Every lineage, one truth

Why do you cry out and mourn for the dead? The Lord is, and shall always be.

One cannot keep their mind on the formless God for a long time, so God takes a form for His devotees.

The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: {which} three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.

The Israelites cried out to GOD, and GOD raised a champion for the Israelites to deliver them: Othniel the Kenizzite, a younger kinsmanfkinsman Or “brother.” of Caleb.

And the people of Noah before. Indeed, it was they who were [even] more unjust and oppressing.

The Prophet said, "Suppose a man donates one dinar for a religious cause, another for freeing a slave, a third for charity, and gives a fourth to his wife. The act of giving to his wife surpasses the merit of all the other charitable acts combined."

Everything in the world is false; only realization of the True One God, is true; Bowing unto the one who has shown the path of Truth, is true. Those who are eternally united with the True One, going to their door is true; The one who has realized the Truth, whatever he eats or wears is true. The world of materialism is false, the Supreme Lord is true; and true is the one who loves the Truth; Avtar says, it is the tradition of the Kingdom of God that such a person shall not be born again.

The Bab, the Lord, the most exalted--may the life of all be a sacrifice unto Him,--hath specifically revealed an Epistle unto the divines of every city, wherein He hath fully set forth the character of the denial and repudiation of each of them. "Wherefore, take ye good heed ye who are men of insight!"(177) By His references to their opposition He intended to invalidate the objections which the people of the Bayan might raise in the day of the manifestation of "Mustaghath,"(178) the day of the Latter Resurrection, claiming that, whereas in the Dispensation of the Bayan a number of divines have embraced the Faith, in this latter Revelation none of these hath recognized His claim.

There are only three kinds of food that he eats — meat, and the dregs of beer mixed with boiled maize ; if these cannot be had he eats wild herbs. That is the food on which he lives. He does not put amasi into his mouth by any means ; he dislikes it, and it disagrees with him.

"As for Yamato, the most secluded of lands—Yamato, retired behind Mount Awogaki encompassing it with its folds is delightful!" 12

A mendicant who loves diligence, seeing fear in negligence— advances like fire, burning up fetters big and small.

May not the Way (or Tao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency. It is the Way of Heaven to diminish superabundance, and to supplement deficiency. It is not so with the way of man. He takes away from those who have not enough to add to his own superabundance. Who can take his own superabundance and therewith serve all under heaven? Only he who is in possession of the Tao! Therefore the (ruling) sage acts without claiming the results as his; he achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it:--he does not wish to display his superiority.

