經過160年毛利人不懈的努力，紐西蘭成為第一個賦予一條河流“人權”的國家！這讓我想到之前讀過的毛利神話故事 . . .
毛利人相信“山”曾經是造物主、勇敢的勇士；在紐西蘭最大的湖泊Lake Taupo周圍，曾佇立著七大山，Toganriro就是其中之一。
在神話故事裡，這些山都是男性，除了一位之外，她叫做Pihanga，她有著傲人的美貌，讓所有男人都深深地愛著她。
一天晚上，男人們決定以戰爭來決定誰能贏得Pihanga和她相守，男人們開始以強烈的火山爆發、煙霧、大火和岩石鬥爭，把天空都遮蓋住，大地不停的搖晃，顯現出彼此的憤怒。
當戰爭終於結束，Tongariro勝利了！他贏得了永遠站在美麗的Pihanga旁相守的權利，也成為了大地之主。
其他男人只有一個晚上的時間，去找尋新的地方落腳，Ngauruhoe和Ruapehu移到了Tongariro南方，保持著一定的距離；Putauaki和Tauhara到了東方，太陽升起的那一刻，Putauaki正好也抵達了Kaingaroa平原的北端，靠近Rotorua，並成為了當地Ngāti Awa族的聖山；Tauhara無法承受失去Pihanga的傷痛，留在Lake Taupo湖畔，遠遠的望著湖另一頭的Pihanga；而Taranaki則被憤怒沖昏了頭，在移居能夠見到海景的西岸同時，在地上刮出了一道凹痕，並被他的淚水填滿，成為了Whanganui河（也就是這條剛得到人權的河流！）
(以上是我自己翻譯的，下有原文)
＿＿Legend of Tongariro原文＿＿
According to Māori belief, mountains were once gods and warriors of great strength. Tongariro was one of seven mountains that stood next to each other around Lake Taupo - New Zealand’s largest lake, and source of the Waikato river and spectacular Huka Falls.
In the legend, all the mountains were male except for Pihanga. She was a stunning beauty, and the other mountains were deeply in love with her.
One night, the mountains decided to fight for the right to win Pihanga. The warrior mountains fought fiercely with violent eruptions, smoke, fire and hot rocks that burned the sky for days. The land trembled and quaked under the force of their anger.
When the fighting ceased, mighty Tongariro was the victor. Having won Pihanga’s devotion and the right to stand next to her, Tongariro became supreme leader of the land.
The defeated warrior mountains were given the night to move away from the couple. At the dawn of the new day, they would be eternally fixed to the place where they rested.
Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu moved off to a respectable distance, just to the south of Tongariro. Putauaki and Tauhara headed to the east. As dawn broke, Putauaki settled at the northern end of the Kaingaroa plain, near Rotorua, and remained there as a mountain sacred to people of the Ngāti Awa tribe.
Tauhara, stricken with grief, could not bear to move far from Pihanga. He stayed on the shores of Lake Taupo, perpetually looking back across the lake to Pihanga. Taranaki, consumed by anger, gouged a great trail in the earth as he moved west to a place where he now stands overlooking the ocean below. The trail he left behind was filled with tears cried for Pihanga, and became the great Whanganui River.
#WanganuiRiver #Aotearoa #HumanRights
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39282918
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