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Title: Hawaiian Folk Tales - A Collection of Native Legends
Author: Thrum, Thomas G. (Thomas George), 1842-1932 [Editor]
Language: English
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Hawaiian Folk Tales
A Collection of Native Legends
Compiled by
Thos. G. Thrum
With sixteen illustrations from photographs
Chicago
A. C. McClurg & Co.
1907
Copyright, 1907
By
A. C. McClurg & Co.
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England
Published March 1, 1907
The Lakeside Press
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
Chicago
PREFACE
It is becoming more and more a matter of regret that a larger amount
of systematic effort was not established in early years for the
gathering and preservation of the folk-lore of the Hawaiians. The
world is under lasting obligations to the late Judge Fornander,
and to Dr. Rae before him, for their painstaking efforts to gather
the history of this people and trace their origin and migrations;
but Fornander's work only has seen the light, Dr. Rae's manuscript
having been accidentally destroyed by fire.
The early attempts of Dibble and Pogue to gather history from Hawaiians
themselves have preserved to native and foreign readers much that
would probably otherwise have been lost. To the late Judge Andrews we
are indebted for a very full grammar and dictionary of the language,
as also for a valuable manuscript collection of _meles_ and antiquarian
literature that passed to the custody of the Board of Education.
There were native historians in those days; the newspaper articles
of S. M. Kamakau, the earlier writings of David Malo, and the later
contributions of G. W. Pilipo and others are but samples of a wealth
of material, most of which has been lost forever to the world. From
time to time Prof. W. D. Alexander, as also C. J. Lyons, has furnished
interesting extracts from these and other hakus.
The Rev. A. O. Forbes devoted some time and thought to the collecting
of island folk-lore: and King Kalakaua took some pains in this line
also, as evidenced by his volume of "Legends and Myths of Hawaii,"
edited by R. M. Daggett, though there is much therein that is wholly
foreign to ancient Hawaiian customs and thought. No one of late years
had a better opportunity than Kalakaua toward collecting the _meles_,
_kaaos_, and traditions of his race; and for purposes looking to
this end there was established by law a Board of Genealogy, which
had an existence of some four years, but nothing of permanent value
resulted therefrom.
Fornander's manuscript collection of _meles_, legends, and genealogies
in the vernacular has fortunately become, by purchase, the property
of the Hon. C. R. Bishop, which insures for posterity the result of
one devoted scholar's efforts to rescue the ancient traditions that
are gradually slipping away; for the _haku meles_ (bards) of Hawaii
are gone. This fact, as also the Hawaiian Historical Society's desire
to aid and stimulate research into the history and traditions of this
people, strengthens the hope that some one may yet arise to give us
further insight into the legendary folk-lore of this interesting race.
T. G. T.
_Honolulu_, January 1, 1907.
NOTE
In response to repeated requests, the compiler now presents in book
form the series of legends that have been made a feature of "The
Hawaiian Annual" for a number of years past. The series has been
enriched by the addition of several tales, the famous shark legend
having been furnished for this purpose from the papers of the Hawaiian
Historical Society.
The collection embraces contributions by the Rev. A. O. Forbes,
Dr. N. B. Emerson, J. S. Emerson, Mrs. E. M. Nakuina, W. M. Gibson,
Dr. C. M. Hyde, and others, all of whom are recognized authorities.
T. G. T.
_Honolulu_, January 1, 1907.
CONTENTS
I. Legends Resembling Old Testament History.
Rev. C. M. Hyde, D.D. 15
II. Exploits of Maui.
Rev. A. O. Forbes
I. Snaring the Sun 31
II. The Origin of Fire 33
III. Pele and the Deluge.
Rev. A. O. Forbes 36
IV. Pele and Kahawali.
From Ellis's "Tour of Hawaii" 39
V. Hiku and Kawelu.
J. S. Emerson 43
Location of the Lua o Milu 48
VI. Lonopuha; or, Origin of the Art of Healing in Hawaii.
Translated by Thos. G. Thrum 51
VII. A Visit to the Spirit Land; or, The Strange Experience of
a Woman in Kona, Hawaii.
Mrs. E. N. Haley 58
VIII. Kapeepeekauila; or, The Rocks of Kana.
Rev. A. O. Forbes 63
IX. Kalelealuaka.
Dr. N. B. Emerson 74
X. Stories of the Menehunes: Hawaii the Original Home of the
Brownies.
Thos. G. Thrum 107
Moke Manu's Account 109
Pi's Watercourse 110
Laka's Adventure 111
Kekupua's Canoe 114
As Heiau Builders 116
XI. Kahalaopuna, Princess of Manoa.
Mrs. E. M. Nakuina 118
XII. The Punahou Spring.
Mrs. E. M. Nakuina 133
XIII. Oahunui.
Mrs. E. M. Nakuina 139
XIV. Ahuula: A Legend of Kanikaniaula and the First Feather Cloak.
Mrs. E. M. Nakuina 147
XV. Kaala and Kaaialii: A Legend of Lanai.
W. M. Gibson 156
XVI. The Tomb of Puupehe: A Legend of Lanai.
From "The Hawaiian Gazette" 181
XVII. Ai Kanaka: A Legend of Molokai.
Rev. A. O. Forbes 186
XVIII. Kaliuwaa. Scene of the Demigod Kamapuaa's Escape from
Olopana.
From "The Hawaiian Spectator" 193
XIX. Battle of the Owls.
Jos. M. Poepoe 200
XX. This Land is the Sea's. Traditional Account of an Ancient
Hawaiian Prophecy.
Translated from Moke Manu by Thos. G. Thrum 203
XXI. Ku-ula, the Fish God of Hawaii.
Translated from Moke Manu by M. K. Nakuina 215
XXII. Aiai, Son of Ku-ula. Part II of the Legend of Ku-ula,
the Fish God of Hawaii.
Translated from Moke Manu by M. K. Nakuina 230
XXIII. Kaneaukai: A Legend of Waialua.
Thos. G. Thrum 250
XXIV. The Shark-man, Nanaue.
Mrs. E. M. Nakuina 255
XXV. Fish Stories and Superstitions.
Translated by M. K. Nakuina 269
Glossary 277
ILLUSTRATIONS
Hawaiian Girl of the Old Régime Frontispiece
A Lava Cascade 40
View in Wainiha Valley, Kauai 66
Scene in Olokele Gulch, Makaweli, Kauai 86
"The Deep Blue Palis of Koolau" 104
Scene from the Road over Nuuanu Pali 112
View at the Head of Manoa Valley, Oahu 120
The Favorite Sport of Surf-Riding 130
Hawaiian Arrayed in Feather Cloak and Helmet 150
The Ceremony of the Hula 158
The Hula Dance 162
Kuumana, the Rain God of Kau 196
A Grass House of the Olden Time 210
Making Ready the Feast 228
Hawaiian Fisherman Using the Throw-Net 246
Coast Surf Scene 262
I
LEGENDS RESEMBLING OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY
_Rev. C. M. Hyde, D.D._
In the first volume of Judge Fornander's elaborate work on "The
Polynesian Race" he has given some old Hawaiian legends which closely
resemble the Old Testament history. How shall we account for such
coincidences?
Take, for instance, the Hawaiian account of the Creation. The
_Kane_, _Ku_ and _Lono:_ or, Sunlight, Substance, and Sound,--these
constituted a triad named _Ku-Kaua-Kahi_, or the Fundamental Supreme
Unity. In worship the reverence due was expressed by such epithets as
_Hi-ka-po-loa, Oi-e,_ Most Excellent, etc. "These gods existed from
eternity, from and before chaos, or, as the Hawaiian term expressed
it, '_mai ka po mia_' (from the time of night, darkness, chaos). By
an act of their will these gods dissipated or broke into pieces the
existing, surrounding, all-containing _po_, night, or chaos. By this
act light entered into space. They then created the heavens, three in
number, as a place to dwell in; and the earth to be their footstool,
_he keehina honua a Kane_. Next they created the sun, moon, stars,
and a host of angels, or spirits--_i kini akua_--to minister to
them. Last of all they created man as the model, or in the likeness
of Kane. The body of the first man was made of red earth--_lepo ula_,
or _alaea_--and the spittle of the gods--_wai nao_. His head was made
of a whitish clay--_palolo_--which was brought from the four ends of
the world by Lono. When the earth-image of Kane was ready, the three
gods breathed into its nose, and called on it to rise, and it became
a living being. Afterwards the first woman was created from one of
the ribs--_lalo puhaka_--of the man while asleep, and these two were
the progenitors of all mankind. They are called in the chants and in
various legends by a large number of different names; but the most
common for the man was Kumuhonua, and for the woman Keolakuhonua
[or _Lalahonua_].
"Of the creation of animals these chants are silent; but from the
pure tradition it may be inferred that the earth at the time of its
creation or emergence from the watery chaos was stocked with vegetable
and animal. The animals specially mentioned in the tradition as having
been created by Kane were hogs (_puaa_), dogs (_ilio_), lizards or
reptiles (_moo_).
"Another legend of the series, that of _Wela-ahi-lani_, states
that after Kane had destroyed the world by fire, on account of the
wickedness of the people then living, he organized it as it now is,
and created the first man and the first woman, with the assistance
of Ku and Lono, nearly in the same manner as narrated in the former
legend of Kumuhonua. In this legend the man is called Wela-ahi-lani,
and the woman is called Owe."
Of the primeval home, the original ancestral seat of mankind,
Hawaiian traditions speak in highest praise. "It had a number of
names of various meanings, though the most generally occurring,
and said to be the oldest, was _Kalana-i-hau-ola_ (Kalana with
the life-giving dew). It was situated in a large country, or
continent, variously called in the legends Kahiki-honua-kele,
Kahiki-ku, Kapa-kapa-ua-a-Kane, Molo-lani. Among other names
for the primary homestead, or paradise, are _Pali-uli_ (the blue
mountain), _Aina-i-ka-kaupo-o-Kane_ (the land in the heart of Kane),
_Aina-wai-akua-a-Kane_ (the land of the divine water of Kane). The
tradition says of Pali-uli, that it was a sacred, tabooed land; that
a man must be righteous to attain it; if faulty or sinful he will not
get there; if he looks behind he will not get there; if he prefers his
family he will not enter Pali-uli." "Among other adornments of the
Polynesian Paradise, the Kalana-i-hau-ola, there grew the _Ulu kapu
a Kane_, the breadfruit tabooed for Kane, and the _ohia hemolele_,
the sacred apple-tree. The priests of the olden time are said to
have held that the tabooed fruits of these trees were in some manner
connected with the trouble and death of Kumuhonua and Lalahonua,
the first man and the first woman. Hence in the ancient chants he is
called _Kane-laa-uli, Kumu-uli, Kulu-ipo_, the fallen chief, he who
fell on account of the tree, or names of similar import."
According to those legends of Kumuhonua and Wela-ahi-lani, "at the
time when the gods created the stars, they also created a multitude
of angels, or spirits (_i kini akua_), who were not created like
men, but made from the spittle of the gods (_i kuhaia_), to be their
servants or messengers. These spirits, or a number of them, disobeyed
and revolted, because they were denied the _awa_; which means that
they were not permitted to be worshipped, _awa_ being a sacrificial
offering and sign of worship. These evil spirits did not prevail,
however, but were conquered by Kane, and thrust down into uttermost
darkness (_ilalo loa i ka po_). The chief of these spirits was called
by some Kanaloa, by others Milu, the ruler of Po; Akua ino; Kupu ino,
the evil spirit. Other legends, however, state that the veritable and
primordial lord of the Hawaiian inferno was called Manua. The inferno
itself bore a number of names, such as Po-pau-ole, Po-kua-kini,
Po-kini-kini, Po-papa-ia-owa, Po-ia-milu. Milu, according to those
other legends, was a chief of superior wickedness on earth who was
thrust down into Po, but who was really both inferior and posterior to
Manua. This inferno, this Po, with many names, one of which remarkably
enough was _Ke-po-lua-ahi_, the pit of fire, was not an entirely
dark place. There was light of some kind and there was fire. The
legends further tell us that when Kane, Ku, and Lono were creating
the first man from the earth, Kanaloa was present, and in imitation
of Kane, attempted to make another man out of the earth. When his
clay model was ready, he called to it to become alive, but no life
came to it. Then Kanaloa became very angry, and said to Kane, 'I
will take your man, and he shall die,' and so it happened. Hence the
first man got his other name _Kumu-uli_, which means a fallen chief,
_he 'lii kahuli_.... With the Hawaiians, Kanaloa is the personified
spirit of evil, the origin of death, the prince of Po, or chaos, and
yet a revolted, disobedient spirit, who was conquered and punished by
Kane. The introduction and worship of Kanaloa, as one of the great
gods in the Hawaiian group, can be traced back only to the time of
the immigration from the southern groups, some eight hundred years
ago. In the more ancient chants he is never mentioned in conjunction
with Kane, Ku, and Lono, and even in later Hawaiian mythology he never
took precedence of Kane. The Hawaiian legend states that the oldest
son of Kumuhonua, the first man, was called Laka, and that the next
was called Ahu, and that Laka was a bad man; he killed his brother Ahu.
"There are these different Hawaiian genealogies, going back with
more or less agreement among themselves to the first created man. The
genealogy of Kumuhonua gives thirteen generations inclusive to Nuu,
or Kahinalii, or the line of Laka, the oldest son of Kumuhonua. (The
line of Seth from Adam to Noah counts ten generations.) The second
genealogy, called that of Kumu-uli, was of greatest authority among
the highest chiefs down to the latest times, and it was taboo to teach
it to the common people. This genealogy counts fourteen generations
from Huli-houna, the first man, to Nuu, or Nana-nuu, but inclusive,
on the line of Laka. The third genealogy, which, properly speaking,
is that of Paao, the high-priest who came with Pili from Tahiti,
about twenty-five generations ago, and was a reformer of the Hawaiian
priesthood, and among whose descendants it has been preserved, counts
only twelve generations from Kumuhonua to Nuu, on the line of Kapili,
youngest son of Kumuhonua."
"In the Hawaiian group there are several legends of the Flood. One
legend relates that in the time of Nuu, or Nana-nuu (also pronounced
_lana_, that is, floating), the flood, _Kaiakahinalii_, came upon
the earth, and destroyed all living beings; that Nuu, by command of
his god, built a large vessel with a house on top of it, which was
called and is referred to in chants as '_He waa halau Alii o ka Moku_,'
the royal vessel, in which he and his family, consisting of his wife,
Lilinoe, his three sons and their wives, were saved. When the flood
subsided, Kane, Ku, and Lono entered the _waa halau_ of Nuu, and told
him to go out. He did so, and found himself on the top of Mauna Kea
(the highest mountain on the island of Hawaii). He called a cave
there after the name of his wife, and the cave remains there to this
day--as the legend says in testimony of the fact. Other versions of the
legend say that Nuu landed and dwelt in Kahiki-honua-kele, a large and
extensive country." ... "Nuu left the vessel in the evening of the day
and took with him a pig, cocoanuts, and _awa_ as an offering to the
god Kane. As he looked up he saw the moon in the sky. He thought it
was the god, saying to himself, 'You are Kane, no doubt, though you
have transformed yourself to my sight.' So he worshipped the moon,
and offered his offerings. Then Kane descended on the rainbow and
spoke reprovingly to Nuu, but on account of the mistake Nuu escaped
punishment, having asked pardon of Kane." ... "Nuu's three sons were
Nalu-akea, Nalu-hoo-hua, and Nalu-mana-mana. In the tenth generation
from Nuu arose Lua-nuu, or the second Nuu, known also in the legend
as Kane-hoa-lani, Kupule, and other names. The legend adds that by
command of his god he was the first to introduce circumcision to be
practised among his descendants. He left his native home and moved a
long way off until he reached a land called Honua-ilalo, 'the southern
country.' Hence he got the name Lalo-kona, and his wife was called
Honua-po-ilalo. He was the father of Ku-nawao by his slave-woman Ahu
(O-ahu) and of Kalani-menehune by his wife, Mee-hewa. Another says
that the god Kane ordered Lua-nuu to go up on a mountain and perform
a sacrifice there. Lua-nuu looked among the mountains of Kahiki-ku,
but none of them appeared suitable for the purpose. Then Lua-nuu
inquired of God where he might find a proper place. God replied to
him: 'Go travel to the eastward, and where you find a sharp-peaked
hill projecting precipitously into the ocean, that is the hill for
the sacrifice.' Then Lua-nuu and his son, Kupulu-pulu-a-Nuu, and his
servant, Pili-lua-nuu, started off in their boat to the eastward. In
remembrance of this event the Hawaiians called the back of Kualoa
_Koo-lau_; Oahu (after one of Lua-nuu's names), _Kane-hoa-lani_;
and the smaller hills in front of it were named _Kupu-pulu_ and
_Pili-lua-nuu_. Lua-nuu is the tenth descendant from Nuu by both the
oldest and the youngest of Nuu's sons. This oldest son is represented
to have been the progenitor of the _Kanaka-maoli_, the people living
on the mainland of Kane (_Aina kumupuaa a Kane_): the youngest was the
progenitor of the white people (_ka poe keo keo maoli_). This Lua-nuu
(like Abraham, the tenth from Noah, also like Abraham), through his
grandson, Kini-lau-a-mano, became the ancestor of the twelve children
of the latter, and the original founder of the Menehune people,
from whom this legend makes the Polynesian family descend."
The Rev. Sheldon Dibble, in his history of the Sandwich Islands,
published at Lahainaluna, in 1843, gives a tradition which very
much resembles the history of Joseph. "Waikelenuiaiku was one of ten
brethren who had one sister. They were all the children of one father,
whose name was Waiku. Waikelenuiaiku was much beloved by his father,
but his brethren hated him. On account of their hatred they carried him
and cast him into a pit belonging to Holonaeole. The oldest brother
had pity on him, and gave charge to Holonaeole to take good care of
him. Waikelenuiaiku escaped and fled to a country over which reigned a
king whose name was Kamohoalii. There he was thrown into a dark place,
a pit under ground, in which many persons were confined for various
crimes. Whilst confined in this dark place he told his companions to
dream dreams and tell them to him. The night following four of the
prisoners had dreams. The first dreamed that he saw a ripe _ohia_
(native apple), and his spirit ate it; the second dreamed that he saw
a ripe banana, and his spirit ate it; the third dreamed that he saw a
hog, and his spirit ate it; and the fourth dreamed that he saw _awa_,
pressed out the juice, and his spirit drank it. The first three dreams,
pertaining to food, Waikelenuiaiku interpreted unfavorably, and told
the dreamers they must prepare to die. The fourth dream, pertaining to
drink, he interpreted to signify deliverance and life. The first three
dreamers were slain according to the interpretation, and the fourth
was delivered and saved. Afterward this last dreamer told Kamohoalii,
the king of the land, how wonderful was the skill of Waikelenuiaiku in
interpreting dreams, and the king sent and delivered him from prison
and made him a principal chief in his kingdom."
Judge Fornander alludes to this legend, giving the name,
however, _Aukelenui-a-Iku_, and adding to it the account of
the hero's journey to the place where the water of life was
kept (_ka-wai-ola-loa-a-Kane_), his obtaining it and therewith
resuscitating his brothers, who had been killed by drowning some
years before. Another striking similarity is that furnished to Judge
Fornander in the legend of _Ke-alii-waha-nui_: "He was king of the
country called Honua-i-lalo. He oppressed the Menehune people. Their
god Kane sent Kane-apua and Kaneloa, his elder brother, to bring the
people away, and take them to the land which Kane had given them, and
which was called _Ka aina momona a Kane_, or _Ka one lauena a Kane_,
and also _Ka aina i ka haupo a Kane_. The people were then told to
observe the four Ku days in the beginning of the month as _Kapu-hoano_
(sacred or holy days), in remembrance of this event, because they
thus arose (_Ku_) to depart from that land. Their offerings on the
occasion were swine and goats." The narrator of the legend explains
that formerly there were goats without horns, called _malailua_,
on the slopes of Mauna Loa on Hawaii, and that they were found there
up to the time of Kamehameha I. The legend further relates that after
leaving the land of Honualalo, the people came to the _Kai-ula-a-Kane_
(the Red Sea of Kane); that they were pursued by Ke-alii-waha-nui;
that Kane-apua and Kanaloa prayed to Lono, and finally reached the
_Aina lauena a Kane_.
"In the famous Hawaiian legend of _Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele_, it
is said that when Hiiaka went to the island of Kauai to recover
and restore to life the body of Lohiau, the lover of her sister,
Pele, she arrived at the foot of the Kalalau Mountain shortly before
sunset. Being told by her friends at Haena that there would not be
daylight sufficient to climb the _pali_ (precipice) and get the body
out of the cave in which it was hidden, she prayed to her gods to keep
the sun stationary (_i ka muli o Hea_) over the brook Hea, until she
had accomplished her object. The prayer was heard, the mountain was
climbed, the guardians of the cave vanquished, and the body recovered."
A story of retarding the sun and making the day longer to accomplish
his purpose is told of Maui-a-kalana, according to Dibble's history.
Judge Fornander alludes to one other legend with incidents similar to
the Old Testament history wherein "Na-ula-a-Mainea, an Oahu prophet,
left Oahu for Kauai, was upset in his canoe, was swallowed by a whale,
and thrown up alive on the beach at Wailua, Kauai."
Judge Fornander says that, when he first heard the legend of the two
brother prophets delivering the Menehune people, "he was inclined to
doubt its genuineness and to consider it as a paraphrase or adaptation
of the Biblical account by some semi-civilized or semi-Christianized
Hawaiian, after the discovery of the group by Captain Cook. But a
larger and better acquaintance with Hawaiian folk-lore has shown that
though the details of the legend, as interpreted by the Christian
Hawaiian from whom it was received, may possibly in some degree, and
unconsciously to him, perhaps, have received a Biblical coloring, yet
the main facts of the legend, with the identical names of persons and
places, are referred to more or less distinctly in other legends of
undoubted antiquity." And the Rev. Mr. Dibble, in his history, says
of these Hawaiian legends, that "they were told to the missionaries
before the Bible was translated into the Hawaiian tongue, and before
the people knew much of sacred history. The native who acted as
assistant in translating the history of Joseph was forcibly struck
with its similarity to their ancient tradition. Neither is there
the least room for supposing that the songs referred to are recent
inventions. They can all be traced back for generations, and are
known by various persons residing on different islands who have had
no communication with each other. Some of them have their date in
the reign of some ancient king, and others have existed time out of
mind. It may also be added, that both their narrations and songs are
known the best by the very oldest of the people, and those who never
learned to read; whose education and training were under the ancient
system of heathenism."
"Two hypotheses," says Judge Fornander, "may with some plausibility be
suggested to account for this remarkable resemblance of folk-lore. One
is, that during the time of the Spanish galleon trade, in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, between the Spanish Main and Manila,
some shipwrecked people, Spaniards and Portuguese, had obtained
sufficient influence to introduce these scraps of Bible history
into the legendary lore of this people.... On this fact hypothesis
I remark that, if the shipwrecked foreigners were educated men, or
only possessed of such Scriptural knowledge as was then imparted to
the commonality of laymen, it is morally impossible to conceive that
a Spaniard of the sixteenth century should confine his instruction to
some of the leading events of the Old Testament, and be totally silent
upon the Christian dispensation, and the cruciolatry, mariolatry,
and hagiolatry of that day. And it is equally impossible to conceive
that the Hawaiian listeners, chiefs, priests, or commoners, should have
retained and incorporated so much of the former in their own folk-lore,
and yet have utterly forgotten every item bearing upon the latter.
"The other hypothesis is, that at some remote period either a body
of the scattered Israelites had arrived at these islands direct, or
in Malaysia, before the exodus of 'the Polynesian family,' and thus
imparted a knowledge of their doctrines, of the early life of their
ancestors, and of some of their peculiar customs, and that having
been absorbed by the people among whom they found a refuge, this is
all that remains to attest their presence--intellectual tombstones
over a lost and forgotten race, yet sufficient after twenty-six
centuries of silence to solve in some measure the ethnic puzzle of
the lost tribes of Israel. In regard to this second hypothesis, it
is certainly more plausible and cannot be so curtly disposed of as
the Spanish theory.... So far from being copied one from the other,
they are in fact independent and original versions of a once common
legend, or series of legends, held alike by Cushite, Semite, Turanian,
and Aryan, up to a certain time, when the divergencies of national
life and other causes brought other subjects peculiar to each other
prominently in the foreground; and that as these divergencies hardened
into system and creed, that grand old heirloom of a common past became
overlaid and colored by the peculiar social and religious atmosphere
through which it has passed up to the surface of the present time. But
besides this general reason for refusing to adopt the Israelitish
theory, that the Polynesian legends were introduced by fugitive or
emigrant Hebrews from the subverted kingdoms of Israel or Judah,
there is the more special reason to be added that the organization
and splendor of Solomon's empire, his temple, and his wisdom became
proverbial among the nations of the East subsequent to his time;
on all these, the Polynesian legends are absolutely silent."
In commenting on the legend of _Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele_, Judge
Fornander says: "If the Hebrew legend of Joshua or a Cushite version
give rise to it, it only brings down the community of legends a little
later in time. And so would the legend of _Naulu-a-Mahea_,... unless
the legend of Jonah, with which it corresponds in a measure, as well
as the previous legend of Joshua and the sun, were Hebrew anachronisms
compiled and adapted in later times from long antecedent materials,
of which the Polynesian references are but broken and distorted echoes,
bits of legendary mosaics, displaced from their original surroundings
and made to fit with later associations."
In regard to the account of the Creation, he remarks that "the Hebrew
legend infers that the god Elohim existed contemporaneously with
and apart from the chaos. The Hawaiian legend makes the three great
gods, Kane, Ku, and Lono, evolve themselves out of chaos.... The
order of creation, according to Hawaiian folk-lore, was that after
Heaven and earth had been separated, and the ocean had been stocked
with its animals, the stars were created, then the moon, then the
sun." Alluding to the fact that the account in Genesis is truer to
nature, Judge Fornander nevertheless propounds the inquiry whether
this fact may not "indicate that the Hebrew text is a later emendation
of an older but once common tradition"?
Highest antiquity is claimed for Hawaiian traditions in regard to
events subsequent to the creation of man. "In one of the sacrificial
hymns of the Marquesans, when human victims were offered, frequent
allusions were made to 'the red apples eaten in Naoau,' ... and to the
'tabooed apples of Atea,' as the cause of death, wars, pestilence,
famine, and other calamities, only to be averted or atoned for by the
sacrifice of human victims. The close connection between the Hawaiian
and the Marquesan legends indicates a common origin, and that origin
can be no other than that from which the Chaldean and Hebrew legends
of sacred trees, disobedience, and fall also sprang." In comparison of
"the Hawaiian myth of Kanaloa as a fallen angel antagonistic to the
great gods, as the spirit of evil and death in the world, the Hebrew
legends are more vague and indefinite as to the existence of an evil
principle. The serpent of Genesis, the Satan of Job, the Hillel of
Isaiah, the dragon of the Apocalypse--all point, however, to the
same underlying idea that the first cause of sin, death, evil, and
calamities, was to be found in disobedience and revolt from God. They
appear as disconnected scenes of a once grand drama that in olden
times riveted the attention of mankind, and of which, strange to
say, the clearest synopsis and the most coherent recollection are,
so far, to be found in Polynesian traditions. It is probably in vain
to inquire with whom the legend of an evil spirit and his operations
in Heaven and on earth had its origin. Notwithstanding the apparent
unity of design and remarkable coincidence in many points, yet the
differences in coloring, detail, and presentation are too great to
suppose the legend borrowed by one from either of the others. It
probably descended to the Chaldeans, Polynesians, and Hebrews alike,
from a source or people anterior to themselves, of whom history now
is silent."
II
EXPLOITS OF MAUI
_Rev. A. O. Forbes_
I.--SNARING THE SUN
Maui was the son of Hina-lau-ae and Hina, and they dwelt at a place
called Makalia, above Kahakuloa, on West Maui. Now, his mother Hina
made _kapas_. And as she spread them out to dry, the days were so
short that she was put to great trouble and labor in hanging them
out and taking them in day after day until they were dry. Maui,
seeing this, was filled with pity for her, for the days were so
short that, no sooner had she got her kapas all spread out to dry,
than the Sun went down, and she had to take them in again. So he
determined to make the Sun go slower. He first went to Wailohi, in
Hamakua, on East Maui, to observe the motions of the Sun. There he
saw that it rose toward Hana. He then went up on Haleakala, and saw
that the Sun in its course came directly over that mountain. He then
went home again, and after a few days went to a place called Paeloko,
at Waihee. There he cut down all the cocoanut-trees, and gathered the
fibre of the cocoanut husks in great quantity. This he manufactured
into strong cord. One Moemoe, seeing this, said tauntingly to him:
"Thou wilt never catch the Sun. Thou art an idle nobody."
Maui answered: "When I conquer my enemy, and my desire is attained,
I will be your death." So he went up Haleakala again, taking his
cord with him. And when the Sun arose above where he was stationed,
he prepared a noose of the cord and, casting it, snared one of the
Sun's larger beams and broke it off. And thus he snared and broke off,
one after another, all the strong rays of the Sun.
Then shouted he exultingly: "Thou art my captive, and now I will kill
thee for thy going so swiftly."
And the Sun said: "Let me live, and thou shalt see me go more slowly
hereafter. Behold, hast thou not broken off all my strong legs,
and left me only the weak ones?"
So the agreement was made, and Maui permitted the Sun to pursue
its course, and from that time on it went more slowly; and that is
the reason why the days are longer at one season of the year than at
another. It was this that gave the name to that mountain, which should
properly be called _Alehe-ka-la_ (sun snarer), and not _Haleakala_.
When Maui returned from this exploit, he went to find Moemoe, who
had reviled him. But that individual was not at home. He went on in
his pursuit till he came upon him at a place called Kawaiopilopilo,
on the shore to the eastward of the black rock called Kekaa, north
of Lahaina. Moemoe dodged him up hill and down, until at last Maui,
growing wroth, leaped upon and slew the fugitive. And the dead body
was transformed into a long rock, which is there to this day, by the
side of the road.
II.--THE ORIGIN OF FIRE
Maui and Hina dwelt together, and to them were born four sons, whose
names were Maui-mua, Maui-hope, Maui-kiikii, and Maui-o-ka-lana. These
four were fishermen. One morning, just as the edge of the Sun lifted
itself up, Maui-mua roused his brethren to go fishing. So they
launched their canoe from the beach at Kaupo, on the island of Maui,
where they were dwelling, and proceeded to the fishing ground. Having
arrived there, they were beginning to fish, when Maui-o-ka-lana saw the
light of a fire on the shore they had left, and said to his brethren:
"Behold, there is a fire burning. Whose can this fire be?"
And they answered: "Whose, indeed? Let us return to the shore, that
we may get our food cooked; but first let us get some fish."
So, after they had obtained some fish, they turned toward the shore;
and when the canoe touched the beach Maui-mua leaped ashore and ran
toward the spot where the fire had been burning. Now, the curly-tailed
_alae_ (mud-hens) were the keepers of the fire; and when they saw
him coming they scratched the fire out and flew away. Maui-mua was
defeated, and returned to the house to his brethren.
Then said they to him: "How about the fire?"
"How, indeed?" he answered. "When I got there, behold, there was
no fire; it was out. I supposed some man had the fire, and behold,
it was not so; the alae are the proprietors of the fire, and our
bananas are all stolen."
When they heard that, they were filled with anger, and decided not
to go fishing again, but to wait for the next appearance of the
fire. But after many days had passed without their seeing the fire,
they went fishing again, and behold, there was the fire! And so they
were continually tantalized. Only when they were out fishing would
the fire appear, and when they returned they could not find it.
This was the way of it. The curly-tailed alae knew that Maui and
Hina had only these four sons, and if any of them stayed on shore
to watch the fire while the others were out in the canoe the alae
knew it by counting those in the canoe, and would not light the
fire. Only when they could count four men in the canoe would they
light the fire. So Maui-mua thought it over, and said to his brethren:
"To-morrow morning do you go fishing, and I will stay ashore. But do
you take the calabash and dress it in kapa, and put it in my place
in the canoe, and then go out to fish."
They did so, and when they went out to fish the next morning, the alae
counted and saw four figures in the canoe, and then they lit the fire
and put the bananas on to roast. Before they were fully baked one of
the alae cried out: "Our dish is cooked! Behold, Hina has a smart son."
And with that, Maui-mua, who had stolen close to them unperceived,
leaped forward, seized the curly-tailed alae and exclaimed: "Now
I will kill you, you scamp of an alae! Behold, it is you who are
keeping the fire from us. I will be the death of you for this."
Then answered the alae: "If you kill me the secret dies with me,
and you won't get the fire." As Maui-mua began to wring its neck, the
alae again spoke, and said: "Let me live, and you shall have the fire."
So Maui-mua said: "Tell me, where is the fire?"
The alae replied: "It is in the leaf of the a-pe plant" (_Alocasia
macrorrhiza_).
So, by the direction of the alae, Maui-mua began to rub the leaf-stalk
of the a-pe plant with a piece of stick, but the fire would not
come. Again he asked: "Where is this fire that you are hiding from me?"
The alae answered: "In a green stick."
And he rubbed a green stick, but got no fire. So it went on, until
finally the alae told him he would find it in a dry stick; and so,
indeed, he did. But Maui-mua, in revenge for the conduct of the alae,
after he had got the fire from the dry stick, said: "Now, there is
one thing more to try." And he rubbed the top of the alae's head till
it was red with blood, and the red spot remains there to this day.
III
PELE AND THE DELUGE
_Rev. A. O. Forbes_
All volcanic phenomena are associated in Hawaiian legendary lore
with the goddess Pele; and it is a somewhat curious fact that to
the same celebrated personage is also attributed a great flood that
occurred in ancient times. The legends of this flood are various,
but mainly connected with the doings of Pele in this part of the
Pacific Ocean. The story runs thus:
Kahinalii was the mother of Pele; Kanehoalani was her father; and
her two brothers were Kamohoalii and Kahuilaokalani. Pele was born
in the land of Hapakuela, a far-distant land at the edge of the sky,
toward the southwest. There she lived with her parents until she was
grown up, when she married Wahialoa; and to these were born a daughter
named Laka, and a son named Menehune. But after a time Pele's husband,
Wahialoa, was enticed away from her by Pele-kumulani. The deserted
Pele, being much displeased and troubled in mind on account of her
husband, started on her travels in search of him, and came in the
direction of the Hawaiian Islands. Now, at that time these islands were
a vast waste. There was no sea, nor was there any fresh water. When
Pele set out on her journey, her parents gave her the sea to go with
her and bear her canoes onward. So she sailed forward, flood-borne by
the sea, until she reached the land of Pakuela, and thence onward to
the land of Kanaloa. From her head she poured forth the sea as she
went, and her brothers composed the celebrated ancient mele:
O the sea, the great sea!
Forth bursts the sea:
Behold, it bursts on Kanaloa!
But the waters of the sea continued to rise until only the highest
points of the great mountains, Haleakala, Maunakea, and Maunaloa,
were visible; all else was covered. Afterward the sea receded until it
reached its present level. This event is called the _Kai a Kahinalii_
(Sea of Kahinalii), because it was from Kahinalii, her mother, that
Pele received the gift of the sea, and she herself only brought it
to Hawaii.
And from that time to this, Pele and all her family forsook their
former land of Hapakuela and have dwelt in Hawaii-nei, Pele coming
first and the rest following at a later time.
