The Moon, Rona & Ngaio

Rona went to fetch water from the spring for her whānau. It was dark when she went however there was bright moonlight from the fullness of the moon. It was Rākau-nui and Rona could see quite clearly as she walked along the path. She filled her hue with wai and made her way back to her whare. As she walked along the path the light began to fade. She looked up and saw that the moon had gone behind a dark heavy cloud. She walked slowly and carefully pleading with the moon to come out from behind the clouds. Rona's annoyance with the moon was brewing when suddenly she tripped on a rock and fell to the ground spilling the hue of wai. Rona cursed the moon for making her fall. "Look what you've done!" she screamed. The moon was annoyed with Rona for cursing and disrespecting him so he drew her up toward him. Rona could feel the pull of the moon drawing her internal fluids. She looked around for something to hold onto and saw a Ngaio tree. She quickly reached out to a branch and held on but the moon was so strong that it drew both her and the Ngaio tree up toward him. The Ngaio was pulled from the earth, roots and all and remained with Rona on the moon.

Ngaio is a fast growing tree up to 10 metres. Its delicate flowers are white spotted with purple and occur from mid-spring to mid-summer. The berries are purple and ripen through summer and autumn. The leaves are waxy and have pale, dot-like oil glands which are visible when held up to the light. The timber is white.

Ngaio is found in coastal and lowland forest throughout Aotearoa but uncommon in the deep south.

The spots on the leaves are caused by pellucid glands which contain ngaione. Ngaione is very toxic to stock.

Traditionally, the the young shoots were rubbed onto the skin to repel mosquitos

and sandflies.

Leaves were bruised and heated to release the oil for infected wounds and applied. The leaves were very effective in drawing out the paru.

Please note, it is not recommended to try this as the toxin ngaione,

can still seep into the system through the skin and may cause harm.

The pakiwaitara tells us that there is a strong connection between Rona, Ngaio and the moon. When the leaves are held up in the sunlight, the spots on the leaves look like a galaxy of stars and moons. The waxy leaves remind us of the waxing of the moon.

When the moon is full, Rona can be seen holding her hue and branches of the Ngaio.