S 
46 THE GEELONG NATURALIST. 
specting Tongatabu, the chief island, which can only provoke a 
smile. It was affirmed that the god was fishing upon a certain 
occasion, and that upon letting down the hook, he soon felt some- 
thing nibbling at the bait, which proved to be very heavy; he 
pulled away at the line with all his might, and finally brought to 
the surface the island of Tongatabu, and hence the designation it 
received, “Sacred Tonga.” In an adjoining group, there is a 
tradition that the sky came close to the surface of the earth at the 
commencement of time, and that men could only move about in a 
horizontal position; to meet this inconvenience the god placed his 
back beneath the sky and lifted it up about four feet; by a second 
effort it was raised to the height of the mountains, and finally it 
was elevated to'its present position. There was a myth extant in 
Fiji respecting the flood, which ran thus: Denghay, the creator, 
was roused every morning by the cooing of a monstrous bird called 
Turnkawa; this bird regularly attended his duty, until two youths, 
grandsons of the god, accidentally killed it with bow and arrow, and 
to conceal the deed, buried it. The god, accustomed to be aroused. 
at sunrise by his favourite bird, was greatly annoyed on finding that 
it had disappeared, and he at once despatched a messenger all over 
the island to find it, who was not successful, and reported that the bird 
could nowhere be found. The god then instituted a fresh search, 
which led to the discovery of the body of the dead bird, and of the 
deed depriving it of life. The two youths fearing the god, fled to 
the mountains and there took refuge with a powerful tribe of 
carpenters, who built a fence strong enough to keep the god and 
his messengers at bay. The god, finding it impossible to take the 
fence by storm, caused a violent rain to fall, and the water rose to 
such a height that at last it reached the place where the two young 
men, with the carpenters had fortified themselves. To avoid a 
watery grave they jumped into large bowls that were ready, in 
which they were scattered in various directions. After the water 
subsided, some landed at Suva, others at Navua and Benga. It is 
.a remarkable thing, that in Fiji, the present race of native car- 
penters claim their descent from these individuals. 
Passing from myth we come to theory as it has been employed 
by scientists in regard to the origin of these islands, and the way in 
which they became the abodes of those interesting races which 
inhabit them. The theories that have been advanced are not devoid 
of interest, although finality cannot be said positively to have been 
reached ; and, especially, as there is an utter absence of reliable in- 
formation from the people themselves, who have no history, to say 
nothing of the conjectures of scientific men as to what laws have 
operated to bring into existence these beautiful gems of the Pacific. 
