| Tagaroa | Tagaroa | |
| Told by Santiago Pakarati | ||
| He Ariki etahi, Ko Te Teko; etahi Ariki, Ko Tagaroa. He-tatake ararua o tekî o Tagaroa mo oho-mai kinei, ki Te Pito o te Henua. | There was a divine being, Teko the Giant, and another, who was Tangaroa. There was a dispute between them because Tangaroa wanted to come here, to Te Pito o te Henua (Easter Island). | |
| He-kî e te Teko: "Ina koe ekó oho, ina eko tu'u. Koau mo oho, etoru no ooku raohaga, he-tu'u au; ta'e pe koe, kai aniani koe pohía-raá oou mo tu'u; he-mate koe i te ohoga". | The Giant told him: "Don't go, you won't get there. [The translation of "Koau.. ta'e pe koe" is missing. This passage means: "If it were me, I'd be there in three steps, unlike you"; the text continues:] you don't know how many days it will take to get there; you'll die on the way." | |
| Kai hakarogo Tagaroa, he-ea, he-tere-mai. I te há o te raá, he-û'i a Te Teko ina Tagaroa. He-kî e te poki a Te Teko, Ko Moe ava: "Ku-oho-á Tagaroa ki te kaiga aroto a te vai kava". | Tangaroa did not listen, he left to come here. On the fourth day the Giant saw that Tangaroa was missing. His son, Moe ava, told him: "Tangaroa has gone for an island in the sea." | |
| He-aroha e Te Teko mo Tagaroa, he-oho-mai. E-ra'o-no-mai hai va'e, he-tu'u-mai kinei, he-û'i: "E Tagaroa ê, hé koe?". Ina etahi ó. | The Giant felt pity for Tangaroa, and he came here (to Easter Island). In just a few steps he arrived here and asked: "Tangaroa, where are you?" There was no response. | |
| He-hoki hakaou a Te Teko ki Hiva, he-tagi mo Tagaroa, mo toona taina. I te tahi raá, he-tu'u-mai etahi pakia kinei, he-tomo a Haga iti. | The Giant went back to Hiva, crying for Tangaroa, his brother. One day, a seal arrived here, and landed at Hanga iti. | |
| He-ara i te poá etahi vî'e, he-ea kihaho ki taana umu ká. He-turu ki tai, he-tata i te kete taropa, he-gatugatu mo tehe o te oone. | A woman woke up in the morning and went outside to prepare her oven. She came down to the shore, she washed her "taropa" basket and wrung it to take the dirt out. | |
| I-ká-û'i-atu-ena ko te pakia e-moe-ró-á, he-iri-mai, he-ki ki taana kenu: "E koroê, ai te pakia etahi, ku-tomo-á, e-moe-ro-á imua i te haga." | Upon seeing then a seal lying on the beach, she climbed back and said to her husband: "Father, there is a seal, [untranslated: ku-tomo-á, "it has landed"] and is lying on the beach." | |
| He-ragi e te kenu ki te tahi tagata, he-oho-mai. E-haúru-ró-ana e te pakia; he-hakapua hai taura, he-here aruga a te pureva. He-veveri Tagaroa, he-ara. | The husband called some other men and they came. The seal was sleeping and they put a thin rope around it and tied it to a rock. | |
| I-ká-û'i-mai-nei ko te tagata he-puapua hai oka, he-ragi-mai te re'o o Tagaroa: "He Ariki au, Ko Tagaroa, ka-hakarere-au!". | Seeing men who were hitting him with sticks, Tangaroa shouted: "I am Ariki, I am Tangaroa, leave me be!" | |
| Kai hakarogo te tagata era e-tiga'i-era i a Tagaroa. He ragi: "E pakia re-ó-ó!". | They did not listen, these men who were killing Tangaroa. They shouted: "You ly-y-y-ing seal!" | |
| Ki-oti te tiga'i, he-horehore i te pakia mo ta'o, ina kai ootu; he nape i te igoa "Ko Haga Tagaroa mea" ki a Haga iti. | After killing it, they cut up the seal in pieces to cook them in the oven, but it did not cook well; they called the bay of Hanga Iti "Red Tangaroa Bay." | |
| He-hakama'u te morega ki te tahi tagata o te paiga o Haga Hoonu. He-to'o-mai, he-tao; kai ootu. He-nape te igoa o te kona era "Ko Ree". | They sent a piece to the people of the region of Hanga Hoonu (La Pérouse Bay). They accepted and they cooked it; but it did not cook well. They named that place "Re'e" 6 |
Note 6. "Re'e" means "not to be cooked well, to be half-raw (parboiled). The place called "Ko Re'e" is found a little distance from Hanga Hoonu (La Pérouse Bay). "Tagaroa mea", that is, "Red Tangaroa", means that the flesh of the seal --which, according to the legend, was Tangaroa himself-- had remained red because it was half-raw. The small cove "Ko Haga Tagaroa Mea" is found in the vicinity of Hotu Iti, very close to where stood the great ahu of Tongariki, destroyed in the tidal wave of May 1960.