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"In the time of Te Mangi-tu-tavake, a descendant
of Ape-iti, the people rose against the king,
because he demanded tributes of fermented breadfruit and
kept them for his own use. Te Mangi, realizing
that public opinion was strong against him, went into
exile and perished at sea. Mangareva was then ruled by a
plebeian king named Teiti-a-tuou, but the loyalty
to hereditary aristocracy was too strongly ingrained in
the Polynesian mind for the plebeian rule to last long.
The adherents of the royal family rose in favour of the
two sons of Te Mangi-tu-tavake, and the plebeian
king was slain. The royal line was restored, and the two sons ruled jointly as Akariki-tea (White King) and Akariki-pangu (Black King)... After a tempestous rule, the White King and the Black King were laid at rest in the Cave of Tetea at the base of a high cliff facing the rising sun on the small island of Angakaku-i-tai. According to ancient custom, large quantities of [white] bark cloth were heaped beside the corpses." (Buck) |