LéGEnDE POLynésiEnnE/POLYNESIAN LEGEND les Fleurs De Pua PassenT Du Blanc-crèMe À une couleur Jaune-oranGé quelques Jours aPrès leur éclosion. Pua Flowers ChANge Color From whiTe To AN orANgey-yellow severAl dAys AFTer opeNiNg. P.BaccheT 84 The legend of Pua The Perfume Tree or Pua is a tree with glossy leaves, and tubular flowers that open out into a white corolla with a pleasing smell. The ripe fruits are orangey in color and are a delicacy for mountain fruit doves. in the Marquesas, it is a symbolic flower, similar to the tiare in Tahiti, where it was planted by the god Tāne (Man). at the very beginning of the world, Ta’aroa nui the Great God called to life Tumu nui (Great origin) his firstborn son, to help him in the creation and organization of the universe. he gave him the night, te Pō, from whence all things arose, even light. another of Ta’aroa’s sons, Papa-tū’oi (sharp standing peak) chose for his wife’Ᾱtea, powerful divinity of space. she birthed a shapeless mass, to which Ta’aroa infused his spirit, before guiding the mother with the shaping of her child, his grandson. calling on the properties of plants, minerals, fishskin and elements,’Ᾱtea and Ta’aroa worked their magic. The work finished, the child gotup saying  : « i am perfection, the great Tāne (man), god of beauty ! ». he was given the 10th heaven, a host of friends and light. light, which escaped the control of Tumu nui, the son of Ta’aroa, who witnessed the seductive powers of the unequalled Tāne, his nephew. no-one could resist his charms, not even Ta’aroa nui who favored his grandson, just arrived in the world of gods, over his devoted firstborn son, who had created, for his glory, an infinite variety of living things, of different forms, colors, properties and various consistencies, that now evolved before his eyes. Tumu nui even saw Ta’aroa give Tāne a larger marae than his, a marae (an openair stone temple) honored by the most beautiful birds, tended by more priests than his, with the most exquisite sacred objects, and even more lavish ceremonies… Tumu nui was bitter. Ta’ere, the talented and cunning god of artists, stirred him into such filial resentment that Tumu nui was consumedby jealousy, launching into an assault on humans and Tāne’s eternal sky, releasing tempests, unending rain, pain and suffering on earth, famine, rickets, scarcity and suicide. Tāne retaliated, protecting humans by sending them the sun during the day and sleep at night. Tumu nui cast spells at him, Tāne did the same. There was such discord between the two deities that at one point Tāne, in a rage, struck out at men with his warclub. This is when the ari’i celebrated-renown, the ruler of men back then, and his friend hōani conciliator intervened, asking Tāne to call ro’o, his benevolent messenger, in order to make peace between gods and humans. appeased on the outside, appeased on the inside, holding in his hand a Pua, or Perfume Tree, Tāne, accompanied by ro’o planted this tree in Puna’auia as a sign of peace, attesting to the words Tāne spoke to Tumu nui, Ta’ere and ro’o, to his friend hōani and to humans  : « For those of us who are brothers, a quarrel in the morning should be forgotten by the evening and a quarrel in the evening should be settled by the morning. » it was the first Perfume Tree in this world, a sacred tree given by Tāne, planted in Punaauia* on Tahiti. « symbol of peace » was its name in the past. and this is how Tumu nui’s night, the human’s Day and Tāne’s sky made peace. ending the conflicts on the earth, below in the night and in Tāne’s eternal heavens. * Pū-na-’au-ia, (The conch is mine) is the new name of the Manotahi chiefdom, situated to the West of Papeete, between Faa’a and Pa’ea, a name given by the ari’i Pōhue-tea (White bindweed) in memory of the exceptionally large and melodious conch shell that he was given as a gift… in another story … Text  : Simone Grand/Taken from the myths relayed by Teuira Henry in Ancient Tahiti and retold by Simone Grand in Mai te Po mai ra te Ao illustration  : Vashee