People first came to live in Magareva about 1100 or 1200 A.D. The first people to come were two men who named Moa and Miru. When they came to Magareva they saw women on the shore. So they approached that place to see if they could find these women. When they came onto the shore they looked and looked but they did not find anyone there. But they found a waterhole near this place. This was important because waterholes were used a passages between this world and the magical land underneath the land. So Moa and Miru decided that the women that they had seen were fairies or spirit women from the land underneath the land.
This is what they did. They carved a wooden statue that looked like Moa which they put that into the canoe with Miru. Then Miru rowed away from the shore with the statue while Moa hid near the waterhole. The women saw Miru rowing away with what they thought was Moa. Then they came out of the waterhole and started to walk around. Moa came out of hiding and grabbed two of the women. Then Miru returned to shore in the canoe.
While Miru was returning the two women held by Moa tried to escape. Moa could not hold them very good and one of the women escaped. When Miru arrived at the shore he was angry because Moa now had a wife and he did not.
At that time, all plants gave food. Moa’s wife cooked food for Moa and Miru and she warned them not to eat fast. But they were hungry and they ate fast. Because of this, only some plants give food these days.
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Revised: March 26, 1997
Copyright © 1996 Daniel (Taniera) Longstaff