Rona, Who Was Taken by the Moon
A Māori story tells of a woman who cursed the Moon when it hid behind the clouds. The Moon came down and took her, and she's still there.
What was reported
In a story told by Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, a woman named Rona went out one night to fetch water from a stream for her children. As she walked, the Moon slipped behind the clouds, and in the dark she stumbled on roots and stones. In anger, she cursed the Moon.
The Moon heard her and came down to seize her. Rona grabbed hold of a ngaio tree, but the Moon pulled her up into the sky, tree and all, along with her water gourd. On clear nights, people say, you can see her in the Moon, holding her gourd, with the tree beside her.
Explanations offered
Rona's story is one of many around the Pacific that explain the markings on the Moon's face, alongside the story of Hina in Hawaiian and other Polynesian traditions. It's also told as a lesson about anger and respect for the natural world. Matariki, the Māori new year, has renewed interest in such sky stories.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- On the Moon's near side, as seen from Aotearoa New Zealand
- Witnesses
- Māori tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.