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CORAL ISLANDS AND SAVAGE MYTHS. 47 
sunken island. After finding “the great block of coral” at 
the bottom of the sea, they commenced to fish over it. Maui, 
the younger, ultimately hooked the sunken block, and up 
came the entire island of Manahiki. But his “ mighty strain- 
ing”? broke the canoe and precipitated them all into the sea. 
His two brothers were drowned; but Maui, the younger, 
preserved his safety by resting one of his feet on the solid 
coral of the ascending island. “ At length Manahiki rose 
high and dry above the breakers, drawn up from the ocean 
depths by the exertions of the now solitary Maui.” On the 
return of the Rarotongan fisherman to his old fishing-ground, 
he contested the possession of the island with Maui, who, 
during the fight, cleft the original island into two parts by a 
violent stamp with his foot on the earth. Of the two parts, 
one retains the ancient name of Manahiki, the other is called 
Rakaanga ; but these ‘‘ twin coral islands ”” are now separated 
by a wide open channel of twenty-five miles. The legend 
ends with the ascent of Maui into the heavens; whilst the 
fisherman established himself on Manahiki, and introduced 
the first cocoa-nut palm by planting a cocoa-nut he had picked 
up on the sea. Maui, as we learn from Mr. Gill, was one of 
the ancient heroes of the Hervey Group. The production of 
these two coral atolls was his “last and greatest achieve- 
ment.” 
An Aitutakian myth, referring to the emergence from the 
sea, and to the first peopling of the island of Aitutaki, one of 
the Hervey Group, is also given in this work (pp. 139-141). 
Two brothers, ‘‘ who had long lived in utter darkness 
in the shades,” made canoes, and started away in search of 
“the land of light.” After three abortive expeditions they 
reached their destination, and, approaching a partially sub- 
merged island, they were unable to land on account of the 
heavy surf and the absence of any dry land. However, they 
contended with the ocean, and “‘ the shallow waters vanished, 
leaving the island elevated far above the surrounding ocean.” 
Here they took up their abode, and named the island Aitu- 
taki, which means “‘God-led.” . . . This island, as we 
know it at the present day, is 360 feet high; but from this 
elevation probably 100 feet should be subtracted to allow for 
the height of the trees. It is said to be of coral formation 
and to be surrounded by a barrier reef. 
In Mariner’s Tonga we have a similar account of the origin 
of the Tonga Islands, which were drawn up by the fishing- 
hook of the god, Tangaloa (chap. ix.). These islands are 
formed by elevated atolls and barrier-reefs rising up to some 
200 or 300 feet. 
Dr. George Turner, in his Samoa, a Hundred Years Ago 
