ORIGIN OF THE AREOIS. 231 
in a state of celibacy; and hence the devotees were 
required to destroy their offspring 1 . The origin of 
the Areois institution is as follows. 
Oro, the son of Taaroa, desired a wife from the 
daughters of Taata, the first man ; he sent two of 
his brothers, Tufarapainuu and Tufarapairai, to 
seek among the daughters of man a suitable com¬ 
panion for him ; they searched through the whole 
of the islands, from Tahiti to Borabora, but saw 
no one that they supposed fit to become the wife 
of Oro, till they came to Borabora. Here, residing 
near the foot of Mouatahuhuura, red-ridged moun¬ 
tain, they saw Vairaumati. When they beheld 
her, they said one to the other, This is the excel¬ 
lent woman for our brother. Returning to the 
skies, they hastened to Oro, and informed him of 
their success ; told him they had found among the 
daughters of man a wife for him, described the 
place of her abode, and represented her as a 
vahine purotu aiai , a female possessed of every 
charm. The god fixed the rainbow in the hea¬ 
vens, one end of it resting in the valley at the 
foot of the red-ridged mountain, the other pene¬ 
trating the skies, and thus formed his pathway to 
the earth. 
When he emerged from the vapour, whieh, like 
a cloud, had encircled the rainbow, he discovered 
the dwelling of Vairaumati, the fair mistress of the 
cottage, who became his wife. Every evening he 
descended on the rainbow, and returned by the 
same pathway on the following morning to the 
heavenly regions. His wife bore a son, whom he 
called Hoa-tabu-i-te-rai , friend, sacred to the 
heavens. This son became a powerful ruler among 
men. 
The absence of Oro from his celestial compa- 
