Makirau Takaia

My dearest mother told me the legend of the Rae Maru Mountain.  It’s about the flat top of the mountain, which was called Maunga Roa back in the days before the Aitutakians cut off the top.  This story tells us that change happens from time to time, and we keep the old and add the new.

THE LEGEND OF THE RAE MARU MOUNTAIN

My mother, Elizabeth Takaia is a teacher and the brainiest out of her seven siblings, plus her brother passed away. My mum is not really sure of her age, but she thinks she is 40 years old. She is very knowledgeable…. So she told me the famous legend of THE RAE MARU MOUNTAIN.

Back in the days, everyone in the Vaka of Puaikura appreciated the mountain because they knew it was a gift from GOD, because when the early sunrise appears, the mountain blocks it so they could sleep longer. Yet, then the Aitutakians got jealous after hearing the news, because they had a flat island. So they prepared their men and boarded on their canoe and headed to Rarotonga.

When they got there, they sneaked up the mountain and quickly cut off the top part of Maunga Roa. They carried it on their shoulders and went back to their canoe. When the sun rose up early, everyone in Puaikura woke up early in massive surprise. They came outside and found the top of Maunga Roa missing. The Puaikuras chief became very mad and sent his best warriors to get the mountain back from the Aitutakians. They chased them but the Aitutakians got to their canoe, and sailed quickly back to Aitutaki. Now the people of Puaikura couldn’t do anything about the change, so they renamed the mountain from Maunga Roa to Te Raemarumaru o Tinomana Ariki.

 

I chose the shape of a foot, because the size of the foot is the amount of knowledge I know about my family, my friends, the Cook Islands and myself.  I am going to talk about four main designs. The flower represents the beauty of the Cook Island nature, the Cook Island people, including me. The second one is a web that represents my family, because every part of the web is each of my family’s personality. The third one is a design of people that represents my family and I.  Finally, my fourth one is a design of triangles. I chose triangles because they represent the good and bad I have done.