men at the dawn of the 