NAMES OF THE ISLANDS. _Illustrating Migrations, etc._ 1. Of the group generally, it is said that a couple lived at Pulotu called Head of Day and Tail of Day. They had four children--(1) Ua, or _Rain_; (2) Fan, _Long grass_;(3) Langi, _Heavens_; (and 4) Tala, or _Story_. The four went to visit Papatea. Pulotu is in the west, Papatea in the east. The Papateans heard of the arrival of the four brothers and determined to kill them. First, Ua was struck on the neck; and hence the word _taua_, or beat the neck, as the word for war. This was the beginning of wars. Others stood on the neck of Fan, and hence the proverb in war: "To-morrow we shall tread on the neck of Fan." Others surrounded and spat on Langi, and hence the proverb for ill-usage, or rudely passing before chiefs: "It is spitting on Langi." Tala was spared, and escaped uninjured. Tala and Langi returned to Pulotu and told about their ill-usage. Then Elo, the king of Pulotu, was enraged, and prepared to go and fight the Papateans. This was the first war in history. They went, they fought, they conquered, and made a clean sweep of Papatea; and hence the proverb: "Like the rage of Elo." Also for a village destroyed in battle they say: "Ua faa Papateaina"--_made to be like Papatea._ All who fled to the bush were sought and killed, only those who fled to sea escaped. A man called Tutu and his wife Ila reached the island of Tutuila, and named it so by the union of their names. U and Polu reached Upolu, and hence the name of that island by uniting their names. Sa and Vaila reached Savaii, united their names also, and, for the sake of euphony, or, as they call euphony "lifting it easily," made it Savaii instead of Savaila. Elo and his warriors went back to Pulotu. Langi and Tala after a time came to Samoa, but went round by way of Papatea,[3] and from them also the people of Manono and Apolima are said to have sprung. 2 MANU'A.--This name embraces three islands at the east end of the Samoan group. Manu'a means _wounded_. As the story runs, the rocks and the earth married, and had a child, which, when born, was covered with _wounds_; and hence the name of the said small group of three islands. The story of Lu figures here again. He had a son who was named Moa, after his preserve fowls, and this Moa became king of Manu'a. From that time fowls were no longer called _Moa_ on Manu'a, but Manu lele, or _winged creatures_, out of respect to the name of the king. Fitiaumua, or _Fiji the foremost_, is also mixed up with Manu'a history. He was said to have come from the east, was a great warrior, conquered at Fiji, and in his lust for conquest came to Samoa. He subdued all the leeward islands of the group, reached Manu'a, and there he dwelt. All Samoa took tribute to him, and hence the place was called the Great Manu'a. (1.) _Taū_ is the name of the principal island of Manu'a. Its principal village is also called Taū. It is said to have had its name from the child of Faleile-langi--_House roofed by the heavens_, that is to say, no house at all, and alluding to the remote tradition of a time when people had no houses. This lady was the daughter of the god Tangaloa, and had a child who was _dumb_, and from that child she named the island Taū. Ū expresses the hollow unintelligible sound emitted by the dumb. _Fitiuta_, or Inland Fiji, is the name of a principal village. It was formerly called Anga'e, or _Breathing hard_, from the hard breathing at its birth of a child of Rocks and Earth. But the name was changed. Moiuuoleapai, a daughter of Tangaloa, married the king of Fiji and went and lived there. She was ill-used and sent to the backwoods of Fiji. Taeotangaloa heard that his sister was being ill-treated, and went off to Fiji to see if it was true. It was true. He stood by her, cheered her solitude, and by a great yam and banana plantation he turned the bush into a fruitful garden. The king of Fiji heard of it, went and made up matters with his cast-off wife, as he much wished the yams, which were scarce at the time, and hence the proverb: "Do you call them friends who are but friendly to the _yam?_" The king named the fertile spot Fitiuta, and when Taeotangaloa returned to Manu'a he changed the name of the village from Anga'e to Fitiuta. (2.) _Olosenga_ is the central island in the Manu'a group. This was called the land of the god Fuailangi, _Originator of the heavens_. He dug up the earth on the land of the chief Niuleamoa on Taū. The latter pushed it off into the sea as a floating island, jumped on to it with the god Fuailangi, together with a lady called Olo, and other two chiefs named Puletainuu and Masuitufanga. Away they went to Tonga, seeking some place suitable for the residence of a war god. They returned to Samoa, touched at Savaii and Upolu, and then went to Tutuila, but as the people there began to make a dunghill of their floating island, they went back to Manu'a, and rested between Taū and Ofu, as Fuailangi thought he could there fight at pleasure with the people on either side of him. Senga, the chief of Ofu, looked out, was surprised to see the new island, went over to look at it, and soon after married Lady Olo. They united their names, and called it _Olosenga_. The god Fuailangi in after years was in repute, and dreaded. He was incarnate in the sea eel, had an altar which the people carried about with them, and any persons cooking or eating the sea eel had their eyes burned and their scalps clubbed as a punishment. Another story is that some parrots flew ashore from a Fiji canoe. Olo means _fort_ and Senga a _parrot_, and hence the island was called Olosenga--the fort or refuge of parrots. (3.) _Ofu_ is the name of a third island at Manu'a. Ofu means _clothed_. Faleile-langi, the daughter of Tangaloa, had another child, and this one they clothed, and, in remembrance of the early tailoring, the island was called Ofu. 3. TUTUILA.--The prevailing story of the origin of the name of this island is the one already referred to. Tutu the man and Ila the woman came from the eastward, and dwelt on the island. They had a daughter born to them there and called her Salaia. When weak and dying they begged that after their death their names might be remembered. After they passed away Salaia, or, as some call her, Sangaia, united the names of her parents, and named the island Tutuila. 