On her first arrival at Hawaii-nei, Pele dwelt on the island of
Kauai. From there she went to Kalaupapa, [1] on the island of
Molokai, and dwelt in the crater of Kauhako at that place; thence
she departed to Puulaina, [2] near Lahainaluna, where she dug out
that crater. Afterward she moved still further to Haleakala, where
she stayed until she hollowed out that great crater; and finally she
settled at Kilauea, on the island of Hawaii, where she has remained
ever since. [3]
IV
PELE AND KAHAWALI
_From Ellis's "Tour of Hawaii"_
In the reign of Kealiikukii, an ancient king of Hawaii, Kahawali,
chief of Puna, and one of his favorite companions went one day to
amuse themselves with the _holua_ (sled), on the sloping side of a
hill, which is still called _ka holua ana o Kahawali_ (Kahawali's
sliding-place). Vast numbers of the people gathered at the bottom of
the hill to witness the game, and a company of musicians and dancers
repaired thither to add to the amusement of the spectators. The
performers began their dance, and amidst the sound of drums and the
songs of the musicians the sledding of Kahawali and his companion
commenced. The hilarity of the occasion attracted the attention of
Pele, the goddess of the volcano, who came down from Kilauea to witness
the sport. Standing on the summit of the hill in the form of a woman,
she challenged Kahawali to slide with her. He accepted the offer,
and they set off together down the hill. Pele, less acquainted with
the art of balancing herself on the narrow sled than her rival, was
beaten, and Kahawali was applauded by the spectators as he returned
up the side of the hill.
Before starting again, Pele asked him to give her his _papa holua_,
but he, supposing from her appearance that she was no more than a
native woman, said: "_Aole!_ (no!) Are you my wife, that you should
obtain my sled?" And, as if impatient at being delayed, he adjusted his
papa, ran a few yards to take a spring, and then, with this momentum
and all his strength he threw himself upon it and shot down the hill.
Pele, incensed at his answer, stamped her foot on the ground and
an earthquake followed, which rent the hill in sunder. She called,
and fire and liquid lava arose, and, assuming her supernatural form,
with these irresistible ministers of vengeance, she followed down
the hill. When Kahawali reached the bottom, he arose, and on looking
behind saw Pele, accompanied by thunder and lightning, earthquake, and
streams of burning lava, closely pursuing him. He took up his broad
spear which he had stuck in the ground at the beginning of the game,
and, accompanied by his friend, fled for his life. The musicians,
dancers, and crowds of spectators were instantly overwhelmed by the
fiery torrent, which, bearing on its foremost wave the enraged goddess,
continued to pursue Kahawali and his companion. They ran till they
came to an eminence called Puukea. Here Kahawali threw off his cloak
of netted ki leaves and proceeded toward his house, which stood near
the shore. He met his favorite pig and saluted it by touching noses,
then ran to the house of his mother, who lived at Kukii, saluted her by
touching noses, and said: "_Aloha ino oe, eia ihonei paha oe e make ai,
ke ai mainei Pele._" (Compassion great to you! Close here, perhaps,
is your death; Pele comes devouring.) Leaving her, he met his wife,
Kanakawahine, and saluted her. The burning torrent approached, and she
said: "Stay with me here, and let us die together." He said: "No; I go,
I go." He then saluted his two children, Poupoulu and Kaohe, and said,
"_Ke ue nei au ia olua_." (I grieve for you two.) The lava rolled near,
and he ran till a deep chasm arrested his progress. He laid down his
spear and walked over on it in safety. His friend called out for his
help; he held out his spear over the chasm; his companion took hold of
it and he drew him securely over. By this time Pele was coming down
the chasm with accelerated motion. He ran till he reached Kula. Here
he met his sister, Koai, but had only time to say, _"Aloha oe!"_
(Alas for you!) and then ran on to the shore. His younger brother had
just landed from his fishing-canoe, and had hastened to his house to
provide for the safety of his family, when Kahawali arrived. He and
his friend leaped into the canoe, and with his broad spear paddled
out to sea. Pele, perceiving his escape, ran to the shore and hurled
after him, with prodigious force, great stones and fragments of rock,
which fell thickly around but did not strike his canoe. When he had
paddled a short distance from the shore the _kumukahi_ (east wind)
sprung up. He fixed his broad spear upright in the canoe, that it
might answer the double purpose of mast and sail, and by its aid he
soon reached the island of Maui, where they rested one night and then
proceeded to Lanai. The day following they moved on to Molokai, thence
to Oahu, the abode of Kolonohailaau, his father, and Kanewahinekeaho,
his sister, to whom he related his disastrous perils, and with whom
he took up his permanent abode.
V
HIKU AND KAWELU
_J. S. Emerson_
Not far from the summit of Hualalai, on the island of Hawaii, in
the cave on the southern side of the ridge, lived Hina and her son,
the _kupua_, or demigod, Hiku. All his life long as a child and a
youth, Hiku had lived alone with his mother on this mountain summit,
and had never once been permitted to descend to the plains below to
see the abodes of men and to learn of their ways. From time to time,
his quick ear had caught the sound of the distant _hula_ (drum) and
the voices of the gay merrymakers. Often had he wished to see the
fair forms of those who danced and sang in those far-off cocoanut
groves. But his mother, more experienced in the ways of the world,
had never given her consent. Now, at length, he felt that he was a
man, and as the sounds of mirth arose on his ears, again he asked
his mother to let him go for himself and mingle with the people
on the shore. His mother, seeing that his mind was made up to go,
reluctantly gave her consent and warned him not to stay too long,
but to return in good time. So, taking in his hand his faithful arrow,
_Pua Ne_, which he always carried, he started off.
This arrow was a sort of talisman, possessed of marvellous powers,
among which were the ability to answer his call and by its flight to
direct his journey.
Thus he descended over the rough clinker lava and through the groves of
koa that cover the southwestern flank of the mountain, until, nearing
its base, he stood on a distant hill; and consulting his arrow, he shot
it far into the air, watching its bird-like flight until it struck
on a distant hill above Kailua. To this hill he rapidly directed his
steps, and, picking up his arrow in due time, he again shot it into the
air. The second flight landed the arrow near the coast of Holualoa,
some six or eight miles south of Kailua. It struck on a barren waste
of _pahoehoe_, or lava rock, beside the waterhole of _Waikalai_,
known also as the _Wai a Hiku_ (Water of Hiku), where to this day all
the people of that vicinity go to get their water for man and beast.
Here he quenched his thirst, and nearing the village of Holualoa, again
shot the arrow, which, instinct with life, entered the courtyard of
the _alii_ or chief, of Kona, and from among the women who were there
singled out the fair princess Kawelu, and landed at her feet. Seeing
the noble bearing of Hiku as he approached to claim his arrow, she
stealthily hid it and challenged him to find it. Then Hiku called
to the arrow, "_Pua ne! Pua ne!_" and the arrow replied, "_Ne!_"
thus revealing its hiding-place.
This exploit with the arrow and the remarkable grace and personal
beauty of the young man quite won the heart of the princess, and she
was soon possessed by a strong passion for him, and determined to
make him her husband.
With her wily arts she detained him for several days at her home,
and when at last he was about to start for the mountain, she shut
him up in the house and thus detained him by force. But the words
of his mother, warning him not to remain too long, came to his mind,
and he determined to break away from his prison. So he climbed up to
the roof, and removing a portion of the thatch, made his escape.
When his flight was discovered by Kawelu, the infatuated girl was
distracted with grief. Refusing to be comforted, she tasted no food,
and ere many days had passed was quite dead. Messengers were despatched
who brought back the unhappy Hiku, author of all this sorrow. Bitterly
he wept over the corpse of his beloved, but it was now too late; the
spirit had departed to the nether world, ruled over by Milu. And now,
stung by the reproaches of her kindred and friends for his desertion,
and urged on by his real love for the fair one, he resolved to attempt
the perilous descent into the nether world and, if possible, to bring
her spirit back.
With the assistance of her friends, he collected from the mountain
slope a great quantity of the _kowali_, or convolvulus vine. He also
prepared a hollow cocoanut shell, splitting it into two closely fitting
parts. Then anointing himself with a mixture of rancid cocoanut and
kukui oil, which gave him a very strong corpse-like odor, he started
with his companions in the well-loaded canoes for a point in the sea
where the sky comes down to meet the water.
Arrived at the spot, he directed his comrades to lower him into the
abyss called by the Hawaiians the _Lua o Milu_. Taking with him his
cocoanut-shell and seating himself astride of the cross-stick of the
swing, or kowali, he was quickly lowered down by the long rope of
kowali vines held by his friends in the canoe above.
Soon he entered the great cavern where the shades of the departed were
gathered together. As he came among them, their curiosity was aroused
to learn who he was. And he heard many remarks, such as "Whew! what
an odor this corpse emits!" "He must have been long dead." He had
rather overdone the matter of the rancid oil. Even Milu himself,
as he sat on the bank watching the crowd, was completely deceived by
the stratagem, for otherwise he never would have permitted this bold
descent of a living man into his gloomy abode.
The Hawaiian swing, it should be remarked, unlike ours, has but one
rope supporting the cross-stick on which the person is seated. Hiku
and his swing attracted considerable attention from the lookers-on. One
shade in particular watched him most intently; it was his sweetheart,
Kawelu. A mutual recognition took place, and with the permission of
Milu she darted up to him and swung with him on the kowali. But even
she had to avert her face on account of his corpse-like odor. As they
were enjoying together this favorite Hawaiian pastime of _lele kowali_,
by a preconcerted signal the friends above were informed of the success
of his ruse and were now rapidly drawing them up. At first she was too
much absorbed in the sport to notice this. When at length her attention
was aroused by seeing the great distance of those beneath her, like
a butterfly she was about to flit away, when the crafty Hiku, who was
ever on the alert, clapped the cocoanut-shells together, imprisoning
her within them, and was then quickly drawn up to the canoes above.
With their precious burden, they returned to the shores of Holualoa,
where Hiku landed and at once repaired to the house where still lay
the body of his beloved. Kneeling by its side, he made a hole in the
great toe of the left foot, into which with great difficulty he forced
the reluctant spirit, and in spite of its desperate struggles he tied
up the wound so that it could not escape from the cold, clammy flesh
in which it was now imprisoned. Then he began to _lomilomi_, or rub
and chafe the foot, working the spirit further and further up the limb.
Gradually, as the heart was reached, the blood began once more to flow
through the body, the chest began gently to heave with the breath
of life, and soon the spirit gazed out through the eyes. Kawelu was
now restored to consciousness, and seeing her beloved Hiku bending
tenderly over her, she opened her lips and said: "How could you be
so cruel as to leave me?"
All remembrance of the Lua o Milu and of her meeting him there had
disappeared, and she took up the thread of consciousness just where she
had left it a few days before at death. Great joy filled the hearts of
the people of Holualoa as they welcomed back to their midst the fair
Kawelu and the hero, Hiku, from whom she was no more to be separated.
LOCATION OF THE LUA O MILU
In the myth of Hiku and Kawelu, the entrance to the Lua o Milu
is placed out to sea opposite Holualoa and a few miles south of
Kailua. But the more usual account of the natives is, that it was
situated at the mouth of the great valley of Waipio, in a place called
Keoni, where the sands have long since covered up and concealed from
view this passage from the upper to the nether world.
Every year, so it is told, the procession of ghosts called by the
natives _Oio_, marches in solemn state down the Mahiki road, and at
this point enters the Lua o Milu. A man, recently living in Waimea,
of the best reputation for veracity, stated that about thirty or more
years ago, he actually saw this ghostly company. He was walking up this
road in the evening, when he saw at a distance the _Oio_ appear, and
knowing that should they encounter him his death would be inevitable,
he discreetly hid himself behind a tree and, trembling with fear, gazed
in silence at the dread spectacle. There was Kamehameha, the conqueror,
with all his chiefs and warriors in military array, thousands of heroes
who had won renown in the olden time. Though all were silent as the
grave, they kept perfect step as they marched along, and passing
through the woods down to Waipio, disappeared from his view.
In connection with the foregoing, Professor W. D. Alexander kindly
contributes the following:
"The valley of Waipio is a place frequently celebrated in the songs
and traditions of Hawaii, as having been the abode of Akea and Milu,
the first kings of the island....
"Some said that the souls of the departed went to the _Po_ (place
of night), and were annihilated or eaten by the gods there. Others
said that some went to the regions of Akea and Milu. Akea (Wakea),
they said, was the first king of Hawaii. At the expiration of his
reign, which terminated with his life at Waipio, where we then were,
he descended to a region far below, called Kapapahanaumoku (the island
bearing rock or stratum), and founded a kingdom there. Milu, who was
his successor, and reigned in Hamakua, descended, when he died, to
Akea and shared the government of the place with him. Their land is
a place of darkness; their food lizards and butterflies. There are
several streams of water, of which they drink, and some said that
there were large kahilis and wide-spreading kou trees, beneath which
they reclined." [4]
"They had some very indistinct notion of a future state of happiness
and of misery. They said that, after death, the ghost went first to
the region of Wakea, the name of their first reputed progenitor, and
if it had observed the religious rites and ceremonies, was entertained
and allowed to remain there. That was a place of houses, comforts,
and pleasures. If the soul had failed to be religious, it found no
one there to entertain it, and was forced to take a desperate leap
into a place of misery below, called Milu.
"There were several precipices, from the verge of which the unhappy
ghosts were supposed to take the leap into the region of woe; three in
particular, one at the northern extremity of Hawaii, one at the western
termination of Maui, and the third at the northern point of Oahu." [5]
Near the northwest point of Oahu is a rock called Leina Kauhane, where
the souls of the dead descended into Hades. In New Zealand the same
term, "Reinga" (the leaping place), is applied to the North Cape. The
Marquesans have a similar belief in regard to the northermost island
of their group, and apply the same term, "Reinga," to their Avernus.
VI
LONOPUHA; OR, ORIGIN OF THE ART OF HEALING IN HAWAII
_Translated by Thos. G. Thrum_
During the time that Milu was residing at Waipio, Hawaii, the year
of which is unknown, there came to these shores a number of people,
with their wives, from that vague foreign land, Kahiki. But they were
all of godly kind (_ano akua nae_), it is said, and drew attention
as they journeyed from place to place. They arrived first at Niihau,
and from there they travelled through all the islands. At Hawaii
they landed at the south side, thence to Puna, Hilo, and settled at
Kukuihaele, Hamakua, just above Waipio.
On every island they visited there appeared various diseases, and
many deaths resulted, so that it was said this was their doings,
among the chiefs and people. The diseases that followed in their
train were chills, fevers, headache, _pani_, and so on.
These are the names of some of these people: Kaalaenuiahina,
Kahuilaokalani, Kaneikaulanaula, besides others. They brought
death, but one Kamakanuiahailono followed after them with healing
powers. This was perhaps the origin of sickness and the art of healing
with medicines in Hawaii.
As has been said, diseases settled on the different islands like an
epidemic, and the practice of medicine ensued, for Kamakanuiahailono
followed them in their journeyings. He arrived at Kau, stopping at
Kiolakaa, on the west side of Waiohinu, where a great multitude of
people were residing, and Lono was their chief. The stranger sat on a
certain hill, where many of the people visited him, for the reason that
he was a newcomer, a custom that is continued to this day. While there
he noticed the redness of skin of a certain one of them, and remarked,
"Oh, the redness of skin of that man!"
The people replied, "Oh, that is Lono, the chief of this land, and
he is a farmer."
He again spoke, asserting that his sickness was very great; for
through the redness of the skin he knew him to be a sick man.
They again replied that he was a healthy man, "but you consider him
very sick." He then left the residents and set out on his journey.
Some of those who heard his remarks ran and told the chief the
strange words, "that he was a very sick man." On hearing this,
Lono raised up his _oo_ (digger) and said, "Here I am, without any
sign of disease, and yet I am sick." And as he brought down his _oo_
with considerable force, it struck his foot and pierced it through,
causing the blood to flow freely, so that he fell and fainted away. At
this, one of the men seized a pig and ran after the stranger, who,
hearing the pig squealing, looked behind him and saw the man running
with it; and as he neared him he dropped it before him, and told him
of Lono's misfortune, Kamakanuiahailono then returned, gathering on
the way the young popolo seeds and its tender leaves in his garment
(_kihei_). When he arrived at the place where the wounded man was
lying he asked for some salt, which he took and pounded together with
the popolo and placed it with a cocoanut covering on the wound. From
then till night the flowing of the blood ceased. After two or three
weeks had elapsed he again took his departure.
While he was leisurely journeying, some one breathing heavily
approached him in the rear, and, turning around, there was the chief,
and he asked him: "What is it, Lono, and where are you going?"
Lono replied, "You healed me; therefore, as soon as you had departed I
immediately consulted with my successors, and have resigned my offices
to them, so that they will have control over all. As for myself,
I followed after you, that you might teach me the art of healing."
The _kahuna lapaau_ (medical priest) then said, "Open your mouth." When
Lono opened his mouth, the kahuna spat into it, [6] by which he
would become proficient in the calling he had chosen, and in which
he eventually became, in fact, very skilful.
As they travelled, he instructed Lono (on account of the accident
to his foot he was called Lonopuha) in the various diseases, and the
different medicines for the proper treatment of each. They journeyed
through Kau, Puna, and Hilo, thence onward to Hamakua as far as
Kukuihaele. Prior to their arrival there, Kamakanuiahailono said
to Lonopuha, "It is better that we reside apart, lest your healing
practice do not succeed; but you settle elsewhere, so as to gain
recognition from your own skill."
For this reason, Lonopuha went on farther and located in Waimanu,
and there practised the art of healing. On account of his labors here,
he became famous as a skilful healer, which fame Kamakanuiahailono and
others heard of at Kukuihaele; but he never revealed to _Kaalaenuiahina
ma_ (company) of his teaching of Lonopuha, through which he became
celebrated. It so happened that _Kaalaenuiahina ma_ were seeking an
occasion to cause Milu's death, and he was becoming sickly through
their evil efforts.
When Milu heard of the fame of Lonopuha as a skilful healer, because
of those who were afflicted with disease and would have died but for
his treatment, he sent his messenger after him. On arriving at Milu's
house, Lonopuha examined and felt of him, and then said, "You will
have no sickness, provided you be obedient to my teachings." He then
exercised his art, and under his medical treatment Milu recovered.
Lonopuha then said to him: "I have treated you, and you are well of
the internal ailments you suffered under, and only that from without
remains. Now, you must build a house of leaves and dwell therein in
quietness for a few weeks, to recuperate." These houses are called
_pipipi_, such being the place to which invalids are moved for
convalescent treatment unless something unforeseen should occur.
Upon Milu's removal thereto, Lonopuha advised him as follows: "O
King! you are to dwell in this house according to the length of time
directed, in perfect quietness; and should the excitement of sports
with attendant loud cheering prevail here, I warn you against these
as omens of evil for your death; and I advise you not to loosen the
_ti_ leaves of your house to peep out to see the cause, for on the
very day you do so, that day you will perish."
Some two weeks had scarcely passed since the King had been confined
in accordance with the kahuna's instructions, when noises from
various directions in proximity to the King's dwelling were heard,
but he regarded the advice of the priest all that day. The cause of
the commotion was the appearance of two birds playing in the air,
which so excited the people that they kept cheering them all that day.
Three weeks had almost passed when loud cheering was again heard in
Waipio, caused by a large bird decorated with very beautiful feathers,
which flew out from the clouds and soared proudly over the _palis_
(precipices) of Koaekea and Kaholokuaiwa, and poised gracefully
over the people; therefore, they cheered as they pursued it here and
there. Milu was much worried thereby, and became so impatient that
he could no longer regard the priest's caution; so he lifted some of
the ti leaves of his house to look out at the bird, when instantly
it made a thrust at him, striking him under the armpit, whereby his
life was taken and he was dead (_lilo ai kona ola a make iho la_).
The priest saw the bird flying with the liver of Milu; therefore, he
followed after it. When it saw that it was pursued, it immediately
entered into a sunken rock just above the base of the precipice of
Koaekea. As he reached the place, the blood was spattered around
where the bird had entered. Taking a piece of garment (_pahoola_), he
soaked it with the blood and returned and placed it in the opening in
the body of the dead King and poured healing medicine on the wound,
whereby Milu recovered. And the place where the bird entered with
Milu's liver has ever since been called Keakeomilu (the liver of Milu).
A long while afterward, when this death of the King was as nothing
(_i mea ole_), and he recovered as formerly, the priest refrained
not from warning him, saying: "You have escaped from this death;
there remains for you one other."
After Milu became convalescent from his recent serious experience,
a few months perhaps had elapsed, when the surf at Waipio became very
high and was breaking heavily on the beach. This naturally caused
much commotion and excitement among the people, as the numerous
surf-riders, participating in the sport, would land upon the beach
on their surf-boards. Continuous cheering prevailed, and the hilarity
rendered Milu so impatient at the restraint put upon him by the priest
that he forsook his wise counsel and joined in the exhilarating sport.
Seizing a surf-board he swam out some distance to the selected spot
for suitable surfs. Here he let the first and second combers pass
him; but watching his opportunity he started with the momentum of the
heavier third comber, catching the crest just right. Quartering on
the rear of his board, he rode in with majestic swiftness, and landed
nicely on the beach amid the cheers and shouts of the people. He then
repeated the venture and was riding in as successfully, when, in a
moment of careless abandon, at the place where the surfs finish as
they break on the beach, he was thrust under and suddenly disappeared,
while the surf-board flew from under and was thrown violently upon the
shore. The people in amazement beheld the event, and wildly exclaimed:
"Alas! Milu is dead! Milu is dead!" With sad wonderment they searched
and watched in vain for his body. Thus was seen the result of repeated
disobedience.
VII
A VISIT TO THE SPIRIT LAND; OR, THE STRANGE EXPERIENCE OF A WOMAN IN
KONA, HAWAII
_Mrs. E. N. Haley_
Kalima had been sick for many weeks, and at last died. Her friends
gathered around her with loud cries of grief, and with many expressions
of affection and sorrow at their loss they prepared her body for
its burial.
The grave was dug, and when everything was ready for the last rites
and sad act, husband and friends came to take a final look at the rigid
form and ashen face before it was laid away forever in the ground. The
old mother sat on the mat-covered ground beside her child, brushing
away the intrusive flies with a piece of cocoanut-leaf, and wiping
away the tears that slowly rolled down her cheeks. Now and then she
would break into a low, heart-rending wail, and tell in a sob-choked,
broken voice, how good this her child had always been to her, how her
husband loved her, and how her children would never have any one to
take her place. "Oh, why," she cried, "did the gods leave me? I am old
and heavy with years; my back is bent and my eyes are getting dark. I
cannot work, and am too old and weak to enjoy fishing in the sea,
or dancing and feasting under the trees. But this my child loved all
these things, and was so happy. Why is she taken and I, so useless,
left?" And again that mournful, sob-choked wail broke on the still
air, and was borne out to the friends gathered under the trees before
the door, and was taken up and repeated until the hardest heart would
have softened and melted at the sound. As they sat around on the mats
looking at their dead and listening to the old mother, suddenly Kalima
moved, took a long breath, and opened her eyes. They were frightened
at the miracle, but so happy to have her back again among them.
The old mother raised her hands and eyes to heaven and, with rapt
faith on her brown, wrinkled face, exclaimed: "The gods have let her
come back! How they must love her!"
Mother, husband, and friends gathered around and rubbed her hands
and feet, and did what they could for her comfort. In a few minutes
she revived enough to say, "I have something strange to tell you."
Several days passed before she was strong enough to say more; then
calling her relatives and friends about her, she told them the
following weird and strange story:
"I died, as you know. I seemed to leave my body and stand beside it,
looking down on what _was_ me. The me that was standing there looked
like the form I was looking at, only, I was alive and the other was
dead. I gazed at my body for a few minutes, then turned and walked
away. I left the house and village, and walked on and on to the next
village, and there I found crowds of people,--Oh, so many people! The
place which I knew as a small village of a few houses was a very
large place, with hundreds of houses and thousands of men, women,
and children. Some of them I knew and they spoke to me,--although
that seemed strange, for I knew they were dead,--but nearly all were
strangers. They were all so happy! They seemed not to have a care;
nothing to trouble them. Joy was in every face, and happy laughter
and bright, loving words were on every tongue.
"I left that village and walked on to the next. I was not tired, for
it seemed no trouble to walk. It was the same there; thousands of
people, and every one so joyous and happy. Some of these I knew. I
spoke to a few people, then went on again. I seemed to be on my way
to the volcano,--to Pele's pit,--and could not stop, much as I wanted
to do so.
"All along the road were houses and people, where I had never known
any one to live. Every bit of good ground had many houses, and many,
many happy people on it. I felt so full of joy, too, that my heart
sang within me, and I was glad to be dead.
"In time I came to South Point, and there, too, was a great crowd
of people. The barren point was a great village, I was greeted with
happy _alohas_, then passed on. All through Kau it was the same, and
I felt happier every minute. At last I reached the volcano. There
were some people there, but not so many as at other places. They,
too, were happy like the others, but they said, 'You must go back to
your body. You are not to die yet.'
"I did not want to go back. I begged and prayed to be allowed to stay
with them, but they said, 'No, you must go back; and if you do not
go willingly, we will make you go.'
"I cried and tried to stay, but they drove me back, even beating me
when I stopped and would not go on. So I was driven over the road
I had come, back through all those happy people. They were still
joyous and happy, but when they saw that I was not allowed to stay,
they turned on me and helped drive me, too.
"Over the sixty miles I went, weeping, followed by those cruel people,
till I reached my home and stood by my body again. I looked at it and
hated it. Was that my body? What a horrid, loathsome thing it was to
me now, since I had seen so many beautiful, happy creatures! Must I go
and live in that thing again? No, I would not go into it; I rebelled
and cried for mercy.
"'You must go into it; we will make you!' said my tormentors. They
took me and pushed me head foremost into the big toe.
"I struggled and fought, but could not help myself. They pushed and
beat me again, when I tried for the last time to escape. When I passed
the waist, I seemed to know it was of no use to struggle any more,
so went the rest of the way myself. Then my body came to life again,
and I opened my eyes.
"But I wish I could have stayed with those happy people. It was cruel
to make me come back. My other body was so beautiful, and I was so
happy, so happy!"
VIII
KAPEEPEEKAUILA; OR, THE ROCKS OF KANA
_Rev. A. O. Forbes_
On the northern side of the island of Molokai, commencing at the
eastern end and stretching along a distance of about twenty miles,
the coast is a sheer precipice of black rock varying in height from
eight hundred to two thousand feet. The only interruptions to the
continuity of this vast sea wall are formed by the four romantic
valleys of Pelekunu, Puaahaunui, Wailau, and Waikolu. Between the
valleys of Pelekunu and Waikolu, juts out the bold, sharp headland
of Haupu, forming the dividing ridge between them, and reminding one
somewhat of an axe-head turned edge upward. Directly in a line with
this headland, thirty or forty rods out in the ocean, arise abruptly
from the deep blue waters the rocks of Haupu, three or four sharp,
needle-like points of rock varying from twenty to one hundred feet in
height. This is the spot associated with the legend of Kapeepeekauila,
and these rocks stand like grim sentinels on duty at the eastern
limit of what is now known as the settlement of Kalawao. The legend
runs as follows:
Keahole was the father, Hiiaka-noholae was the mother, and
Kapeepeekauila was the son. This Kapeepeekauila was a hairy man,
and dwelt on the ridge of Haupu.
Once on a time Hakalanileo and his wife Hina, the mother of Kana,
came and dwelt in the valley of Pelekunu, on the eastern side of the
ridge of Haupu.
Kapeepeekauila, hearing of the arrival of Hina, the beautiful daughter
of Kalahiki, sent his children to fetch her. They went and said to
Hina, "Our royal father desires you as his wife, and we have come
for you."
"Desires me for what?" said she.
"Desires you for a wife," said they.
This announcement pleased the beautiful daughter of Kalahiki, and
she replied, "Return to your royal father and tell him he shall be
the husband and I will be the wife."
When this message was delivered to Kapeepeekauila, he immediately
sent a messenger to the other side of the island to summon all the
people from Keonekuina to Kalamaula; for we have already seen that
he was a hairy man, and it was necessary that this blemish should be
removed. Accordingly, when the people had all arrived, Kapeepeekauila
laid himself down and they fell to work until the hairs were all
plucked out. He then took Hina to wife, and they two dwelt together
on the top of Haupu.
Poor Hakalanileo, the husband of Hina, mourned the loss of his
companion of the long nights of winter and the shower-sprinkled
nights of summer. Neither could he regain possession of her, for
the ridge of Haupu grew till it reached the heavens. He mourned and
rolled himself in the dust in agony, and crossed his hands behind his
back. He went from place to place in search of some powerful person
who should be able to restore to him his wife. In his wanderings,
the first person to whom he applied was Kamalalawalu, celebrated for
strength and courage. This man, seeing his doleful plight, asked,
"Why these tears, O my father?"
Hakalanileo replied, "Thy mother is lost."
"Lost to whom?"
"Lost to Kapeepee."
"What Kapeepee?"
"Kapeepee-kauila."
"What Kauila?"
"Kauila, the dauntless, of Haupu."
"Then, O father, thou wilt not recover thy wife. Our stick may strike;
it will but hit the dust at his feet. His stick, when it strikes back,
will hit the head. Behold, measureless is the height of Haupu."
Now, this Kamalalawalu was celebrated for his strength in throwing
stones. Of himself, one side was stone, and the other flesh. As
a test he seized a large stone and threw it upwards. It rose till
it hit the sky and then fell back to earth again. As it came down,
he turned his stony side toward it, and the collision made his side
rattle. Hakalanileo looked on and sadly said, "Not strong enough."
On he went, beating his breast in his grief, till he came to the
celebrated Niuloihiki. Question and answer passed between them, as
in the former case, but Niuloihiki replied, "It is hopeless; behold,
measureless is the height of Haupu."
Again he prosecuted his search till he met the third man of fame,
whose name was Kaulu. Question and answer passed, as before, and
Kaulu, to show his strength, seized a river and held it fast in its
course. But Hakalanileo mournfully said, "Not strong enough."
Pursuing his way with streaming eyes, he came to the fourth hero,
Lonokaeho by name. As in the former cases, so in this, he received
no satisfaction. These four were all he knew of who were foremost in
prowess, and all four had failed him. It was the end, and he turned
sadly toward the mountain forest, to return to his home.
Meantime, the rumor had reached the ears of Niheu, surnamed "the
Rogue." Some one told him a father had passed along searching for
some one able to recover him his wife.
"Where is this father of mine?" inquired Niheu.
"He has gone inland," was the reply.
"I'll overtake him; he won't escape me," said Niheu. So he went after
the old man, kicking over the trees that came in his way. The old man
had gone on till he was tired and faint, when Niheu overtook him and
brought him back to his house. Then Niheu asked him, "What made you
go on without coming to the house of Niheu?"
"What, indeed," answered the old man; "as though I were not seeking
to recover thy mother, who is lost!"
Then came question and answer, as in former cases, and Niheu said,
"I fear thou wilt not recover thy wife, O my father. But let us go
inland to the foster son of Uli." So they went. But Niheu ran on ahead
and told Kana, the foster son of Uli: "Behold, here comes Hakalanileo,
bereft of his wife. We are all beat."
"Where is he?" inquired Kana.
"Here he is, just arrived."
Kana looked forth, and Hakalanileo recoiled with fear at the blazing
of his eyes.
Then spoke Niheu: "Why could you not wait before looking at our
father? Behold, you have frightened him, and he has run back."
On this, Kana, remaining yet in the house, stretched forth his hand,
and, grasping the old man in the distance, brought him back and sat
him on his lap. Then Kana wept. And the impudent Niheu said, "Now
you are crying; look out for the old man, or he will get water-soaked."
But Kana ordered Niheu to bestir himself and light a fire, for the
tears of Kana were as the big dropping rains of winter, soaking the
plain. And Kana said to the old man, "Now, dry yourself by the fire,
and when you are warm, tell your story."
The old man obeyed, and when he was warm enough, told the story of
his grief. Then said Kana, "Almost spent are my years; I am only
waiting for death, and behold I have at last found a foeman worthy
of my prowess."
Kana immediately espoused the cause of Hakalanileo, and ordered his
younger brother, Niheu, to construct a canoe for the voyage. Poor
Niheu worked and toiled without success until, in despair, he
exclaimed, upbraidingly, "Thy work is not work; it is slavery. There
thou dwellest at thy ease in thy retreat, while with thy foot thou
destroyest my canoe."
Upon this, Kana pointed out to Niheu a bush, and said, "Can you pull
up that bush?"
"Yes," replied Niheu, for it was but a small bush, and he doubted not
his ability to root it up; so he pulled and tugged away, but could
not loosen it.
Kana looking on, said, tauntingly, "Your foeman will not be overcome
by you."
Then Kana stretched forth his hands, scratching among the forests,
and soon had a canoe in one hand; a little more and another
canoe appeared in the other hand. The twin canoes were named
_Kaumueli_. He lifted them down to the shore, provided them with
paddles, and then appointed fourteen rowers. Kana embarked with his
magic rod called _Waka-i-lani_. Thus they set forth to wage war upon
Kapeepeekauila. They went on until the canoes grounded on a hard ledge.
Niheu called out, "Behold, thou sleepest, O Kana, while we all perish."
Kana replied, "What is there to destroy us? Are not these the reefs
of Haupu? Away with the ledges, the rock points, and the yawning
chasms! Smite with _Waka-i-lani_, thy rod."
Niheu smote, the rocks crumbled to pieces, and the canoes were
freed. They pursued their course again until Niheu, being on the watch,
cried out, "Why sleepest thou, O Kana? Here we perish, again. Thy
like for sleeping I never saw!"
"Wherefore perish?" said Kana.
"Behold," replied Niheu, "the fearful wall of water. If we attempt
to pass it, it will topple over and destroy us all."
Then said Kana: "Behold, behind us the reefs of Haupu. That is the
destruction passed. As for the destruction before us, smite with
thy rod."
Niheu smote, the wall of water divided, and the canoes passed safely
through. Then they went on their course again, as before. After a
time, Niheu again called out, "Alas, again we perish. Here comes a
great monster. If he falls upon us, we are all dead men."
And Kana said, "Look sharp, now, and when the pointed snout crosses
our bow, smite with thy rod."
And he did so, and behold, this great thing was a monster fish, and
when brought on board it became food for them all. So wonderfully
great was this fish that its weight brought the rim of the canoes
down to the water's edge.
They continued on their way, and next saw the open mouth of the
sharp-toothed shark--another of the outer defences of Haupu--awaiting
them.
"Smite with thy rod," ordered Kana.
Niheu smote, and the shark died.
Next they came upon the great turtle, another defence of Haupu. Again
the sleepy Kana is aroused by the cry of the watchful Niheu, and
the turtle is slain by the stroke of the magic rod. All this was
during the night. At last, just as the edge of the morning lifted
itself from the deep, their mast became entangled in the branches of
the trees. Niheu flung upward a stone. It struck. The branches came
rattling down, and the mast was free. On they went till the canoes
gently stood still. On this, Niheu cried out, "Here you are, asleep
again, O Kana, and the canoes are aground!"
Kana felt beneath; there was no ground. He felt above; the mast
was entangled in weeds. He pulled, and the weeds and earth came down
together. The smell of the fresh-torn weeds was wafted up to Hale-huki,
the house where Kapeepeekauila lived. His people, on the top of Haupu,
looked down on the canoes floating at the foot. "Wondrous is the size
of the canoes!" they cried. "Ah! it is a load of _opihis_ (shell-fish)
from Hawaii for Hina," for that was a favorite dish with her.
