Pātito
A warrior of ancient times, who, having died, came back from the underworld to test his son's expertness with the spear. The old man won, and returned to spirit-land, but people think that had the son been victorious, men would no longer have been under the necessity of dying.
Pātito had a niece, who followed her uncle to the place where spirits descend (Te Reinga). She called out to the old man, who, turning and looking back at her, metamorphosed her into stone.
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References
Sources
- Tregear, Edward. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington: Government Printer, p. 327.
- White, John. (1885). "Maori Customs and Superstitions." In T. W. Gudgeon, History and Doings of the Maoris from 1820 to 1840. Auckland: Brett, pp. 97-225, p. 105.
This article incorporates text from Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary (1891) by Edward Tregear, which is in the public domain.