8 Transactions . — Miscellaneous. 



Though Rangi and Papatuanuku have now been long separated, yet their 

 love toward each other continues. Her sighs out of her bosom may be 

 ascending up to Heaven in the vapoury mist that rises from the wooded 

 mountains ; and Heaven weeps his tears of love down upon her in dew-drops. 



4. Tane. 



All over Polynesia, Tane was held to be a great god, next to Tangaroa. In 

 New Zealand he superseded Tangaroa in importance. The word Fane, in the 

 present language, means man or male ; but I do not know if the name 

 indicates any meaning. His full name was Tane nui o Rangi (Great Tane of 

 Heaven). In Sir George Grey's collection he is called Tane Mahuta, and there 

 he is made the god, or personification, of trees and birds. There are also 

 indications here, in the south, of his having had to do with woods and forests, 

 but a great deal more with the origin and final destiny of mankind. 



When Tane had separated Heaven and Earth (his parents), and adorned each 

 with becoming beauty, and was now at his leisure, he wandered about among 

 trees and birds to find a wife for himself; but found none. Turning to his 

 mother for advice, she directed his attention to Hinehaone, a maid formed out 

 of the soil. With her he had one daughter, called Hineatauira (Maid of the 

 glistening Morning). After this, the mother, Hinehaone, is lost sight of, and 

 when the daughter, Hineatauira, grew up, she became Tane's wife, without her 

 knowing that he was her father. They had several children, the names of 

 which indicate a drawing toward death, corruption, and the world of night. 



Once Tane made a journey to the heavens, to visit his elder brother Rehua. 

 Who, or what, this Rehua may have been I cannot find out, except that he 

 dwelt in the tenth strata of the heavens. When Tane came to the first 

 heaven, he called up: "Are there men above?" The answer was: "There 

 are." "May I come up ?" " No, this is the heaven that has been stretched out 

 by Tane." Still Tane went up, and onward, till he came to the second heaven, 

 when he again called up : "Are men above there?" "There are." "May I 

 come up?" " No, this is the heaven that has been painted by Tane." Still he 

 went up, and onward, till he came to the third heaven, when again he called 

 up : " Are there men above there ?" " There are." " May I come up ?" "No, 



bounds 



So he went 



on through other strata, till he came to the tenth heaven, where he found 



Rehua. Wh 



Rehua cried simple, but Tane cried, with a meaning, in verses. The verses are 

 hard to be understood, and, if translated, would not carry with them the 

 poetical beauty they bear in Maori. They begin as if he had met Rehua 

 cultivating the soil; and are then to the effect that the ground is cleared, 

 carpeted, and beautified by the cultivator, which adds to the splendour of 



