This is a tale built around a real legend of the Māori people of New Zealand. Koro and his grandson are imagined. The legend of Waitaiki and the tradition of gifting pounamu belong to Māori, especially the Ngāi Tahu people of the South Island, and we share them here with respect.
The night before Nikau left for university on the other side of the world, his grandfather asked him to walk down to the river.
The Arahura River ran cold and fast over its stones, silver in the last of the light. Koro walked slowly now, leaning on his stick. When they reached the bank, he lowered himself onto a flat rock and patted the place beside him.
"Sit, boy."
Nikau sat. For a while neither of them spoke. Then Koro reached into his jacket and took out a small bundle of soft cloth.
"Before I give you this," he said, "you need to know the story of the stone. Otherwise it is just a pretty rock."
Waitaiki
"A long time ago," Koro began, "far to the north, there lived a beautiful woman named Waitaiki. She was the wife of a man called Tamaahua, and they loved each other very much.
"But one day, while she was bathing, she was seen by Poutini. Poutini was a taniwha, a great guardian spirit of the waters, and he wanted her for himself. So he took her, and fled south with her across the sea.
"Tamaahua came home and found his wife gone. He did not sit and weep. He took up his dart, threw it into the sky to show him the way, and set out after them. Across the ocean, along the coasts, through the storms. Every time Poutini stopped to rest, Tamaahua was not far behind."
The river rushed past their feet.
"At last, Poutini fled up this river. This one, boy, the Arahura. And he knew that Tamaahua was close, and that he could never keep Waitaiki. So, rather than give her up, he turned her into stone, and laid her down in the bed of the river."
The Green Stone
"When Tamaahua reached this place, he found her there, beneath the water. His beloved wife had become pounamu, the greenstone, cool and beautiful and still.
"He wept over her. His tangi, his cry of grief, echoed through these mountains. But he could not bring her back.
"And so, our people say, Waitaiki is still here. She is the mother of all the pounamu in this river. Every piece that has ever been found here is a part of her."
Nikau looked down at the water, at the smooth stones shining beneath it, and for a moment it felt as if someone were looking back.
A Gift, Never a Purchase
Koro unwrapped the cloth. Inside was a pendant of deep green pounamu, carved in the shape of a twist, two strands looping around each other and coming back together.
"This was carved for my father," Koro said, "from a stone his own grandfather found in this river. It has been worn by four generations. Now it is yours."
Nikau stared at it. "Koro, I can't take this."
"You can't buy it," his grandfather corrected him. "That is the rule. You never buy pounamu for yourself. It must be given, with love. That is how it gathers its mana, its spirit. Every person who wears it adds a little of themselves. One day, you will give it to someone too."
He placed the cord over Nikau's head. The stone was cold for a second, and then it warmed against his chest.
"Do you know what the twist means?"
Nikau shook his head.
"Two lives joined together," said Koro. "They may go far apart. They may cross oceans. But they always come back to each other."
He squeezed his grandson's shoulder.
"Like Tamaahua. Like you and me."
The Legend and the Truth
In New Zealand, jade, including nephrite, is known as pounamu or greenstone, and it is a taonga, a sacred treasure, to Māori. The South Island's Māori name, Te Waipounamu, means "the waters of greenstone." The Ngāi Tahu legend of Waitaiki, turned to stone by the taniwha Poutini and laid in the Arahura River, explains the origin of the pounamu found there. Today, Ngāi Tahu are the legal guardians of pounamu in their region.
Pounamu is carved into treasured forms such as the hei-tiki, the koru and the twist, a symbol of lasting bonds. A strong tradition holds that pounamu should be given as a gift rather than bought for oneself, and that a piece gains spirit and meaning as it passes through a family.
💡 Read more legends and true stories of jade in The Legends of Jade: More Precious Than Gold.
🛍️ A Gift That Lasts Generations
Explore antique jade and carvings in our French Quarter shop, with many new pieces arriving soon.
