Friday Fictioneers: Son of Tane

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
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© Douglas M. Macilroy

Tiki climbed the pancake rocks and trudged through the cabbage tree forests looking for other men. He found nothing but birds — kiwis, moas and harpagornis. He was lonely. His search continued. Tane, his father, made a woman to keep him company after seeing  Tiki’s huge excitement at seeing  himself reflected in a pool. Happily they wandered. Chaste. Tane despaired at his son’s inactivity. He wanted grandchildren. He made an eel which the woman found.  Tiki became excited at his woman’s excitement, at her find.

That Danielle, is why the Tiki is a symbol of fertility. Tiki finally worked it out.

Word Count 100

The Tiki is common throughout Polynesia but in Maori mythology Tiki was the first man. The folk lore depends on the maori clan and the region of New Zealand and their are numerous variants. This is but one variant although not true to the original in entirety. We have © Douglas M. MacIlroy to thank for double daring us to look beyond the monster for this story today. Thank you to him for also supplying the photo prompt.

For more Friday Fictioneers please visit Rochelle and use the frog to see other stories.

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About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist

I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
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41 Responses to Friday Fictioneers: Son of Tane

  1. rochellewisoff's avatar rochellewisoff says:
    May 27, 2015 at 7:02 pm

    Dear Irene,

    Very enjoyable read and fascinating folklore.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Weltchysnotebook's avatar Weltchysnotebook says:
    May 27, 2015 at 7:33 pm

    I enjoyed that Irene, a very interesting read. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. GHLearner's avatar gahlearner says:
    May 27, 2015 at 7:58 pm

    I love this. It’s been a while since I read any Maori mythology, I need to find that book again. Decades ago I spent some time in New Zealand. Your wonderful take on the prompt sends me right back into memoryland.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. noelleg44's avatar noelleg44 says:
    May 27, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    Loved this introduction to Maori mythology. The photo was eye-grabbing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. wildbilbo's avatar wildbilbo says:
    May 27, 2015 at 11:09 pm

    Nicely written, and an indication I know nothing about Maori mythology…
    I chuckled at the excitement over the ‘eel’ and how it helped Tiki to ‘figure it out’.
    Cheers
    Kt

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. patrickprinsloo's avatar patrickprinsloo says:
    May 28, 2015 at 12:07 am

    Thanks for this. So much to learn.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Björn Rudberg (brudberg)'s avatar Björn Rudberg (brudberg) says:
    May 28, 2015 at 12:41 am

    Love it, and thanks for the exposure to Maori mythology.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. ansumani's avatar ansumani says:
    May 28, 2015 at 2:34 am

    LOL. Tiki figured it out eventually….maybe he should have asked for directions 🙂 Nice bit of folklore too. Interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Raewyn's Photos's avatar Raewyn's Photos says:
    May 28, 2015 at 8:44 am

    Maori legends are so interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. bykimberlylynne's avatar bykimberlylynne says:
    May 28, 2015 at 10:07 am

    I’m grateful Tiki’s woman preferred eels to sea urchins 😉 Thanks for the education.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Fabricating Fiction/Louise Jensen's avatar FabricatingFiction says:
    May 28, 2015 at 5:05 pm

    I love the last line! Great take.

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. Margaret's avatar Margaret says:
    May 28, 2015 at 5:15 pm

    Very enjoyable. The tone is just right for your slice of mythology, with a nice shift at the end.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. subroto's avatar subroto says:
    May 28, 2015 at 11:18 pm

    Loved the retelling of a Maori mythological tale. They were probably also told as a way to impart ‘knowledge’ to younger generation in those days.

    On a less serious note these days the young people just go on a contiki tour instead 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Priceless Joy's avatar Priceless Joy says:
    May 29, 2015 at 10:11 am

    What a wonderful old legend/folklore about how sexual excitement came to be. Who would have thought that an eel was the reason. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

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  15. Nan Falkner's avatar Nan Falkner says:
    May 29, 2015 at 5:31 pm

    Irene, excellent story – very interesting! Got to watch those eel’s. Nan

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. Sherri Matthews's avatar Sherri says:
    May 29, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    Oh Irene, I just love the stories you tell and the way you come up with such inventive ideas from these fiction-photo prompts. Thank you for teaching me about this hitherto unnknown (to me) piece of fok law. Not sure I’ll be able to think of anything else now next time I happen to come across an eel 😉 😀

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. Louise Bunting's avatar afairymind says:
    May 30, 2015 at 2:19 am

    I know very little about Maori folklore so your story was a fascinating read. 🙂 Great take on the prompt.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. Perry Block (@PerryBlock)'s avatar Perry Block (@PerryBlock) says:
    May 31, 2015 at 4:16 am

    Well, this was totally new mythology for me so it was great to learn. Last sentence was intriguing too; glad Tiki worked it out, now fade to black …

    Liked by 1 person

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  19. Cerys Morgan's avatar Cheryl McCullough says:
    May 31, 2015 at 5:52 am

    Great story, and an interesting subject I didn’t know anything about. Thank you.
    And I’ll be sure to keep my eye on those eels 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. Charli Mills's avatar Charli Mills says:
    June 1, 2015 at 3:22 am

    This retelling of a Maori creation myth reminds me that I wanted to find that of the Kalispell Tribe. Local legend is that Lake Pend Oreille is where the tribe originated. It involves a bear, although there is also a myth about Coyote saving mankind by eating a fish-snake. Creation stories are fascinating. I like how Tane gets frustrated of ever having grandchildren!

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