4. NUUTELE is a small island off the east end of Upolu. It is said to have been so named from two men who came to seek a steersman for the king of Fiji. Nuu was the name of the one, and Tele the other. The union of their names became the name of the island. 5. UPOLU.--There are a number of diverse stories as to the origin of this name, as is the case with all these ancient legends. (1.) The most prevailing fragment is the one already alluded to of the two called U and Polu who fled from Papatea. Their united names became the name of the island. They had a son, and they named him king of Upolu. He called his village the Malae, or meeting-place of Upolu, and all the gods of the group assembled there at times. It was here they met to discuss the question as to the duration of human life (see p. 9). (2.) Upolu was said to be the capital of Pulotu. In a time of war a number of people fled from Pulotu, reached this island of the Samoan group, and called it Upolu, in remembrance of their native land. (3.) Timuateatea, _Wide-spreading rain_, the daughter of Tangaloa of the heavens, married a chief on earth called Beginning. They had a son called Polu. The father, in thinking of some employment for his boy, looked over to the mountains of Savaii, and it occurred to him that it would be well to get a canoe and go over and see whether there were people over there or only mountains. He called Polu, and told him to go up to his grandfather in the heavens and fetch some carpenters, that they might build a canoe, cross the channel and explore Savaii. Polu refused, but at length yielded and went up. The carpenters did not care about the job, but Polu was most urgent, and would take no denial. U is the word for _urge_. His grandfather asked the name of his island. Polu said it had none; and on this Tangaloa said: "Very well, when you go down call it _U_polu, in remembrance of your being so urgent on the carpenters." 6. MANONO, a small island, 3 miles in circumference, between Upolu and Savaii, has the following historic fragments:-- (1.) Nono came from Fiji. He was the son of Tuiolautala, king of Fiji. There came with him Sa'umā, the brother of the king, and Tupuivao, the god of Fiji. A family quarrel about a fish led them to come away. Their canoe made the land between Savaii and Upolu. The god Tangaloa came down and stood on the bow of their canoe and told them not to go to Savaii or Upolu, lest they should be trampled upon, but remain where they were. Then Tupuivao vomited a quantity of land he had swallowed at Fiji, and so made Manono and its neighbouring island Apolima. He also appointed Sa'umā to live on the latter, and Nono to take up his abode on Manono, which they so named from Mā and Nono. (2.) The chief Lautala came from Fiji on a war expedition. He first touched at Manu'a, and then came and conquered Upolu. After that he lived on Manono. He made a net, fished, and hung it up to dry. In the night a number of gods came and tore it to pieces. Lautala then attacked the gods, and drove them off with great slaughter. He could not count the number killed, but supposed them to be _Mano_, or ten thousand, and hence the name of the island Manono. (3.) Lautala was the name of an island at Fiji, and noted for war. It broke away from Fiji, and was brought sailing along the ocean to Samoa by the chief Nono, who came to seek a suitable place for carrying on war. He first went to Manu'a, but did not like it. He then went to the space between Tutuila and Upolu, but did not fancy that either. Then he came to the space between Upolu and Savaii, and thought that would do, as he could attack Upolu or Savaii, whichever he pleased. He anchored his island there, where it now is, and named it Manono, after himself. Hence it is said that Manono is not a part of Samoa, but a fragment of Fiji, and that of old there was no land between Upolu and Savaii. 7. APOLIMA is a small island three miles from Manono. Manono and Apolima were two sons of the king of Fiji. One day Manono cooked an oven of yams for his father and brother chiefs, but served it up without a fish. His father was angry, and so off went Manono with a spear and speared a fish and took it to his father. His father was still angry, and hurled a spear at him. He fell, pulled it out of his neck, and got up and ran off to Samoa. Apolima remained still in Fiji, but after a time came in search of his brother and found him where he now is. Before he left Fiji his father told him to call himself Apo-i-le-lima, or Apolima, which means, _Poised in the hand_, from the spear which he held when he speared Manono. They have been often attacked, but never conquered, from their impregnable island fortress. It is a great high hollow basin-shaped island, inaccessible all round but at one narrow chip in the west side of the basin, which can be easily defended. 8. SAVAII is the largest island of the group, and the name is accounted for in various ways:-- (1.) The king who propped up the heavens had a wife called Flying Clouds, and two children, the one was called Savaii the Great, and the other Upolu the Great. Savaii dwelt on Savaii, and Upolu on Upolu, and gave their names to their respective islands. (2.) A couple came from Fiji, the one was named Sa and the other Vaii, or Vaiki, according to some. They landed at the south-west side of the island, and lived there. Vaii, the husband, died, and then Sa put her name first and united the two, as Savaii, the name of the island. (3.) Two brothers, the one called Vaii, and the other Polu, with their sister, Vavau, came from the east. The young woman, Vavau, divided the land--told Polu to go to Upolu, and Vaii to remain on Savaii. Her name is perpetuated in the word, which as a noun, means "ancient times," and, as an adjective, is used to express ancient, perpetual, and everlasting. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 3: There is an island called Maatea in the Paumotu group.] CHAPTER XXI.

