Zoom on “TAMARII MATAIEA”
The dancers of the group “TAMARII MATAIEA” in the professional category (“Hura Tau”) had presented the coconut tree legend with the princess ‘HINA’…
“At age 16, the beautiful Princess is promised to the Prince of eels. When Hina meets the Prince for the 1st time, she discovers he has a gigantic body and an enormous head. She’s horrified and runs away to take refuge in the house of the king Maui.
The Prince of eels gets out of the lake named “Vaihiria” and makes a path in the lake valley. Maui, horrified, places 2 stone “tikis” on the cliff and thanks to this defense he fishes the eel. Maui kills the Prince of eels and wraps his head in the “tapa” leaves.
Afterwards, Maui entrusts the head to Hina and advises her: “Hina don’t put it on the ground before you get home, plant it in the center of your “marae”. This eel’s head contains many treasures.”
Hina leaves… A few distances away, Hina wants to take a bath in the river, forgetting the warning of Maui. The eel’s head, which she put on the ground, penetrates the earth, and from it a large tree is born, with a long trunk just like an immense eel, and green foliage like the hair : the first coconut tree is born !
Until now, all Men drink the fruits of the coconut tree full of clear and nutritive water. Each fruit is now marked with 3 dark spots like the 2 eyes and the mouth of the eel.”