Meantime, Kana despatched Niheu after his mother. "Go in friendly
fashion," said the former.
Niheu leaped ashore, but slipped and fell on the smooth rocks. Back
he went to the canoes.
"What sort of a coming back is this?" demanded Kana.
"I slipped and fell, and just escaped with my life," answered Niheu.
"Back with you!" thundered Kana.
Again the luckless Niheu sprang ashore, but the long-eyed sand-crabs
(_ohiki-makaloa_) made the sand fly with their scratching till his
eyes were filled. Back to the canoes again he went. "Got it all in
my eyes!" said he, and he washed them out with sea-water.
"You fool!" shouted Kana; "what were you looking down for? The
sand-crabs are not birds. If you had been looking up, as you ought,
you would not have got the sand in your eyes. Go again!"
This time he succeeded, and climbed to the top of Haupu. Arriving at
the house, Hale-huki, where Hina dwelt, he entered at once. Being asked
"Why enterest thou this forbidden door?" he replied:
"Because I saw thee entering by this door. Hadst thou entered some
other way, I should not have come in at the door." And behold,
Kapeepeekauila and Hina sat before him. Then Niheu seized the hand
of Hina and said, "Let us two go." And she arose and went.
When they had gone about half-way to the brink of the precipice,
Kapeepeekauila exclaimed, "What is this? Is the woman gone?"
Mo-i, the sister of Kana, answered and said, "If you wish the woman,
now is the time; you and I fight."
Great was the love of Kapeepeekauila for Hina, and he said, "No
war dare touch Haupu; behold, it is a hill, growing even to the
heavens." And he sent the _kolea_ (plover) squad to desecrate the
sacred locks of Niheu; for the locks of Niheu were _kapu_, and if
they should be touched, he would relinquish Hina for very shame. So
the kolea company sailed along in the air till they brushed against
the sacred locks of Niheu, and for very shame he let go his mother
and struck at the koleas with his rod and hit their tail feathers and
knocked them all out, so that they remain tailless to this day. And
he returned to the edge of the shore, while the koleas bore off Hina
in triumph.
When Niheu reached the shore, he beat his forehead with stones till
the blood flowed; a trick which Kana perceived from on board the
canoes. And when Niheu went on board he said, "See! we fought and I
got my head hurt."
But Kana replied, "There was no fight; you did it yourself, out of
shame at your defeat."
And Niheu replied, "What, then, shall we fight?"
"Yes," said Kana, and he stood up.
Now, one of his legs was named Keauea and the other Kaipanea, and as
he stood upon the canoes, he began to lengthen himself upward until
the dwellers on top of Haupu exclaimed in terror, "We are all dead
men! Behold, here is a great giant towering above us."
And Kapeepeekauila, seeing this, hastened to prune the branches of
the kamani tree (_Calophyllum inophyllum_), so that the bluff should
grow upward. And the bluff rose, and Kana grew. Thus they strove,
the bluff rising higher and Kana growing taller, until he became
as the stalk of a banana leaf, and gradually spun himself out till
he was no thicker than a strand of a spider's web, and at last he
yielded the victory to Kapeepeekauila.
Niheu, seeing the defeat of Kana, called out, "Lay yourself along to
Kona, on Hawaii, to your grandmother, Uli."
And he laid himself along with his body in Kona, while his feet rested
on Molokai. His grandmother in Kona fed him until he became plump and
fat again. Meanwhile, poor Niheu, watching at his feet on Molokai,
saw their sides fill out with flesh while he was almost starved with
hunger. "So, then," quoth he, "you are eating and growing fat while
I die with hunger." And he cut off one of Kana's feet for revenge.
The sensation crept along up to his body, which lay in Kona, and Kana
said to his grandmother, Uli, "I seem to feel a numbness creeping
over me."
And she answered, and said, "Thy younger brother is hungry with
watching, and seeing thy feet grow plump, he has cut off one of them;
therefore this numbness."
Kana, having at last grown strong and fat, prepared to wage war again
upon Kapeepeekauila. Food was collected in abundance from Waipio, and
when it was prepared, they embarked again in their canoes and came
back to Haupu, on Molokai. But his grandmother, Uli, had previously
instructed him to first destroy all the branches of the kamani tree
of Haupu. Then he showed himself, and began again to stretch upward
and tower above the bluff. Kapeepeekauila hastened again to trim
the branches of the kamani, that the bluff might grow as before;
but behold, they were all gone! It was the end; Kapeepeekauila was
at last vanquished. The victorious Kana recovered his sister, Mo-i,
restored to poor Hakalanileo his wife, Hina, and then, tearing down
the bluff of Haupu, kicked off large portions of it into the sea,
where they stand to this day, and are called "The Rocks of Kana."
IX
KALELEALUAKA
_Dr. N. B. Emerson_
PART I
Kaopele was born in Waipio, Hawaii. When born he did not breathe, and
his parents were greatly troubled; but they washed his body clean,
and having arrayed it in good clothes, they watched anxiously over
the body for several days, and then, concluding it to be dead, placed
it in a small cave in the face of the cliff. There the body remained
from the summer month of _Ikiki_ (July or August) to the winter month
of _Ikua_ (December or January), a period of six months.
At this time they were startled by a violent storm of thunder and
lightning, and the rumbling of an earthquake. At the same time appeared
the marvellous phenomenon of eight rainbows arching over the mouth
of the cave. Above the din of the storm the parents heard the voice
of the awakened child calling to them:
"Let your love rest upon me,
O my parents, who have thrust me forth,
Who have left me in the cavernous cliff,
Who have heartlessly placed me in the
Cliff frequented by the tropic bird!
O Waiaalaia, my mother!
O Waimanu, my father!
Come and take me!"
The yearning love of the mother earnestly besought the father to go
in quest of the infant; but he protested that search was useless,
as the child was long since dead. But, unable longer to endure a
woman's teasing, which is the same in all ages, he finally set forth
in high dudgeon, vowing that in case of failure he would punish her
on his return.
On reaching the place where the babe had been deposited, its body was
not to be found. But lifting up his eyes and looking about, he espied
the child perched on a tree, braiding a wreath from the scarlet flowers
of the _lehua_ (_Metrosideros polymorpha_). "I have come to take you
home with me," said the father. But the infant made no answer. The
mother received the child to her arms with demonstrations of the
liveliest affection. At her suggestion they named the boy Kaopele,
from the name of their goddess, Pele.
Six months after this, on the first day (_Hilo_) of the new moon, in
the month of Ikiki, they returned home from working in the fields and
found the child lying without breath, apparently dead. After venting
their grief for their darling in loud lamentations, they erected a
frame to receive its dead body.
Time healed the wounds of their affection, and after the lapse of six
moons they had ceased to mourn, when suddenly they were affrighted
by a storm of thunder and lightning, with a quaking of the earth,
in the midst of which they distinguished the cry of their child,
"Oh, come; come and take me!"
They, overjoyed at this second restoration of their child to them,
and deeming it to be a miracle worked by their goddess, made up their
minds that if it again fell into a trance they would not be anxious,
since their goddess would awake their child and bring it to life again.
But afterward the child informed them of their mistake, saying:
"This marvel that you see in me is a trance; when I pass into my deep
sleep my spirit at once floats away in the upper air with the goddess,
Poliahu. We are a numerous band of spirits, but I excel them in the
distance of my flights. In one day I can compass this island of Hawaii,
as well as Maui, Oahu, and Kauai, and return again. In my flights I
have seen that Kauai is the richest of all the islands, for it is well
supplied with food and fish, and it is abundantly watered. I intend
to remain with you until I am grown; then I shall journey to Kauai
and there spend the rest of my life." Thus Kaopele lived with his
parents until he was grown, but his habit of trance still clung to him.
Then one day he filled them with grief by saying: "I am going, aloha."
They sealed their love for each other with tears and kisses, and he
slept and was gone. He alighted at Kula, on Maui. There he engaged
in cultivating food. When his crops were nearly ripe and ready to be
eaten he again fell into his customary deep sleep, and when he awoke
he found that the people of the land had eaten up all his crops.
Then he flew away to a place called Kapapakolea, in Moanalua, on Oahu,
where he set out a new plantation. Here the same fortune befell him,
and his time for sleep came upon him before his crops were fit for
eating. When he awoke, his plantation had gone to waste.
Again he moves on, and this time settles in Lihue, Oahu, where for
the third time he sets out a plantation of food, but is prevented
from eating it by another interval of sleep. Awakening, he finds his
crops overripe and wasted by neglect and decay.
His restless ambition now carries him to Lahuimalo, still on the
island of Oahu, where his industry plants another crop of food. Six
months pass, and he is about to eat of the fruits of his labor,
when one day, on plunging into the river to bathe, he falls into
his customary trance, and his lifeless body is floated by the stream
out into the ocean and finally cast up by the waters on the sands of
Maeaea, a place in Waialua, Oahu.
At the same time there arrived a man from Kauai in search of a human
body to offer as a sacrifice at the temple of Kahikihaunaka at Wailua,
on Kauai, and having seen the corpse of Kaopele on the beach, he asks
and obtains permission of the feudal lord (_Konohiki_) of Waialua
to take it. Thus it happens that Kaopele is taken by canoe to the
island of Kauai and placed, along with the corpse of another man,
on the altar of the temple at Wailua.
There he lay until the bones of his fellow corpse had begun to fall
apart. When six moons had been accomplished, at midnight there came a
burst of thunder and an earthquake. Kaopele came to life, descended
from the altar, and directed his steps toward a light which he saw
shining through some chinks in a neighboring house. He was received
by the occupants of the house with that instant and hearty hospitality
which marks the Hawaiian race, and bidden to enter ("_mai, komo mai_").
Food was set before him, with which he refreshed himself. The old
man who seemed to be the head of the household was so much pleased
and impressed with the bearing and appearance of our hero that he
forthwith sought to secure him to be the husband of his granddaughter,
a beautiful girl named Makalani. Without further ado, he persuaded
him to be a suitor for the hand of the girl, and while it was yet
night, started off to obtain the girl's consent and to bring her back
with him.
The young woman was awakened from her slumbers in the night to hear the
proposition of her grandfather, who painted to her in glowing colors
the manly attractions of her suitor. The suit found favor in the eyes
of the girl's parents and she herself was nothing loath; but with
commendable maidenly propriety she insisted that her suitor should be
brought and presented to her, and that she should not first seek him.
The sun had hardly begun to lift the dew from the grass when our
young hero, accompanied by the two matchmakers, was brought into the
presence of his future wife. They found favor in each other's eyes,
and an ardent attachment sprang up on the instant. Matters sped
apace. A separate house was assigned as the residence of the young
couple, and their married life began felicitously.
But the instincts of a farmer were even stronger in the breast of
Kaopele than the bonds of matrimony. In the middle of the night he
arose, and, leaving the sleeping form of his bride, passed out into the
darkness. He went _mauka_ until he came upon an extensive upland plain,
where he set to work clearing and making ready for planting. This done,
he collected from various quarters shoots and roots of potato (_kalo_),
banana (_waoke_), _awa_, and other plants, and before day the whole
plain was a plantation. After his departure his wife awoke with a
start and found her husband was gone. She went into the next house,
where her parents were sleeping, and, waking them, made known her loss;
but they knew nothing of his whereabouts. Much perplexed, they were
still debating the cause of his departure, when he suddenly returned,
and to his wife's questioning, answered that he had been at work.
She gently reproved him for interrupting their bridal night with
agriculture, and told him there would be time enough for that when they
had lived together a while and had completed their honeymoon. "And
besides," said she, "if you wish to turn your hand to agriculture,
here is the plat of ground at hand in which my father works, and you
need not go up to that plain where only wild hogs roam."
To this he replied: "My hand constrains me to plant; I crave work;
does idleness bring in anything? There is profit only when a man turns
the palm of his hand to the soil: that brings in food for family and
friends. If one were indeed the son of a king he could sleep until
the sun was high in the heavens, and then rise and find the bundles
of cooked food ready for him. But for a plain man, the only thing
to do is to cultivate the soil and plant, and when he returns from
his work let him light his oven, and when the food is cooked let the
husband and the wife crouch about the hearth and eat together."
Again, very early on the following morning, while his wife slept,
Kaopele rose, and going to the house of a neighbor, borrowed a fishhook
with its tackle. Then, supplying himself with bait, he went a-fishing
in the ocean and took an enormous quantity of fish. On his way home
he stopped at the house where he had borrowed the tackle and returned
it, giving the man also half of the fish. Arrived at home, he threw
the load of fish onto the ground with a thud which waked his wife
and parents.
"So you have been a-fishing," said his wife. "Thinking you had again
gone to work in the field, I went up there, but you were not there. But
what an immense plantation you have set out! Why, the whole plain
is covered."
His father-in-law said, "A fine lot of fish, my boy."
Thus went life with them until the crops were ripe, when one day
Kaopele said to his wife, who was now evidently with child, "If the
child to be born is a boy, name it Kalelealuaka; but if it be a girl,
name it as you will, from your side of the family."
From his manner she felt uneasy and suspicious of him, and said,
"Alas! do you intend to desert me?"
Then Kaopele explained to his wife that he was not really going to
leave her, as men are wont to forsake their wives, but he foresaw
that that was soon to happen which was habitual to him, and he felt
that on the night of the morrow a deep sleep would fall upon him
(_puni ka hiamoe_), which would last for six months. Therefore,
she was not to fear.
"Do not cast me out nor bury me in the ground," said he. Then he
explained to her how he happened to be taken from Oahu to Kauai and how
he came to be her husband, and he commanded her to listen attentively
to him and to obey him implicitly. Then they pledged their love to
each other, talking and not sleeping all that night.
On the following day all the friends and neighbors assembled, and as
they sat about, remarks were made among them in an undertone, like
this, "So this is the man who was placed on the altar of the _heiau_
at Wailua." And as evening fell he bade them all _aloha_, and said
that he should be separated from them for six months, but that his
body would remain with them if they obeyed his commands. And, having
kissed his wife, he fell into the dreamful, sacred sleep of Niolo-kapu.
On the sixth day the father-in-law said: "Let us bury your husband,
lest he stink. I thought it was to be only a natural sleep, but it
is ordinary death. Look, his body is rigid, his flesh is cold, and
he does not breathe; these are the signs of death."
But Makalani protested, "I will not let him be buried; let him lie
here, and I will watch over him as he commanded; you also heard his
words." But in spite of the wife's earnest protests, the hard-hearted
father-in-law gathered strong vines of the _koali_ (convolvulus),
tied them about Kaopele's feet, and attaching to them heavy stones,
caused his body to be conveyed in a canoe and sunk in the dark waters
of the ocean midway between Kauai and Oahu.
Makalani lived in sorrow for her husband until the birth of her child,
and as it was a boy, she called his name Kalelealuaka.
PART II
When the child was about two months old the sky became overcast and
there came up a mighty storm, with lightning and an earthquake. Kaopele
awoke in his dark, watery couch, unbound the cords that held his feet,
and by three powerful strokes raised himself to the surface of the
water. He looked toward Kauai and Oahu, but love for his wife and
child prevailed and drew him to Kauai.
In the darkness of night he stood by his wife's bed and, feeling
for her, touched her forehead with his clammy hand. She awoke with
a start, and on his making himself known she screamed with fright,
"Ghost of Kaopele!" and ran to her parents. Not until a candle was
lighted would she believe it to be her husband. The step-parents,
in fear and shame at their heartless conduct, fled away, and never
returned. From this time forth Kaopele was never again visited by a
trance; his virtue had gone out from him to the boy Kalelealuaka.
When Kalelealuaka was ten years old Kaopele began to train the
lad in athletic sports and to teach him all the arts of war and
combat practised throughout the islands, until he had attained
great proficiency in them. He also taught him the arts of running
and jumping, so that he could jump either up or down a high _pali_,
or run, like a waterfowl on the surface of the water. After this, one
day Kalelealuaka went over to Wailua, where he witnessed the games
of the chiefs. The youth spoke contemptuously of their performances
as mere child's play; and when his remark was reported to the King
he challenged the young man to meet him in a boxing encounter. When
Kalelealuaka came into the presence of the King his royal adversary
asked him what wager he brought. As the youth had nothing with
him, he seriously proposed that each one should wager his own body
against that of the other one. The proposal was readily accepted. The
herald sounded the signal of attack, and both contestants rushed
at each other. Kalelealuaka warily avoided the attack by the King,
and hastened to deliver a blow which left his opponent at his mercy;
and thereupon, using his privilege, he robbed the King of his life,
and to the astonishment of all, carried away the body to lay as
a sacrifice on the altar of the temple, hitherto unconsecrated by
human sacrifice, which he and his father Kaopele had recently built
in honor of their deity.
After a time there reached the ear of Kalelealuaka a report of the
great strength of a certain chief who lived in Hanalei. Accordingly,
without saying anything about his intention, he went over to the
valley of Hanalei. He found the men engaged in the game of throwing
heavy spears at the trunk of a cocoanut-tree. As on the previous
occasion, he invited a challenge by belittling their exploits, and
when challenged by the chief, fearlessly proposed, as a wager, the
life of one against the other. This was accepted, and the chief had
the first trial. His spear hit the stem of the huge tree and made
its lofty crest nod in response to the blow. It was now the turn
of Kalelealuaka to hurl the spear. In anticipation of the failure
of the youth and his own success, the chief took the precaution to
station his guards about Kalelealuaka, to be ready to seize him on
the instant. In a tone of command our hero bade the guards fall back,
and brandishing his spear, stroked and polished it with his hands from
end to end; then he poised and hurled it, and to the astonishment of
all, lo! the tree was shivered to pieces. On this the people raised
a shout of admiration at the prowess of the youth, and declared he
must be the same hero who had slain the chief at Wailua. In this way
Kalelealuaka obtained a second royal sacrifice with which to grace
the altar of his temple.
One clear, calm evening, as Kalelealuaka looked out to sea, he
descried the island of Oahu, which is often clearly visible from
Kauai, and asked his father what land that was that stood out against
them. Kaopele told the youth it was Oahu; that the cape that swam out
into the ocean like a waterfowl was Kaena; that the retreating contour
of the coast beyond was Waianae. Thus he described the land to his
son. The result was that the adventurous spirit of Kalelealuaka was
fired to explore this new island for himself, and he expressed this
wish to his father. Everything that Kalelealuaka said or did was good
in the eye of his father, Kaopele. Accordingly, he immediately set to
work and soon had a canoe completely fitted out, in which Kalelealuaka
might start on his travels. Kalelealuaka took with him, as travelling
companion, a mere lad named Kaluhe, and embarked in his canoe. With
two strokes of the paddle his prow grated on the sands of Waianae.
Before leaving Kauai his father had imparted to Kalelealuaka something
of the topography of Oahu, and had described to him the site of
his former plantation at Keahumoe. At Waianae the two travellers
were treated affably by the people of the district. In reply to the
questions put them, they said they were going sight-seeing. As they
went along they met a party of boys amusing themselves with darting
arrows; one of them asked permission to join their party. This was
given, and the three turned inland and journeyed till they reached a
plain of soft, whitish rock, where they all refreshed themselves with
food. Then they kept on ascending, until Keahumoe lay before them,
dripping with hoary moisture from the mist of the mountain, yet as if
smiling through its tears. Here were standing bananas with ripened,
yellow fruit, upland kalo, and sugar cane, rusty and crooked with
age, while the sweet potatoes had crawled out of the earth and were
cracked and dry. It was the very place where Kaopele, the father of
Kalelealuaka, had years before set out the plants from which these
were descended.
"This is our food, and a good place, perhaps, for us to settle down,"
said Kalelealuaka; "but before we make up our minds to stay here let
me dart an arrow; and if it drops soon we shall stay, but if it flies
afar we shall not tarry here." Kalelealuaka darted his arrow, while
his companions looked on intently. The arrow flew along, passing over
many a hill and valley, and finally rested beyond Kekuapoi, while
they followed the direction of its wonderful flight. Kalelealuaka
sent his companions on to find the arrow, telling them at the same
time to go to the villages and get some awa roots for drink, while
he would remain there and put up a shelter for them.
On their way the two companions of Kalelealuaka encountered a number
of women washing kalo in a stream, and on asking them if they had
seen their arrow flying that way they received an impertinent answer;
whereupon they called out the name of the arrow, "Pua-ne, Pua-ne,"
and it came to their hands at once. At this the women ran away,
frightened at the marvel.
The two boys then set to gathering awa roots, as they had been
bidden. Seeing them picking up worthless fragments, a kind-hearted
old man, who turned out to be the konohiki of the land, sent by his
servants an abundance of good food to Kalelealuaka.
On their return the boys found, to their astonishment, that during
their absence Kalelealuaka had put up a fine, large house, which
was all complete but the mats to cover the floors. The kind-hearted
_konohili_ remarked this, and immediately sent her servants to
fetch mats for the floors and sets of kapa for bedding, adding the
command, "And with them bring along some _malos_" (girdles used by
the males). Soon all their wants were supplied, and the three youths
were set up in housekeeping. To these services the konohiki, through
his attendants, added still others; some chewed and strained the awa,
while others cooked and spread for them a bountiful repast. The three
youths ate and drank, and under the drowsy influence of the awa they
slept until the little birds that peopled the wilderness about them
waked them with their morning songs; then they roused and found the
sun already climbing the heavens.
Now, Kalelealuaka called to his comrades, and said, "Rouse up and let
us go to cultivating." To this they agreed, and each one set to work in
his own way, working his own piece of ground. The ground prepared by
Kalelealuaka was a strip of great length, reaching from the mountain
down toward the ocean. This he cleared and planted the same day. His
two companions, however, spent several days in clearing their ground,
and then several days more in planting it. While these youths occupied
their mountain home, the people of that region were well supplied
with food. The only lack of Kalelealuaka and his comrades was animal
food (literally, fish), but they supplied its place as well as they
could with such herbs as the tender leaves of the popolo, which they
cooked like spinach, and with inamona made from the roasted nuts of
the kukui tree (_Aleurites molluccana_).
One day, as they were eking out their frugal meal with a mess of popolo
cooked by the lad from Waianae, Kalelealuaka was greatly disgusted at
seeing a worm in that portion that the youth was eating, and thereupon
nicknamed him _Keinohoomanawanui_ (sloven, or more literally, the
persistently unclean). The name ever after stuck to him. This same
fellow had the misfortune, one evening, to injure one of his eyes by
the explosion of a kukui nut which he was roasting on the fire. As a
result, that member was afflicted with soreness, and finally became
blinded. But their life agreed with them, and the youths throve and
increased in stature, and grew to be stout and lusty young men.
Now, it happened that ever since their stay at their mountain house,
_Lelepua_ (arrow flight), they had kept a torch burning all night,
which was seen by Kakuhihewa, the King of Oahu, and had caused him
uneasiness.
One fine evening, when they had eaten their fill and had gone to bed,
Kalelealuaka called to Keinohoomanawanui and said, "Halloo there! are
you asleep?"
And he replied, "No; have I drunk awa? I am restless. My eyes will
not close."
"Well," said Kalelealuaka, "when you are restless at night, what does
your mind find to do?"
"Nothing," said the Sloven.
"I find something to think about," said Kalelealuaka.
"What is that?" said the Sloven.
"Let us wish" (_kuko_, literally, to lust), said Kalelealuaka.
"What shall we wish?" said the Sloven.
"Whatever our hearts most earnestly desire," said
Kalelealuaka. Thereupon they both wished. The Sloven, in accordance
with his nature, wished for things to eat,--the eels, from the
fish-pond of Hanaloa (in the district of Ewa), to be cooked in an
oven together with sweet potatoes, and a bowl of awa.
"Pshaw, what a beggarly wish!" said Kalelealuaka. "I thought you had
a real wish. I have a genuine wish. Listen: The beautiful daughters
of Kakuhihewa to be my wives; his fatted pigs and dogs to be baked
for us; his choice kalo, sugar cane, and bananas to be served up for
us; that Kakuhihewa himself send and get timber and build a house
for us; that he pull the famous awa of Kahauone; that the King send
and fetch us to him; that he chew the awa for us in his own mouth,
strain and pour it for us, and give us to drink until we are happy,
and then take us to our house."
Trembling with fear at the audacious ambition of his concupiscent
companion, the Sloven replied, "If your wish should come to the ears
of the King, we shall die; indeed, we should die."
In truth, as they were talking together and uttering their wishes,
Kakuhihewa had arrived, and was all the time listening to their
conversation from the outside of their house. When the King had heard
their conversation he thrust his spear into the ground outside the
inclosure about Kalelealuaka's house, and by the spear placed his
stone hatchet (_pahoa_), and immediately returned to his residence at
Puuloa. Upon his arrival at home that night King Kakuhihewa commanded
his stewards to prepare a feast, and then summoned his chiefs and
table companions and said, "Let us sup." When all was ready and they
had seated themselves, the King said, "Shall we eat, or shall we talk?"
One of them replied: "If it please the King, perhaps it were better
for him to speak first; it may be what he has to say touches a matter
of life and death; therefore, let him speak and we will listen."
Then Kakuhihewa told them the whole story of the light seen in the
mountains, and of the wishes of Kalelealuaka and the Sloven.
Then up spoke the soldiers, and said: "Death! This man is worthy to
be put to death; but as for the other one, let him live."
"Hold," said the King, "not so fast! Before condemning him to death,
I will call together the wise men, priests, wizards, and soothsayers;
perchance they will find that this is the man to overcome Kualii in
battle." Thereupon all the wise men, priests, wizards, and soothsayers
were immediately summoned, and after the King had explained the whole
story to them they agreed with the opinion of the soldiers. Again
the King interposed delay, and said, "Wait until my wise kahuna
Napuaikamao comes; if his opinion agrees with yours, then, indeed,
let the man be put to death; but if he is wiser than you, the man
shall live. But you will have eaten this food in vain."
So the King sent one of his fleetest runners to go and fetch
Napuaikamao. To him the King said, "I have sent for you to decide
what is just and right in the case of these two men who lived up in
the region of Waipio." Then he went on to state the whole case to
this wise man.
"In regard to Keinohoomanawanui's wish," said the wise man, "that is an
innocent wish, but it is profitless and will bring no blessing." At
the narration of Kalelealuaka's wish he inclined his head, as if
in thought; then lifting his head, he looked at the King and said:
"O King, as for this man's wish, it is an ambition which will bring
victory to the government. Now, then, send all your people and fetch
house-timber and awa."
As soon as the wise man had given this opinion, the King commanded
his chief marshal, Maliuhaaino, to set every one to work to carry
out the directions of this counsellor. This was done, and before
break of day every man, woman, and child in the district of Ewa,
a great multitude, was on the move.
Now, when the Sloven awoke in the morning and went out of doors,
he found the stone hatchet (_pahoa_) of the King, with his spear,
standing outside of the house. On seeing this he rushed back into
the house and exclaimed to his comrades, "Alas! our wishes have been
overheard by the King; here are his hatchet and his spear. I said
that if the King heard us we should die, and he has indeed heard
us. But yours was the fatal ambition; mine was only an innocent wish."
Even while they were talking, the babble of the multitude drew near,
and the Sloven exclaimed, "Our death approaches!"
Kalelealuaka replied, "That is not for our death; it is the people
coming to get timber for our houses." But the fear of the Sloven
would not be quieted.
The multitude pressed on, and by the time the last of them had reached
the mountain the foremost had returned to the sea-coast and had begun
to prepare the foundations for the houses, to dig the holes for the
posts, to bind on the rafters and the small poles on which they tied
the thatch, until the houses were done.
Meantime, some were busy baking the pigs and the poi-fed dogs in ovens;
some in bringing the eels of Kanaloa and cooking them with potatoes
in an oven by themselves.
The houses are completed, everything is ready, the grand marshal,
Maliuhaaino, has just arrived in front of the house of the ambitious
youth Kalelealuaka, and calls out "Keinohoomanawanui, come out!" and
he comes out, trembling. "Kalelealuaka, come out!" and he first sends
out the boy Kaluhe and then comes forth himself and stands outside,
a splendid youth. The marshal stands gazing at him in bewilderment
and admiration. When he has regained his equanimity he says to him,
"Mount on my back and let us go down."
"No," said Kalelealuaka, "I will go by myself, and do you walk ahead. I
will follow after; but do not look behind you, lest you die."
As soon as they had started down, Kalelealuaka was transported to
Kuaikua, in Helemano. There he plunged into the water and bathed all
over; this done, he called on his ancestral shades (_Aumakua_), who
came and performed on him the rite of circumcision while lightning
flashed, thunder sounded, and the earth quaked.
Kaopele, on Kauai, heard the commotion and exclaimed, "Ah! my son
has received the purifying rite--the offspring of the gods goes to
meet the sovereign of the land" (_Alii aimoku_).
Meanwhile, the party led by Maliuhaaino was moving slowly down toward
the coast, because the marshal himself was lame. Returning from his
purification, Kalelealuaka alighted just to the rear of the party,
who had not noticed his absence, and becoming impatient at the tedious
slowness of the journey,--for the day was waning, and the declining
sun was already standing over a peak of the Waianae Mountains called
Puukuua,--this marvellous fellow caught up the lame marshal in one hand
and his two comrades in the other, and, flying with them, set them down
at Puuloa. But the great marvel was, that they knew nothing about being
transported, yet they had been carried and set down as from a sheet.
On their arrival at the coast all was ready, and the people
were waiting for them. A voice called out, "Here is you house,
Keinohoomanawanui!" and the Sloven entered with alacrity and found
bundles of his wished-for eels and potatoes already cooked and awaiting
his disposal.
But Kalelealuaka proudly declined to enter the house prepared for
himself when the invitation came to him, "Come in! this is your
house," all because his little friend Kaluhe, whose eyes had often
been filled with smoke while cooking _luau_ and roasting kukui nuts
for him, had not been included in the invitation, and he saw that
no provision had been made for him. When this was satisfactorily
arranged Kalelealuaka and his little friend entered and sat down to
eat. The King, with his own hand, poured out awa for Kalelealuaka,
brought him a gourd of water to rinse his mouth, offered him food,
and waited upon him till he had supplied all his wants.
Now, when Kalelealuaka had well drunken, and was beginning to feel
drowsy from the awa, the lame marshal came in and led him to the two
daughters of Kakuhihewa, and from that time these two lovely girls
were his wives.
PART III
Thus they lived for perhaps thirty days (_he mau anabulu_), when
a messenger arrived, announcing that Kualii was making war at
Moanalua. The soldiers of Kakuhihewa quickly made themselves ready,
and among them Keinohoomanawanui went out to battle. The lame marshal
had started for the scene the night before.
On the morning of the day of battle, Kalelealuaka said to his wives
that he had a great hankering for some shrimps and moss, which must
be gathered in a particular way, and that nothing else would please
his appetite. Thereupon, they dutifully set out to obtain these things
for him. As soon as they had gone from the house Kalelealuaka flew to
Waianae and arrayed himself with wreaths of the fine-leaved _maile_
(_Maile laulii_). which is peculiar to that region. Thence he flew to
Napeha, where the lame marshal, Maliuhaaino, was painfully climbing
the hill on his way to battle. Kalelealuaka cheerily greeted him,
and the following dialogue occurred:
K. "Whither are you trudging, Maliuhaaino?"
M. "What! don't you know about the war?"
K. "Let me carry you."
M. "How fast you travel! Where are you from?"
K. "From Waianae."
M. "So I see from your wreaths. Yes, carry me, and Waianae shall
be yours."
At the word Kalelealuaka picked up the cripple and set him down on
an eminence _mauka_ of the battlefield, saying, "Remain you here and
watch me. If I am killed in the fight, you return by the same way we
came and report to the King."
Kalelealuaka then addressed himself to the battle, but before attacking
the enemy he revenged himself on those who had mocked and jeered at
him for not joining the forces of Kakuhihewa. This done, he turned his
hand against the enemy, who at the time were advancing and inflicting
severe loss in the King's army.
To what shall we compare the prowess of our hero? A man was plucked
and torn in his hand as if he were but a leaf. The commotion in the
ranks of the enemy was as when a powerful waterfowl lashes the water
with his wings (_O haehae ka manu, Ke ale nei ka wai_). Kalelealuaka
moved forward in his work of destruction until he had slain the captain
who stood beside the rebel chief, Kualii. From the fallen captain he
took his feather cloak and helmet and cut off his right ear and the
little finger of his right hand. Thus ended the slaughter that day.
The enthusiasm of the cripple was roused to the highest pitch on
witnessing the achievements of Kalelealuaka, and he determined to
return and report that he had never seen his equal on the battlefield.
Kalelealuaka returned to Puuloa, and hid the feather cloak and helmet
under the mats of his bed, and having fastened the dead captain's
ear and little finger to the side of the house, lay down and slept.
After a while, when the two women, his wives, returned with the
moss and shrimps, he complained that the moss was not gathered as he
had directed, and that they had been gone such a long time that his
appetite had entirely left him, and he would not eat of what they
had brought. At this the elder sister said nothing, but the younger
one muttered a few words to herself; and as they were all very tired
they soon went to sleep.
They had slept a long while when the tramp of the soldiers of
Kakuhihewa was heard, returning from the battle. The King immediately
asked how the battle had gone. The soldiers answered that the
battle had gone well, but that Keinohoomanawanui alone had greatly
distinguished himself. To this the King replied he did not believe
that the Sloven was a great warrior, but when the cripple returned
he would learn the truth.
About midnight the footsteps of the lame marshal were heard outside
of the King's house. Kakuhihewa called to him, "Come, how went the
battle?"
"Can't you have patience and let me take breath?" said the
marshal. Then when he had rested himself he answered, "They fought,
but there was one man who excelled all the warriors in the land. He
was from Waianae. I gave Waianae to him as a reward for carrying me."
"It shall be his," said the King.
"He tore a man to pieces," said the cripple, "as he would tear a
banana-leaf. The champion of Kualii's army he killed, and plundered
him of his feather cloak and helmet."
"The soldiers say that Keinohoomanawanui was the hero of the day,"
said the King.
"What!" said the cripple. "He did nothing. He merely strutted
about. But this man--I never saw his equal; he had no spear, his only
weapons were his hands; if a spear was hurled at him, he warded it
off with his hair. His hair and features, by the way, greatly resemble
those of your son-in-law."
Thus they conversed till daybreak.
After a few days, again came a messenger announcing that the rebel
Kualii was making war on the plains of Kulaokahua. On hearing this
Kakuhihewa immediately collected his soldiers. As usual, the lame
marshal set out in advance the evening before the battle.
In the morning, after the army had gone, Kalelealuaka said to his
wives, "I am thirsting for some water taken with the snout of the
calabash held downward. I shall not relish it if it is taken with the
snout turned up." Now, Kalelealuaka knew that they could not fill
the calabash if held this way, but he resorted to this artifice to
present the two young women from knowing of his miraculous flight to
the battle. As soon as the young women had got out of sight he hastened
to Waialua and arrayed himself in the rough and shaggy wreaths of _uki_
from the lagoons of Ukoa and of _hinahina_ from Kealia. Thus arrayed,
he alighted behind the lame marshal as he climbed the hill at Napeha,
slapped him on the back, exchanged greetings with him, and received a
compliment on his speed; and when asked whence he came, he answered
from Waialua. The shrewd, observant cripple recognized the wreaths
as being those of Waialua, but he did not recognize the man, for the
wreaths with which Kalelealuaka had decorated himself were of such a
color--brownish gray--as to give him the appearance of a man of middle
age. He lifted the cripple as before, and set him down on the brow of
Puowaina (Punch Bowl Hill), and received from the grateful cripple,
as a reward for his service, all the land of Waialua for his own.