Wurrunnah had had a long day's hunting, and he came back to the camp tired and hungry. He asked his old mother for durrie, but she said there was none left. Then he asked some of the other blacks to give him some doonburr seeds that he might make durrie for himself, But no one would give him anything. He flew into a rage and he said, "I will go to a far country and live with strangers; my own people would starve me." And while he was yet hot and angry, he went. Gathering up his weapons, he strode forth to find a new people in a new country. After he had gone some distance, he saw, a long way off, an old man chopping out bees' nests. The old man turned his face towards Wurrunnah, and watched him coming, but when Wurrunnah came close to him he saw that the old man had no eyes, though he had seemed to be watching him long before he could have heard him. It frightened Wurrunnah to see a stranger having no eyes, yet turning his face towards him as if seeing him all the time. But he determined not to show his fear, but go straight on towards him, which he did. When he came up to him, the stranger told him that his name was Mooroonumildah, and that his tribe were so-called because they had no eyes, but saw through their noses. Wurrunnah thought it very strange and still felt rather frightened, though Mooroonumildah seemed hospitable and kind, for, he gave Wurrunnah, whom he said looked hungry, a bark wirree filled with honey, told him where his camp was, and gave him leave to go there and stay with him. Wurrunnah took the honey and turned as if to go to the camp, but when he got out of sight he thought it wiser to turn in another direction. He journeyed on for some time, until he came to a large lagoon, where he decided to camp. He took a long drink of water, and then lay down to sleep. When he woke in the morning, he looked towards the lagoon, but saw only a big plain. He thought he must be dreaming; he rubbed his eyes and looked again. "This is a strange country," he said. "First I meet a man who has no eyes and yet can see. Then at night I see a large lagoon full of water, I wake in the morning and see none. The water was surely there, for I drank some, and yet now there is no water." As he was wondering how the water could have disappeared so quickly, he saw a big storm coming up; he hurried to get into the thick bush for shelter. When he had gone a little way into the bush, he saw a quantity of cut bark lying on the ground. "Now I am right," he said. "I shall get some poles and with them and this bark make a dardurr in which to shelter myself from the storm I see coming." He quickly cut the poles he wanted, stuck them up as a framework for his dardurr. Then he went to lift up the bark. As he lifted up a sheet of it he saw a strange-looking object of no tribe that he had ever seen before. This strange object cried out: "I am Bulgahnunnoo," in such a terrifying tone that Wurrunnah dropped the bark, picked up his weapons and ran away as hard as he could, quite forgetting the storm. His one idea was to get as far as he could from Bulgahnunnoo. On he ran until he came to a big river, which hemmed him in on three sides. The river was too big to cross, so he had to turn back, yet he did not retrace his steps but turned in another direction. As he turned to leave the river he saw a flock of emus coming to water. The first half of the flock were covered with feathers, but the last half had the form of emus, but no feathers. Wurrunnah decided to spear one for food. For that purpose he climbed up a tree, so that they should not see him; he got his spear ready to kill one of the featherless birds. As they passed by, he picked out the one he meant to have, threw his spear and killed it, then climbed down to go and get it. As he was running up to the dead emu, he saw that they were not emus at all but black fellows of a strange tribe. They were all standing round their dead friend making savage signs, as to what they would do by way of vengeance. Wurrunnah saw that little would avail him the excuse that he had killed the black fellow in mistake for an emu; his only hope lay in flight. Once more he took to his heels, hardly daring to look round for fear he would see an enemy behind him. On he sped, until at last he reached a camp, which he was almost into before he saw it; he had only been thinking of danger behind him, unheeding what was before him. However, he had nothing to fear in the camp he reached so suddenly, for in it were only seven young girls. They did not look very terrifying, in fact, seemed more startled than he was. They were quite friendly towards him when they found that he was alone and hungry. They gave him food and allowed him to camp there that night. He asked them where the rest of their tribe were, and what their name was. They answered that their name was Meamei, and that their tribe were in a far country. They had only come to this country to see what it was like; they would stay for a while and thence return whence they had come. The next day Wurrunnah made a fresh start, and left the camp of the Meamei, as if he were