Shortly after the separation from Tahiti and from Ra'iatea, there lived in the district of Mahina, in Tahiti To'erau (North of Tahiti) a beautiful woman of high rank named Nona. She had long carnivorous teeth and she had developed a terrible passion for cannibalism, which had given her the nickname of Vahine-'ai-ta'ata (man-eating woman).
Her husband, high head of the house of Tahiti, To'erau, had repudiated her and she lived alone on his family property. It was there that she gave birth to a lovely little girl whom she named Hina. She raised him tenderly according to his rank, taking care to hide from him the human prey she procured.
At the foot of the great cliff of Tahara'a, remarkable for its red clay, there is a tunnel that people can use at low tide and which saves them from going around the hill, this tunnel is known until this day under the stash name of Nona; it was there that she attacked passers-by and killed them, sometimes to cook them and sometimes to eat them raw.
At the time of Nona the region had become very sparsely inhabited and the houses were mysteriously abandoned. But a handsome young man named Monoihere (Mono'i-here) who had escaped this cunning woman, had conceived a great love for his daughter Hina.
They met secretly in a secluded place called Oro-fara (Far Fern) where there is a spring called Rati (Splash) which filled a pond where Hina bathed and which is still called Te-hopura today. a-vai-o-Hina (Hina's bath). Nearby was a cave that opened and closed when certain words were spoken.
Matavai Bay is closed off in places by a reef called the To'a-tea (Light Rocks) range, which is where Nona, an expert fisherwoman, got fish for her daughter and for herself.
Nearby was a cave that opened and closed when certain words were spoken. Hina used to carry a basket of food to her lover when he was hidden in the cave and when she approached it, they exchanged the following words:
Hina: "Mono'i-here is the man and Hina is the woman!" »
Monoihere: “Where is your long-toothed mother Nona? »
Hina: “She is on the long reef, on the short reef, catching fish for us, my lover. O foundation of rock, open up. »
Immediately the rock parted to let the lover pass and the two young people remained together until the hour of Nona's return. At this time Monoihere returned to his cave or returned home depending on the circumstances, but in any case avoided meeting the mother.
A day came when the mother noticed the disappearance of part of the food and decided to solve this mystery. That day, after cooking the meal, she pretended to be unwell and went to bed pretending to be sound asleep. She then saw her daughter cautiously approach the food, put a few choice morsels in a basket, then go away without a sound. When Nona understood the path her daughter was taking, she took a shortcut and, arriving before her at the meeting place, she climbed into a pua (Fagraea berteroana) so that she could hear and see without being seen.
Nona, unaware of the existence of the cave, was very surprised by what she saw. She repeated the magic words to herself to remember them and remained motionless until the lovers had separated, then descending quickly from the tree she returned home and went back to bed before the return of the young girl.
The next day, after eating and putting food aside, Nona said goodbye to her daughter, telling her that she was going to make torches for fishing at night. She actually went to the young man's hiding place and, standing in front of the cave, began to speak, imitating Hina's voice as best she could. But Mono'i here was not mistaken and answered "E'ere oe o Hina, o te vahiné nihoniho roroa ra 'oe, o Nona!" (You are not Hina, you are Nona with long teeth!).
Unfortunately she had learned the magic words and exclaimed “Te tumu o te papa e, vahia! (O rock foundation, open up!).
The rock having opened, Nona rushed on the young man, killed him and devoured him, then she looked for his heart but could not find it and, leaving the bones and viscera in a heap, she left the cave which closed behind her. and returned to preparing her torches as she had intended.
Meanwhile Hina was heading towards the cave with her basket, and as no one answered her call she entered inside and seeing the remains of her lover, understood the horrible tragedy that had taken place. She looked for the young man's heart and having found it, found that it was still beating. She placed it on her heart and, guided by it, returned home to act. Taking advantage of her mother's absence, she took a banana trunk and placed it in her bed to imitate her body and placed an 'a'ano (gourd made of a coconut shell) on the pillow to imitate her head. . She covered it all with tapa and fled to the neighboring district of Uporu (Ha'apape or Mahina).
There, still guided by the beating heart of her lover, she went to the abode of a young chief called No'a (Sweet Smell), well known in the region because he was extremely hairy, though handsome, she was well received by the whole household.
When Nona returned home, she prepared the evening meal and called her daughter thinking that she was resting, but she received no answer. After calling several times she became violently angry and threatened to devour her daughter. Still receiving no response, she cried out in the height of fury: “Tera mai au, e Hina, ua pau oe ia 'u! » (I am coming, O Hina, you will be devoured by me!) and, rushing onto the bed, bit the trunk through the tapa, to her great surprise, she found that her daughter had been more cunning than her and cried “A ua ora 'oe! » (Ah you escaped!).
Early the next day Nona set off in pursuit of her daughter and managed to find her way back to the chief's house. Seeing Hina, she rushed at her but the chief intervened and, after a violent struggle, succeeded in strangling Nona and this is how her existence ended.
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