This done, Kalelealuaka repeated the performances of the previous
battle. The enemy melted away before him, whichever way he turned. He
stayed his hand only when he had slain the captain of the host and
stripped him of his feather cloak and helmet, taking also his right
ear and little finger. The speed with which Kalelealuaka returned
to his home at Puuloa was like the flight of a bird. The spoils and
trophies of this battle he disposed of as before.
The two young women, Kalelealuaka's wives, turned the nozzle of the
water-gourd downward, as they were bidden, and continued to press it
into the water, in the vain hope that it might rise and fill their
container, until the noonday sun began to pour his rays directly upon
their heads; but no water entered their calabash. Then the younger
sister proposed to the elder to fill the calabash in the usual way,
saying that Kalelealuaka would not know the difference. This they did,
and returned home.
Kalelealuaka would not drink of the water, declaring that it had been
dipped up. At this the younger wife laughed furtively; the elder broke
forth and said: "It is due to the slowness of the way you told us
to employ in getting the water. We are not accustomed to the menial
office of fetching water; our father treated us delicately, and a
man always fetched water for us, and we always used to see him pour
the water into the gourd with the nozzle turned up, but you trickily
ordered us to turn the nozzle down. Your exactions are heartless."
Thus the women kept complaining until, by and by, the tramp of the
returning soldiers was heard, who were boasting of the great deeds of
Keinohoomanawanui. The King, however, said: "I do not believe a word of
your talk; when my cripple comes he will tell me the truth. I do not
believe that Keinohoomanawanui is an athlete. Such is the opinion I
have formed of him. But there is a powerful man, Kalelealuaka,--if he
were to go into battle I am confident he would perform wonders. Such
is the opinion I have formed of him, after careful study."
So the King waited for the return of the cripple until night, and
all night until nearly dawn. When finally the lame marshal arrived,
the King prudently abstained from questioning him until he had rested
a while and taken breath; then he obtained from him the whole story
of this new hero from Waialua, whose name he did not know, but who,
he declared, resembled the King's son-in-law, Kalelealuaka.
Again, on a certain day, came the report of an attack by Kualii at
Kulaokahua, and the battle was to be on the morrow. The cripple, as
usual, started off the evening before. In the morning, Kalelealuaka
called to his wives, and said: "Where are you? Wake up. I wish you
to bake a fowl for me. Do it thus: Pluck it; do not cut it open,
but remove the inwards through the opening behind; then stuff it
with _luau_ from the same end, and bake it; by no means cut it open,
lest you spoil the taste of it."
As soon as they had left the house he flew to Kahuku and adorned his
neck with wreaths of the pandanus fruit and his head with the flowers
of the sugar cane, thus entirely changing his appearance and making him
look like a gray-haired old man. As on previous days, he paused behind
the cripple and greeted him with a friendly slap on the back. Then
he kindly lifted the lame man and set him down at Puowaina. In return
for this act of kindness the cripple gave him the district of Koolau.
In this battle he first slew those soldiers in Kakuhihewa's army
who had spoken ill of him. Then he turned his hand against the
warriors of Kualii, smiting them as with the stroke of lightning,
and displaying miraculous powers. When he had reached the captain of
Kualii's force, he killed him and despoiled his body of his feather
cloak and helmet, taking also a little finger and toe. With these he
flew to the cripple, whom he lifted and bore in his flight as far as
Waipio, and there dropped him at a point just below where the water
bursts forth at Waipahu.
Arrived at his house, Kalelealuaka, after disposing of his spoils,
lay down and slept. After he had slept several hours, his wives came
along in none too pleased a mood and awoke him, saying his meat was
cooked. Kalelealuaka merely answered that it was so late his appetite
had gone, and he did not care to eat.
At this slight his wives said: "Well, now, do you think we are
accustomed to work? We ought to live without work, like a king's
daughters, and when the men have prepared the food then we should go
and eat it."
The women were still muttering over their grievance, when along
came the soldiers, boasting of the powers of Keinohoomanawanui,
and as they passed Kalelealuaka's door they said it were well if
the two wives of this fellow, who lounges at home in time of war,
were given to such a brave and noble warrior as Keinohoomanawanui.
The sun was just sinking below the ocean when the footsteps of the
cripple were heard at the King's door, which he entered, sitting down
within. After a short time the King asked him about the battle. "The
valor and prowess of this third man were even greater than those
of the previous ones; yet all three resemble each other. This day,
however, he first avenged himself by slaying those who had spoken ill
of him. He killed the captain of Kualii's army and took his feather
cloak and helmet. On my return he lifted me as far as Waipahu."
In a few days again came a report that Kualii had an army at a place
called Kahapaakai, in Nuuanu. Maliuhaaino immediately marshalled his
forces and started for the scene of battle the same evening.
Early the next morning Kalelealuaka awakened his wives, and said
to them: "Let us breakfast, but do you two eat quietly in your own
house, and I in my house with the dogs; and do not come until I
call you." So they did, and the two women went and breakfasted by
themselves. At his own house Kalelealuaka ordered Kaluhe to stir
up the dogs and keep them barking until his return. Then he sprang
away and lighted at Kapakakolea, where he overtook the cripple, whom,
after the usual interchange of greetings, he lifted, and set down at
a place called Waolani.
On this day his first action was to smite and slay those who had
reviled him at his own door. That done, he made a great slaughter among
the soldiers of Kualii; then, turning, he seized Keinohoomanawanui,
threw him down and asked him how he became blinded in one eye.
"It was lost," said the Sloven, "from the thrust of a spear, in a
combat with Olopana."
"Yes, to be sure," said Kalelealuaka, "while you and I were living
together at Wailuku, you being on one side of the stream and I on
the other, a kukui nut burst in the fire, and that was the spear that
put out your eye."
When the Sloven heard this, he hung his head. Then Kalelealuaka seized
him to put him to death, when the spear of the Sloven pierced the
fleshy part of Kalelealuaka's left arm, and in plucking it out the
spear-head remained in the wound.
Kalelealuaka killed Keinohoomanawanui and beheaded him, and, running
to the cripple, laid the trophy at his feet with the words: "I present
you, Maliuhaaino, with the head of Keinohoomanawanui." This done,
he returned to the battle, and went on slaying until he had advanced
to the captain of Kualii's forces, whom he killed and spoiled of his
feather cloak and helmet.
When Kualii saw that his chief captain, the bulwark of his power, was
slain, he retreated and fled up Nuuanu Valley, pursued by Kalelealuaka,
who overtook him at the head of the valley. Here Kualii surrendered
himself, saying: "Spare my life. The land shall all go to Kakuhihewa,
and I will dwell on it as a loyal subject under him and create no
disturbance as long as I live."
To this the hero replied: "Well said! I spare your life on these
terms. But if you at any time foment a rebellion, I will take your
life! So, then, return, and live quietly at home and do not stir
up any war in Koolau." Thus warned, Kaulii set out to return to the
"deep blue palis of Koolau."
While the lame marshal was trudging homeward, bearing the head of
the Sloven, Kalelealuaka alighted from his flight at his house,
and having disposed in his usual manner of his spoils, immediately
called to his wives to rejoin him at his own house.
The next morning, after the sun was warm, the cripple arrived at the
house of the King in a state of great excitement, and was immediately
questioned by him as to the issue of the battle, "The battle was
altogether successful," said the marshal, "but Keinohoomanawanui was
killed. I brought his head along with me and placed it on the altar
_mauka_ of Kalawao. But I would advise you to send at once your
fleetest runners through Kona and Koolau, commanding everybody to
assemble in one place, that I may review them and pick out and vaunt
as the bravest that one whom I shall recognize by certain marks--for
I have noted him well: he is wounded in the left arm."
Now, Kakuhihewa's two swiftest runners (_kukini_) were Keakealani and
Kuhelemoana. They were so fleet that they could compass Oahu six times
in a forenoon, or twelve times in a whole day. These two were sent to
call together all the men of the King's domain. The men of Waianae came
that same day and stood in review on the sandy plains of Puuloa. But
among them all was not one who bore the marks sought for. Then came
the men of Kona, of Waialua, and of Koolau, but the man was not found.
Then the lame marshal came and stood before the King and said: "Your
bones shall rest in peace, Kalani. You had better send now and summon
your son-in-law to come and stand before me; for he is the man." Then
Kakuhihewa arose and went himself to the house of his son-in-law,
and called to his daughters that he had come to get their husband to
go and stand before Maliuhaaino.
Then Kalelealuaka lifted up the mats of his bed and took out the
feather cloaks and the helmets and arrayed his two wives, and Kaluhe,
and himself. Putting them in line, he stationed the elder of his
wives first, next to her the younger, and third Kaluhe, and placing
himself at the rear of the file, he gave the order to march, and thus
accompanied he went forth to obey the King's command.
The lame marshal saw them coming, and in ecstasy he prostrated himself
and rolled over in the dust, "The feather cloak and the helmet on
your elder daughter are the ones taken from the captain of Kualii's
army in the first day's fight; those on your second daughter from the
captain of the second day's fight; while those on Kalelealuaka himself
are from the captain killed in the battle on the fourth day. You will
live, but perhaps I shall die, since he is weary of carrying me."
The lame marshal went on praising and eulogizing Kalelealuaka as
he drew near. Then addressing the hero, he said: "I recognize you,
having met you before. Now show your left arm to the King and to this
whole assembly, that they may see where you were wounded by the spear."
Then Kalelealuaka bared his left arm and displayed his wound to the
astonished multitude. Thereupon Kakuhihewa said: "Kalelealuaka and
my daughters, do you take charge of the kingdom, and I will pass into
the ranks of the common people under you."
After this a new arrangement of the lands was made, and the country
had peace until the death of Kakuhihewa; Kalelealuaka also lived
peacefully until death took him.
X
STORIES OF THE MENEHUNES
HAWAII THE ORIGINAL HOME OF THE BROWNIES
_Thos. G. Thrum_
Students of Hawaiian folk-lore find much of coincident interest with
traditional or more historic beliefs of other and older lands. The
same applies, in a measure, to some of the ancient customs of the
people. This is difficult to account for, more especially since the
Hawaiians possessed no written language by which such knowledge could
be preserved or transmitted. Fornander and others discovered in the
legends of this people traces of the story of the Flood, the standing
still of the sun, and other narratives of Bible history, which some
savants accept as evidence of their Aryan origin. This claim we are not
disposed to dispute, but desire to present another line of tradition
that has been neglected hitherto, yet has promise of much interest.
It will doubtless interest some readers to learn that Hawaii is the
real home of the Brownies, or was; and that this adventurous nomadic
tribe were known to the Hawaiians long before Swift's satirical mind
conceived his Lilliputians.
It would be unreasonable to expect so great a range of nationalities
and peculiar characteristics among the pygmies of Hawaii as among
the Brownies of story. Tradition naturally represents them as of one
race, and all nimble workers; not a gentleman dude, or policeman
in the whole lot. Unlike the inquisitive and mischievous athletes
of present fame, the original and genuine Brownies, known as the
Menehunes, are referred to as an industrious race. In fact, it was
their alleged power to perform a marvellous amount of labor in a
short space of time that has fixed them in the minds of Hawaiians,
many of whom point to certain traces of their work in various parts of
the islands to substantiate the traditional claim of their existence.
Meeting thus with occasional references to this active race, but
mostly in a vague way, it has been a matter of interesting inquiry
among Hawaiians, some of whom were noted _kaao_, or legend-bearers,
for further knowledge on the subject. Very naturally their ideas
differ respecting the Menehunes. Some treat the subject with
gravity and respect, and express the belief that they were the
original inhabitants of these islands, but gradually gave way to
the heavier-bodied ancestors of the present race; others consider
that the history of the race has been forgotten through the lapse of
ages; while the more intelligent and better educated look upon the
Menehunes as a mythical class of gnomes or dwarfs, and the account
of their exploits as having been handed down by tradition for social
entertainment, as other peoples relate fairy stories.
In the Hawaiian legend of Kumuhonua, Fornander states that the
Polynesians were designated as "the people, descendants from Menehune,
son of Lua Nuu, etc. It disappeared as a national name so long ago,
however, that subsequent legends have changed it to a term of reproach,
representing them at times as a separate race, and sometimes as a
race of dwarfs, skilful laborers, but artful and cunning."
In the following account and selection of stories gathered from various
native sources, as literal a rendition as possible has been observed
by the translators for the better insight it gives of Hawaiian thought
and character.
MOKE MANU'S ACCOUNT
The Menehunes were supposed to have been a wonderful people, small of
stature and of great activity. They were always united in doing any
service required of them. It was their rule that any work undertaken
must be completed in one night, otherwise it would be left unfinished,
as they did not labor twice on the same work; hence the origin of
the saying: "_He po hookahi, a ao ua pau_,"--in one night, and by
dawn it is finished.
There is no reliable history of the Menehunes. No one knows whence
they came, though tradition says they were the original people of the
Hawaiian Islands. They are thought to have been supernatural beings,
governed by some one higher in rank than themselves, whom they
recognized as having power and authority over them, that assigned
them to the mountains and hills where they lived permanently. They
were said to be the only inhabitants of the islands up to the time
of Papa and Wakea, and were invisible to every one but their own
descendants, or those connected with them in some way. Many persons
could hear the noise and hum of their voices, but the gift of seeing
them with the naked eye was denied to those not akin to them. They
were always willing to do the bidding of their descendants, and their
supernatural powers enabled them to perform some wonderful works.
PI'S WATERCOURSE
Pi was an ordinary man living in Waimea, Kauai, who wanted to construct
a _mano_, or dam, across the Waimea River and a watercourse therefrom
to a point near Kikiaola. Having settled upon the best locations for
his proposed work, he went up to the mountains and ordered all the
Menehunes that were living near Puukapele to prepare stones for the
dam and watercourse. The Menehunes were portioned off for the work;
some to gather stones, and others to cut them. All the material was
ready in no time (_manawa ole_), and Pi settled upon the night when
the work was to be done. When the time came he went to the point where
the dam was to be built, and waited. At the dead of night he heard the
noise and hum of the voices of the Menehunes on their way to Kikiaola,
each of whom was carrying a stone. The dam was duly constructed,
every stone fitting in its proper place, and the stone _auwai_, or
watercourse, also laid around the bend of Kikiaola. Before the break
of day the work was completed, and the water of the Waimea River was
turned by the dam into the watercourse on the flat lands of Waimea.
When the work was finished Pi served out food for the Menehunes, which
consisted of shrimps (_opae_), this being the only kind to be had in
sufficient quantity to supply each with a fish to himself. They were
well supplied and satisfied, and at dawn returned to the mountains
of Puukapele rejoicing, and the hum of their voices gave rise to the
saying, "_Wawa ka Menehune i Puukapele, ma Kauai, puoho ka manu o
ka loko o Kawainui ma Koolaupoko, Oahu_"--the hum of the voices of
the Menehunes at Puukapele, Kauai, startled the birds of the pond of
Kawainui, at Koolaupoko Oahu.
The _auwai_, or watercourse, of Pi is still to be seen at Kikiaola.
At one time Pi also told the Menehunes to wall in a fish-pond at
the bend of the Huleia River. They commenced work toward midnight,
but at dawn the walls of the pond were not sufficiently finished to
meet, so it was left incomplete, and has remained so to this day.
LAKA'S ADVENTURE
Wahieloa, a chief, lived at Kalaikoi, Kipahulu, Maui. He took to
him a wife named Hinahawea. In due time a boy was born to them, whom
Hinahowana, the mother of Hinahawea, brought up under her own care
at Alaenui. She called him Laka-a-wahieloa. He was greatly petted
by his parents. One day his father went to Hawaii in search of the
_Ala-Koiula a Kane_ for a toy for his son, landing at Punaluu, Kau,
Hawaii, where he was killed in a cave called Keana-a-Kaualehu.
After a long absence Laka asked for his father, and his mother referred
him to his grandmother, who, on being questioned, told him that his
father went to Hawaii, and was supposed to be dead. Laka then asked
for means by which he could search for his father.
His grandmother replied: "Go to the mountains and look for the tree
that has leaves shaped like the moon on the night of Hilo, or Hoaka;
such is the tree for a canoe."
Laka followed this advice, and went to the mountains to find the
tree for his canoe. Finding a suitable one, he commenced to cut
in the morning, and by sundown he had felled it to the ground. This
accomplished, he went home. Returning the next day, to his surprise he
could not find his fallen tree, so he cut down another, with the same
result. Laka was thus tricked for several days, and in his perplexity
consulted again with his grandmother, who sent him off with the same
advice as before, to look for the crescent-shaped leaf.
He went to the mountains again and found the desired tree, but before
cutting it he dug a big hole on the side where the Kalala-Kamahele
would fall. Upon cutting the tree it fell right into the hole or
trench, as designed; then he jumped into it and lay in waiting for
the person or persons who were reërecting the trees he had cut down
for his canoe.
While thus waiting, he heard some one talking about raising the tree
and returning it to its former position, followed by someone chanting
as follows:
E ka mano o ke Akua,
Ke kini o ke Akua,
Ka lehu o ke Akua,
Ka lalani Akua,
Ka pukui Akua!
E na Akua o ke kuahiwi nei,
I ka mauna,
I ke kualono,
I ka manowai la-e,
E-iho! [7]
When this appeal ended there was a hum and noise, and in a short
time (_manawa ole_) the place was filled with a band of people, who
endeavored to lift the tree; but it would not move. Laka then jumped
out from his place of hiding and caught hold of two of the men,
Mokuhalii and Kapaaikee, and threatened to kill them for raising
again the trees he had cut for his canoe. Mokuhalii then told Laka
that if they were killed, nobody would be able to make a canoe for
him, nor would anybody pull it to the beach, but if they were spared
they would willingly do it for him, provided Laka would first build
a big and long shed (_halau_) of sufficient size to hold the canoe,
and prepare sufficient food for the men. Laka gladly consenting,
released them and returned to his home and built a shed on the level
ground of Puhikau. Then he went up to the woods and saw the canoe,
ready and complete. The Menehunes told Laka that it would be brought
to the halau that night. At the dead of night the hum of the voices
of the Menehunes was heard; this was the commencement of the lifting
of the canoe. It was not dragged, but held up by hand. The second
hum of voices brought the canoe to Haloamekiei, at Pueo. And at the
third hum the canoe was carefully laid down in the halau. Food and
fish were there spread out for the workers, the _ha_ of the taro for
food, and the opae and oopu for fish. At dawn the Menehunes returned
to their home. Kuahalau was the name of the halau, the remains of
the foundation of which were to be seen a few years ago, but now it
is ploughed over. The hole dug by Laka still exists.
KEKUPUA'S CANOE
Kakae, a chief, lived at Wahiawa, Kukaniloko, Waialua, Oahu. One day
his wife told him that she desired to go in search of her brother,
Kahanaiakeakua, who was supposed to be living at Tahiti. Kakae
thereupon ordered his man Kekupua to go into the woods and find
a suitable tree and make a canoe for his wife for this foreign
voyage. Kekupua, with a number of men under him, searched in the
forest belt of Wahiawa, Helemano, and Waoala, as also through the
woods of Koolau, without success. From Kahana they made a search
through the mountains till they came to Kilohana, in Kalihi Valley,
and from there to Waolani, in Nuuanu, where they slept in a cave. In
the dead of night they heard the hum as of human voices, but were
unable to discern any person, though the voices sounded close to
them. At dawn silence reigned again, and when the sun arose, lo,
and behold! there stood a large mound of stones, the setting of which
resembled that of a _heiau_, or temple, the remains of which are said
to be noticeable to this day.
Kekupua and his men returned to their chief and reported their
unsuccessful search for a suitable _koa_ (_Acacia koa_) tree for
the desired canoe, and related also the incident at Waolani. Kakae,
being a descendant of the Menehunes, knew immediately the authors of
the strange occurrence. He therefore instructed Kekupua to proceed to
Makaho and Kamakela and to stay there till the night of Kane, then go
up to Puunui and wait till hearing the hum and noise of the Menehunes,
which would be the signal of their finishing the canoe. And thus it
was; the Menehunes, having finished the canoe, were ready to pull
it to the sea. He directed them to look sharp, and two men would be
noticed holding the ropes at the _pu_ (or head) of the canoe. One of
them would leap from one side to the other; he was the director of the
work and was called _pale_. There would be some men farther behind,
holding the _kawelewele_, or guiding-ropes. They were the _kahunas_
that superintended the construction of the canoe. He reminded them
to remember these directions, and when they saw these men, to give
them orders and show them the course to take in pulling the canoe to
the sea.
Kekupua followed all these instructions faithfully. He waited
at Puunui till dusk, when he heard a hum as of many voices, and
proceeding farther up near the slope of Alewa he saw these wonderful
people. They were like ordinary human beings but diminutive. He
directed them to pull the canoe along the _nae_, or farther side of
the Puunui stream. By this course the canoe was brought down as far
as Kaalaa, near Waikahalulu, where, when daylight came, they left
their burden and returned to Waolani. The canoe was left in the ditch,
where it remained for many generations, and was called Kawa-a-Kekupua
(Kekupua's canoe), in honor of the servant of the chief Kakae.
Thus, even with the help of the Menehunes, the wife of Kakae was not
satisfied in her desire.
AS HEIAU BUILDERS
The Menehunes are credited with the construction of numerous _heiaus_
(ancient temples) in various parts of the islands.
The heiau of Mookini, near Honoipu, Kohala, is pointed out as an
instance of their marvellous work. The place selected for the site
of the temple was on a grassy plain. The stones in the nearest
neighborhood were for some reason not deemed suitable for the
work, so those of Pololu Valley, distant some twelve miles, were
selected. Tradition says the Menehunes were placed in a line covering
the entire distance from Pololu to Honoipu, whereby the stones were
passed from hand to hand for the entire work. Work was begun at the
quiet of night, and at cock-crow in the morning it was finished. Thus
in one night the heiau of Mookini was built.
Another temple of their erection was at Pepeekeo, Hilo, the peculiarity
of the work being that the stones had been brought together by the
residents of that part of the district, by direction of the chief, but
that in one night, the Menehunes gathered together and built it. The
chief and his people were surprised on coming the next morning to
resume their labors, to find the heiau completed.
There stands on the pali of Waikolu, near Kalaupapa, Molokai,
a heiau that Hawaiians believe to have been constructed by no one
else than the Menehunes. It is on the top of a ledge in the face of
a perpendicular cliff, with a continuous inaccessible cliff behind it
reaching hundreds of feet above. No one has ever been able to reach it
either from above or from below; and the marvel is how the material,
which appears to be seashore stones, was put in place.
XI
KAHALAOPUNA, PRINCESS OF MANOA
_Mrs. E. M. Nakuina_
Akaaka (laughter) is a projecting spur of the mountain range at the
head of Manoa Valley, forming the ridge running back to and above
Waiakeakua, "the water of the gods." Akaaka was united in marriage
to Nalehuaakaaka, still represented by some lehua (_Metrosideros
polymorpha_) bushes on the very brow of the spur or ridge. They had
two children, twins, Kahaukani, a boy, and Kauakuahine, a girl. These
children were adopted at birth by a chief, Kolowahi, and chieftainess,
Pohakukala, who were brother and sister, and cousins of Akaaka. The
brother took charge of the boy, Kahaukani, a synonyme for the Manoa
wind; and Pohakukala the girl, Kauakuahine, meaning the famous
Manoa rain. When the children were grown up, the foster parents
determined that they should be united; and the children, having been
brought up separately and in ignorance of their relationship, made
no objections. They were accordingly married and a girl was born
to them, who was called Kahalaopuna. Thus Kolowahi and Pohakukala,
by conspiring to unite the twin brother and sister, made permanent
the union of rain and wind for which Manoa Valley is noted; and the
fruit of such a union was the most beautiful woman of her time. So
the Manoa girls, foster children of the Manoa rains and winds, have
generally been supposed to have inherited the beauty of Kahalaopuna.
A house was built for Kahalaopuna at Kahaiamano on the road to
Waiakekua, where she lived with a few attendants. The house was
surrounded by a fence of auki (_dracæna_), and a _puloulou_ (sign of
kapu) was placed on each side of the gate, indicative of forbidden
ground. The puloulou were short, stout poles, each surmounted
by a ball of white kapa cloth, and indicated that the person or
persons inhabiting the premises so defined were of the highest rank,
and sacred.
Kahalaopuna was very beautiful from her earliest childhood. Her cheeks
were so red and her face so bright that a glow emanated therefrom
which shone through the thatch of her house when she was in; a rosy
light seemed to envelop the house, and bright rays seemed to play over
it constantly. When she went to bathe in the spring below her house,
the rays of light surrounded her like a halo. The natives maintain
that this bright light is still occasionally seen at Kahaiamano,
indicating that the spirit of Kahalaopuna is revisiting her old home.
She was betrothed in childhood to Kauhi, the young chief of Kailua, in
Koolau, whose parents were so sensible of the honor of the contemplated
union of their son with the Princess of Manoa, who was deemed of a
semi-supernatural descent, that they always sent the poi of Kailua and
the fish of Kawainui for the girl's table. She was thus, as it were,
brought up entirely on the food of her prospective husband.
When she was grown to young womanhood, she was so exquisitely beautiful
that the people of the valley would make visits to the outer puloulou
at the sacred precinct of Luaalea, the land adjoining Kahaiamano, just
to get a glimpse of the beauty as she went to and from the spring. In
this way the fame of her surpassing loveliness was spread all over
the valley, and came to the ears of two men, Kumauna and Keawaa,
both of whom were disfigured by a contraction of the lower eyelids,
and were known as _makahelei_ (drawn eyes). Neither of these men had
ever seen Kahalaopuna, but they fell in love with her from hear-say,
and not daring to present themselves to her as suitors on account
of their disfigurement, they would weave and deck themselves _leis_
(wreaths) of maile (_Alyxia olivæformis_), ginger, and ferns and go to
Waikiki for surf-bathing. While there they would indulge in boasting
of their conquest of the famous beauty, representing the leis with
which they were decked as love-gifts from Kahalaopuna. Now, when
the surf of Kalehuawehe at Waikiki was in proper condition, it would
attract people from all parts of the island to enjoy the delightful
sport. Kauhi, the betrothed of Kahalaopuna, was one of these. The
time set for his marriage to Kahalaopuna was drawing near, and as
yet he had not seen her, when the assertions of the two makahelei
men came to his ears. These were repeated so frequently that Kauhi
finally came to believe them, and they so filled him with jealous
rage of his betrothed that he determined to kill her. He started for
Manoa at dawn, and proceeded as far as Mahinauli, in mid-valley,
where he rested under a hala (_Pandanus odoratissimus_) tree that
grew in the grove of wiliwili (_Erythrina monosperma_). He sat there
some time, brooding over the fancied injury to himself, and nursing
his wrath. Upon resuming his walk he broke off and carried along with
him a bunch of hala nuts. It was quite noon when he reached Kahaiamano
and presented himself before the house of Kahalaopuna. The latter had
just awakened from a sleep, and was lying on a pile of mats facing
the door, thinking of going to the spring, her usual bathing-place,
when she perceived a stranger at the door.
She looked at him some time and, recognizing him from oft repeated
descriptions, asked him to enter; but Kauhi refused, and asked her
to come outside. The young girl had been so accustomed from early
childhood to consider herself as belonging to Kauhi, and of being
indebted to him, as it were, for her daily food, that she obeyed
him unhesitatingly.
He perhaps intended to kill her then, but the girl's unhesitating
obedience as well as her extreme loveliness made him hesitate for a
while; and after looking intently at her for some time he told her
to go and bathe and then prepare herself to accompany him in a ramble
about the woods.
While Kahalaopuna was bathing, Kauhi remained moodily seated where
she had left him, and watched the bright glow, like rainbow rays,
playing above the spring. He was alternately filled with jealousy,
regret, and longing for the great beauty of the girl; but that did
not make him relent in his dreadful purpose. He seemed to resent his
betrothed's supposed infidelity the more because she had thrown herself
away on such unworthy persons, who were, besides, ugly and disfigured,
while he, Kauhi, was not only a person of rank and distinction,
but possessed also of considerable manly beauty.
When she was ready he motioned her to follow him, and turned to go
without a word. They went across Kumakaha to Hualea, when the girl
said, "Why don't you stay and have something to eat before we go?"
He answered rather surlily, "I don't care to eat; I have no appetite."
He looked so sternly at her as he said this that she cried out to him,
"Are you annoyed with me? Have I displeased you in any way?"
He only said, "Why, what have you done that would displease me?"
He kept on his way, she following, till they came to a large stone
in Aihualama, when he turned abruptly and, facing the young girl,
looked at her with an expression of mingled longing and hate. At last,
with a deep sigh, he said, "You are beautiful, my betrothed, but,
as you have been false, you must die."
The young girl looked up in surprise at these strange words, but
saw only hatred and a deadly purpose in Kauhi's eyes; so she said:
"If I have to die, why did you not kill me at home, so that my people
could have buried my bones; but you brought me to the wild woods,
and who will bury me? If you think I have been false to you, why not
seek proof before believing it?"
But Kauhi would not listen to her appeal. Perhaps it only served to
remind him of what he considered was his great loss. He struck her
across the temple with the heavy bunch of hala nuts he had broken
off at Mahinauli, and which he had been holding all the time. The
blow killed the girl instantly, and Kauhi hastily dug a hole under
the side of the rock and buried her; then he started down the valley
toward Waikiki.
As soon as he was gone, a large owl, who was a god, and a relative
of Kahalaopuna, and had followed her from home, immediately set to
digging the body out; which done, it brushed the dirt carefully off
with its wings and, breathing into the girl's nostrils, restored her to
life. It rubbed its face against the bruise on the temple, and healed
it immediately. Kauhi had not advanced very far on his way when he
heard the voice of Kahalaopuna singing a lament for his unkindness,
and beseeching him to believe her, or, at least, prove his accusation.
Hearing her voice, Kauhi returned, and, seeing the owl flying above
her, recognized the means of her resurrection; and, going up to the
girl, ordered her to follow him. They went up the side of the ridge
which divides Manoa Valley from Nuuanu. It was hard work for the
tenderly nurtured maiden to climb the steep mountain ridge, at one
time through a thorny tangle of underbrush, and at another clinging
against the bare face of the rocks, holding on to swinging vines for
support. Kauhi never offered to assist her, but kept on ahead, only
looking back occasionally to see that she followed. When they arrived
at the summit of the divide she was all scratched and bruised, and
her _pa-u_ (skirt) in tatters. Seating herself on a stone to regain
her breath, she asked Kauhi where they were going. He never answered,
but struck her again with the hala branch, killing her instantly,
as before. He then dug a hole near where she lay, and buried her, and
started for Waikiki by way of the Kakea ridge. He was no sooner out
of sight than the owl again scratched the dirt away and restored the
girl, as before. Again she followed and sang a song of love and regret
for her lover's anger, and pleaded with him to lay aside his unjust
suspicions. On hearing her voice again, Kauhi returned and ordered
her to follow him. They descended into Nuuanu Valley, at Kaniakapupu,
and crossed over to Waolani ridge, where he again killed and buried
the faithful girl, who was again restored by the owl. When he was
on his way back, as before, she sang a song, describing the perils
and difficulties of the way traversed by them, and ended by pleading
for pardon for the unknown fault. The wretched man, on hearing her
voice again, was very angry; and his repeated acts of cruelty and
the suffering endured by the girl, far from softening his heart,
only served to render him more brutal, and to extinguish what little
spark of kindly feeling he might have had originally. His only thought
was to kill her for good, and thus obtain some satisfaction for his
wasted poi and fish. He returned to her and ordered her, as before,
to follow him, and started for Kilohana, at the head of Kalihi Valley,
where he again killed her. She was again restored by the owl, and made
her resurrection known by singing to her cruel lover. He this time
took her across gulches, ravines, and plains, until they arrived at
Pohakea, on the Ewa slope of the Kaala Mountains, where he killed her
and buried her under a large _koa_ (_Acacia koa_). The faithful owl
tried to scrape the dirt away, so as to get at the body of the girl,
but his claws became entangled in the numerous roots and rootlets which
Kauhi had been careful not to cut away. The more the owl scratched,
the more deeply tangled he got, and, finally, with bruised claws and
ruffled feathers, he had to give up the idea of rescuing the girl;
and perhaps he thought it useless, as she would be sure to make her
resurrection known to Kauhi. So the owl left, and followed Kauhi on
his return to Waikiki.
There had been another witness to Kauhi's cruelties, and that was
Elepaio (_Chasiempis sandwichensis_), a little green bird, a cousin to
Kahalaopuna. As soon as this bird saw that the owl had deserted the
body of Kahalaopuna, it flew straight to Kahaukani and Kauakuahine,
and told them of all that had happened. The girl had been missed, but,
as some of the servants had recognized Kauhi, and had seen them leave
together for what they supposed was a ramble in the adjoining woods,
no great anxiety had been felt, as yet. But when the little bird told
his tale, there was great consternation, and even positive disbelief;
for, how could any one in his senses, they argued, be guilty of such
cruelty to such a lovely, innocent being, and one, too, belonging
entirely to himself.
In the meantime, the spirit of the murdered girl discovered itself
to a party who were passing by; and one of them, a young man, moved
with compassion, went to the tree indicated by the spirit, and,
removing the dirt and roots, found the body, still warm. He wrapped
it in his _kihei_ (shoulder scarf), and then covered it entirely with
maile, ferns, and ginger, and, making a _haawe_, or back-load, of it,
carried it to his home at Kamoiliili. There, he submitted the body
to his elder brother, who called upon two spirit sisters of theirs,
with whose aid they finally succeeded in restoring it to life. In the
course of the treatment she was frequently taken to an underground
water-cave, called Mauoki, for the _Kakelekele_ (hydropathic cure). The
water-cave has ever since been known as the "Water of Kahalaopuna."
The young man who had rescued her from the grave naturally wanted
her to become his bride; but the girl refused, saying that as long
as Kauhi lived she was his, and none other's, as her very body was,
as it were, nourished on his food, and was as much his property as
the food had been.
The elder brother then counselled the younger to seek, in some way,
the death of Kauhi. To this end they conspired with the parents of
Kahalaopuna to keep her last resurrection secret. The young man then
set to work to learn all the meles Kahalaopuna had sung to her lover
during that fatal journey. When he knew these songs well, he sought
the _kilu_ (play, or game) houses of the King and high chiefs, where
Kauhi was sure to be found.
One day, when Kauhi was playing, this young man placed himself on the
opposite side, and as Kauhi ceased, took up the kilu and chanted the
first of Kahalaopuna's meles.
Kauhi was very much surprised, and contrary to the etiquette of the
game of kilu, stopped him in his play to ask him where he had learned
that song. The young man answered he had learned it from Kahalaopuna,
the famous Manoa beauty, who was a friend of his sister's and who was
now on a visit at their house. Kauhi, knowing the owl had deserted the
body of the girl, felt certain that she was really dead, and accused
the other of telling a lie. This led to an angry and stormy scene,
when the antagonists were parted by orders of the King.
The next night found them both at the kilu house, when the second
of Kahalaopuna's songs was sung, and another angry discussion took
place. Again they were separated by others. On the third night,
the third song having been sung, the dispute between the young men
became so violent that Kauhi told the young man that the Kahalaopuna
he knew must be an impostor, as the real person of that name was dead,
to his certain knowledge. He dared him to produce the young woman whom
he had been representing as Kahalaopuna; and should she not prove to
be the genuine one then his life should be the forfeit, and on the
other hand, if it should be the real one, then he, Kauhi, should be
declared the liar and pay for his insults to the other with his life.
