Pare

A celebrated girl of high birth who chose a man of lower rank named Hutu as her lover. She was rejected by him, and in shame and despair she strangled herself. The tribe in council decided that he was the cause of her death, and must die also, as penalty. He asked for, and obtained, a short respite. He then proceeded to the underworld, and by the grace of the death goddess, Hine-nui-te-pō, was allowed to win Pare and take her back again to the world of light, where Hutu married her and prospered.

References

Sources

  • Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, p. 322.
  • White, John. (1887). Ancient History of the Maori. 6 vols. Wellington: G. Didsbury, Government Printer, p. 2:167.

This article incorporates text from Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891) by Edward Tregear, which is in the public domain.