Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 9 (Oceanic).djvu/115

Rh the unaccustomed glare and thus fell an easy prey to Tawhaki, who rushed from his place of concealment and slew them all.

Hema, the father of Tawhaki, had now to be sought, and on this quest Tawhaki was accompanied by his brother, Karihi. The order of events varies in different versions, but the incidents, as a rule, are much the same. The two set off in a canoe to seek for their father, and after crossing the sea they came to a land where they found a blind old woman who was none other than Whaitari, their grandmother. She was busy counting over and over a series of yams or baskets of food, and Tawhaki (as in some versions of the Maui stories) quietly snatched away one after another until she became aware that something was wrong. She sniffed in all directions, hoping to detect the thief and catch him, for she was a cannibal and hungry for human flesh; but at last Tawhaki made himself known as her grandson, and then restored her sight, either by anointing her eyes with his spittle mixed with clay or by slapping them with his hand.

From his grandmother he learned of the way to reach the upper world, which could be attained only by climbing a spider's web which hung down to earth. Up this Tawhaki accordingly went, his brother, who tried to ascend first, being driven back by the winds so that he fell and was killed. Arrived in the sky-world, Tawhaki inquired from an aged woman whom he met where his father's bones were to be found and discovered that they were kept in a house. Paying no further attention to them, apparently, he then proceeded to climb to the highest heaven of all that he might learn from a deity there the most powerful incantations and charms. He was successful and brought them back to this world for the use of man. Some versions have him take a wife in the upper world and remain there as a deity of lightning; although if we may believe others, his ascent to the sky was in quest of his wife. While he still lived on earth, according to this latter