The origin of the reef Matahina

By Atunaisa Have A Katoa

ONCE upon a time, certain parents in Tuanekivale, Vavau Island, had a daughter whose name was Hina. One day Hina’s parents went fishing and they caught a very young shark. They took it home and gave it to Hina.

Hina loved this fish very much. She put it in a small well, and there she kept and fed it. Hina made a small gong out of a piece of wood. She used this to call her shark at feeding time. Whenever the little shark heard the gong, it came to the surface to get its food.

One stormy day, the tide rose exceptionally high and the whole shore was flooded. After the storm was over, Hina went down to see her son (as she called the shark). She beat and beat the gong, but with no success. Hina concluded that her pet had escaped out to sea. She begged her parents to go to sea and look for him. . . .

Her parents went out to sea, but couldn’t find her shark. Hina insisted on them going again with her, so they did. After a long search, they came to the conclusion that Hina’s son was lost. Hina told her parents to return home without her for she intended to transform herself into a rock at sea, where her son might, from time to time, seek shelter. She then jumped overboard and became a great rock, which is now known as Matahina. It is situated in the ocean between Vavau Island and Niue Island.

This was also the origin of no’oanga (shark fishing).