leaving for good. But he determined to hide near and watch what they did, and if he could get a chance he would steal a wife from amongst them. He was tired of travelling alone. He saw the seven sisters all start out with their yam sticks in hand. He followed at a distance, taking care not to be seen. He saw them stop by the nests of some flying ants. With their yam sticks they dug all round these ant holes. When they had successfully unearthed the ants they sat down, throwing their yam sticks on one side, to enjoy a feast, for these ants were esteemed by them a great delicacy. While the sisters were busy at their feast, Wurrunnah sneaked up to their yam sticks and stole two of them; then, taking the sticks with him, sneaked back to his hiding-place. When at length the Meamei had satisfied their appetites, they picked up their sticks and turned towards their camp again. But only five could find their sticks; so those five started off, leaving the other two to find theirs, supposing they must be somewhere near, and, finding them, they would soon catch them up. The two girls hunted all round the ants' nests, but could find no sticks. At last, when their backs were turned towards him, Wurrunnah crept out and stuck the lost yam sticks near together in the ground; then he slipt back into his hiding-place. When the two girls turned round, there in front of them they saw their sticks. With a cry of joyful surprise they ran to them and caught hold of them to pull them out of the ground, in which they were firmly stuck. As they were doing so, out from his hiding-place jumped Wurrunnah. He seized both girls round their waists, holding them tightly. They struggled and screamed, but to no purpose. There were none near to hear them, and the more they struggled the tighter Wurrunnah held them. Finding their screams and struggles in vain they quietened at length, and then Wurrunnah told them not to be afraid, he would take care of them. He was lonely, he said, and wanted two wives. They must come quietly with him, and he would be good to them. But they must do as he told them. If they were not quiet, he would swiftly quieten them with his moorillah. But if they would come quietly with him he would be good to them. Seeing that resistance was useless, the two young girls complied with his wish, and travelled quietly on with him. They told him that some day their tribe would come and steal them back again; to avoid which he travelled quickly on and on still further, hoping to elude all pursuit. Some weeks passed, and, outwardly, the two Meamei seemed settled down to their new life, and quite content in it, though when they were alone together they often talked of their sisters, and wondered what they had done when they realised their loss. They wondered if the five were still hunting for them, or whether they had gone back to their tribe to get assistance. That they might be in time forgotten and left with Wurrunnali for ever, they never once for a moment thought. One day when they were camped Wurrunnah said: "This fire will not burn well. Go you two and get some bark from those two pine trees over there." "No," they said, "we must not cut pine bark. If we did, you would never more see us." "Go! I tell you, cut pine bark. I want it. See you not the fire burns but slowly?" "If we go, Wurrunnah, we shall never return. You will see us no more in this country. We know it." "Go, women, stay not to talk. Did ye ever see talk make a fire burn? Then why stand ye there talking? Go; do as I bid you. Talk not so foolishly; if you ran away soon should I catch you, and, catching you, would beat you hard. Go I talk no more." The Meamei went, taking with them their combos with which to cut the bark. They went each to a different tree, and each, with a strong hit, drove her combo into the bark. As she did so, each felt the tree that her combo had struck rising higher out of the ground and bearing her upward with it. Higher and higher grew the pine trees, and still on them, higher and higher from the earth, went the two girls. Hearing no chopping after the first hits, Wurrunnah came towards the pines to see what was keeping the girls so long. As he came near them he saw that the pine trees were growing taller even as he looked at them, and clinging to the trunks of the trees high in the air he saw his two wives. He called to them to come down, but they made no answer. Time after time he called to them as higher and higher they went, but still they made no answer. Steadily taller grew the two pines, until at last their tops touched the sky. As they did so, from the sky the five Meamei looked out, called to their two sisters on the pine trees, bidding them not to be afraid but to come to them. Quickly the two girls climbed up when they heard the voices of their sisters. When they reached the tops of the pines the five sisters in the sky stretched forth their hands, and drew them in to live with them there in the sky for ever. And there, if you look, you may see the seven sisters together. You perhaps know them as the Pleiades, but the black fellows call them the Meamei.