This was just what the young man had been scheming to compass, and
he quickly assented to the challenge, calling on the King and chiefs
to take notice of the terms of agreement, and to see that they were
enforced.
On the appointed day Kahalaopuna went to Waikiki, attended by her
parents, relatives, servants, and the two spirit sisters, who had
assumed human form for that day so as to accompany their friend and
advise her in case of necessity. Akaaka, the grandfather, who had been
residing in Waikiki some little time previous to the dispute between
the young men, was appointed one of the judges at the approaching
trial.
Kauhi had consulted the priests and sorcerers of his family as to
the possibility of the murdered girl having assumed human shape for
the purpose of working him some injury. Kaea, a famous priest and
seer of his family, told him to have the large leaves of the a-pe
(_Calladium costatum_) spread where Kahalaopuna and party were to be
seated. If she was a spirit, she would not be able to tear the a-pe
leaf on which she would be seated, but if human, the leaf or leaves
would be torn. With the permission of the King, this was done. The
latter, surrounded by the highest chiefs and a vast assemblage from
all parts of the island, was there to witness the test.
When Kahalaopuna and party were on the road to the scene of the test,
her spirit friends informed her of the a-pe leaves, and advised her
to trample on them so as to tear them as much as possible, as they,
being spirits, would be unable to tear the leaves on which they should
be seated, and if any one's attention were drawn to them, they would
be found out and killed by the _poe po-i uhane_ (spirit catchers).
The young girl faithfully performed what was required of her. Kaea,
on seeing the torn leaves, remarked that she was evidently human,
but that he felt the presence of spirits, and would watch for them,
feeling sure they were in some way connected with the girl. Akaaka
then told him to look in a calabash of water, when he would in all
probability see the spirits. The seer, in his eagerness to unravel the
mystery, forgot his usual caution and ordered a vessel of water to be
brought, and, looking in, he saw only his own reflection. Akaaka at
that moment caught the reflection of the seer (which was his spirit),
and crushed it between his palms, and at that moment the seer dropped
down dead. Akaaka now turned around and opened his arms and embraced
Kahalaopuna, thus acknowledging her as his own beloved granddaughter.
The King now demanded of the girl and of Kauhi an account of all
that had happened between them, and of the reported death of the
maiden. They both told their stories, Kauhi ascribing his anger
to hearing the assertions of the two disfigured men, Kumauna and
Keawaa. These two, on being confronted with the girl, acknowledged
never having seen her before, and that all their words had been idle
boastings. The King then said: "As your fun has cost this innocent
girl so much suffering, it is my will that you two and Kauhi suffer
death at once, as a matter of justice; and if your gods are powerful
enough to restore you, so much the better for you."
Two large _imus_ (ground ovens) had been heated by the followers of the
young men, in anticipation of the possible fate of either, and Kauhi,
with the two mischief-makers and such of their respective followers and
retainers as preferred to die with their chiefs, were baked therein.
The greater number of Kauhi's people were so incensed with his cruelty
to the lovely young girl that they transferred their allegiance to her,
offering themselves for her vassals as restitution, in a measure,
for the undeserved sufferings borne by her at the hands of their
cruel chief.
The King gave her for a bride to the young man who had not only saved
her, but had been the means of avenging her wrongs.
The imus in which Kauhi and his companions were baked were on the
side of the stream of Apuakehau, in the famous Ulukou grove, and very
near the sea. The night following, a great tidal wave, sent in by a
powerful old shark god, a relative of Kauhi's, swept over the site
of the two ovens, and in the morning it was seen that their contents
had disappeared. The bones had been taken by the old shark into the
sea. The chiefs, Kumauna and Keawaa, were, through the power of their
family gods, transformed into the two mountain peaks on the eastern
corner of Manoa Valley, while Kauhi and his followers were turned
into sharks.
Kahalaopuna lived happily with her husband for about two years. Her
grandfather, knowing of Kauhi's transformation, and aware of his
vindictive nature, strictly forbade her from ever going into the
sea. She remembered and heeded the warning during those years,
but one day, her husband and all their men having gone to Manoa to
cultivate kalo (_Colocasia antiquorum_), she was left alone with her
maid servants.
The surf on that day was in fine sporting condition, and a number
of young women were surf-riding, and Kahalaopuna longed to be with
them. Forgetting the warning, as soon as her mother fell asleep she
slipped out with one of her maids and swam out on a surf-board. This
was Kauhi's opportunity, and as soon as she was fairly outside the
reef he bit her in two and held the upper half of the body up out of
the water, so that all the surf-bathers would see and know that he
had at last obtained his revenge.
Immediately on her death the spirit of the young woman went back and
told her sleeping mother of what had befallen her. The latter woke
up, and, missing her, gave the alarm. This was soon confirmed by the
terrified surf-bathers, who had all fled ashore at seeing the terrible
fate of Kahalaopuna. Canoes were launched and manned, and chase given
to the shark and his prey, which could be easily tracked by the blood.
He swam just far enough below the surface of the water to be visible,
and yet too far to be reached with effect by the fishing-spears of
the pursuers. He led them a long chase to Waianae; then, in a sandy
opening in the bottom of the sea, where everything was visible to the
pursuers, he ate up the young woman, so that she could never again
be restored to this life.
Her parents, on hearing of her end, retired to Manoa Valley, and gave
up their human life, resolving themselves into their supernatural
elements. Kahaukani, the father, is known as the Manoa wind, but his
usual and visible form is the grove of ha-u (_hibiscus_) trees, below
Kahaiamano. Kauakuahine, the mother, assumed her rain form, and is
very often to be met with about the former home of her beloved child.
The grandparents also gave up their human forms, and returned, the
one to his mountain form, and the other into the lehua bushes still
to be met with on the very brow of the hill, where they keep watch
over the old home of their petted and adored grandchild.
XII
THE PUNAHOU SPRING
_Mrs. E. M. Nakuina_
There formerly lived on the Kaala Mountains a chief by the name
of Kahaakea. He had two children, a boy and a girl, twins, whose
mother had died at their birth. The brother was called _Kauawaahila_
(Waahila Rain), and the girl _Kauakiowao_ (Mountain Mist). Kahaakea
was very tenderly attached to his motherless children, and after a
while took to himself a wife, thinking thus to provide his children
with a mother's care and love. This wife was called Hawea and had a
boy by her former husband. This boy was deformed and ugly, while the
twins were very beautiful. The stepmother was jealous of their beauty,
and resented the universal admiration expressed for them, while no one
noticed her boy except with looks of aversion. She was very considerate
toward the twins when their father was present, but hated and detested
them most violently. When they were about ten years old their father
had occasion to go to Hawaii, and had to remain away a long time. He
felt perfectly safe in leaving his children with his wife, as she had
always feigned great love for them, and had successfully concealed from
him her real feelings in regard to them. But as soon as he was fairly
away she commenced a series of petty persecutions of the poor children.
It seems the mother of the children had been "_uhae ia_" at her
death. That is, certain prayers, invocations, fasting, and humiliation
had been performed by certain relatives of the deceased, and quantities
of prepared awa, black, unblemished pig, red fish, and all the
customary food of the gods, had been prepared and offered with the
object of strengthening the spirit of the departed and of attracting it
strongly, as well as giving it a sort of power and control over mundane
affairs and events. So when Hawea began to persecute her stepchildren,
the spirit of their own mother would assist and protect them.
The persecutions of the stepmother at last became unendurable
to the twins. She not only deprived them of food, clothing, and
water, but subjected them besides to all sorts of indignities and
humiliations. Driven to desperation, they fled to Konahuanui, the
mountain peak above the Pali of Nuuanu; but were soon discovered
and driven away from there by the cruel Hawea. They then went to the
head of Manoa Valley. The stepmother was not at all pleased at their
getting out of the way of her daily persecutions, and searched for
them everywhere. She finally tracked them by the constant appearance
of rainbows at the head of Manoa Valley, those unfailing attendants
of rain and mist. The children were again driven away and told to
return to Kaala, where they would be constantly under her eye; but
they ran and hid themselves in a small cave on the side of the hill
of Kukaoo, whose top is crowned by the temple of the Menehunes. Here
they lived some time and cultivated a patch of sweet potatoes, their
food at this time being grasshoppers and greens. The greens were the
leaves and the tender shoots of the popolo, aheahea, pakai, laulele
and potato vines, cooked by rolling hot stones around and among them
in a covered gourd. This is called the _puholoholo_.
When their potato tubers were fit to be eaten, the brother (Waahila
Rain) made a double _imu_ (oven), having a _kapu_, or sacred side,
for his food and a _noa_, or free side, for his sister. The little
cave that was their dwelling was also divided in two, a sacred and a
free part, respectively, for brother and sister. The cave can still
be seen, and the wall of stone dividing it in two was still intact
a few years ago, as also was the double imu. In olden times it was
tabooed to females to appear at any eating-place of the males.
When their crops were fairly ripe, the stepmother found them again,
and drove them away from their cave, she appropriating the fruit
of their labors. The children fled to the rocky hills just back of
Punahou, where they found two small caves, which the brother and
sister occupied, respectively, as dwellings. The rolling plains and
small ravines of the surrounding country, and of what was later known
as the Punahou pasture, were not then covered with manienie grass, but
with the indigenous shrubs and bushes, tall limas, aheaheas, popolo,
etc., making close thickets, with here and there open spaces covered
with _manienie-akiaki_, the valuable medicinal grass of the olden
times. These shrubs and bushes either bore edible fruit or flowers,
or the leaves and tender shoots made nourishing and satisfying food
when cooked in the way previously described. The poor children lived
on these and grasshoppers, and sometimes wild fowl.
One day the sister, Kauakiowao, told her brother that she wanted to
bathe, and complained of their having taken up their residence in a
place where no water could be found. Her brother hushed her complaint
by telling her that it was a safe place, and one where their stepmother
would not be likely to look for them, but he would try to get her some
water. In his trips around the neighborhood for fruit and greens he
had noticed a large rain-water pond to the east of the hill on which
they dwelt. This pond was called Kanawai. Here he sometimes came to
snare wild ducks. He also had met and knew the Kakea water god, a moo,
who had charge of and controlled all the water sources of Manoa and
Makiki Valleys. This god was one of the ancestors of the children on
the mother's side, and was on the best of terms with Waahila rain. The
boy paid him a visit, and asked him to assist him to open a watercourse
from the pond of Kanawai to a place he indicated in front of and below
the caves inhabited by himself and his sister. The old water god not
only consented to help his young relative, but promised to divide the
water supply of the neighboring Wailele spring, and let it run into
the watercourse that the boy would make, thus insuring its permanence.
Waahila Rain then went to the pond of Kanawai and dived under, the
water god causing a passage to open underground to the spot indicated,
and swam through the water underground till he came out at the place
now known as the Punahou Spring. The force of the rushing waters as
they burst through the ground soon sufficed to make a small basin,
which the boy proceeded to bank and wall up, leaving a narrow outlet
for the surplus waters. With the invisible help of the old water god,
he immediately set to work to excavate a good-sized pond for his
sister to swim in, and when she awoke from a noonday nap, she was
astonished to behold a lovely sheet of water where, in the morning,
was only dry land. Her brother was swimming and splashing about in it,
and gayly called to his sister to come and try her bathing-place.
Kauawaahila afterward made some kalo patches, and people, attracted
by the water and consequent fertility of the place, came and settled
about, voluntarily offering themselves as vassals to the twins. More
and more kalo patches were excavated, and the place became a thriving
settlement. The spring became known as _Ka Punahou_ (the new spring),
and gave its name to the surrounding place.
About this time Kahaakea returned, and hearing of the persecutions to
which his beloved children had been subjected, killed Hawea and then
himself. Rocky Hill, the home of the children, was called after him,
and is known by that name to the present day. Hawea has ever since
then been a synonyme in the Hawaiian mind for a cruel stepmother.
The Mountain Mist and Waahila Rain afterward returned to the home of
their infancy, Kaala, where they would stay a while, occasionally
visiting Konahuanui and upper Manoa Valley, and may be met with in
these places at the present day.
They also occasionally visited Punahou, which was under their especial
care and protection; but when the land and spring passed into the hands
of foreigners, who did not pay homage to the twins, and who allowed
the springs to be defiled by the washing of unclean articles and by
the bathing of unclean persons, the twins indignantly left the place,
and retired to the head of Manoa Valley.
They sometimes pass swiftly over their old home on their way to Kaala,
or Konahuanui, and on such occasions will sometimes linger sorrowfully
for a few minutes about Rocky Hill. The rain-water pond of Kanawai is
now always dry, as the shrubs and bushes which supplied the food of the
twins favored of the gods have disappeared. Old natives say that there
is now no inducement for the gentle rain of the Uakiowao and Uawaahila
to visit those bare hills and plains, as they would find no food there.
XIII
OAHUNUI
_Mrs. E. M. Nakuina_
On the plateau lying between Ewa and Waialua, on the island of Oahu,
and about a mile off, and mauka of the Kaukonahua bridge, is the
historical place called Kukaniloko. This was the ancient birthplace of
the Oahu kings and rulers. It was incumbent on all women of the royal
line to retire to this place when about to give birth to a child,
on pain of forfeiting the rank, privileges, and prerogatives of her
expected offspring, should that event happen in a less sacred place.
The stones were still standing some years ago, and perhaps are yet
undisturbed, where the royal accouchements took place. In ancient
times this locality was taboo ground, for here the high priest of
the island had his headquarters. Himself descended from the chief
families, and being, in many instances, an uncle or younger brother of
the reigning king, or connected by marriage with those of the royal
line, and being also at the head of a numerous, well organized, and
powerful priesthood, his influence was hardly second to that of the
king, and in some matters his authority was paramount.
A few miles mauka of Kukaniloko, toward the Waimea Mountains, is
Helemano, where the last of the cannibal chiefs from the South Seas
finally settled when driven from the plains of Mokuleia and Waialua by
the inhabitants of those districts; for the people had been exasperated
by the frequent requisitions on the _kamaainas_ (original inhabitants)
by the stranger chiefs to furnish material for their cannibal feasts.
To the east of Helemano, and about the same distance from Kukaniloko,
is Oahunui (Greater Oahu), another historical place. This was the
residence of the kings of the island. Tradition has it that previous
to the advent of the cannibal strangers the place was known by
another name.
When the Lo Aikanaka, as the last of the man-eating chiefs are called,
were constrained to take up their residence in upper Helemano,
a district just outside of the boundaries of those reserved for
the royal and priestly residences, a young man called Oahunui was
king. An elder sister named Kilikiliula, who had been as a mother
to him, was supposed to share equally with him the royal power and
prerogative. This sister was married to a chief named Lehuanui, of the
priestly line, but one not otherwise directly connected with royalty,
and was the mother of three children; the two eldest being boys and
the youngest a girl. They all lived together in the royal enclosure,
but in separate houses, according to ancient custom.
Now, the Lo Aikanaka, on establishing themselves in upper Helemano,
had at first behaved very well. They had been circumspect and prudent
in their intercourse with the royal retainers, and had visited the
young King to render their homage with every appearance of humility.
Oahunui was quite captivated by the plausible, suave manners of the
ingratiating southern chief and those of his immediate retainers,
and he invited them to a feast.
This civility was reciprocated, and the King dined with the
strangers. Here it was strongly suspected that the dish of honor
placed before the King was human flesh, served under the guise of pork.
The King found the dish very much to his liking, and intimated to
the Lo Aikanaka chief that his _aipuu-puu_ (chief cook or steward)
understood the preparation and cooking of pork better than the royal
cook did.
The Lo Aikanaka took the hint, and the young King became a very
frequent guest at the Southerner's board--or rather, mat table. Some
excuse or other would be given to invite the royal guest, such as a
challenge to the King to a game of _konane_ (a game like checkers); or
a contest of skill in the different athletic and warlike sports would
be arranged, and Oahunui would be asked to be the judge, or simply
invited to view them. As a matter of course, it would be expected
that the King would remain after the sports and partake of food when
on friendly visits of this nature. Thus with one excuse or another
he spent a great deal of his time with his new subjects and friends.
To supply the particular dainty craved by the royal visitor, the Lo
Aikanaka had to send out warriors to the passes leading to Waianae
from Lihue and Kalena, and also to the lonely pathway leading up to
Kalakini, on the Waimea side, there to lie in ambush for any lone
traveller, or belated person after la-i, aaho, or ferns. Such a one
would fall an easy prey to the Lo Aikanaka stalwarts, skilful in the
art of the _lua_ (to kill by breaking the bones).
This went on for some time, until the unaccountable disappearance of
so many people began to be connected with the frequent entertainments
by the southern chief. Oahunui's subjects began to hint that their
young King had acquired the taste for human flesh at these feasts,
and that it was to gratify his unnatural appetite for the horrid dish
that he paid his frequent visits to those who were his inferiors,
contrary to all royal precedent.
The people's disapproval of the intimacy of Oahunui with his new
friends was expressed more and more openly, and the murmurs of
discontent grew loud and deep. His chiefs and high priest became
alarmed, and begged him to discontinue his visits, or they would not
be answerable for the consequences. The King was thereby forced to
heed their admonitions and promised to keep away from Lo's, and did
so for quite a while.
Now, all the male members of the royal family ate their meals with
the King when he was at home. This included, among others, Lehuanui,
his sister's husband, and their two sons--healthy, chubby little
lads of about eight and six years of age. One day after breakfast,
as the roar of the surf at Waialua could be distinctly heard, the
King remarked that the fish of Ukoa pond at Waialua must be pressing
on to the _makaha_ (floodgates) and he would like some aholehole.
This observation really meant a command to his brother-in-law to go
and get the fish, as he was the highest chief present except his two
royal nephews, too small to assume such duties.
Lehuanui, Kilikiliula's husband, accordingly went to Waialua with a
few of his own family retainers and a number of those belonging to the
King. They found the fish packed thick at the makaha, and were soon
busily engaged in scooping out, cleaning, and salting them. It was
quite late at night when Lehuanui, fatigued with the labors of the day,
lay down to rest. He had been asleep but a short time when he seemed
to see his two sons standing by his head. The eldest spoke to him:
"Why do you sleep, my father? While you are down here we are being
eaten by your brother-in-law, the King. We were cooked and eaten up,
and our skulls are now hanging in a net from a branch of the lehua-tree
you are called after, and the rest of our bones are tied in a bundle
and buried under the tree by the big root running to the setting sun."
Then they seemed to fade away, and Lehuanui started up, shivering with
fear. He hardly knew whether he had been dreaming or had actually seen
an apparition of his little sons. He had no doubt they were dead, and
as he remembered all the talk and innuendoes about the King's supposed
reasons for visiting the strangers and the enforced cessation of those
visits at the urgent request of the high priest and the chiefs, he
came to the conclusion that the King had expressed a desire for fish
in his presence only to send him out of the way. He reasoned that no
doubt the King had noticed the chubby forms and rounded limbs of the
little lads, and being debarred a chance of partaking surreptitiously
of human flesh, had compelled his servants to kill, cook, and serve
up his own nephews. In satisfying his depraved appetite, he had also
got rid of two who might become formidable rivals; for it was quite
within the possibilities that the priests and chiefs in the near
future, should he be suspected of a desire for a further indulgence
in cannibal diet, might depose him, and proclaim either one of the
young nephews his successor.
The father was so troubled that he aroused his immediate body servant,
and the two left Waialua for home shortly after midnight. They arrived
at the royal enclosure at dawn, and went first to the lehua-tree
spoken of by the apparition of the child, and on looking up amid the
branches, sure enough there dangled two little skulls in a large-meshed
fishing-net. Lehuanui then stooped down and scraped away the leaves
and loose dirt from the root indicated, and out rolled a bundle of
tapa, which on being opened was found to contain the bones of two
children. The father reached up for the net containing the skulls, and
putting the bundle of tapa in it, tied the net around his neck. The
servant stood by, a silent and grieved spectator of a scene whose
meaning he fully understood.
The father procured a stone adze and went to the King's sleeping-house,
the servant still following. Here every one but an old woman tending
the kukui-nut candle was asleep. Oahunui was stretched out on a pile
of soft mats covered with his _paiula_, the royal red kapa of old. The
cruel wretch had eaten to excess of the hateful dish he craved, and
having accompanied it with copious draughts of awa juice, was in a
heavy, drunken sleep.
Lehuanui stood over him, adze in hand, and called, "O King, where are
my children?" The stupefied King only stirred uneasily, and would not,
or could not, awake. Lehuanui called him three times, and the sight
of the drunken brute, gorged with his flesh and blood, so enraged
the father that he struck at Oahunui's neck with his stone adze,
and severed the head from the body at one blow.
The father and husband then strode to his own sleeping-house, where
his wife lay asleep with their youngest child in her arms. He aroused
her and asked for his boys. The mother could only weep, without
answering. He upbraided her for her devotion to her brother, and for
having tamely surrendered her children to satisfy the appetite of the
inhuman monster. He reminded her that she had equal power with her
brother, and that the latter was very unpopular, and had she chosen to
resist his demands and called on the retainers to defend her children,
the King would have been killed and her children saved.
He then informed her that, as she had given up his children to be
killed for her brother, he had killed him in retaliation, and, saying,
"You have preferred your brother to me and mine, so you will see no
more of me and mine," he tore the sleeping child from her arms and
turned to leave the house.
The poor wife and mother followed, and, flinging herself on her
husband, attempted to detain him by clinging to his knees; but the
father, crazed by his loss and the thought of her greater affection
for a cruel, inhuman brother than for her own children, struck at her
with all his might, exclaiming, "Well, then, follow your brother,"
and rushed away, followed by all his retainers.
Kilikiliula fell on the side of the stream opposite to where the
lehua-tree stood, and is said to have turned to stone. The stone is
pointed out to this day, balanced on the hillside of the ravine formed
by the stream, and is one of the objects for the Hawaiian sightseer.
The headless body of Oahunui lay where he was killed, abandoned by
every one. The story runs that in process of time it also turned to
stone, as a witness to the anger of the gods and their detestation of
his horrible crime. All the servants who had in any way been concerned,
in obedience to royal mandate, in killing and cooking the young
princes were, at the death of Kilikiliula, likewise turned to stone,
just as they were, in the various positions of crouching, kneeling, or
sitting. All the rest of the royal retainers, with the lesser chiefs
and guards, fled in fear and disgust from the place, and thus the
once sacred royal home of the Oahuan chiefs was abandoned and deserted.
The great god Kane's curse, it is believed, still hangs over the
desolate spot, in proof of which it is asserted that, although all
this happened hundreds of years ago, no one has ever lived there since.
XIV
AHUULA
A LEGEND OF KANIKANIAULA AND THE FIRST FEATHER CLOAK
_Mrs. E. M. Nakuina_
Eleio was a _kukini_ (trained runner) in the service of Kakaalaneo,
King of Maui, several runners being always kept by each king or
_alii_ of consequence. These kukinis, when sent on any errand, always
took a direct line for their destination, climbing hills with the
agility of goats, jumping over rocks and streams, and leaping from
precipices. They were so fleet of foot that the common illustration
of the fact among the natives was the saying that when a kukini
was sent on an errand that would ordinarily take a day and a night,
fish wrapped in ki leaves (known as _lawalu_), if put on the fire on
his starting, would not be cooked sufficiently to be turned before
he would be back. Being so serviceable to the aliis, kukinis always
enjoyed a high degree of consideration, freedom, and immunity from
the strict etiquette and unwritten laws of a Hawaiian court. There
was hardly anything so valuable in their master's possession that
they could not have it if they wished.
Eleio was sent to Hana to fetch awa for the King, and was expected to
be back in time for the King's supper. Kakaalaneo was then living at
Lahaina. Now, Eleio was not only a kukini, but he was also a kahuna,
and had been initiated in the ceremonies and observances by which he
was enabled to see spirits or wraiths, and was skilled in medicines,
charms, etc., and could return a wandering spirit to its body unless
decomposition had set in.
Soon after leaving Olowalu, and as he commenced the ascent
of Aalaloloa, he saw a beautiful young woman ahead of him. He
naturally hastened his steps, intending to overtake such a charming
fellow-traveller; but, do what he would, she kept always just so
far ahead of him. Being the fleetest and most renowned kukini of
his time, it roused his professional pride to be outrun by a woman,
even if only for a short distance; so he was determined to catch
her, and he gave himself entirely to that effort. The young woman
led him a weary chase over rocks, hills, mountains, deep ravines,
precipices, and dark streams, till they came to the _Lae_ (cape)
of Hanamanuloa at Kahikinui, beyond Kaupo, when he caught her just
at the entrance to a _puoa_. A puoa was a kind of tower, generally
of bamboo, with a platform half-way up, on which the dead bodies of
persons of distinction belonging to certain families or classes were
exposed to the elements.
When Eleio caught the young woman she turned to him and cried: "Let
me live! I am not human, but a spirit, and inside this inclosure is
my dwelling."
He answered: "I have been aware for some time of your being a
spirit. No human being could have so outrun me."
She then said: "Let us be friends. In yonder house live my parents
and relatives. Go to them and ask for a hog, kapas, some fine mats,
and a feather cloak. Describe me to them and tell them that I give all
those things to you. The feather cloak is unfinished. It is now only
a fathom and a half square, and was intended to be two fathoms. There
are enough feathers and netting in the house to finish it. Tell them
to finish it for you." The spirit then disappeared.
Eleio entered the puoa, climbed on to the platform, and saw the dead
body of the girl. She was in every way as beautiful as the spirit
had appeared to him, and apparently decomposition had not yet set
in. He left the puoa and hurried to the house pointed out by the
spirit as that of her friends, and saw a woman wailing, whom, from
the resemblance, he at once knew to be the mother of the girl; so
he saluted her with an aloha. He then said: "I am a stranger here,
but I had a travelling companion who guided me to yonder puoa and
then disappeared." At these strange words the woman stopped wailing
and called to her husband, to whom she repeated what the stranger
had said. The latter then asked: "Does this house belong to you?"
Husband and wife, wondering, answered at once: "It does."
"Then," said Eleio, "my message is to you. My travelling companion
has a hog a fathom in length in your care; also a pile of fine kapas
of Paiula and others of fine quality; also a pile of mats and an
unfinished feather cloak, now a fathom and a half in length, which
you are to finish, the materials being in the house. All these things
she has given to me, and sent me to you for them." Then he began to
describe the young woman. Both parents recognized the truthfulness of
the description, and willingly agreed to give up the things which their
beloved daughter must have herself given away. But when they spoke of
killing the hog and making an _ahaaina_ (feast) for him, whom they had
immediately resolved to adopt as a son, he said: "Wait a little and
let me ask: Are all these people I see around this place your friends?"
They both answered: "They are our relatives--uncles, aunts, and
cousins to the spirit, who seems to have adopted you either as husband
or brother."
"Will they do your bidding in everything?" he asked.
They answered that they could be relied upon. He directed them to
build a large _lanai_, or arbor, to be entirely covered with ferns,
ginger, maile, and ieie--the sweet and odorous foliage greens of
the islands. An altar was to be erected at one end of the lanai and
appropriately decorated. The order was willingly carried out, men,
women, and children working with a will, so that the whole structure
was finished in a couple of hours.
Eleio now directed the hog to be cooked. He also ordered cooked
red and white fish, red, white, and black cocks, and bananas of the
lele and maoli varieties, to be placed on the altar. He ordered all
women and children to enter their houses and to assist him with their
prayers; all pigs, chickens, and dogs to be tied in dark huts to keep
them quiet, and that the most profound silence should be kept. The
men at work were asked to remember their gods, and to invoke their
assistance for Eleio. He then started for Hana, pulled up a couple
of bushes of awa of Kaeleku, famous for its medicinal properties,
and was back again before the hog was cooked. The awa was prepared,
and when the preparations for the feast were complete and set out,
he offered everything to his gods and begged assistance in what he
was about to perform.
It seems the spirit of the girl had been lingering near him all
the time, seeming to be attached to him, but of course invisible
to every one. When Eleio had finished his invocation he turned and
caught the spirit, and, holding his breath and invoking the gods,
he hurried to the puoa, followed by the parents, who now began to
understand that he was going to try the _kapuku_ (or restoration to
life of the dead) on their daughter. Arriving at the puoa, he placed
the spirit against the insteps of the girl and pressed it firmly in,
meanwhile continuing his invocation. The spirit entered its former
tenement kindly enough until it came to the knees, when it refused
to go any further, as from there it could perceive that the stomach
was beginning to decompose, and it did not want to be exposed to
the pollution of decaying matter. But Eleio, by the strength of his
prayers, was enabled to push the spirit up past the knees till it
came to the thigh bones, when the refractory spirit again refused to
proceed. He had to put additional fervor into his prayers to overcome
the spirit's resistance, and it proceeded up to the throat, when there
was some further check; by this time the father, mother, and male
relatives were all grouped around anxiously watching the operation,
and they all added the strength of their petitions to those of Eleio,
which enabled him to push the spirit past the neck, when the girl
gave a sort of crow. There was now every hope of success, and all
the company renewed their prayers with redoubled vigor. The spirit
made a last feeble resistance at the elbows and wrists, which was
triumphantly overborne by the strength of the united prayers. Then
it quietly submitted, took complete possession of the body, and
the girl came to life. She was submitted to the usual ceremonies
of purification by the local priest, after which she was led to
the prepared lanai, when kahuna, maid, parents, and relatives had a
joyous reunion. Then they feasted on the food prepared for the gods,
who were only supposed to absorb the spiritual essence of things,
leaving the grosser material parts to their devotees, who, for the
time being, are considered their guests.
After the feast the feather cloak, kapas, and fine mats were brought
and displayed to Eleio; and the father said to him: "Take the woman
thou hast restored and have her for wife, and remain here with us; you
will be our son and will share equally in the love we have for her."
But our hero, with great self-denial and fidelity, said: "No, I accept
her as a charge, but for wife, she is worthy to be one for a higher
than I. If you will trust her to me, I will take her to my master,
for by her beauty and charms she is worthy to be the queen of our
lovely island."
The father answered: "She is yours to do with as you will. It is as
if you had created her, for without you, where would she be now? We
only ask this, that you always remember that you have parents and
relatives here, and a home whenever you choose."
Eleio then asked that the feather cloak be finished for him before he
returned to his master. All who could work at feathers set about it
at once, including the fair girl restored to life; and he now learned
that she was called Kanikaniaula.
When it was completed he set out on his return to Lahaina accompanied
by the girl, and taking the feather cloak and the remaining awa he
had not used in his incantations. They travelled slowly according
to the strength of Kanikaniaula, who now in the body could not equal
the speed she had displayed as a spirit.
Arriving at Launiupoko, Eleio turned to her and said: "You wait and
hide here in the bushes while I go on alone. If by sundown I do not
return, I shall be dead. You know the road by which we came; then
return to your people. But if all goes well with me I shall be back
in a little while."
He then went on alone, and when he reached Makila, on the confines of
Lahaina, he saw a number of people heating an _imu_, or underground
oven. On perceiving him they started to bind and roast him alive,
such being the orders of the King, but he ordered them away with the
request, "Let me die at the feet of my master." And thus he passed
successfully the imu heated for him.
When he finally stood before Kakaalaneo, the latter said to him:
"How is this? Why are you not cooked alive, as I ordered? How came
you to pass my lunas?"
The kukini answered: "It was the wish of the slave to die at the feet
of his master, if die he must; but if so, it would be an irreparable
loss to you, my master, for I have that with me that will cause your
name to be renowned and handed down to posterity."
"And what is that?" questioned the King.
Eleio then unrolled his bundle and displayed to the astonished gaze
of the King and courtiers the glories of a feather cloak, before
then unheard of on the islands. Needless to say, he was immediately
pardoned and restored to royal favor, and the awa he had brought from
Hana was reserved for the King's special use in his offerings to the
gods that evening.
When the King heard the whole story of Eleio's absence, and that the
fair original owner was but a short way off, he ordered her to be
immediately brought before him that he might express his gratitude
for the wonderful garment. When she arrived, he was so struck with her
beauty and modest deportment that he ask her to become his Queen. Thus,
some of the highest chiefs of the land traced their descent from
Kakaalaneo and Kanikaniaula. The original feather cloak, known as the
"_Ahu o Kakaalaneo_," is said to be in the possession of the Pauahi
Bishop Museum. At one time it was used on state occasions as _pa-u_,
or skirt, by Princess Nahienaena, own sister of the second and third
Kamehame-has.
The ahuulas of the ancient Hawaiians were of fine netting, entirely
covered, with feathers woven in. These were either of one color and
kind or two or three different colors outlining patterns. The feathers
were knotted by twos or threes with twisted strands of the olona, the
process being called _uo_. They were then woven into the foundation
netting previously made the exact shape and size wanted. The whole
process of feather cloak making was laborious and intricate, and
the making of a cloak took a great many years. And as to durability,
let the cloak of Kalaalaneo, now several centuries old, attest.
XV
KAALA AND KAAIALII
A LEGEND OF LANAI
_W. M. Gibson_
Bordering upon the land of Kealia, on the southwest coast of Lanai,
where was _pahonua_ or place of refuge, are the remains of Kaunolu, an
ancient _heiau_, or temple. Its ruins lie within the mouth of a deep
ravine, whose extending banks run out into the sea and form a bold,
bluff-bound bay. On the top of the western bank there is a stone-paved
platform, called the _kuaha_. Outside of this, and separated by a
narrow alley-way, there runs a broad high wall, which quite encircles
the kuaha. Other walls and structures lead down the bank, and the
slope is terraced and paved down to the tide-worn stones of the shore.
At the beach there is a break; a great block of the bluff has been rent
away by some convulsion of nature, and stands out like a lone tower,
divided from the main by a gulf of the sea. Its high walls beetle from
their tops, upon which neither man nor goat can climb. But you can
behold on the flat summit of this islet bluff, portions of ancient
work, of altars and walls, and no doubt part of the mainland temple,
to which this fragment once was joined. But man can visit this lone
tower's top no more, and his feet can never climb its overhanging
walls.
Inland from the temple there are many remains of the huts of the
people of the past. The stone foundations, the inclosures for swine,
the round earth ovens, and other traces of a throng of people cover
many acres of beach and hillside. This was a town famed as an abode of
gods and a refuge for those who fled for their lives; but it drew its
people mainly through the fame of its fishing-ground, which swarmed
with the varied life of the Hawaiian seas.
To this famed fishing-ground came the great hero of Hawaii to tax
the deep, when he had subdued this and the other isles. He came with
his fleets of war canoes; with his faithful _koas_, or fighting men,
with his chiefs, and priests, and women, and their trains. He had a
house here. Upon the craggy bluff that forms the eastern bank of the
bay there is a lonely _pa_, or wall, and stones of an ancient fort,
overlooking the temple, town, and bay.
Kamehameha came to Kealia for sport rather than for worship. Who so
loved to throw the maika ball, or hurl the spear, or thrust aside the
many javelins flung at his naked chest, as the chief of Kohala? He
rode gladly on the crest of the surf waves. He delighted to drive his
canoe alone out into the storm. He fought with the monsters of the
deep, as well as with men. He captured the great shark that abounds
in the bay, and he would clutch in the fearful grip of his hands the
deadly eel or snake of these seas, the terror of fishes and men.
When this warrior king came to Kaunolu, the islanders thronged to
the shore to pay homage to the great chief, and to lay at the feet
of their sovereign, as was their wont, the products of the isle:
the taro, the yam, the hala, the cocoanut, ohelo, banana, and sweet
potato. They piled up a mound of food before the door of the King's
pakui, along with a clamorous multitude of fat poi-fed dogs, and of
fathom-long swine.
