A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Gini-fale, also called Mata-gini-fale, is printing hiapo by the shore when a whale blows and strikes its fins on the water. She mocks its rough head. The whale hears the insult, hides near the reef and seizes her with a long fin when she turns away from the sea. It puts her into its mouth and swallows her. Pulekula’s narrative makes the whale responsive to human speech and capable of deliberate revenge, while retaining fins, nostrils and a belly rather than inventing a hybrid body.
Gini-fale remains alive inside. Using one of the shells carried in her girdle for marking hiapo, she cuts the belly. The animal writhes, rubs against rocks and strands at a place called Toga; she escapes through the opening and warms herself ashore. The complete account continues with her marriage to a chief and the birth of Mutalau. Smith elsewhere warns that Toga in these traditions need not invariably identify Tonga-tapu, so the translated place name is retained without forcing a modern location.
Origins & earliest records
Pulekula, a teacher at Tama-ha-le-leka, Liku, wrote these traditions in October 1901. The Journal of the Polynesian Society printed Niuean text alongside S. Percy Smith’s translation in 1903. Smith’s introductory note acknowledges that he could not fully question obscure passages and sometimes failed to grasp the writers’ meaning.
Records & interpretation
Complete English account 67–71; original printed pp. 100 and 102 visually checked, with parallel Niuean on pp. 101 and 103. Taufua in the parallel text is not asserted here as an individual personal name.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Traditions of Niue-Fekai: “Gini-fale,” paragraphs 67–71, printed pp. 100–103
Complete English account 67–71; original printed pp. 100 and 102 visually checked, with parallel Niuean on pp. 101 and 103. Taufua in the parallel text is not asserted here as an individual personal name. The accessible scan is the Johnson Reprint Corporation 1967 reprint of the 1903 journal volume.
- 02
The Traditions of Niue-Fekai: Gini-fale
Pulekula, teacher at Tama-ha-le-leka, Liku, written October1901; English translation by S.PercySmith in Journal of the Polynesian Society12 (1903). Selected scan visibly preserves the1903 Wellington title and a Johnson first-reprinting1967 notice. It is a1967 reprint scan, not a newly inspected original1903 physical copy. Smith’s pre-appendix note acknowledges limited opportunities for clarification and occasional failure to grasp the writers’ meaning.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
The Traditions of Niue-Fekai: “Gini-fale,” paragraphs 67–71, printed pp. 100–103
Pulekula, teacher at Tama-ha-le-leka, Liku, written October1901; English translation by S.PercySmith in Journal of the Polynesian Society12 (1903). Selected scan visibly preserves the1903 Wellington title and a Johnson first-reprinting1967 notice. It is a1967 reprint scan, not a newly inspected original1903 physical copy. Smith’s pre-appendix note acknowledges limited opportunities for clarification and occasional failure to grasp the writers’ meaning.
- Gini-fale prints barkcloth by the shore and mocks a passing whale. It hears the insult, hides near the reef and seizes her with its long fin when she faces away from the sea. She remains alive inside it and cuts its belly with a barkcloth-marking shell. The whale rubs against rocks and strands at Toga, allowing her to escape. Islanders care for her; a chief marries her and fears a local childbirth practice. She supplies a different method and bears Mutalau, who later desires his mother’s island.
Complete67–71, English printed100/102; parallel Niuean101/103
Smith’s historical translation is used with its stated uncertainties. Selected pages were read completely; no claim that all Niuean text was translated independently or the entire journal was read. Public availability of the1967 facsimile is not treated as a universal reuse licence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary written narrative with historical translationJournal of the Polynesian Society, volume 12 (1903): digitized journal (1903 journal; 1967 reprint scan)Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.