Sister of the Sun (23 page)

Nika had astonished him by saying that these things could make him wealthy when he returned home. Indeed, it seemed that the wealth of distant Piritania was not measured in mats and coconut trees, or even in pigs and cloth. Nika prized riches of another sort, of which he could only display a small handful—disks of bright foreign stone, carved with strange designs.
 

Seeing him absorbed in his work, the warrior approached and squatted on his heels. "I am glad," Paruru said, "that you find so much to please you here."
 

Nika smiled and looked up from his shells. "This is a good island. Better than the other."

"Would you like to stay?" asked Paruru.

Nika's eyes searched Paruru's. "What are you offering?"

"I want to help you find a place for yourself—as part of a family. Then you can remain here as long as you like."

"Right here?" He gestured toward the house where he was staying.

Paruru raised his eyebrows in assent. "And my family is among the best. We hold good lands and fishing sites and many coconut trees. We have excellent nets and swift canoes. All of these will be yours to share."
 

The sailor grinned. "I think I understand."

"I am offering you a high honor," Paruru said. "I have watched you, and I believe that you are worthy. I would like you for my brother."
 

A wary look crossed the sailor's face. "Tell me how it is done—the joining of brothers."

"By a short ceremony. You will see."

"And after that, the girls ..."

"Will no longer treat you as a stranger."

"That is what I am waiting for. Too many girls are running off. I think they are a little bit afraid."

"It will be different when you are my brother. But remember this. My cousin is your cousin, and cousins are
tapu
."
 

Nika grimaced. "Rules and more rules. How many cousins do you have?" When Paruru gave no reply, Nika did not press him. Instead, the sailor asked, "Will you send a message to Maukiri? Tell her I am not coming back soon."
 

"I will," Paruru answered. "Now come, and meet a few more of your new family."

 

On the day of the adoption ceremony, the weather was clear with a mild breeze. Wearing feathers and ferns in his hair, Paruru went to the
marae
to join his elderly father, his sister Heka, and other relatives. Since Nika had no kin here, he walked apart, accompanied only by a woman called Karipea who had been borrowed from Varoa Clan for the occasion. She was to serve the role of Nika's "mother" and was already devoting herself enthusiastically to the part, much to Nika's evident distress. Paruru wondered if Heka had indulged her capricious sense of humor by selecting Karipea.
 

He could see that the sailor's discomfort was worsened by the plaited cape and loincloth that he wore. Nika had complained the night before that mat garments itched, but Paruru had insisted that he give up his foreign clothing for the ceremony. Now the sailor was constantly scratching, undeterred by scolding and slaps from Karipea.
 

Outside the low coral-block walls of the
maraz
, a priest met the party. Several men brought an enormous rolled mat of plaited
fara
, spreading it on the ground while the priest handed out leaves of
pukatea
. Paruru took his seat at the mat's center. Prompted by Karipea, Nika joined him, sitting in the proper place on his left.
 

"Stop scratching," Paruru hissed.

"If you let me wear my shirt ..." Nika began, but Paruru silenced him with a sharp motion of the hand. The ceremony had begun. It must not be profaned by idle talk or argument.
 

Paruru watched as his relatives, led by Heka, gathered at one end of the mat. On the other end sat Karipea, as Nika's representative. It bothered Paruru to see the two sides so unbalanced, but there was no way to produce Nika's true family.
 

Shark-tooth flails appeared in the hands of Paruru's kin. Heka was the first to strike her forehead with the shark's tooth, causing blood to trickle onto her face. Others followed her example, with impassioned prayers and outcries to the gods that the heritage of two families would be well mingled.
 

Across the mat, Karipea replied in kind. Perhaps, thought Paruru, Nika's family was fairly represented after all, for the loudness of Karipea's outbursts and the amount of blood she shed make up for the lack in numbers.
 

Nika seemed to pale at the sight of crimson running down so many foreheads. What was wrong with the man? Paruru wondered. Had he never seen an adoption or a marriage before?
 