Besides this tribute of the men, the workers of the land, the women
filled the air with the sweet odors of their floral offerings. The
maidens were twined from head to waist with _leis_ or wreaths of
the _na-u_, which is Lanai's own lovely jessamine--a rare gardenia,
whose sweet aroma loads the breeze, and leads you to the bush when
seeking it afar off. These garlands were fastened to the plaited pili
thatch of the King's pakui; they were placed on the necks of the young
warriors, who stood around the chief; and around his royal brows they
twined an odorous crown of maile.
The brightest of the girlish throng who stood before the dread Lord
of the Isles was Kaala, or Sweet Scented, whose fifteen suns had just
burnished her sweet brown face with a soft golden gloss; and her large,
round, tender eyes knew yet no wilting fires. Her neck and arms, and
all of her young body not covered by the leafy pa-u, was tinted with
a soft sheen like unto a rising moon. Her skin glowed with the glory
of youth, and mingled its delicate odor of health with the blooms of
the groves, so that the perfume of her presence received fittingly
the name of Fragrance.
In those rude days the island race was sound and clean. The supple
round limbs were made bright and strong by the constant bath and the
temperate breeze. They were not cumbered with clothing; they wore no
long, sweating gowns, but their smooth, shining skins reflected back
their sun, which gave them such a rich and dusky charm.
Perhaps such a race cannot long wear all our gear and live. They are
best clothed with sea foam, or with the garlands of their groves. How
sweetly blend the brown and green; and when young, soft, amber-tinted
cheeks, glowing with the crimson tide beneath, are wreathed with
the odorous evergreens of the isles, you see the poesy of our kind,
and the sweet, wild grace that dwelt in the Eden Paradise.
The sweet Kaala stood mindless of harm, as the playful breeze rustled
the long blades of the la-i (_dracæna_) leaves, hanging like a bundle
of green swords from her waist; and as they twirled and fluttered in
the air, revealed the soft, rounded form, whose charm filled the eye
and heart of one who stood among the braves of the great chief--the
heart of the stout young warrior Kaaialii.
This youth had fought in the battle of Maunalei, Lanai's last bloody
fight. With his long-reaching spear, wielded with sinewy arms, he urged
the flying foe to the top of a fearful cliff, and mocking the cries of
a huddled crowd of panic-scared men, drove them with thrusts and shouts
till they leaped like frightened sheep into the jaws of the deep,
dark chasm, and their torn corpses strewed the jagged stones below.
Kaaialii, like many a butcher of his kind, was comely to see. With the
lion's heart, he had the lion's tawny hue. A swart grace beamed beneath
his curling brows. He had the small, firm hand to throttle or caress,
and eyes full of fire for hate or love; and love's flame now lit the
face of the hero of the bloody leap, and to his great chief he said,
"O King of all the isles, let this sweet flower be mine, rather than
the valley thou gavest me for my domain."
Said Kamehameha: "You shall plant the Lanai jessamine in the valley
I gave you in Kohala. But there is another who claims our daughter,
who is the stout bone-breaker, the scarred Mailou. My spearman of
Maunalei can have no fear; and you shall wrestle with him; and let
the one whose arms can clasp the girl after the fight carry her to
his house, where one kapa shall cover the two."
The poor maid, the careless gift of savage power, held up her clasped
hands with a frightened gesture at the dread name of the breaker of
bones; for she had heard how he had sucked the breath of many a dainty
bloom like her, then crunched the wilted blossom with sinews of hate,
and flung it to the sharks.
And the Lanai maiden loved the young chief of Hawaii. He had indeed
pierced her people, but only the tender darts of his eyes had wounded
her. Turning to him, she looked her savage, quick, young love, and
said, "O Kaaialii, may thy grip be as sure as thy thrust. Save me
from the bloody virgin-eater, and I will catch the squid and beat
the kapa for thee all my days."
The time of contest approached. The King sat under the shade of a
leafy _kou_, the royal tree of the olden time, which has faded away
with the chiefs it once did shelter. On the smooth shell floor,
covered with the hala mat, stood the bare-limbed braves, stripped
to the malo, who with hot eyes of hate shot out their rage of lust
and blood, and stretched out their strangling arms. They stood,
beating with heavy fists their broad, glossy chests of bronze, and
grinning face to face, they glowered their savage wish to kill. Then,
with right foot advanced, and right arm uplifted, they pause to shout
their gage of battle, and tell to each how they would maim and tear,
and kill, and give each other's flesh for food to some beastly maw.
And now, each drawing near to each, with arms uplifted, and outspread
palms with sinewy play, like nervy claws trying to clutch or grip,
they seek a chance for a deadly clinch. And swift the scarred
child-strangler has sprung with his right to the young spear-man's
throat, who as quickly hooks the lunging arm within the crook of his,
and with quick, sledge-like blow breaks the shoulder arm-bone.
With fury the baffled bone-breaker grips with the uncrippled hand;
but now two stout young arms, tense with rage, soon twist and break
the one unaided limb. Then with limp arms the beaten brute turns to
flee; but swift hate is upon him, and clutches him by the throat; and
pressing him down, the hero of Kaala holds his knee to the hapless
wretch's back, and with knee bored into the backward bended spine,
he strains and jerks till the jointed bones snap and break, and the
dread throttler of girls and babes lies prone on the mat, a broken
and bloody corpse.
"Good!" cried the King. "Our son has the strength of Kanekoa. Now let
our daughter soothe the limbs of her lover. Let her stroke his skin,
press his joints, and knead his back with the loving grip and touch
of the lomilomi. We will have a great bake, with the hula and song;
and when the feast is over, then shall they be one."
A line of women squat down. They crone their wild refrain, praising
the one who wins in strife and love. They seize in their right hand
the hula gourd, clattering with pebbles inside. They whirl it aloft,
they shake, they swing, they strike their palms, they thump the mat;
and now with supple joints they twirl their loins, and with heave
and twist, and with swing and song, the savage dance goes on.
Kaala stood up with the maiden throng, the tender, guarded gifts of
kings. They twined their wreaths, they swayed, and posed their shining
arms; and flapping with their hands their leafy skirts, revealed their
rounded limbs. This fires the gaze of men, and the hero of the day with
flaming eyes, springs and clasps his love, crying as he bears her away:
"Thou shalt dance in my hut in Kohala for me alone, forever!"
At this, a stout yet grizzled man of the isle lifts up his voice and
wails: "Kaala, my child, is gone. Who shall soothe my limbs when I
return from spearing the ohua? And who shall feed me with taro and
breadfruit like the chief of Olowalu, when I have no daughter to give
away? I must hide from the chief or I die." And thus wailed out Opunui,
the father of Kaala.
But a fierce hate stirred the heart of Opunui. His friend was driven
over the cliff at Maunalei, and he himself had lived only by crawling
at the feet of the slayer. He hid his hate, and planned to save
his girl and balk the killer of his people. He said in his heart,
"I will hide her in the sea, and none but the fish gods and I shall
know where the ever-sounding surf surges over Kaala."
Now, in the morn, when the girl with ruddy brown cheeks, and glowing
with the brightening dawn of love, stood in the doorway of the lodge
of her lord, and her face was sparkling with the sheen from the sun,
her sire in humble guise stood forth and said, "My child, your mother
at Mahana is dying. Pray you, my lord, your love, that you may see
her once more before his canoe shall bear you to his great land."
"Alas!" said the tender child, "since when is Kalani ill? I shall
carry to her this large sweet fish speared by my lord; and when I have
rubbed her aching limbs, she will be well again with the love touch
of her child. Yes, my lord will let me go. Will you not, O Kaaialii;
will you not let me go to give my mother a last embrace, and I shall
be back again before the moon has twice spanned the bay?"
The hero clasped his young love with one stout twining arm, and gazing
into her eyes, he with a caressing hand put back from her brow her
shining hair, and thus to his heart's life he spoke: "O my sweet
flower, how shall I live without thee, even for this day's march of
the sun? For thou art my very breath, and I shall pant and die like
a stranded fish without thee. But no, let me not say so. Kaaialii is
a chief who has fought men and sharks; and he must not speak like
a girl. He too loves his mother, who looks for him in the valley
of Kohala; and shall he deny thy mother, to look her last upon the
sweet face and the tender limbs that she fed and reared for him? Go,
my Kaala. But thy chief will sit and watch with a hungering heart,
till thou come back to his arms again."
And the pretty jessamine twined her arms around his neck, and laying
her cheek upon his breast said, with upturned tender glances, "O my
chief, who gavest me life and sweet joy; thy breath is my breath;
thy eyes are my sweetest sight; thy breast is my only resting-place;
and when I go away, I shall all the way look back to thee, and go
slowly with a backward turned heart; but when I return to thee,
I shall have wings to bear me to my lord."
"Yes, my own bird," said Kaaialii, "thou must fly, but fly swiftly
in thy going as well as in thy coming; for both ways thou fliest to
me. When thou art gone I shall spear the tender ohua fish, I shall bake
the yam and banana, and I will fill the calabash with sweet water,
to feed thee, my heart, when thou shalt come; and thou shalt feed me
with thy loving eyes.
"Here, Opunui! take thy child. Thou gavest life to her, but now she
gives life to me. Bring her back all well, ere the sun has twice
risen. If she come not soon, I shall die; but I should slay thee
before I die; therefore, O Opunui, hasten thy going and thy coming,
and bring back my life and love to me."
And now the stern hero unclasped the weeping girl. His eye was calm,
but his shut lips showed the work within of a strong and tender heart
of love. He felt the ache of a larger woe than this short parting. He
pressed the little head between his palms; he kissed the sobbing lips
again and again; he gave one strong clasp, heart to heart, and then
quickly strode away.
As Kaala tripped along the stony up-hill path, she glanced backward
on her way, to get glimpses of him she loved, and she beheld her
chief standing on the topmost rock of the great bluff overhanging the
sea. And still as she went and looked, still there he stood; and when
on the top of the ridge and about to descend into the great valley,
she turned to look her last, still she saw her loving lord looking
up to her.
The silent sire and the weeping child soon trod the round, green vale
of Palawai. She heeded not now to pluck, as was her wont, the flowers
in her path; but thought how she should stop a while, as she came
back, to twine a wreath for her dear lord's neck. And thus this sad
young love tripped along with innocent hope by the moody Opunui's side.
They passed through the groves of Kalulu and Kumoku, and then the
man swerved from the path leading to Mahana and turned his face again
seaward. At this the sad and silent child looked up into the face of
her grim and sullen sire and said: "O father, we shall not find mother
on this path, but we shall lose our way and come to the sea once more."
"And thy mother is by the sea, by the bay of Kaumalapau. There
she gathers limpets on the rocks. She has dried a large squid for
thee. She has pounded some taro and filled her calabash with poi,
and would feed thee once more. She is not sick; but had I said she
was well, thy lord would not have let thee go; but now thou art on
the way to sleep with thy mother by the sea."
The poor weary girl now trudged on with a doubting heart. She glanced
sadly at her dread sire's moody eye. Silent and sore she trod the stony
path leading down to the shore, and when she came to the beach with
naught in view but the rocks and sea, she said with a bursting heart,
"O my father, is the shark to be my mother, and I to never see my
dear chief any more?"
"Hear the truth," cried Opunui. "Thy home for a time is indeed in the
sea, and the shark shall be thy mate, but he shall not harm thee. Thou
goest down where the sea god lives, and he shall tell thee that the
accursed chief of the bloody leap shall not carry away any daughter
of Lanai. When Kaaialii has sailed for Kohala then shall the chief
of Olowalu come and bring thee to earth again."
As the fierce sire spoke, he seized the hand of Kaala, and unheeding
her sobs and cries, led her along the rugged shore to a point eastward
of the bay, where the beating sea makes the rocky shore tremble beneath
the feet. Here was a boiling gulf, a fret and foam of the sea, a roar
of waters, and a mighty jet of brine and spray from a spouting cave
whose mouth lay deep beneath the battling tide.
See yon advancing billow! The south wind sends it surging along. It
rears its combing, whitening crest, and with mighty, swift-rushing
volume of angry green sea, it strikes the mouth of the cave; it drives
and packs the pent-up air within, and now the tightened wind rebounds,
and driving back the ramming sea, bursts forth with a roar as the
huge spout of sea leaps upward to the sky, and then comes curving
down in gentle silver spray.
The fearful child now clasped the knees of her savage sire. "Not there,
O father," she sobbed and wailed. "The sea snake (the _puhi_) has his
home in the cave, and he will bite and tear me, and ere I die, the
crawling crabs will creep over me and pick out my weeping eyes. Alas,
O father, better give me to the shark, and then my cry and moan will
not hurt thine ear."
Opunui clasped the slender girl with one sinewy arm, and with a
bound he leaped into the frothed and fretted pool below. Downward
with a dolphin's ease he moved, and with his free arm beating back
the brine, moved along the ocean bed into the sea cave's jagged jaws;
and then stemming with stiffened sinew the wind-driven tide, he swam
onward till he struck a sunless beach and then stood inside the cave,
whose mouth is beneath the sea.
Here was a broad, dry space with a lofty, salt-icicled roof. The
green, translucent sea, as it rolled back and forth at their feet,
gave to their brown faces a ghastly white glare. The scavenger crabs
scrambled away over the dank and dripping stones, and the loathsome
biting eel, slowly reached out its well-toothed, wide-gaping jaw to
tear the tender feet that roused it from its horrid lair, where the
dread sea god dwelt.
The poor hapless girl sank down upon this gloomy shore and cried,
clinging to the kanaka's knee: "O father, beat out my brains with
this jagged stone, and do not let the eel twine around my neck, and
trail with a loathsome, slimy, creeping crawl over my body before I
die. Oh! the crabs will pick and tear me before my breath is gone."
"Listen," said Opunui. "Thou shalt go back with me to the warm sunny
air. Thou shalt tread again the sweet-smelling flowery vale of Palawai,
and twine thy neck with wreaths of scented jessamine, if thou wilt
go with me to the house of the chief of Olowalu and there let thy
bloody lord behold thee wanton with thy love in another chief's arms."
"Never," shouted the lover of Kaaialii, "never will I meet any clasp
of love but that of my own chief. If I cannot lay my head again upon
his breast, I will lay it in death upon these cold stones. If his
arm shall never again draw me to his heart, then let the eel twine my
neck and let him tear away my cheeks rather than that another beside
my dear lord shall press my face."
"Then let the eel be thy mate," cried Opunui, as he roughly unclasped
the tender arms twined around his knees; "until the chief of Olowalu
comes to seize thee, and carry thee to his house in the hills of
Maui. Seek not to leave the cave. Thou knowest that with thy weak
arms, thou wilt tear thyself against the jagged rocks in trying to
swim through the swift flowing channel. Stay till I send for thee,
and live." Then dashing out into the foaming gulf with mighty buffeting
arms he soon reached the upper air.
And Kaaialii stood upon the bluff, looking up to the hillside path
by which his love had gone, long after her form was lost to view in
the interior vales. And after slight sleep upon his mat, and walking
by the shore that night, he came at dawn and climbed the bluff again
to watch his love come down the hill. And as he gazed he saw a leafy
skirt flutter in the wind, and his heart fluttered to clasp his little
girl; but as a curly brow drew near, his soul sank to see it was not
his love, but her friend Ua (rain) with some sad news upon her face.
With hot haste and eager asking eyes does the love-lorn chief meet the
maiden messenger, and cries, "Why does Kaala delay in the valley? Has
she twined wreaths for another's neck for me to break? Has a wild
hog torn her? Or has the anaana prayer of death struck her heart,
and does she lie cold on the sod of Mahana? Speak quickly, for thy
face kills me, O Ua!"
"Not thus, my lord," said the weeping girl, as the soft shower fell
from Ua's sweet eyes. "Thy love is not in the valley; and she has
not reached the hut of her mother Kalani. But kanakas saw from the
hills of Kalulu her father lead her through the forest of Kumoku;
since then our Kaala has not been seen, and I fear has met some fate
that is to thwart thy love."
"Kaala lost? The blood of my heart is gone!" He hears no more! The
fierce chief, hot with baffled passion, strikes madly at the air,
and dashes away, onward up the stony hill; and upward with his stout
young savage thews, he bounds along without halt or slack of speed
till he reaches the valley's rim, then rushes down its slopes.
He courses over its bright green plains. He sees in the dusty path some
prints that must be those of the dear feet he follows now. His heart
feels a fresh bound; he feels neither strain of limb nor scantness
of breath, and, searching as he runs, he descries before him in the
plain the deceitful sire alone.
"Opunui," he cries, "give me Kaala, or thy life!" The stout, gray
kanaka looks to see the face of flame and the outstretched arms,
and stops not to try the strength of his own limbs, or to stay for
any parley, but flies across the valley, along the very path by which
the fierce lover came; and with fear to spur him on, he keeps well
before his well blown foe.
But Kaaialii is now a god; he runs with new strung limbs, and presses
hard this fresh-footed runner of many a race. They are within two
spears' length of each other's grip upon the rim of the vale; and
hot with haste the one, and with fear the other, they dash along the
rugged path of Kealia, and rush downward to the sea. They bound o'er
the fearful path of clinkers. Their torn feet heed not the pointed
stones. The elder seeks the shelter of the taboo; and now, both
roused by the outcries of a crowd that swarm on the bluffs around,
they put forth their remaining strength and strive who shall gain
first the entrance to the sacred wall of refuge.
For this the hunted sire strains his fast failing nerve; and the
youth with a shout quickens his still tense limbs. He is within a
spear's length; he stretches out his arms. Ha, old man! he has thy
throat within his grip. But no, the greased neck slips the grasp;
the wretch leaps for his dear life, he gains the sacred wall, he
bounds inside, and the furious foe is stopped by the staves of priests.
The baffled chief lies prone in the dust, and curses the gods and
the sacred taboo. After a time he is led away to his hut by friends;
and then the soothing hands of Ua rub and knead the soreness out
of his limbs. And when she has set the calabash of poi before him
along with the relishing dry squid, and he has filled himself and
is strong again, he will not heed any entreaty of chief or friends;
not even the caressing lures of Ua, who loves him; but he says,
"I will go and seek Kaala; and if I find her not, I die."
Again the love-lorn chief seeks the inland. He shouts the name of
his lost love in the groves of Kumoku, and throughout the forest of
Mahana. Then he roams through the cloud-canopied valley of Palawai;
he searches among the wooded canyons of Kalulu, and he wakes the
echoes with the name of Kaala in the gorge of the great ravine
of Maunalei. He follows this high walled barranca over its richly
flowered and shaded floor; and also along by the winding stream,
until he reaches its source, an abrupt wall of stone, one hundred feet
high, and forming the head of the ravine. From the face of this steep,
towering rock, there exudes a sweet, clear rain, a thousand trickling
rills of rock-filtered water leaping from points of fern and moss,
and filling up an ice cold pool below, at which our weary chief gladly
slaked his thirst. The hero now clambers the steep walls of the gorge,
impassable to the steps of men in these days; but he climbs with toes
thrust in crannies, or resting on short juts and points of rock; and
he pulls himself upward by grasping at out-cropping bushes and strong
tufts of fern. And thus with stout sinew and bold nerve the fearless
spearman reaches the upper land from whence he had, in his day of
devouring rage, hurled and driven headlong the panic-stricken foe.
And now he runs on over the lands of Paomai, through the wooded dells
of the gorge of Kaiholena, and onward across Kaunolu and Kalulu,
until he reaches the head spring of sacred Kealia called Waiakekua;
and here he gathered bananas and ohelo berries; and as he stayed his
hunger with the pleasant wild fruit, he beheld a white-haired priest
of Kaunolu, bearing a calabash of water.
The aged priest feared the stalwart chief, because he was not upon his
own sacred ground, under the safe wing of the taboo; and therefore
he bowed low and clasped the stout knees, and offered the water to
slake the thirst of the sorrowing chief. But Kaaialii cried out:
"I thirst not for water, but for the sight of my love. Tell me where
she is hid, and I will bring thee hogs and men for the gods." And to
this the glad priest replied:
"Son of the stout spear! I know thou seekest the sweet Flower of
Palawai; and no man but her sire has seen her resting-place; but I
know that thou seekest in vain in the groves, and in the ravines,
and in this mountain. Opunui is a great diver and has his dens in the
sea. He leaves the shore when no one follows, and he sleeps with the
fish gods, and thou wilt find thy love in some cave of the rock-bound
southern shore."
The chief quickly turns his face again seaward. He descends the deep
shaded pathway of the ravine of Kaunolu. He winds his way through
shaded thickets of ohia, sandalwood, the yellow mamani, the shrub
violet, and the fragrant na-u. He halted not as he reached the plain
of Palawai, though the ever overhanging canopy of cloud that shades
this valley of the mountain cooled his weary feet. These upper
lands were still, and no voice was heard by the pili grass huts,
and the maika balls and the wickets of the bowling alley of Palawai
stood untouched, because all the people were with the great chief by
the shore of Kaunolu; and Kaaialii thought that he trod the flowery
pathway of the still valley alone.
But there was one who, in soothing his strained limbs after he fell by
the gateway of the temple, had planted strong love in her own heart;
and she, Ua, with her lithe young limbs, had followed this sorrowing
lord through all his weary tramp, even through the gorges, and over
the ramparts of the hills, and she was near the sad, wayworn chief
when he reached the southern shore.
The weary hero only stayed his steps when he reached the brow of the
great bluff of Palikaholo. The sea broke many hundred feet below where
he stood. The gulls and screaming boatswain birds sailed in mid-air
between his perch and the green waves. He looked up the coast to his
right, and saw the lofty, wondrous sea columns of Honopu. He looked
to the left, and beheld the crags of Kalulu, but nowhere could he
see any sign which should tell him where his love was hid away.
His strong, wild nature was touched by the distant sob and moan
of the surf. It sang a song for his sad, savage soul. It roused up
before his eyes other eyes, and lips, and cheeks, and clasps of tender
arms. His own sinewy ones he now stretched out wildly in the mocking
air. He groaned, and sobbed, and beat his breast as he cried out,
"Kaala! O Kaala! Where art thou? Dost thou sleep with the fish gods,
or must I go to join thee in the great shark's maw?"
As the sad hero thought of this dread devourer of many a tender
child of the isles, he hid his face with his hands,--looking with
self-torture upon the image of his soft young love, crunched, bloody
and shrieking, in the jaws of the horrid god of the Hawaiian seas;
and as he thought and waked up in his heart the memories of his love,
he felt that he must seek her even in her gory grave in the sea.
Then he looks forth again, and as he gazes down by the shore his
eyes rest upon the spray of the blowing cave near Kaumalapau. It
leaps high with the swell which the south wind sends. The white mist
gleams in the sun. Shifting forms and shades are seen in the varied
play of the up-leaping cloud. And as with fevered soul he glances,
he sees a form spring up in the ever bounding spray.
He sees with his burning eyes the lines of the sweet form that twines
with tender touch around his soul. He sees the waving hair, that
mingles on his neck with his own swart curls. He sees,--he thinks he
sees,--in the leap and play of sun-tinted spray, his love, his lost
Kaala; and with hot foot he rushes downward to the shore.
He stands upon the point of rock whence Opunui sprang. He feels the
throb beneath his feet of the beating, bounding tide. He sees the fret
and foam of the surging gulf below the leaping spray, and is wetted
by the shore-driven mist. He sees all of this wild, working water,
but he does not see Kaala.
And yet he peers into this mad surf for her he seeks. The form that
he has seen still leads him on. He will brave the sea god's wrath;
and he fain would cool his brow of flame in the briny bath. He thinks
he hears a voice sounding down within his soul; and cries, "Where art
thou, O Kaala? I come, I come!" And as he cries, he springs into the
white, foaming surge of this ever fretted sea.
And one was near as the hero sprang; even Ua, with the clustering
curls. She loved the chief; she did hope that when his steps were
stayed by the sea, and he had mingled his moan with the wild waters'
wail, that he would turn once more to the inland groves, where she
would twine him wreaths, and soothe his limbs, and rest his head upon
her knees; but he has leaped for death, he comes up no more. And
Ua wailed for Kaaialii; and as the chief rose no more from out the
lashed and lathered sea, she cried out, "_Auwe ka make_!" (Alas,
he is dead!) And thus wailing and crying out, and tearing her hair,
she ran back over the bluffs, and down the shore to the tabooed ground
of Kealia, and wailing ever, flung herself at the feet of Kamehameha.
The King was grieved to hear from Ua of the loss of his young
chief. But the priest Papalua standing near, said: "O Chief of Heaven,
and of all the isles; there where Kaaialii has leaped is the sea den
of Opunui, and as thy brave spearman can follow the turtle to his
deep sea nest, he will see the mouth of the cave, and in it, I think,
he will find his lost love, Kaala, the flower of Palawai."
At this Ua roused up. She called to her brother Keawe, and laying
hold on him, pulled him toward the shore, crying out, "To thy canoe,
quick! I will help thee to paddle to Kaumalapau." For thus she could
reach the cave sooner than by the way of the bluffs. And the great
chief also following, sprang into his swiftest canoe, and helping
as was his wont, plunged his blade deep into the swelling tide,
and bounded along by the frowning shore of Kumoku.
When Kaaialii plunged beneath the surging waters, he became at once
the searching diver of the Hawaiian seas; and as his keen eye peered
throughout the depths, he saw the portals of the ocean cave into
which poured the charging main. He then, stemming with easy play of
his well-knit limbs the suck and rush of the sea, shot through the
current of the gorge; and soon stood up upon the sunless strand.
At first he saw not, but his ears took in at once a sad and piteous
moan,--a sweet, sad moan for his hungry ear, of the voice of her he
sought. And there upon the cold, dank, dismal floor he could dimly
see his bleeding, dying love. Quickly clasping and soothing her, he
lifted her up to bear her to the upper air; but the moans of his poor
weak Kaala told him she would be strangled in passing through the sea.
And as he sat down, and held her in his arms, she feebly spoke: "O my
chief, I can die now! I feared that the fish gods would take me, and
I should never see thee more. The eel bit me, and the crabs crawled
over me, and when I dared the sea to go and seek thee, my weak arms
could not fight the tide; I was torn against the jaws of the cave,
and this and the fear of the gods have so hurt me, that I must die."
"Not so, my love," said the sad and tearful chief. "I am with thee
now. I give thee the warmth of my heart. Feel my life in thine. Live,
O my Kaala, for me. Come, rest and be calm, and when thou canst hold
thy breath I will take thee to the sweet air again, and to thy valley,
where thou shalt twine wreaths for me." And thus with fond words and
caresses he sought to soothe his love.
But the poor girl still bled as she moaned; and with fainter voice
she said, "No, my chief, I shall never twine a wreath, but only my
arms once more around thy neck." And feebly clasping him, she said
in sad, sobbing, fainting tones, "Aloha, my sweet lord! Lay me among
the flowers by Waiakeakua, and do not slay my father."
Then, breathing moans and murmurs of love, she lay for a time weak
and fainting upon her lover's breast, with her arms drooping by her
side. But all at once she clasps his neck, and with cheek to cheek,
she clings, she moans, she gasps her last throbs of love and passes
away; and her poor torn corse lies limp within the arms of the
love-lorn chief.
As he cries out in his woe there are other voices in the cave. First
he hears the voice of Ua speaking to him in soothing tones as she
stoops to the body of her friend; and then in a little while he hears
the voice of his great leader calling to him and bidding him stay
his grief. "O King of all the Seas," said Kaaialii, standing up and
leaving Kaala to the arms of Ua, "I have lost the flower thou gavest
me; it is broken and dead, and I have no more joy in life."
"What!" said Kamehameha, "art thou a chief, and wouldst cast away life
for a girl? Here is Ua, who loves thee; she is young and tender like
Kaala. Thou shalt have her, and more, if thou dost want. Thou shalt
have, besides the land I gave thee in Kohala, all that thou shalt
ask of Lanai. Its great valley of Palawai shall be thine; and thou
shalt watch my fishing grounds of Kaunolu, and be the Lord of Lanai."
"Hear, O King," said Kaaialii. "I gave to Kaala more of my life in
loving her, and of my strength in seeking for her than ever I gave
for thee in battle. I gave to her more of love than I ever gave to my
mother, and more of my thought than I ever gave to my own life. She
was my very breath, and my life, and how shall I live without her? Her
face, since first I saw her, has been ever before me; and her warm
breasts were my joy and repose; and now that they are cold to me, I
must go where her voice and love have gone. If I shut my eyes now I see
her best; therefore let me shut my eyes forevermore." And as he spoke,
he stooped to clasp his love, said a tender word of adieu to Ua, and
then with a swift, strong blow, crushed in brow and brain with a stone.
The dead chief lay by the side of his love, and Ua wailed over
both. Then the King ordered that the two lovers should lie side by
side on a ledge of the cave; and that they should be wrapped in tapas
which should be brought down through the sea in tight bamboos. Then
there was great wailing for the chief and the maid who lay in the cave;
and thus wailed Ua:
"Where art thou, O brave chief?
Where art thou, O fond girl?
Will ye sleep by the sound of the sea?
And will ye dream of the gods of the deep?
O sire, where now is thy child?
O mother, where now is thy son?
The lands of Kohala shall mourn,
And valleys of Lanai shall lament.
The spear of the chief shall rot in the cave,
And the tapa of the maid is left undone.
The wreaths for his neck, they shall fade,
They shall fade away on the hills.
O Kaaialii, who shall spear the uku?
O Kaala, who shall gather the na-u?
Have ye gone to the shores of Kahiki,
To the land of our father, Wakea?
Will ye feed on the moss of the cave,
And the limpets of the surf-beaten shore?
O chief, O friend, I would feed ye,
O chief, O friend, I would rest ye.
Ye loved, like the sun and the flower,
Ye lived like the fish and the wave,
And now like the seeds in a shell,
Ye sleep in your cave by the sea.
Alas! O chief, alas! O my friend,
Will ye sleep in the cave evermore?"
And thus Ua wailed, and then was borne away by her brother to the
sorrowful shore of Kaunolu, where there was loud wailing for the
chief and the maid; and many were the chants of lamentation for the
two lovers, who sleep side by side in the Spouting Cave of Kaala.
XVI
THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE
A LEGEND OF LANAI
_From "The Hawaiian Gazette"_
One of the interesting localities of tradition, famed in Hawaiian song
and story of ancient days, is situate at the southwestern point of
the island of Lanai, and known as the _Kupapau o Puupehe_, or Tomb of
Puupehe. At the point indicated, on the leeward coast of the island,
may be seen a huge block of red lava about eighty feet high and some
sixty feet in diameter, standing out in the sea, and detached from the
mainland some fifty fathoms, around which centres the following legend.
Observed from the overhanging bluff that overlooks Puupehe, upon the
summit of this block or elevated islet, would be noticed a small
inclosure formed by a low stone wall. This is said to be the last
resting-place of a Hawaiian girl whose body was buried there by her
lover Makakehau, a warrior of Lanai.
Puupehe was the daughter of Uaua, a petty chief, one of the dependents
of the king of Maui, and she was won by young Makakehau as the joint
prize of love and war. These two are described in the _Kanikau_, or
Lamentation, of Puupehe, as mutually captive, the one to the other. The
maiden was a sweet flower of Hawaiian beauty. Her glossy brown,
spotless body "shone like the clear sun rising out of Haleakala." Her
flowing, curly hair, bound by a wreath of lehua blossoms, streamed
forth as she ran "like the surf crests scudding before the wind." And
the starry eyes of the beautiful daughter of Uaua blinded the young
warrior, so that he was called Makakehau, or Misty Eyes.
The Hawaiian brave feared that the comeliness of his dear captive
would cause her to be coveted by the chiefs of the land. His soul
yearned to keep her all to himself. He said: "Let us go to the clear
waters of Kalulu. There we will fish together for the kala and the
aku, and there I will spear the turtle. I will hide you, my beloved,
forever in the cave of Malauea. Or, we will dwell together in the
great ravine of Palawai, where we will eat the young of the uwau bird,
and we will bake them in ki leaf with the sweet pala fern root. The
ohelo berries of the mountains will refresh my love. We will drink
of the cool waters of Maunalei. I will thatch a hut in the thicket of
Kaohai for our resting-place, and we shall love on till the stars die.
The meles tell of their love in the Pulou ravine, where they caught
the bright iiwi birds, and the scarlet apapani. Ah, what sweet joys
in the banana groves of Waiakeakua, where the lovers saw naught so
beautiful as themselves! But the "misty eyes" were soon to be made
dim by weeping, and dimmer, till the drowning brine should close
them forevermore.
Makakehau left his love one day in the cave of Malauea while he went
to the mountain spring to fill the water-gourds with sweet water. This
cavern yawns at the base of the overhanging bluff that overtops the
rock of Puupehe. The sea surges far within, but there is an inner
space which the expert swimmer can reach, and where Puupehe had often
rested and baked the _honu>_ or sea turtle, for her absent lover.
This was the season for the _kona_, the terrific storm that comes up
from the equator and hurls the ocean in increased volume upon the
southern shores of the Hawaiian Islands. Makakehau beheld from the
rock springs of Pulou the vanguard of a great kona,--scuds of rain
and thick mist, rushing with a howling wind, across the valley of
Palawai. He knew the storm would fill the cave with the sea and kill
his love. He flung aside his calabashes of water and ran down the
steep, then across the great valley and beyond its rim he rushed,
through the bufferings of the storm, with an agonized heart, down
the hill slope to the shore.
The sea was up indeed. The yeasty foam of mad surging waves whitened
the shore. The thundering buffet of the charging billows chorused with
the howl of the tempest. Ah! where should Misty Eyes find his love
in this blinding storm? A rushing mountain of sea filled the mouth
of Malauea, and the pent-up air hurled back the invading torrent
with bubbling roar, blowing forth great streams of spray. This was
a war of matter, a battle of the elements to thrill with pleasure
the hearts of strong men. But with one's love in the seething gulf
of the whirlpool, what would be to him the sublime cataract? What,
to see amid the boiling foam the upturned face, and the dear, tender
body of one's own and only poor dear love, all mangled? _You_ might
agonize on the brink; but Makakehau sprang into the dreadful pool
and snatched his murdered bride from the jaws of an ocean grave.
The next day, fishermen heard the lamentation of Makakehau, and the
women of the valley came down and wailed over Puupehe. They wrapped
her in bright new kapa. They placed upon her garlands of the fragrant
_na-u_ (gardenia). They prepared her for burial, and were about to
place her in the burial ground of Manele, but Makakehau prayed that
he might be left alone one night more with his lost love. And he was
left as he desired.
The next day no corpse nor weeping lover were to be found, till after
some search Makakehau was seen at work piling up stones on the top of
the lone sea tower. The wondering people of Lanai looked on from the
neighboring bluff, and some sailed around the base of the columnar
rock in their canoes, still wondering, because they could see no
way for him to ascend, for every face of the rock is perpendicular
or overhanging. The old belief was, that some _akua_, _kanekoa_, or
_keawe-manhili_ (deities), came at the cry of Makakehau and helped
him with the dead girl to the top.
When Makakehau had finished his labors of placing his lost love in
her grave and placed the last stone upon it, he stretched out his
arms and wailed for Puupehe, thus:
"Where are you O Puupehe?
Are you in the cave of Malauea?
Shall I bring you sweet water,
The water of the mountain?
Shall I bring the uwau,
The pala, and the ohelo?
Are you baking the honu
And the red sweet hala?
Shall I pound the kalo of Maui?
Shall we dip in the gourd together?
