Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 1 1883.djvu/318

310

The following is a fable related by the people of old times when they met together and talked:

The son of God, they say, came down here upon earth, and Rakòriàho and Ravào were his nurses. And this son of God, 'tis said, was lost, and neither he or his nurses could be found. And all things of whatever kind sought for him; whether the stones which were below the earth, or the trees which covered the earth, or the people which dwelt upon the earth, or the water, or the beasts. So that everything, whether living creatures or things without life, sought him diligently, for the son of God was lost. Still, among them all not one found him. And so they sent to enquire of God. And when the messengers arrived, God said, "Let everything stay in the place where it went." So the stones went seeking below the earth; and as for the trees, the half part stuck fast in the ground, and so became fixed there by the word of God, "Stand still"; and that, they say, caused some stones to be below the earth; and the trees to have their roots in the ground, and their branches standing above; so that if the roots and the branches separate, they die. And the people also spread abroad, seeking northward and westward and southward, and lastly eastwards. (That, they say, is why prayer is made towards the east. ) And that is why people are spread abroad in various countries.

And God said also, "Let not your mouths cease to utter the word, 'Rakoriaho (and that is said to be the origin of the salutation of strangers, "Akory hianao?"); and its meaning is as if one said, "Is Rakoriaho there?" And the dog is the protector of Ravao; then said God, "Let not Ravao be absent from your mouth." And that is why the dogs say "Vovo," and the meaning of that is as if they said, "Is Ravao there?"

And the son of God was said to have been lost in the water. So God said to the waters, "Ye are not allowed to rest day or night, until Rakoriaho and Ravao are found." And that, they say, is what keeps the waters moving day and night, for they are still seeking Rakoriaho and Ravao, who were the nurses of the son of God.