Erich Von Daniken - The Gold Of The Gods

4 - Temuen, The Island They Call Nan Madol
The creation of man and woman
The Flood and stories about the Ark
Marriages between gods and men
Journeys between the earth and other stars
Food that fell from heaven."
The Rongamai legend is about tribal warfare. Afraid of being overcome, the Nga-Ti-Hau
tribe sought safety in a fortified village. When they were threatened by an invincible
opponent even there, the Nga-Ti-Hau warriors sought the help of the god Rongamai. When
the sun was at its zenith, the god appeared:
"His appearance was
like a shining star,
like a fiery flame,
like a sun."
Rongamai flew over the village square and landed:
"The ground was stirred up,
Clouds of dust blocked our gaze,
The noise rolled like thunder,
Then like the rushing sound in a mussel shell."
The warriors were given fresh courage by this display of strength by the god and overran
their astounded enemies.
In the Tawhaki legend the maiden Hapai descends from the seventh heaven to earth to
spend the nights there with a "handsome man." This chosen man knows nothing of the
maiden's origin; not until she is pregnant does she reveal the "truth" that she came from a
distant world beyond his ken where she held the rank of goddess. Then, no longer a maiden,
she brings a daughter into the world and after giving birth returns into the cosmos.
The multiplicity of aids with which the mystery-enshrouded deities return to the universe is
bewildering. Sometimes endless ladders are used, which then disappear and are never seen
again, sometimes towers are present to aid the start, sometimes spiders' webs or vine
tendrils are strong enough to set the travelers moving heavenwards, but they are also often
carried by birds or dragons, or enter the void on ropes. But whatever the variant an old
woman is always present at take-off. Crouching on the ground, she counts potatoes. She
warns the deities of "winds that blow earthwards" and then she throws the potatoes into the
fire, one after another, nine, eight, seven, six, five ... The old woman organized a regular
countdown, just like they do at a Space Center.
In Polynesian Mythology, Wellington, New Zealand (undated), there is a legend which the
Polynesian fishermen used to tell:
"The warrior Uenuku was walking along the shore by the sea when he saw a column of mist