A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Gill names these two Tapairu, or peerless women, as daughters sent by Miru to bring Ngaru below under promise of marriage. They wrap him in tapa, tie the bundle to a pole and carry him over a mountain. When he asks to be released, they announce that he is destined for their mother’s consumption.

Their kava fails to subdue him. At the flood that destroys Miru’s oven, each woman grasps one of Ngaru’s legs while he holds a rooted tree, escaping their mother’s fate. They then teach him ball-throwing. He eventually leaves their company through a winding passage to Taumareva. These two named sisters are not every Tapairu in Gill’s collection; sky-dwelling ball players appear separately.

Paired underworld fairy womenNamed narrative relationships
01

Origins & earliest records

William Wyatt Gill, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific (London: Henry S. King, 1876), X: The Adventures of Ngaru. General contributor acknowledgements name Tereavai and Sadaraka; individual prose narrator not supplied.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected prose narrative and interpretive ending read in consecutive bounded OCR sections. Variant endings and compiler judgments retained as such.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Myths and Songs from the South Pacific, X: The Adventures of Ngaru, pp. 229–233

    William Wyatt Gill, collector and translator · 1876

    Direct digitized printed witness; original-language scan collation remains open.

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.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary collected textMyths and Songs from the South Pacific, X: The Adventures of Ngaru, pp. 229–233Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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