Paruru's elderly father stepped forward, carrying the juice of a young coconut leaf in a shell. He poured the libation onto a leaf of sacred
pukatea
, set the leaf briefly on Paruru's head and then on Nika's.
 

Now that the leaf's contents were imbued with the spirits of both men, it was brought before the other celebrants. The priest chanted prayers while the token was sealed by drips of red. At last the leaf was carried by the priest into the
marae
, to rest on a sacred stone.
 

Heka took her place beside the priest and chanted, "This man we take as a brother. I give to him the name that Paruru bore as a youth. His name is now Kero, and he shall be known as a member of this family and of Piho Clan." She paused. "And in turn he gives a name to Paruru. The name is Tama, one that is old and honored among his people." With a wave of her arms, she bade both men to stand.
 

"Paruru-tama, here is your brother, Nika-kero. Nika-kero, here is your brother, Paruru-tama. Each one shall chant the genealogy of his family so that it may be known to the other."
 

Paruru was first. The names flowed easily from his tongue, for he had learned them as a child and repeated them to himself every night before sleeping. This was essential knowledge, the sole means to prove one's claim to land or fishing rights.
 

"Here is my descent,'' he began."The god Atea fathered the god Tu-makino who fathered the great god Tangaroa. Tangaroa fathered Tapai'aha ..." Paruru continued, watching his audience as they listened attentively. He glanced at Nika, whose uncomprehending stare reminded him that his venerated forebears were but a jumble of names to this man.
 

That would soon change. As a member of the family, Nika would be expected to become as fluent in genealogical recitation as anyone in the clan.
 

The warrior finished his narration, "... who fathered a son, Paruru." He turned toward Nika, noting how unsettled the foreigner appeared as he prepared to take his turn. On the previous evening, Nika had been inconsistent in his repetitions, Paruru had been forced to drill him so that he would not embarrass himself by making a mistake in public.
 

With a nervous glance at the priest, the sailor began. "The first man of my tribe was Atama and he took Eva to wife. Their firstborn was...uh...Kaina, and he had Noha ..."
 

Paruru listened critically. He wondered if anyone would notice that Noha, whoever he was, had not been mentioned in the earlier versions. It worried him that Nika's memory was so poor. Paruru did not wish to consider the possibility that all these names had been fabricated.
 

Suddenly the recitation was over, and Heka was speaking. "Nika-kero, enter your place of judgment and take your stand among us," she said.
 

Cautiously Nika stepped forward. Heka embraced the sailor and pressed her face to his. Paruru, remembering the strength of his sister's arms, hoped that Nika would not gasp aloud under the onslaught. But he proved himself a man in that respect, stifling any outcry and only staggering a little as Heka released him. Then, one by one, the rest of the family greeted their new kinsman.
 

It is done
, thought Paruru.
May it please the gods.

 

The next few days passed quietly, and Paruru decided that he could soon return to Tepua's service. On a sunlit morning he went looking for his new brother to tell him his plans. Crabs-sleeping had said that Nika was hunting octopus just offshore.
 

The tide was out and the lagoon had drawn down, exposing dark patches of reef. Women were busy gathering clams in the shallows. Paruru saw no sign of Nika as he walked along the beach.
 

He shaded his eyes, gazing over the water. Nika had been warned of the local dangers—the stonefish, the shifting currents, the sharp-edged coral—but perhaps he had been careless. Paruru felt uneasy as he began a long circuit of the islet, facing a stiff breeze as he turned toward the seaward side.
 

The shore had no covering of sand here, only heaps of smoothed coral chunks that clinked against each other as he crossed them. Suddenly he heard a cry and the splashing of feet in shallow water. He saw Nika pelting toward him, his arms flung wide. The sailor shouted something, but his words were lost in the wind. The
kaito-nui
was alarmed until he saw a grin of delight on Nika's ruddy face.
 

"I caught one!" Nika yelled. The sailor slid to a stop in front of Paruru, breathless, red hair tangled by wind and spray. He was wearing his own garment again. The rags of his shirt bore a dark stain. Paruru was close enough to smell the blood of a sea creature, a scent disturbingly familiar.
 