The bird and the fish are bitter,
And the mountain water is sour.
I shall drink it no more;
I shall drink with Aipuhi,
The great shark of Manele."
Ceasing his sad wail, Makakehau leaped from the rock into the boiling
surge at its base, where his body was crushed in the breakers. The
people who beheld the sad scene secured the mangled corpse and buried
it with respect in the kupapau of Manele.
XVII
AI KANAKA
A LEGEND OF MOLOKAI
_Rev. A. O. Forbes_
On the leeward side of the island of Molokai, a little to the east of
Kaluaaha lies the beautiful valley of Mapulehu, at the mouth of which
is located the _heiau_, or temple, of Iliiliopae, which was erected
by direction of Ku-pa, the Moi, to look directly out upon the harbor
of Ai-Kanaka, now known as Pukoo. At the time of its construction,
centuries ago, Kupa was the _Moi_, or sovereign, of the district
embracing the _Ahupuaas_, or land divisions, of Mapulehu and Kaluaaha,
and he had his residence in this heiau which was built by him and
famed as the largest throughout the whole Hawaiian group.,
Kupa had a priest named Kamalo, who resided at Kaluaaha. This priest
had two boys, embodiments of mischief, who one day while the King
was absent on a fishing expedition, took the opportunity to visit his
house at the heiau. Finding there the _pahu kaeke_ [8] belonging to
the temple, they commenced drumming on it.
Some evil-minded persons heard Kamalo's boys drumming on the Kaeke
and immediately went and told Kupa that the priest's children were
reviling him in the grossest manner on his own drum. This so enraged
the King that he ordered his servants to put them to death. Forthwith
they were seized and murdered; whereupon Kamalo, their father, set
about to secure revenge on the King.
Taking with him a black pig as a present, he started forth to enlist
the sympathy and services of the celebrated seer, or wizard, Lanikaula,
living some twelve miles distant at the eastern end of Molokai. On the
way thither, at the village of Honouli, Kamalo met a man the lower
half of whose body had been bitten off by a shark, and who promised
to avenge him provided he would slay some man and bring him the lower
half of his body to replace his own. But Kamalo, putting no credence
in such an offer, pressed on to the sacred grove of Lanikaula. Upon
arrival there Lanikaula listened to his grievances but could do
nothing for him. He directed him, however, to another prophet, named
Kaneakama, at the west end of the island, forty miles distant. Poor
Kamalo picked up his pig and travelled back again, past his own
home, down the coast to Palaau. Meeting with Kaneakama the prophet
directed him to the heiau of Puukahi, at the foot of the _pali_, or
precipice, of Kalaupapa, on the windward side of the island, where
he would find the priest Kahiwakaapuu, who was a _kahu_, or steward,
of Kauhuhu, the shark god. Once more the poor man shouldered his pig,
wended his way up the long ascent of the hills of Kalae to the pali of
Kalaupapa, descending which he presented himself before Kahiwakaapuu,
and pleaded his cause. He was again directed to go still farther along
the windward side of the island till he should come to the _Ana puhi_
(eel's cave), a singular cavern at sea level in the bold cliffs between
the valleys of Waikolu and Pelekunu, where Kauhuhu, the shark god,
dwelt, and to him he must apply. Upon this away went Kamalo and his
pig. Arriving at the cave, he found there Waka and Moo, two kahus
of the shark god. "Keep off! Keep off!" they shouted. "This place is
kapu. No man can enter here, on penalty of death."
"Death or life," answered he, "it is all the same to me if I can
only gain my revenge for my poor boys who have been killed." He then
related his story, and his wanderings, adding that he had come to
make his appeal to Kauhuhu and cared not for his own life.
"Well," said they to him, "Kauhuhu is away now fishing, but if he
finds you here when he returns, our lives as well as yours will pay
the forfeit. However, we will see what we can do to help you. We
must hide you hereabouts, somewhere, and when he returns trust to
circumstances to accomplish your purpose."
But they could find no place to hide him where he would be secure from
the search of the god, except the rubbish pile where the offal and
scrapings of taro were thrown. They therefore thrust him and his pig
into the rubbish heap and covered them over with the taro peelings,
enjoining him to keep perfectly still, and watch till he should see
eight heavy breakers roll in successively from the sea. He then would
know that Kauhuhu was returning from his fishing expedition.
Accordingly, after waiting a while, the eight heavy rollers appeared,
breaking successively against the rocks; and sure enough, as the eighth
dissolved into foam, the great shark god came ashore. Immediately
assuming human form, he began snuffing about the place, and addressing
Waka and Moo, his kahus, said to them, "There is a man here." They
strenuously denied the charge and protested against the possibility
of their allowing such a desecration of the premises. But he was
not satisfied. He insisted that there was a man somewhere about,
saying, "I smell him, and if I find him you are dead men; if not,
you escape." He examined the premises over and over again, never
suspecting the rubbish heap, and was about giving up the search when,
unfortunately, Kamalo's pig sent forth a squeal which revealed the
poor fellow's hiding-place.
Now came the dread moment. The enraged Kauhuhu seized Kamalo with
both hands and, lifting him up with the intention of swallowing him,
according to his shark instinct, had already inserted the victim's
head and shoulders into his mouth before he could speak.
"O Kauhuhu, before you eat me, hear my petition; then do as you like."
"Well for you that you spoke as you did," answered Kauhuhu, setting
him down again on the ground. "Now, what have you to say? Be quick
about it."
Kamalo then rehearsed his grievances and his travels in search for
revenge, and presented his pig to the god.
Compassion arose in the breast of Kauhuhu, and he said, "Had you come
for any other purpose I would have eaten you, but as your cause is
a sacred one I espouse it, and will revenge it on Kupa the King. You
must, however, do all that I tell you. Return to the heiau of Puukahi,
at the foot of the pali, and take the priest Kahiwakaapuu on your
back, and carry him up the pali over to the other side of the island,
all the way to your home at Kaluaaha. Erect a sacred fence all around
your dwelling-place, and surround it with the sacred flags of white
kapa. Collect black hogs by the _lau_ (four hundred), red fish by the
lau, white fowls by the lau, and bide my coming. Wait and watch till
you see a small cloud the size of a man's hand arise, white as snow,
over the island of Lanai. That cloud will enlarge as it makes its way
across the channel against the wind until it rests on the mountain
peaks of Molokai back of Mapulehu Valley. Then a rainbow will span
the valley from side to side, whereby you will know that I am there,
and that your time of revenge has come. Go now, and remember that
you are the only man who ever ventured into the sacred precincts of
the great Kauhuhu and returned alive."
Kamalo returned with a joyful heart and performed all that had
been commanded him. He built the sacred fence around his dwelling;
surrounded the inclosure with sacred flags of white kapa; gathered
together black hogs, red fish, and white fowls, each by the lau, as
directed, with other articles sacred to the gods, such as cocoanuts
and white kapas, and then sat himself down to watch for the promised
signs of his revenge. Day after day passed until they multiplied into
weeks, and the weeks began to run into months.
Finally, one day, the promised sign appeared. The snow white speck of
cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, arose over the mountains of Lanai
and made its way across the stormy channel in the face of the opposing
gale, increasing as it came, until it settled in a majestic mass on
the mountains at the head of Mapulehu Valley. Then appeared a splendid
rainbow, proudly overarching the valley, its ends resting on the high
lands on either side. The wind began to blow; the rain began to pour,
and shortly a furious storm came down the doomed valley, filling its
bed from side to side with a mad rushing torrent, which, sweeping
everything before it, spread out upon the belt of lowlands at the
mouth of the valley, overwhelming Kupa and all his people in one common
ruin, and washing them all into the sea, where they were devoured by
the sharks. All were destroyed except Kamalo and his family, who were
safe within their sacred inclosure, which the flood dared not touch,
though it spread terror and ruin on every side of them. Wherefore the
harbor of Pukoo, where this terrible event occurred, was long known
as _Ai Kanaka_ (man eater), and it has passed into a proverb among
the inhabitants of that region that "when the rainbow spans Mapulehu
Valley, then look out for the _Waiakoloa_,"--a furious storm of rain
and wind which sometimes comes suddenly down that valley.
XVIII
KALIUWAA
SCENE OF THE DEMIGOD KAMAPUAA'S ESCAPE FROM OLOPANA
_From "The Hawaiian Spectator"_
A few miles east of Laie, on the windward side of the island of Oahu,
are situated the valley and falls of Kaliuwaa, noted as one of the
most beautiful and romantic spots of the island, and famed in tradition
as possessing more than local interest.
The valley runs back some two miles, terminating abruptly at the
foot of the precipitous chain of mountains which runs nearly the
whole length of the windward side of Oahu, except for a narrow
gorge which affords a channel for a fine brook that descends with
considerable regularity to a level with the sea. Leaving his horse
at the termination of the valley and entering this narrow pass of not
over fifty or sixty feet in width, the traveller winds his way along,
crossing and recrossing the stream several times, till he seems to be
entering into the very mountain. The walls on each side are of solid
rock, from two hundred to three hundred, and in some places four
hundred feet high, directly overhead, leaving but a narrow strip of
sky visible.
Following up the stream for about a quarter of a mile, one's attention
is directed by the guide to a curiosity called by the natives a _waa_
(canoe). Turning to the right, one follows up a dry channel of what
once must have been a considerable stream, to the distance of fifty
yards from the present stream. Here one is stopped by a wall of solid
rock rising perpendicularly before one to the height of some two
hundred feet, and down which the whole stream must have descended in a
beautiful fall. This perpendicular wall is worn in by the former action
of the water in the shape of a gouge, and in the most perfect manner;
and as one looks upon it in all its grandeur, but without the presence
of the cause by which it was formed, he can scarcely divest his mind
of the impression that he is gazing upon some stupendous work of art.
Returning to the present brook, we again pursued our way toward the
fall, but had not advanced far before we arrived at another, on the
left hand side of the brook, similar in many respects, but much larger
and higher than the one above mentioned. The forming agent cannot be
mistaken, when a careful survey is made of either of these stupendous
perpendicular troughs. The span is considerably wider at the bottom
than at the top, this result being produced by the spreading of the
sheet of water as it was precipitated from the dizzy height above. The
breadth of this one is about twenty feet at the bottom, and its depth
about fourteen feet. But its depth and span gradually diminish from
the bottom to the top, and the rock is worn as smooth as if chiselled
by the hand of an artist. Moss and small plants have sprung out from
the little soil that has accumulated in the crevices, but not enough
to conceal the rock from observation. It would be an object worth the
toil to discover what has turned the stream from its original channel.
Leaving this singular curiosity, we pursued our way a few yards
farther, when we arrived at the fall. This is from eighty to one
hundred feet high, and the water is compressed into a very narrow
space just where it breaks forth from the rock above. It is quite
a pretty sheet of water when the stream is high. We learned from
the natives that there are two falls above this, both of which are
shut out from the view from below, by a sudden turn in the course
of the stream. The perpendicular height of each is said to be much
greater than of the one we saw. The upper one is visible from the
road on the seashore, which is more than two miles distant, and,
judging from information obtained, must be between two and three
hundred feet high. The impossibility of climbing the perpendicular
banks from below deprived us of the pleasure of farther ascending the
stream toward its source. This can be done only by commencing at the
plain and following up one of the lateral ridges. This would itself
be a laborious and fatiguing task, as the way would be obstructed by
a thick growth of trees and tangled underbrush.
The path leading to this fall is full of interest to any one who loves
to study nature. From where we leave our horses at the head of the
valley and commence entering the mountain, every step presents new
and peculiar beauties. The most luxuriant verdure clothes the ground,
and in some places the beautifully burnished leaves of the ohia, or
native apple-tree (_Eugenia malaccensis_), almost exclude the few
rays of light that find their way down into this secluded nook. A
little farther on, and the graceful bamboo sends up its slender
stalk to a great height, mingling its dark, glossy foliage with the
silvery leaves of the kukui, or candle-nut (_Aleurites moluccana_);
these together form a striking contrast to the black walls which rise
in such sullen grandeur on each side.
Nor is the beauty of the spot confined to the luxuriant verdure,
or the stupendous walls and beetling crags. The stream itself is
beautiful. From the basin at the falls to the lowest point at which we
observed it, every succeeding step presents a delightful change. Here,
its partially confined waters burst forth with considerable force,
and struggle on among the opposing rocks for some distance; there,
collected in a little basin, its limpid waves, pure as the drops of
dew from the womb of the morning, circle round in ceaseless eddies,
until they get within the influence of the downward current, when
away they whirl, with a gurgling, happy sound, as if joyous at being
released from their temporary confinement. Again, an aged kukui,
whose trunk is white with the moss of accumulated years, throws his
broad boughs far over the stream that nourishes his vigorous roots,
casting a meridian shadow upon the surface of the water, which is
reflected back with singular distinctness from its mirrored bosom.
To every other gratification must be added the incomparable fragrance
of the fresh wood, in perpetual life and vigor, which presents a
freshness truly grateful to the senses. But it is in vain to think of
conveying an adequate idea of a scene where the sublime is mingled
with the beautiful, and the bold and striking with the delicate and
sensitive; where every sense is gratified, the mind calmed, and the
whole soul delighted.
Famed as this spot is for its natural scenic attractions, intimated
in the foregoing description, its claim of distinction with Hawaiians
is indelibly fixed by the traditions of ancient times, the narration
of which, at this point, will assist the reader to understand the
character of the native mind and throw some light also on the history
of the Hawaiians.
Tradition in this locality deals largely with Kamapuaa, the famous
demigod whose exploits figure prominently in the legends of the entire
group. Summarized, the story is about as follows:
Kamapuaa, the fabulous being referred to, seems, according to the
tradition, to have possessed the power of transforming himself into
a hog, in which capacity he committed all manner of depredations upon
the possessions of his neighbors. He having stolen some fowls belonging
to Olopana, who was the King of Oahu, the latter, who was then living
at Kaneohe, sent some of his men to secure the thief. They succeeded
in capturing him, and having tied him fast with cords, were bearing
him in triumph to the King, when, thinking they had carried the joke
far enough, he burst the bands with which he was bound, and killed
all the men except one, whom he permitted to convey the tidings to
the King. This defeat so enraged the monarch that he determined to go
in person with all his force, and either destroy his enemy, or drive
him from his dominions. He accordingly, despising ease inglorious,
Waked up, with sound of conch and trumpet shell,
The well-tried warriors of his native dell,
at whose head he sought his waiting enemy. Success attending the King's
attack, his foe was driven from the field with great loss, and betook
himself to the gorge of Kaliuwaa, which leads to the falls. Here the
King thought he had him safe; and one would think so too, to look
at the immense precipices that rise on each side, and the falls in
front. But the sequel will show that he had a slippery fellow to deal
with, at least when he chose to assume the character of a swine; for,
being pushed to the upper end of the gorge near the falls, and seeing
no other way of escape, he suddenly transformed himself into a hog,
and, rearing upon his hind legs and leaning his back against the
perpendicular precipice, thus afforded a very comfortable ladder
upon which the remnant of the army ascended and made their escape
from the vengeance of the King. Possessing such powers, it is easy to
see how he could follow the example of his soldiers and make his own
escape. The smooth channels before described are said to have been
made by him on these occasions; for he was more than once caught in
the same predicament. Old natives still believe that they are the
prints of his back; and they account for a very natural phenomenon,
by bringing to their aid this most natural and foolish superstition.
Many objects in the neighborhood are identified with this remarkable
personage, such as a large rock to which he was tied, a wide place
in the brook where he used to drink, and a number of trees he is
said to have planted. Many other things respecting him are current,
but as they do not relate to the matter in hand, it will perhaps
suffice to say, in conclusion, that tradition further asserts that
Kamapuaa conquered the volcano, when Pele its goddess became his wife,
and that they afterward lived together in harmony. That is the reason
why there are no more islands formed, or very extensive eruptions in
these later days, as boiling lava was the most potent weapon she used
in fighting her enemies, throwing out such quantities as greatly to
increase the size of the islands, and even to form new ones.
Visitors to the falls, even to this day, meet with evidences of the
superstitious awe in which the locality is held by the natives. A
party who recently visited the spot state that when they reached
the falls they were instructed to make an offering to the presiding
goddess. This was done in true Hawaiian style; they built a tiny pile
of stones on one or two large leaves, and so made themselves safe
from falling stones, which otherwise would assuredly have struck them.
XIX
BATTLE OF THE OWLS
_Jos. M. Poepoe_
The following is a fair specimen of the animal myths current in
ancient Hawaii, and illustrates the place held by the owl in Hawaiian
mythology.
There lived a man named Kapoi, at Kahehuna, in Honolulu, who went one
day to Kewalo to get some thatching for his house. On his way back he
found some owl's eggs, which he gathered together and brought home
with him. In the evening he wrapped them in ti leaves and was about
to roast them in hot ashes, when an owl perched on the fence which
surrounded his house and called out to him, "O Kapoi, give me my eggs!"
Kapoi asked the owl, "How many eggs had you?"
"Seven eggs," replied the owl.
Kapoi then said, "Well, I wish to roast these eggs for my supper."
The owl asked the second time for its eggs, and was answered by Kapoi
in the same manner. Then said the owl, "O heartless Kapoi! why don't
you take pity on me? Give me my eggs."
Kapoi then told the owl to come and take them.
The owl, having got the eggs, told Kapoi to build up a _heiau_, or
temple, and instructed him to make an altar and call the temple by
the name of Manua. Kapoi built the temple as directed; set kapu days
for its dedication, and placed the customary sacrifice on the altar.
News spread to the hearing of Kakuihewa, who was then King of Oahu,
living at the time at Waikiki, that a certain man had kapued certain
days for his heiau, and had already dedicated it. This King had made
a law that whoever among his people should erect a heiau and kapu the
same before the King had his temple kapued, that man should pay the
penalty of death. Kapoi was thereupon seized, by the King's orders,
and led to the heiau of Kupalaha, at Waikiki.
That same day, the owl that had told Kapoi to erect a temple gathered
all the owls from Lanai, Maui, Molokai, and Hawaii to one place at
Kalapueo. [9] All those from the Koolau districts were assembled at
Kanoniakapueo, [10] and those from Kauai and Niihau at Pueohulunui,
near Moanalua.
It was decided by the King that Kapoi should be put to death on
the day of Kane. [11] When that day came, at daybreak the owls left
their places of rendezvous and covered the whole sky over Honolulu;
and as the King's servants seized Kapoi to put him to death, the
owls flew at them, pecking them with their beaks and scratching
them with their claws. Then and there was fought the battle between
Kakuihewa's people and the owls. At last the owls conquered, and
Kapoi was released, the King acknowledging that his _Akua_ (god)
was a powerful one. From that time the owl has been recognized as
one of the many deities venerated by the Hawaiian people.
XX
THIS LAND IS THE SEA'S
TRADITIONAL ACCOUNT OF AN ANCIENT HAWAIIAN PROPHECY
_Translated from Moke Manu by Thos. G. Thrum_
It is stated in the history of Kaopulupulu that he was famed among
the kahunas of the island of Oahu for his power and wisdom in the
exercise of his profession, and was known throughout the land as
a leader among the priests. His place of residence was at Waimea,
between Koolauloa and Waialua, Oahu. There he married, and there was
born to him a son whom he named Kahulupue, and whom he instructed
during his youth in all priestly vocations.
In after years when Kumahana, brother of Kahahana of Maui, became
the governing chief (_alii aimoku_) of Oahu, Kahulupue was chosen by
him as his priest. This chief did evil unto his subjects, seizing
their property and beheading and maiming many with the _leiomano_
(shark's tooth weapon) and _pahoa_ (dagger), without provocation, so
that he became a reproach to his people. From such treatment Kahulupue
endeavored to dissuade him, assuring him that such a course would
fail to win their support and obedience, whereas the supplying of
food and fish, with covering for the body, and malos, would insure
their affectionate regard. The day of the people was near, for the
time of conflict was approaching when he would meet the enemy. But
these counsels of Kahulupue were disregarded, so he returned to his
father at Waimea.
Not long thereafter this chief Kumahana was cast out and rejected
by the lesser chiefs and people, and under cover of night he escaped
by canoe to Molokai, where he was ignored and became lost to further
history in consequence of his wrong-doings.
When Kahekili, King of Maui, heard of the stealthy flight of the
governing chief of Oahu, he placed the young prince Kahahana, his
foster-son, as ruler over Oahu in the place of his deposed relative,
Kumahana. This occurred about the year 1773, and Kahahana took with
him as his intimate friend and companion one Alapai. Kahahana chose
as his place of residence the shade of the kou and cocoanut trees
of Ulukou, Waikiki, where also gathered together the chiefs of the
island to discuss and consider questions of state.
The new ruler being of fine and stalwart form and handsome appearance,
the chiefs and common people maintained that his fame in this
respect induced a celebrated chieftainess of Kauai, named Kekuapoi,
to voyage hither. Her history, it is said, showed that she alone
excelled in maiden charm and beauty; she was handsome beyond all other
chieftainesses from Hawaii to Kauai, as "the third brightness of the
sun" (_he ekolu ula o ka la_). In consequence, Kahahana took her as
his wife, she being own sister to Kekuamanoha.
At this time the thought occurred to the King to inquire through
the chiefs of Oahu of the whereabouts of Kaopulupulu, the celebrated
priest, of whom he had heard through Kahekili, King of Maui. In reply
to this inquiry of Kahahana, the chiefs told him that his place of
residence was at Waimea, whereupon a messenger was sent to bid him
come up by order of the King. When the messenger reached Kaopulupulu
he delivered the royal order. Upon the priest hearing this word of
the King he assented thereto, with this reply to the messenger: "You
return first and tell him that on the morning after the fourteenth
night of the moon (_po o akua_), I will reach the place of the King."
At the end of the conference the messenger returned and stood before
Kahahana and revealed the words of Kaopulupulu; and the King waited
for the time of his arrival.
It is true, Kaopulupulu made careful preparation for his future. Toward
the time of his departure he was engaged in considering the good or
evil of his approaching journey by the casting of lots, according to
the rites of his profession. He foresaw thereby the purpose of the
King in summoning him to dwell at court. He therefore admonished his
son to attend to all the rites and duties of the priesthood as he
had been taught, and to care for his mother and relatives.
At early dawn Kaopulupulu arose and partook of food till satisfied,
after which he prepared himself for the journey before him. After he
had given his farewell greetings to his household he seized his bundle
and, taking a cocoanut fan in his hand, set out toward Punanue, where
was a temple (_heiau_) for priests only, called Kahokuwelowelo. This
was crown land at Waialua in ancient times. Entering the temple he
prayed for success in his journey, after which he proceeded along the
plains of Lauhulu till reaching the Anahulu stream, thence by Kemoo
to Kukaniloko, the shelter of whose prominent rock the chieftainesses
of Oahu were wont to choose for their place of confinement.
Leaving this place he came to Kalakoa, where Kekiopilo the prophet
priest lived and died, and the scene of his vision at high noon when
he prophesied of the coming of foreigners with a strange language. Here
he stopped and rested with some of the people, and ate food with them,
after which he journeyed on by way of Waipio by the ancient path of
that time till he passed Ewa and reached Kapukaki.
The sun was well up when he reached the water of Lapakea, so
he hastened his steps in ascending Kauwalua, at Moanalua, and
paused not till he came to the mouth of the Apuakehau stream at
Waikiki. Proceeding along the sand at this place he was discerned
by the retainers of the King and greeted with the shout, "Here comes
the priest Kaopulupulu."
When the King heard this he was exceedingly pleased (_pihoihoi loa_)
at the time, and on the priest's meeting with King Kahahana he welcomed
Kaopulupulu with loud rejoicing.
Without delay the King set apart a house wherein to meet and discuss
with the priest those things he had in mind, and in the consideration
of questions from first to last, Kaopulupulu replied with great
wisdom in accordance with his knowledge of his profession. At this
time of their conference he sat within the doorway of the house, and
the sun was near its setting. As he turned to observe this he gazed
out into the sky and noticing the gathering short clouds (_ao poko_)
in the heavens, he exclaimed:
"O heaven, the road is broad for the King, it is full of chiefs and
people; narrow is my path, that of the kahuna; you will not be able
to find it, O King. Even now the short clouds reveal to me the manner
of your reign; it will not be many days. Should you heed my words,
O King, you will live to gray hair. But you will be the king to slay
me and my child."
At these words of the priest the King meditated seriously for some
time, then spoke as follows: "Why should my days be short, and why
should your death be by me, the King?"
Kaopulupulu replied: "O King, let us look into the future. Should you
die, O King, the lands will be desolate; but for me, the kahuna, the
name will live on from one generation to another; but my death will be
before thine, and when I am up on the heaven-feared altar then my words
will gnaw thee, O King, and the rains and the sun will bear witness."
These courageous words of Kaopulupulu, spoken in the presence of
Kahahana without fear, and regardless of the dignity and majesty of
the King, were uttered because of the certainty that the time would
come when his words would be carried into effect. The King remained
quiet without saying a word, keeping his thoughts to himself.
After this conference the King took Kaopulupulu to be his priest, and
in course of time he became also an intimate companion, in constant
attendance upon the King, and counselled him in the care of his
subjects, old and young, in all that pertained to their welfare. The
King regarded his words, and in their circuit of the island together
they found the people contented and holding their ruler in high
esteem. But at the end of three years the King attempted some wrong to
certain of his subjects like unto that of his deposed predecessor. The
priest remonstrated with him continually, but he would not regard
his counsel; therefore, Kaopulupulu left King Kahahana and returned
to his land at Waimea and at once tattooed his knees. This was done
as a sign that the King had turned a deaf ear to his admonitions.
When several days had passed, rumors among certain people of Waialua
reached the priest that he was to be summoned to appear before the
King in consequence of this act, which had greatly angered his august
lord. Kahahana had gone to reside at Waianae, and from there shortly
afterward he sent messengers to fetch Kaopulupulu and his son Kahulupue
from Waimea.
In the early morning of the day of the messenger's arrival, a rainbow
stood directly in the doorway of Kaopulupulu's house, and he asked
of his god its meaning; but his prayer was broken (_ua haki ka
pule_). This boded him ill; therefore he called to his son to stand
in prayer; but the result was the same. Then he said, "This augurs of
the day of death; see! the rising up of a man in the pass of Hapuu,
putting on his kapa with its knot fastening on the left side of the
neck, which means that he is bringing a death message."
Shortly after the priest had ended these words a man was indeed seen
approaching along the mountain pass, with his kapa as indicated;
and he came and stood before the door of their house and delivered
the order of the King for them to go to Waianae, both him and his son.
The priest replied: "Return you first; we will follow later," and the
messenger obeyed. When he had departed Kaopulupulu recalled to his son
the words he had spoken before the advent of the messenger, and said:
"Oh, where are you, my child? Go clothe the body; put on the malo;
eat of the food till satisfied, and we will go as commanded by the
King; but this journey will result in placing us on the altar (_kau
i ka lele_). Fear not death. The name of an idler, if he be beaten
to death, is not passed on to distinction."
At the end of these words of his father, Kahulupue wept for love of
his relatives, though his father bid him to weep not for his family,
because he, Kaopulupulu, saw the end that would befall the King,
Kahahana, and his court of chiefs and retainers. Even at this time
the voices of distress were heard among his family and their tears
flowed, but Kaopulupulu looked on unmoved by their cries.
He then arose and, with his son, gave farewell greetings to their
household, and set forth. In journeying they passed through Waialua,
resting in the house of a kamaaina at Kawaihapai. In passing the night
at this place Kahulupue slept not, but went out to examine the fishing
canoes of that neighborhood. Finding a large one suitable for a voyage,
he returned and awoke his father, that they might flee together that
night to Kauai and dwell on the knoll of Kalalea. But Kaopulupulu
declined the idea of flight. In the morning, ascending a hill, they
turned and looked back over the sea-spray of Waialua to the swimming
halas of Kahuku beyond. Love for the place of his birth so overcame
Kaopulupulu for a time that his tears flowed for that he should see
it no more.
Then they proceeded on their way till, passing Kaena Point, they
reached the temple of Puaakanoe. At this sacred boundary Kaopulupulu
said to his son, "Let us swim in the sea and touch along the coast
of Makua." At one of their resting-places, journeying thus, he said,
with direct truthfulness, as his words proved: "Where are you, my
son? For this drenching of the high priests by the sea, seized will
be the sacred lands (_moo-kapu_) from Waianae to Kualoa by the chief
from the east."
As they were talking they beheld the King's men approaching along
the sand of Makua, and shortly afterward these men came before them
and seized them and tied their hands behind their backs and took
them to the place of King Kahahana at Puukea, Waianae, and put them,
father and son, in a new grass hut unfinished of its ridge thatch,
and tied them, the one to the end post (_pouhana_) and the other to
the corner post (_poumanu_) of the house.
At the time of the imprisonment of the priest and his son in this new
house Kaopulupulu spake aloud, without fear of dire consequences,
so that the King and all his men heard him, as follows: "Here I am
with my son in this new unfinished house; so will be unfinished the
reign of the King that slays us." At this saying Kahahana, the King,
was very angry.
Throughout that day and the night following, till the sun was high
with warmth, the King was directing his soldiers to seize Kahulupue
first and put him to death. Obeying the orders of the King, they
took Kahulupue just outside of the house and stabbed at his eyes
with laumake spears and stoned him with stones before the eyes of
his father, with merciless cruelty. These things, though done by
the soldiers, were dodged by Kahulupue, and the priest, seeing the
King had no thought of regard for his child, spoke up with priestly
authority, as follows: "Be strong of breath, my son, till the body
touch the water, for the land indeed is the sea's."
When Kahulupue heard the voice of his father telling him to flee to
the sea, he turned toward the shore in obedience to these last words
to him, because of the attack by the soldiers of the King. As he ran,
he was struck in the back by a spear, but he persevered and leaped into
the sea at Malae and was drowned, his blood discoloring the water. His
dead body was taken and placed up in the temple at Puehuehu. After
the kapu days therefore the King, with his chiefs and soldiers,
moved to Puuloa, Ewa, bringing with them the priest Kaopulupulu, and
after some days he was brought before the King by the soldiers, and
without groans for his injuries was slain in the King's presence. But
he spoke fearlessly of the vengeance that would fall upon the King
in consequence of his death, and during their murderous attack upon
him proclaimed with his dying breath: "You, O King, that kill me here
at Puuloa, the time is near when a direct death will be yours. Above
here in this land, and the spot where my lifeless body will be borne
and placed high on the altar for my flesh to decay and slip to the
earth, shall be the burial place of chiefs and people hereafter, and
it shall be called 'the royal sand of the mistaken'; there will you
be placed in the temple." At the end of these words of Kaopulupulu
his spirit took flight, and his body was left for mockery and abuse,
as had been that of his son in the sea of Malae, at Waianae.
After a while the body of the priest was placed on a double canoe
and brought to Waikiki and placed high in the cocoanut trees at
Kukaeunahi, the place of the temple, for several ten-day periods (_he
mau anahulu_) without decomposition and falling off of the flesh to
the sands of Waikiki.
When King Kahekili of Maui heard of the death of the priest
Kaopulupulu by Kahahana, he sent some of his men thither by canoe,
who landed at Waimanalo, Koolau, where, as spies, they learned from
the people respecting Kaopulupulu and his death, with that of his son;
therefore they returned and told the King the truth of these reports,
at which the affection of Kahekili welled up for the dead priest, and
he condemned the King he had established. Coming with an army from
Maui, he landed at Waikiki without meeting Kahahana, and took back
the government of Oahu under his own kingship. The chiefs and people
of Oahu all joined under Kahekili, for Kahahana had been a chief of
wrong-doing. This was the first sea of Kaopulupulu in accordance with
his prophetic utterance to his son, "This land is the sea's."
Upon the arrival here at Oahu of Kahekili, Kahahana fled, with
his wife Kekuapoi, and friend Alapai, and hid in the shrubbery
of the hills. They went to Aliomanu, Moanalua, to a place called
Kinimakalehua; then moved along to Keanapuaa and Kepookala, at the
lochs of Puuloa, and from there to upper Waipoi; thence to Wahiawa,
Helemano, and on to Lihue; thence they came to Poohilo, at Honouliuli,
where they first showed themselves to the people and submitted
themselves to their care.
While they were living there, report thereof was made to Kahekili,
the King, who thereupon sent Kekuamanoha, elder brother of Kekuapoi,
the wife of Kahahana, with men in double canoes from Waikiki, landing
first at Kupahu, Hanapouli, Waipio, with instructions to capture
and put to death Kahahana, as also his friend Alapai, but to save
alive Kekuapoi. When the canoes touched at Hanapouli, they proceeded
thence to Waikele and Hoaeae, and from there to Poohilo, Honouliuli,
where they met in conference with Kahahana and his party. At the
close of the day Kekuamanoha sought by enticing words to induce
his brother-in-law to go up with him and see the father King and be
assured of no death condemnation, and by skilled flattery he induced
Kahahana to consent to his proposition; whereupon preparation was made
for the return. On the following morning, coming along and reaching
the plains of Hoaeae, they fell upon and slew Kahahana and Alapai
there, and bore their lifeless bodies to Halaulani, Waipio, where
they were placed in the canoes and brought up to Waikiki and placed
up in the cocoanut trees by King Kahekili and his priests from Maui,
as Kaopulupulu had been. Thus was fulfilled the famous saying of the
Oahu priest in all its truthfulness.
According to the writings of S. M. Kamakau and David Malo, recognized
authorities, the thought of Kaopulupulu as expressed to his son
Kahulupue, "This land is the sea's," was in keeping with the famous
prophetic vision of Kekiopilo that "the foreigners possess the land,"
as the people of Hawaii now realize. The weighty thought of this
narration and the application of the saying of Kaopulupulu to this
time of enlightenment are frequent with certain leaders of thought
among the people, as shown in their papers.
XXI
KU-ULA, THE FISH GOD OF HAWAII
_Translated from Moke Manu by M. K. Nakuina_
The story of Ku-ula, considered by ancient Hawaiians as the deity
presiding over and controlling the fish of the sea,--a story still
believed by many of them to-day,--is translated and somewhat condensed
from an account prepared by a recognized legendary bard of these
islands. The name of Ku-ula is known from the ancient times on each
of the islands of the Hawaiian group, and the writer gives the Maui
version as transmitted through the old people of that island.
Ku-ula had a human body, and was possessed with wonderful or miraculous
power (_mana kupua_) in directing, controlling, and influencing all
fish of the sea, at will.
Leho-ula, in the land of Aleamai, Hana, Maui, is where Ku-ula and
Hina-pu-ku-ia lived. Nothing is known of their parents, but tradition
deals with Ku-ula, his wife, their son Ai-ai, and Ku-ula-uka,
a younger brother of Ku-ula. These lived together for a time at
Leho-ula, and then the brothers divided their work between them,
Ku-ula-uka choosing farm work, or work pertaining to the land,
from the seashore to the mountain-top, while Ku-ula--known also as
Ku-ula-kai--chose to be a fisherman, with such other work as pertained
to the sea, from the pebbly shore to ocean depths. After this division
Ku-ula-uka went up in the mountains to live, and met a woman known
as La-ea--called also Hina-ulu-ohia--a sister of Hina-pu-ku-ia,
Ku-ula's wife. These sisters had three brothers, named Moku-ha-lii,
Kupa-ai-kee, and Ku-pulu-pulu-i-ka-na-hele. This trio were called
by the old people the gods of the canoe-making priests--"_Na akua
aumakua o ka poe kahuna kalai waa._"
While Ku-ula and his wife were living at Leho-ula he devoted all his
time to his chosen vocation, fishing. His first work was to construct
a fish-pond handy to his house but near to the shore where the surf
breaks, and this pond he stocked with all kinds of fish. Upon a
rocky platform he also built a house to be sacred for the fishing
kapu which he called by his own name, Ku-ula.
