RONA AND THE MOON - An adaptation by Wiremu Grace - Illustrated by Andrew Burdan

Oct 17, 2026

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Rona and Tamanui-te-rā’s traditional marriage quickly turns rocky, filled with arguments, misunderstandings, and daily frustrations that affect everyone around them. After a night of bitter insults toward the full moon, Marama punishes Rona by lifting her into the sky. When Rona later finds peace, love, and purpose, Marama invites her back to Earth, and she chooses to stay—receiving a magical korowai that grants her control over tides, water, and human emotions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryComic

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Rona and the Moon

Rocky marriage and village attempts at harmony

The argument that leads to Rona’s punishment

Life in the sky and Rona’s new gift

RONA AND THE MOON. RONA AND THE MOON. An adaptation by Wiremu Grace Illustrated by Andrew Burdan Rona and her husband, Tamanui-te-rā did not have a happy marriage. In fact, their marriage was a rocky affair full of arguments and misunderstandings. They had married in a traditional taumau ceremony whereby they were chosen for each other by their grandparents and leaders of their respective tribes. Taumau marriages were quite common and were often to secure blood lines or align certain tribes with others. Most times these marriages would grow into happy unions between the chosen couple, but from day one, Rona and Tamanui-te-rā found they didn’t have much in common. To make things worse, on the night of their wedding there was a downpour, the marae was flooded and Rona’s whānau were forced to sleep in a sodden whare. This was the cause of the first argument between Rona and Tamanuite-rā – unfortunately for them, it was only the beginning. Over the years that followed, Rona and Tamanui-te-rā continued to battle with each other. They argued over anything and everything – doing chores, fetching water, gathering food, Anything that could possibly come between them, did. Rona and Tamanui-te-rā were oblivious to the fact that their arguing was painful for everyone else around them. The people of the village tried to set a good example for Tamanui-te-rā and Rona to teach the couple to live together in harmony, but unfortunately the unhappy couple could hear nothing but their own critical voices. One summer’s night when the moon was full and Rona and Tamanui-te-rā had gone to bed they began to argue over who was going to fill their tahā(water containers) . The reason they had no water in the first place was because they were both too busy arguing during the day to realise the tahā were empty. When Rona told Tamanui-te-rā that she was thirsty, he turned over in his bed and pretended to be asleep. “Don’t pretend you can’t hear me. I said I’m thirsty!” “Typical lazy attitude. Ever since we got married you’ve done practically nothing!” “And I prepared the veggies and cooked your fish, remember?” “It wasn’t burnt; you’ve just got no taste.” “Huh!” “I remember alright – it was burnt!” “I do nothing? I’m the one who caught the fish today!” “Well go and get some water. You’ve got legs.” “Huh!” Rona lay in the darkness fuming. When Tamanui-te-rā started snoring, Rona couldn’t take anymore and stormed out ofthe whare. She stomped down the path carrying the empty tahā, muttering to herself. “Useless ... good for nothing ... and always moaning. Moan! Moan! Moan! Actually he’s good for something: moaning! The best moaner in the pā!” Rona had no idea that her words were being carried up into the still night and that the large full moon, Marama, in the sky was listening. As Rona walked along the path, a breeze pushed clouds across the face of the moon, blocking the light and casting a dark shadow. Rona stumbled in the sudden darkness and fell to the ground grazing her arm. Her tahā scattered in front of her. Dazed, Rona felt around the ground for her tahā and gathered them up. As she stood up, the clouds passed. Boiling with anger, Rona looked up at Marama and cursed. “You stupid, inconsiderate moon! Couldn’t you see what I was doing or are you blind? Even the stars have more sense – at least they keep shining. It’s just stupidity, that’s what it is! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” Marama felt no pity for Rona or her temper and had soon heard enough of her insults. “Be careful what you say, lest you be made to pay.” Rona just laughed at the moon and carried on with her insults. After fifteen minutes of continuous barrage, Marama could take no more so he reached down out of the sky towards Rona. Rona saw Marama coming and tried to run, but he blinded her with his light and she had no wayto escape. Rona grabbed a ngaio tree growing on the side of the track, but Marama eventually pulled her and the tree up into the sky.

FAQs

How does Rona change after being taken to the sky?

At first she resents Marama, but over time he treats her with kindness. She learns to live differently, grows a garden, creates garments from stardust, and builds new rooms—eventually choosing to stay with Marama.

Oct 17, 2026

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