"What is it?"

Nika did not seem to know the word in Paruru's tongue. He used his own language and made signs. "A big one!" he said proudly. "I speared him."

Paruru felt a chill as he stared at Nika, for he thought it possible that the man had caught a sea turtle. "
Honu
?" he asked Nika, dreading the answer. When the sailor did not respond, the warrior realized that he had never taught Nika that word. Having no turtle at hand, Paruru had carelessly neglected to tell him about the animal—or the
tapu
surrounding it.
 

"Show me," the warrior demanded. Nika sprinted off and he followed, trying to make himself believe that Nika had caught a ray or some other bottom-dwelling flatfish. Nika led him to a stretch of sand, and Paruru was relieved to find the area deserted. At least he would be the first to see what his new brother had done.
 

Strutting like a cock fowl, Nika led Paruru toward the scrubby trees above the beach. A moment later the warrior knew that Nika had done his worst. He glanced with horror at the gray-green shell, the pointed tail....
 

Paruru wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, hoping that the gods would relent and take the scene away. But he could not hide from the smell, the terrible, dank smell from the sea's depths.
 

Sennit cord was wrapped about the turtle's two rear legs, tethering the creature to a coconut stump. It lay, churning sand with its winglike front flippers, straining its neck back, opening and shutting its powerful beak. A fish spear was jammed deep into a gap in the shell, piercing the soft wrinkled flesh between the turtle's neck and the left foreleg. Blood welled up around the spear shaft every time the turtle heaved at its bindings.
 

Paruru felt engulfed by a feeling of despair. How had he neglected to explain the importance of the turtle?

"You are speechless." The sailor's voice startled him. "What a big one!"

It was all Paruru could do to keep from seizing the fish spear, jerking it from the turtle, and burying it deep into human flesh. If this man had not been made his brother...

Paruru watched the turtle trying to escape, snapping at the cords that tethered it. Nika picked up a shell-bladed knife and bent to cut the beast's throat. For a moment Paruru could only gaze numbly at the sight of the blade moving closer. Then he reacted, shooting out his hand to catch Nika's arm.
 

"No!" Paruru shouted. While the turtle still lived he might find a way to salvage the situation. If the foreigner slaughtered the animal, all would be lost.
 

"What is the matter?" Nika's voice sounded petulant as he dropped the knife."Why is this not pleasing? Here is my gift to you and the rest of the family."
 

Paruru listened sadly as he began to grasp Nika's reasoning. The foreigner was not truly to blame. He had wanted to prove that he was worthy of adoption, a man who could provide meat for his new family. Now Paruru looked at Nika's expression and saw feelings of puzzlement, anger, and pride. The warrior found himself groping for words.
 

"You were adopted as a younger brother,'' he said at last, "so I will speak as your elder. This act is
tapu
."
 

Nika shook his head as if unwilling to hear.

"It is forbidden," Paruru continued, biting off each word. "The turtle is sacred food. There must be ceremonies before the hunt and after, or the gods will be offended. Only important men, such as chief's and priests, may eat the flesh."
 

Nika's face reddened and the veins in his temples were swelling. "There is no meat for me all the time I am here," he answered angrily. "All I get is fish and coconuts." He gestured impatiently with the knife. "You are an important man, so you can eat it. Now I am your brother, so why cannot I eat it, too?"
 

Paruru wanted to laugh at Nika's ignorance. Only after sacred rituals was a man allowed to share the feast. For Nika's act there could be no reward, only punishment.
 

The warrior tried to explain again, telling how turtles were descended from the god Tu-who-dwells-in-the-sea. The god would be angered by Nika's affront No one could say what the result might be—famine, storms, sickness.
 

"And do not forget the ghosts of our ancestors," Paruru continued. "They, too, will avenge this insult. They will come for you at night, with their long sharp fingernails and teeth." Paruru saw Nika pale beneath the red bronze of his face. His hands began to clench and unclench nervously.