You and Ata

The legend tahitian twins tells the story of two brothers Tu and Ata, originally from the Leeward Islands, who traveled to Faa'a to check whether the dew of Tahiti was really freezing, as they said.

Tu and Ata, the legend of dew

Formerly, the fame of Tahiti Nui Marearea had spread to the Leeward Islands, especially to Havai, the former name of Raiatea. According to the words, the dew of Tahiti was truly icy, something that reached the ears of the twins Ata and Tu. However, faced with the skepticism of the people, they decided to make the crossing to personally realize the veracity of the facts!

When they were ready and their plan well established, they embarked on their canoe and sailed on the ocean Te Moana uriuri, te moana o Hiva.

When they landed in Tahiti, they planned to circumnavigate Tahiti before arriving at Tetaha, the old name of Faa'a. On their way, they traveled Te Oropa'a, Teva i Uta, Teva i Tai, Teaharoa, Haururu, Mahina, Te poriô Nuu up to Tefana i ahurai. They entered through the Veo pass, and landed at Fanatea at the tip of Tata'a, a place of flight for the souls of the deceased.

They moored their canoe on the sandy beach, then climbed the hill and went to the far end of the Piafau valley, they finally reached Teroma, on the other side of the river is a marae whose name is Teapata, the land on which is erected this marae which bears the same name, adjacent to it is the land Te Momea.

The marae is located on the sunset side of the ridge. According to the ancestors, it was the twins who erected this marae, whose appearance is similar to that of a double canoe.

They stayed there for a long time and gave the summit of this mountain the name of Tapioi, no doubt in memory of the place from which they came.

A lot of time passed, they continued their way in search of the freezing dew, they confined themselves to walking on the ridges to Haiti. As night approached and the sun was setting, they climbed up a shelter to rest.

In the evening the dew settled, the icy dew of Oromatai, their sleep was disturbed, they began to turn over on themselves, they huddled side by side to warm themselves, but in vain because the cold became more more unbearable.

One of them had the idea of organizing a wrestling game between them so that they warm up while simulating. At first everything went well, however as the blows got stronger and stronger the game turned into a real fight. The moments of respite were rare after which they resumed with renewed vigour.

This place was called Hauiti (little respite), they rolled on the gravel, this place received the name of Tuairiiri, they descended lower while running, the place received the name of Tehorohoro. They exchanged blows, one had a black eye, was called Mataereere, until today.

They finally succumbed to the depths of the valley formerly called the Ataaroa Valley, it was the nauseating smell of their corpses which had begun to decompose and flow into the river which indicated to the inhabitants of Tefana that the two heroes from Raromatai had lost their lives. The river was nicknamed Vaihaua (water that smells) which has become Papehaua nowadays, and Hauiti has since become the symbol of mourning, the mountain of mourning, an eternal sign for all the native inhabitants of Tefana.

As for the souls of the twins, they flew to the point of Tataa and from there returned to the darkness of Havai to Rohotu Noanoa, their place of departure.