Hainuwele

Ameta took a coconut home, wrapped it in a cloth, and planted it. A dream figure told him to bury it, and the nut grew into a tall coconut palm. One day, Ameta cut his finger while he climbed the tree. His blood reached the palm, and a baby girl appeared after a few days. The dream figure then told Ameta to wrap the child in his snake-patterned cloth and carry her home. Ameta followed these instructions and named her Hainuwele. She grew into a young woman within a short time.

Hainuwele was not an ordinary person. When she relieved herself, valuable objects appeared instead. These included dishes, bells, gongs, knives, earrings, and betel boxes. Ameta sold the objects and became rich. During this period, the nine families prepared for the Maro dance. The ceremony lasted nine nights and took place across the Nine Dance Grounds. Hainuwele stood among the dancers and gave objects to the people. The gifts became more valuable as the nights passed. The people grew jealous and decided to kill her.

On the ninth night, the dancers formed their circles around Hainuwele. They moved closer and forced her into a deep hole at the centre of the dancing ground. Their song covered her cries. They filled the hole with earth and pressed it down with their dancing. The festival ended at dawn, but Hainuwele did not return home.

Ameta realised that she had been killed. He went to the dance grounds with nine pieces of palm leaf. He placed them in the earth, one after another, and found blood and hair at the centre. He dug up Hainuwele’s body and cut it into many pieces. He buried all the pieces except her arms in the dancing grounds. Food plants immediately grew from the buried parts. They became the staple cultivated plants of the people.