The Bird danced for him
His heart, captured by beauty
finally felt love
Tahaitian Bird Dance
Alcohol Inks on paper
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The Legend of Manuhere
Tetiaroa, the bird island, has a very beautiful legend about these splendid animals...
Long time ago, in the village of Tetiaroa lived a young boy named Vaitahi who liked to walk along the beaches of the island. One day he came across a splendid bird which he had never seen. It had fine and multicolored feathers more scintillating than the stars.
The boy was dazzled by such beauty, and the bird started to dance in front of the young boy. The beautiful bird landed on one of Vaitahi's shoulders and from that moment they became inseparable. They played and had fun together in the lagoon.
One day the beautiful bird became ill and was unable to eat or fly, which made it fall into a deep sleep. Everyone in Vaitahi's village tried to save the beautiful bird, which they called Manuhere. They gave it a leaf-based remedy but it didn't work. The coconuts and the birds tried to fan him, and the flowers tried to get him to breathe in their perfumes, but still he slept. They asked the goddess of the sea to massage him with a special oil, but still Mauhere did not move. They even asked a visiting ornithologist for help, but he could not.
Dispaired ad discouraged, the villagers sat around the lifeless bird. Vaitahi was in tears. They all sang melodies of love and friendship, which went up to the skies all night long.
In the morning when the sun began to rise, Manuhere started to gently move. He opened his eyes, moved his wings and stood up. "Manuhere is saved"" everyone shouted. What a miracle. Everyone was happy and hugged the beautiful bird. Vaitahi was overjoyed.
Later, when they asked the beautiful bird what had brought him back to life, he explained that it was love, the love which he had felt all around him and which had penetrated his heart and awakened it.
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