It is asserted that when Ku-ula made all these preparations he believed
in the existence of a God who had supreme power over all things. That
is why he prepared this place wherein to make his offerings of the
first fish caught by him to the fish god. From this observance of
Ku-ula all the fish were tractable (_laka loa_) unto him; all he
had to do was to say the word, and the fish would appear. This was
reported all over Hana and when Kamohaolii, the King (who was then
living at Wananalua, the land on which Kauiki Hill stands) heard of
it, he appointed Ku-ula to be his head fisherman. Through this pond,
which was well stocked with all kinds of fish, the King's table was
regularly supplied with all rare varieties, whether in or out of
season. Ku-ula was his mainstay for fish-food and was consequently
held in high esteem by Kamohoalii, and they lived without disagreement
of any kind between them for many years.
During this period the wife of Ku-ula gave birth to a son, whom they
called Aiai-a-Ku-ula (Aiai of Ku-ula), The child was properly brought
up according to the usage of those days, and when he was old enough
to care for himself an unusual event occurred.
A large _puhi_ (eel), called Koona, lived at Wailau, on the windward
side of the island of Molokai. This eel was deified and prayed to by
the people of that place, and they never tired telling of the mighty
things their god did, one of which was that a big shark came to Wailau
and gave it battle, and during the fight the puhi caused a part of the
rocky cliff to fall upon the shark, which killed it. A cave was thus
formed, with a depth of about five fathoms; and that large opening
is there to this day, situate a little above the sea and close to
the rocky fort where lived the well known Kapeepeekauila. This puhi
then left its own place and came and lived in a cave in the sea near
Aleamai, called Kapukaulua, some distance out from the Alau rocks. It
came to break and rob the pond that Ku-ula had built and stocked with
fish of various kinds and colors, as known to-day.
Ku-ula was much surprised on discovering his pond stock disappearing,
so he watched day and night, and at last, about daybreak, he saw a
large eel come in through the _makai_ (seaward) wall of the pond. When
he saw this he knew that it was the cause of the loss of his fish,
and was devising a way to catch and kill it; but on consulting with
his wife they decided to leave the matter to their son Aiai, for him
to use his own judgment as to the means by which the thief might be
captured and killed. When Aiai was told of it he sent word to all
the people of Aleamai and Haneoo to make ili hau ropes several lau
fathoms in length; and when all was ready a number of the people
went out with it in two canoes, one each from the two places, with
Aiai-a-Ku-ula in one of them. He put two large stones in his canoe
and held in his hands a fisherman's gourd (_hokeo_), in which was a
large fishhook called manaiaakalani.
When the canoes had proceeded far out he located his position by
landmarks; and looking down into the sea, and finding the right place,
he told the paddlers to cease paddling. Standing up in the canoe
and taking one of the stones in his hands he dived into the sea. Its
weight took him down rapidly to the bottom, where he saw a big cave
opening right before him, with a number of fishes scurrying about
the entrance, such as uluas and other deep sea varieties. Feeling
assured thereby that the puhi was within, he arose to the surface
and got into his canoe. Resting for a moment, he then opened the
gourd and took out the hook manaiaakalani and tied the hau rope to
it. He also picked up a long stick and placed at the end of it the
hook, baited with a preparation of cocoanut and other substances
attractive to fishes. Before taking his second dive he arranged with
those on the canoe as to the signs to them of his success. Saying
this, he picked up the other stone and dived down again into the sea;
then, proceeding to the cave, he placed the hook in it, at the same
time murmuring a few incantations in the name of his parents. When
he knew that the puhi was hooked he signalled, as planned, to tell
those on the canoe of his success. In a short while he came to the
surface, and entering the canoe they all returned to shore, trailing
the rope behind. He told those in the canoe from Haneoo to paddle
thither and to Hamoa, and to tell all the people to pull the puhi;
like instructions were given those on the Aleamai canoe for their
people. The two canoes set forth on their courses to the landings,
keeping in mind Aiai's instructions, which were duly carried out by
the people of the two places; and there were many for the work.
Then Aiai ascended Kaiwiopele Hill and motioned to the people of
both places to pull the ropes attached to the hook on the mouth of
the puhi. It was said that the Aleamai people won the victory over
the much greater number from the other places, by landing the puhi
on the pahoehoe stones at Lehoula. The people endeavored to kill the
prize, but without success till Aiai came and threw three ala stones
at it and killed it. The head was cut off and cooked in the _imu_
(oven). The bones of its jaw, with the mouth wide open, are seen to
this day at a place near the shore, washed by the waves,--the rock
formation at a short distance having such a resemblance.
Residents of the place state that all ala stones near where the
imu was made in which the puhi was baked do not crack when heated,
as they do elsewhere, because of the imu heating of that time. It
is so even to this day. The backbone (_iwi kuamoo_) of this puhi is
still lying on the pahoehoe where Aiai killed it with the three ala
stones,--the rocky formation, about thirty feet in length, exactly
resembling the backbone of an eel. The killing of this puhi by Aiai
gave him fame among the people of Hana. Its capture was the young lad's
first attempt to follow his father's vocation, and his knowledge was
a surprise to the people.
After this event a man came over from Waiiau, Molokai, who was a _kahu_
(keeper) of the puhi. He dreamed one night that he saw its spirit,
which told him that his _aumakua_ (god) had been killed at Hana, so
he came to see with his own eyes where this had occurred. Arriving at
Wananalua he was befriended by one of the retainers of Kamohoalii,
the King of Hana, and lived there a long time serving under him,
during which time he learned the story of how the puhi had been caught
and killed by Aiai, the son of Ku-ula and Hinapukuia, whereupon he
sought to accomplish their death.
Considering a plan of action, he went one day to Ku-ula, without
orders, and told him that the King had sent him for fish for the
King. Ku-ula gave him but one fish, an ulua, with a warning direction,
saying, "Go back to the King and tell him to cut off the head of
the fish and cook it in the imu, and the flesh of its body cut up
and salt and dry in the sun, for 'this is Hana the _aupehu_ land;
Hana of the scarce fish; the fish Kama; the fish of Lanakila.' (_Eia
o Hana la he aina aupehu; o Hana keia i ka ia iki; ka ia o Kama;
ka ia o Lanakila_)."
When the man returned to the King and gave him the fish, the King
asked: "Who gave it to you?" and the man answered:
"Ku-ula."
Then it came into his head that this was his chance for revenge, so
he told the King what Ku-ula had said but not in the same way, saying:
"Your head fisherman told me to come back and tell you that your head
should be cut from your body and cooked in the imu, and the flesh of
your body should be cut up and salted and dried in the sun."
The King on hearing this message was so angered with Ku-ula, his head
fisherman, that he told the man to go and tell all his _konohikis_
(head men of lands with others under them) and people, to go up in the
mountains and gather immediately plenty of firewood and place it around
Ku-ula's house, for he and his wife and child should be burned up.
This order of the King was carried out by the konohikis and people
of all his lands except those of Aleamai. These latter did not obey
this order of the King, for Ku-ula had always lived peaceably among
them. There were days when they had no fish, and he had supplied
them freely.
When Ku-ula and his wife saw the people of Hana bringing firewood
and placing it around the house they knew it foreboded trouble; so
Ku-ula went to a place where taro, potatoes, bananas, cane, and some
gourds were growing. Seeing three dry gourds on the vine, he asked the
owner for them and was told to take them. These he took to his house
and discussed with his wife the evil day to come, and told Aiai that
their house would be burned and their bodies too, but not to fear death
nor trouble himself about it when the people came to shut them in.
After some thinking Ku-ula remembered his giving the ulua to the King's
retainer and felt that he was the party to blame for this action of
the King's people. He had suspected it before, but now felt sure;
therefore he turned to his son and said: "Our child, Aiai-a-Ku-ula,
if our house is burned, and our bodies too, you must look sharp for
the smoke when it goes straight up to the hill of Kaiwiopele. That
will be your way out of this trouble, and you must follow it till
you find a cave where you will live. You must take this hook called
manaiaakalani with you; also this fish-pearl (_pa hi aku_), called
_Kahuoi_; this shell called _lehoula_, and this small sandstone from
which I got the name they call me, _Ku-ula-au-a-Ku-ulakai_. It is
the progenitor of all the fish in the sea. You will be the one to
make all the ku-ulas from this time forth, and have charge also of
making all the fishing stations (_ko'a lawaia_) in the sea throughout
the islands. Your name shall be perpetuated and those of your parents
also, through all generations to come, and I hereby confer upon you
all my power and knowledge. Whenever you desire anything call, or ask,
in our names, and we will grant it. We will stand up and go forth
from here into the sea and abide there forever; and you, our child,
shall live on the land here without worrying about anything that may
happen to you. You will have power to punish with death all those who
have helped to burn us and our house. Whether it be king or people,
they must die; therefore let us calmly await the calamity that is to
befall us."
All these instructions Aiai consented to carry out from first to last,
as a dutiful son.
After Ku-ula's instructions to his son, consequent upon the
manifestations of coming trouble, the King's people came one day and
caught them and tied their hands behind their backs, the evil-doer
from Molokai being there to aid in executing the cruel orders of
Kamohoalii resulting from his deceitful story. Upon being taken
into their house Ku-ula was tied to the end post of the ridge pole
(_pouhana)_, the wife was tied to the middle post (_kai waena_) of the
house, and the boy, Aiai, was tied to one of the corner posts (_pou
o manu_). Upon fastening them in this manner the people went out of
the house and barricaded the doorway with wood, which they then set on
fire. Before the fire was lit, the ropes with which the victims were
tied dropped off from their hands. Men, women, and children looked
on at the burning house with deep pity for those within, and tears
were streaming down their cheeks as they remembered the kindness of
Ku-ula during all the time they had lived together. They knew not
why this family and their house should be burned in this manner.
When the fire was raging all about the house and the flames were
consuming everything, Ku-ula and his wife gave their last message to
their son and left him. They went right out of the house as quietly
as the last breath leaves the body, and none of the people standing
there gazing saw where, or how, Ku-ula and his wife came forth out of
the house. Aiai was the only one that retained material form. Their
bodies were changed by some miraculous power and entered the sea,
taking with them all the fish swimming in and around Hana. They
also took all sea-mosses, crabs, crawfish, and the various kinds of
shellfish along the seashore, even to the opihi-koele at the rocky
beach; every edible thing in the sea was taken away. This was the
first stroke of Ku-ula's revenge on the King and the people of Hana who
obeyed his mandate; they suffered greatly from the scarcity of fish.
When Ku-ula and his wife were out of the house the three gourds
exploded from the heat, one by one, and all those who were gazing at
the burning house believed the detonations indicated the bursting
of the bodies of Ku-ula, his wife, and child. The flames shot up
through the top of the house, and the black smoke hovered above it,
then turned toward the front of Kaiwiopele Hill. The people saw Aiai
ascend through the flames and walk upon the smoke toward the hill
till he came to a small cave that opened to receive and rescue him.
As Aiai left the house it burned fiercely, and, carrying out the
instructions of his father he called upon him to destroy by fire
all those who had caught and tied them in their burning house. As he
finished his appeal he saw the rippling of the wind on the sea and
a misty rain coming with it, increasing as it came till it reached
Lehoula, which so increased the blazing of the fire that the flames
reached out into the crowd of people for those who had obeyed the
King. The man from Molokai, who was the cause of the trouble, was
reached also and consumed by the fire, and the charred bodies were left
to show to the people the second stroke of Ku-ula's vengeance. Strange
to say, all those who had nothing to do with this cruel act, though
closer to the burning house, were uninjured; the tongues of fire
reached out only for the guilty ones. In a little while but a few
smouldering logs and ashes were all that remained of the house of
Ku-ula. Owing to this strange action of the fire some of the people
doubted the death of Ku-ula and his wife, and much disputation arose
among them on the subject.
When Aiai walked out through the flames and smoke and reached the
cave, he stayed there through that night till the next morning, then,
leaving his hook, pearl shell, and stone there, he went forth till
he came to the road at Puilio, where he met several children amusing
themselves by shooting arrows, one of whom made friends with him and
asked him to his house. Aiai accepted the invitation, and the boy
and his parents treating him well, he remained with them for some days.
While Aiai was living in their house the parents of the boy heard
of the King's order for all the people of Hana to go fishing for
hinalea. The people obeyed the royal order, but when they went down to
the shore with their fishing baskets they looked around for the usual
bait (_ueue_), which was to be pounded up and put into the baskets,
but they could not find any, nor any other material to be so used,
neither could they see any fish swimming around in the sea. "Why?" was
the question. Because Ku-ula and his wife had taken with them all
the fish and everything pertaining to fishing. Finding no bait they
pounded up limestone and placed it in the baskets and swam out and
set them in the sea. They watched and waited all day, but in vain,
for not a single hinalea was seen, nor did any enter the baskets. When
night came they went back empty-handed and came down again the next day
only to meet the same luck. The parents of the boy who had befriended
Aiai were in this fishing party, in obedience to the King's orders,
but they got nothing for their trouble. Aiai, seeing them go down
daily to Haneoo, asked concerning it, and was told everything; so he
bade his friend come with him to the cave where he had stayed after
his father's house was burned. Arriving there he showed the stone
fish god, Pohaku-muone, and said: "We can get fish up here from this
stone without much work or trouble."
Then Aiai picked up the stone and they went down to Lehoula, and
setting it down at a point facing the pond which his father had made
he repeated these words: "O Ku-ula, my father; O Hina, my mother,
I place this stone here in your name, Ku-ula, which action will make
your name famous and mine too, your son; the keeping of this ku-ula
stone I give to my friend, and he and his offspring hereafter will
do and act in all things pertaining to it in our names."
After saying these words he told his friend his duties and all things
to be observed relative to the stone and the benefits to be derived
therefrom as an influencing power over such variety of fish as he
desired. This was the first establishment of the _ko'a ku-ula_ on
land,--a place where the fisherman was obliged to make his offering
of the first of his catch by taking two fishes and placing them on
the ku-ula stone as an offering to Ku-ula. Thus Aiai first put in
practice the fishing oblations established by his father at the place
of his birth, in his youth, but it was accomplished only through the
mana kupua of his parents.
When Aiai had finished calling on his parents and instructing his
friend, there were seen several persons walking along the Haneoo beach
with their fishing baskets and setting them in the sea, but catching
nothing. At Aiai's suggestion he and his friend went over to witness
this fishing effort. When they reached the fishers Aiai asked them,
"What are those things placed there for?"
They answered, "Those are baskets for catching hinaleas, a fish that
our King, Kamohoalii, longs for, but we cannot get bait to catch the
fish with."
"Why is it so?" asked Aiai.
And they answered, "Because Ku-ula and his family are dead, and all
the fish along the beach of Hana are taken away."
Then Aiai asked them for two baskets. Having received them, he bade
his friend take them and follow him. They went to a little pool near
the beach, and setting the baskets therein, he called on his parents
for hinaleas. As soon as he had finished, the fish were seen coming in
such numbers as to fill the pool, and still they came. Aiai now told
his friend to go and fetch his parents and relatives to get fish,
and to bring baskets with which to take home a supply; they should
have the first pick, and the owners of the baskets should have the
next chance. The messenger went with haste and brought his relatives
as directed. Aiai then took two fishes and gave them to his friend to
place on the ko'a they had established at Lehoula for the ku-ula. He
also told him that before the setting of the sun of that day they would
hear that King Kamohoalii of Hana was dead, choked and strangled to
death by the fish. These prophetic words of Aiai came true.
After Aiai had made his offering, his friend's parents came to where
the fish were gathering and were told to take all they desired,
which they did, returning home happy for the liberal supply obtained
without trouble. The owners of the baskets were then called and told
to take all the fish they wished for themselves and for the King. When
these people saw the great supply they were glad and much surprised
at the success of these two boys. The news of the reappearing of the
fish spread through the district, and the people flocked in great
numbers and gathered hinaleas to their satisfaction, and returned to
their homes with rejoicing. Some of those who gave Aiai the baskets
returned with their bundles of fish to the King. When he saw so many
of those he had longed for he became so excited that he reached out
and picked one up and put it in his mouth, intending to eat it; but
instead the fish slipped right into his throat and stuck there. Many
tried to reach and take it out, but were unable, and before the sun
set that day Kamohoalii, the King of Hana, died, being choked and
strangled to death by the fish. Thus the words of Aiai, the son of
Ku-ula, proved true.
By the death of the King of Hana the revenge was complete. The
evil-doer from Molokai, and those who obeyed the King's orders on
the day Ku-ula's house was fired, met retribution, and Aiai thus won
a victory over all his father's enemies.
After living for a time at Hana Aiai left that place and went among
the different islands of the group establishing fishing ko'as (_ko'a
aina aumakua_). He was the first to measure the depth of the sea to
locate these fishing ko'as for the deep sea fishermen who go out in
their canoes, and the names of many of these ko'as located around
the different islands are well known.
XXII
AIAI, SON OF KU-ULA
PART II OF THE LEGEND OF KU-ULA, THE FISH GOD OF HAWAII
_Translated from Moke Manu by M. K. Nakuina_
After the death of the King of Hana, Aiai left the people of Haneoo
catching hinalea and went to Kumaka, a place where fresh water springs
out from the sand and rocks near the surf of Puhele, at Hamoa, where
lay a large, long stone in the sea. This stone he raised upright and
also placed others about the water spring, and said to his friend:
"To-day I name this stone Ku-a-lanakila, for I have triumphed over my
enemies; and I hereby declare that all fishes, crabs, and sea-moss
shall return again in plenty throughout the seas of Hana, as in the
days when my parents were living in the flesh at Lehoula."
From the time Aiai raised this stone, up to the present generation,
the story of Ku-ula and Aiai is well preserved, and people have
flocked to the place where the stone stands to see it and verify the
tradition. Some kahunas advise their suffering patients to pay a visit
to the stone, Ku-lanakila, with some offerings for relief from their
sickness and also to bathe in the spring of Kumaka and the surf of
Puhele. This was a favorite spot of the kings and chiefs of the olden
times for bathing and surf-riding, and is often referred to in the
stories and legends of Hawaii-nei. This was the first stone raised by
Aiai and established as a ku-ula at Hamoa; and the old people of Hana
attributed to its influence the return of the fish to their waters.
After Aiai's practice of his father's instructions and the return of
the fishes, his fame spread throughout the district, and the people
made much of him during his stay with them.
A great service wrought by Aiai during his boyhood was the teaching
of his friend and his friend's parents how to make the various nets
for all kinds of fishing. He also taught them to make the different
kinds of fishing lines. When they were skilled in all these branches
of knowledge pertaining to fishing, he called the people together,
and in their presence declared his friend to be the head fisherman
of Hana, with full control of all the stations (_ko'a ia_) he had
established. This wonder-working power second to none, possessed by
Aiai, he now conferred on his friend, whereby his own name would be
perpetuated and his fame established all over the land.
The first _ko'a ia_ (fishing ground, or station) where Aiai measured
the depth of the sea is near Aleamai, his birthplace, and is called
Kapukaulua, where he hooked and killed the eel Koona. It is a few miles
from the shore to the southeast of the rocky islet called Alau. The
second station he established was at a spot about a mile from Haneoo
and Hamoa which was for the kala, palani, nanue, puhi, and ula. These
varieties of fish are not caught by nets, or with the hook, but in
baskets which are filled with bait and let down in the deep sea.
The third station, which he named Koauli, was located out in the deep
sea for the deep sea fishes, the depth ranging about two hundred
fathoms. This is the ko'a that fishermen have to locate by certain
shore bearings, lest a mistake be made as to the exact spot and the
bottom be found rocky and the hooks entangle in the coral. In all the
stations Aiai located there are no coral ledges where the fisherman's
hook would catch, or the line be entangled; and old Hawaiians commended
the skill of such locations, believing that the success of Aiai's
work was due to his father's influence as an ocean deity.
At one time Aiai went over to the bay of Wananalua, the present
port of Hana, with its noted hill of Kauiki and the sandy beach
of Pueokahi. Here he made and placed a ku-ula, and also placed
a fish stone in the cliff of Kauiki whereon is the ko'a known as
Makakiloia. And the people of Hana give credit to this stone for
the frequent appearance of the akule, oio, moi, and other fishes in
their waters.
Aiai's good work did not stop at this point; proceeding to Honomaele
he picked up three pebbles at the shore and, going into the sea,
out beyond the breaking surf, he placed them there. In due time these
three pebbles gathered others together and made a regular ridge; and
when this was accomplished, the aweoweo gathered from the far ocean
to this ridge of pebbles for rest; whereupon the people came with net,
hook, and line, and caught them as they desired. The writer witnessed
this in 1845 with his own eyes. This ko'a for aweoweo is still there,
but difficult to locate, from the fact that all the old residents
are gone--either dead or moved away.
He next went over to Waiohue, Koolau, where he placed a stone on
a sharp rocky islet, called Paka, whereon a few puhala grow. It is
claimed that during the season of the kala, they come in from the
ocean, attracted to this locality by the power of this stone. They
continue on to Mokumana, a cape between Keanae and Wailuanui. They
come in gradually for two days, and on the third day of their reaching
the coast, at the pali of Ohea, is the time and place to surround
them with nets. In olden times while the fishermen were hauling
in their nets full of kala into the canoes, the akule and oio also
came in numbers at the same time, making it impossible to catch all
in one day; and as there were so many gathered in the net it took
them a day and a night before they could care for their draught,
which yielded so many more than could be made use of that they were
fed to the pigs and dogs. The kala of Ohea is noted for its fatness
and fine flavor. Few people are now living there, and the people who
knew all about this are dead; but the stone that Aiai placed on that
little island at Waiohue is still there.
Aiai stayed there a few days and then returned to Hana and lived at
his birthplace quite a length of time till he was a man grown. During
this period he was teaching his art of fishing in all its forms;
and when he was satisfied the people were proficient, he prepared to
visit other places for like service. But before leaving, Aiai told
his friend to go and kill the big _hee kupua_ (wonderful octopus)
in the deep sea, right out of Wailuanui, Koolau, and he consented.
When the canoes were made ready and drawn to the beach and the people
came prepared to start, Aiai brought the _hokeo_ (fishing gourd),
where the _leho_ (kauri shell) that Ku-ula his father gave him was
kept, and gave it to his friend. This shell is called _lehoula,_
and the locality at Hana of that name was called after it.
Then the canoes and people sailed away till they got out along the
palis near Kopiliula, where they rested. Aiai was not with the party,
but overlooked their operations from the pali of Puhiai. While they
rested, preparation for the lowering of the leho was being made,
and when ready, Aiai's friend called on Ku-ula and Hina for the
assistance of their wonderful powers. When he was through, he took
off the covering of the gourd and took out the leho, which had rich
beautiful colors like the rainbow, and attaching it to the line, he
lowered it into the sea, where it sent out rays of a fiery light. The
hee was so attracted by its radiance that it came out of its hole and
with its great arms, which were as long and large as a full-grown
cocoanut tree, came up to the surface of the water and stood there
like a cocoanut grove. The men were frightened, for it approached and
went right into the canoes with the intention of destroying them and
the men and capturing the leho; but it failed, because Aiai's friend,
with his skill and power, had provided himself with a stone, which,
at the proper time, he shoved into the head of the squid; and the
weight of the stone drew it down to the bottom of the sea and kept
it there, and being powerless to remove the stone, it died. The men
seized and cut off one of the arms, which was so big that it loaded
the canoes down so that they returned to Hana. When the squid died, it
turned to stone. It is pointed out to-day just outside of Wailuanui,
where a stone formation resembles the body of a squid and the arms,
with one missing.
When Aiai saw from the pali that his friend was successful in killing
the hee, he returned to Hana unseen, and in a short while the canoes
arrived with its arm, which was divided among the people according
to the directions of Aiai.
When Aiai saw that his friend and others of Hana were skilled in
all the art of fishing, he decided to leave his birthplace and
journey elsewhere. So he called a council of his friends and told
them of his intended departure, to establish other fishing stations
and instruct the people with all the knowledge thereof in conformity
with the injunction of Ku-ula his father. They approved of the course
contemplated and expressed their indebtedness to him for all the
benefits he had shown them.
On leaving Aleamai he took with him the fish-hook, _manaiaakalani_,
and the fish pearl, _Kahuoi_, for aku from the little cave where
he had lodged on the hill of Kaiwiopele, and then disappeared in the
mysterious manner of his parents. He established ku-ulas and ko'a aina,
by placing three fish stones at various points as far as Kipahulu. At
the streams of Kikoo and Maulili there stands a stone to-day, which
was thrown by Aiai and dropped at a bend in the waters, unmoved by
the many freshets that have swept the valleys since that time.
Out in the sea of Maulili is a famous station known as Koanui. It
is about a mile from the shore and marks the boundary of the sea of
Maulili, and the fish that appear periodically and are caught within
its limits have been subject to a division between the fishermen and
the landowner ever since. This is a station where the fisherman's
hook shall not return without a fish except the hook be lost, or the
line cut.
The first time that Aiai tested this station and caught a fish with
his noted hook, he saw a fisherman in his canoe drifting idly, without
success. When he saw Aiai, this fisherman, called Kanemakua, paddled
till he came close to where Aiai was floating on an improvised canoe,
a wiliwili log, without an outrigger,--which much surprised him. Before
the fisherman reached him, Aiai felt a tug at his line and knew that
he had caught a fish and began pulling it in. When Kanemakua came
within speaking distance Aiai greeted him and gave him the fish,
putting it into his canoe. Kanemakua was made happy and thanked Aiai
for his generosity. While putting it in the canoe Aiai said:
"This is the first time I have fished in these waters to locate (or
found) this station, and as you are the first man I meet I give you
the first fish caught. I also give you charge of this ko'a; but take my
advice. When you come here to fish and see a man meeting you in a canoe
and floating alongside of you, if at that time you have caught a fish,
then give it to him as I have done to you, without regret, and thus
get a good name and be known as a generous man. If you observe this,
great benefits will come to you and those related to you."
As Aiai finished speaking he suddenly disappeared, and Kanemakua could
hardly realize that he had not been dreaming but for the assurance he
had in the great fish lying in his canoe. He returned to the shore with
his prize, which was so large and heavy that it required the help of
two others to carry it to the house, where it was cut up and the oven
made hot for its baking. When it was cooked he took the eyes of the
fish and offered them up as a thanksgiving sacrifice. Then the family,
friends, and neighbors around came to the feast and ate freely. During
all this time Kanemakua was thinking of the words spoken by the young
man, which he duly observed. The first ku-ula established in Maulili,
Maui, was named after him, and from that time its fish have been
given out freely without restriction or division.
After establishing the different ku-ula stations along the coast from
Hana to Kipahulu, Aiai went to Kaupo and other places. A noted station
and ku-ula is at Kahikinui. All the stations of this place are in the
deep sea, where they use nets of three kinds; there is also fishing
with poles, and ulua fishing, because this part of the island faces
the wind; but the ku-ulas are located on the seashore, as is also
the one at Honuaula, where it is covered over by the lava flow.
Thus was performed the good work of Aiai in establishing ku-ula
stations and fish stones continued all around the island of Maui. It
is also said that he visited Kahoolawe and established a ku-ula at
Hakioawa, though it differs from the others, being built on a high
bluff overlooking the sea, somewhat like a temple, by placing stones
in the form of a square, in the middle of which was left a space
wherein the fishermen of that island laid their first fish caught,
as a thank offering. Awa and kapa were also placed there as offerings
to the fish deities.
An idea prevails with some people that the ko'a of Kamohoalii, the
king shark of Kahoolawe, is on this island, but if all the stories
told of it be examined there will be found no reference to a ko'a of
his on this island.
From Kahoolawe, Aiai next went to Lanai, where he started fishing
for _aku_ (bonito) at Cape Kaunolu, using his pearl Kahuoi. This is
the first case known of fishing for aku with pearl from the land,
as it is a well known fact that this fish is caught only in deep sea,
far from shore. In the story of Kaneapua it is shown that he is the
only one who had fished for aku at the Cape of Kaunolu, where it was
started by Aiai.
From Kaunolu, Aiai went to Kaena Cape, where at a place close to
Paomai, was a little sandy beach now known as Polihua. Here he
took a stone and carved a figure on it, then carried and placed
it on the sandy beach, and called on his parents. While making his
incantations the stone moved toward the sea and disappeared under
the water. His incantations finished, the stone reappeared and
moved toward him till it reached the place where it had been laid;
whereupon it was transformed into a turtle, and gave the name of
Polihua to that beach. This work of Aiai on the island of Lanai was
the first introduction of the turtle in the seas of Hawaii, and also
originated the habit of the turtle of going up the beach to lay its
eggs, then returning to the sea.
After making the circuit of Lanai he went over to Molokai, landing at
Punakou and travelled along the shore till he reached Kaunakakau. At
this place he saw spawns of mullet, called Puai-i, right near the
shore, which he kicked with his foot, landing them on the sand. This
practice of kicking fish with the feet is carried on to this time,
but only at that locality. Aiai continued on along the Kona side
of Molokai, examining its fishing grounds and establishing ku-ulas
till he got to Halawa. At the Koolau side of the island he stopped at
Wailau and saw the cave of the eel Koona that went to Hana and stole
the fish from his father's pond, and the cause of all the trouble
that befell his parents and himself.
When Aiai landed at Wailau he saw that both sides of the valley
were covered with men, women, and children engaged in closing up the
stream and diverting its water to another course, whereby they would
be enabled to catch oopu and opae. The water being low, the gourds
of some of the people were full from their catch.
Aiai noticed their wanton method of fishing, whereby all oopus
and opaes were caught without thought of any reservation for their
propagation; therefore he called on his parents to take them all
away. The prayer was granted, for suddenly they all disappeared;
those in the water went up the stream to a place called Koki, while
those in the gourds were turned to lizards which scampered out and
ran all over the rocks. The people were much surprised at this change
and felt sorely disappointed at the loss of their food supply.
On account of his regard for a certain lad of that place, named Kahiwa,
he showed him the place of the opaes to be up the precipitous cliff,
Koki. The youth was attentive to the direction of Aiai and going there
he found the oopus and opaes as stated, as they are to this day. That
is what established the noted saying of the old people of that land:
"Kokio of Wailau is the ladder of the opae." It is also known as the
"Pali of Kahiwa."
When Aiai left Wailau he showed this lad the ku-ula and the fish
station in the sea he had located there, at the same distance as that
rocky island known as Mokapu. He went also to Pelekunu, Waikolu and
Kalawao, even to Kalaupapa, the present home of the lepers. At the
latter place he left a certain fish stone. That is the reason fish
constantly gather there even to this day. He also went to Hoolehua and
so on as far as _Ka lae o ka ilio_ (the dog's forehead) and _Ka lae o
ka laau_. Between these two capes in the sea is a station established
by Aiai, where a tree grew out from under a rock, Ekaha by name. It
is a hardwood tree, but the trunk and also the branches are without
leaves. This place is a great haunt for fishermen with their hooks.
Aiai then came to Oahu, first landing at Makapuu, in Koolau, where
he founded a _pohaku-ia_ (fish stone) for red fish and for speckled
fish, and called it Malei. This was a female rock, and the fish of
that place is the uhu. It is referred to in the mele of Hiiaka, thus:
"I will not go to the stormy capes of Koolau,
The sea-cliffs of Moeaau.
The woman watching uhu of Makapuu
Dwells on the ledge of Kamakani
At Koolau. The living
Offers grass-twined sacrifices, O Malie!"
From the time Aiai founded that spawning-place until the present,
its fish have been the uhu, extending to Hanauma. There were also
several gathering-places for fish established outside of Kawaihoa. Aiai
next moved to Maunalua, then to Waialae and Kahalaia. At Kaalawai he
placed a white and brown rock. There in that place is a hole filled
with aholehole, therefore the name of the land is Kaluahole. Right
outside of Kahuahui there is a station where Aiai placed a large
round sandstone that is surrounded by spawning-places for fish;
Ponahakeone is its name.
In ancient times the chiefs selected a very secret place wherein to
hide the dead bodies of their greatly beloved, lest some one should
steal their bones to make fish-hooks, or arrows to shoot mice with. For
that reason the ancients referred to Ponahakeone as "_He Lualoa no
Na'lii_"--a deep pit for the chiefs.
Aiai came to Kalia and so on to Kakaako. Here he was befriended by
a man named Apua, with whom he remained several days, observing and
listening to the murmurs of the chief named Kou. This chief was a
skilful hiaku fisherman, his grounds being outside of Mamala until
you came to Moanalua. There was none so skilled as he, and generous
withal, giving akus to the people throughout the district.
As Aiai was dwelling with his friend Apua at Kakaako, he meandered
off one day along the shore of Kulolia, and so on to Pakaka and
Kapapoko. But he did not return to the house of his friend, for
he met a young woman gathering _limu_ (sea-moss) and fishing for
crabs. This young woman, whose name was Puiwa, lived at Hanakaialama
and was a virgin, never having had a husband. She herself, as the
people would say, was forward to ask Aiai to be her husband; but he
listened to her voice, and they went up together to her home and
saw the parents and relatives, and forthwith were married. After
living with this young woman some time a son was born to them,
whom Aiai named Puniaiki. During those days was the distribution
of aku which were sent up from Honolulu to the different dwellings;
but while others were given a whole fish, they got but a portion from
some neighbor. For this reason the woman was angry, and told Aiai to
go to the brook and get some oopus fit to eat, as well as opae. Aiai
listened to the voice of his wife. He dug a ditch and constructed a
dam so as to lead the water of the brook into some pits, and thus be
able to catch the oopu and opae. He labored some days at this work,
and the fish and shrimps were hung up to dry.
On a certain day following, Aiai and his wife went with their child
to the brook. She left her son upon the bank of the stream while she
engaged herself in catching opae and oopu from the pits. But it was
not long before the child began to cry; and as he cried, Aiai told
his wife to leave her fishing, but she talked saucily to him. So Aiai
called upon the names of his ancestors. Immediately a dark and lowering
cloud drew near and poured out a flood of water upon the stream, and
in a short time the dam was broken by the freshet and all the oopu
and opae, together with the child, were swept toward the sea. But
the woman was not taken by the flood. Aiai then rose up and departed,
without thought of his wife.
He went down from the valley to Kaumakapili, and as he was standing
there he saw some women fishing for oopu on the banks of the stream,
the daughter of the chief Kikihale being with them. At that time,
behold, there was caught by the female guardian of the daughter of
Kikihale a very large oopu. This oopu she showed to her _protégée_,
who told her to put it into a large calabash with water and feed it
with limu, so that it might become a pet fish. This was done and the
oopu was tended very carefully night and day.
Aiai stood by and saw the fish lifted out of the brook, and recognized
it at the same time as his own child, changed from a human being into
an oopu.
(At this point the story of Aiai gives place to that of his child.)
When the oopu was placed in a large calabash with water, it was
carefully tended and fed with sea-moss for some time, but one day
in seeing to this duty the guardian of the chieftainess, on reaching
the calabash, was startled to behold therein a human child, looking
with its eyes. And the water in the calabash had disappeared. She was
greatly surprised and seized with a dark foreboding, and a trembling
fear possessed her as she looked upon this miraculous child.
This woman went and told the chieftainess of this child they knew to
have had the form of an oopu, and as Kikihale heard the story of her
guardian she went quickly, with grave doubts, however, of this her
report; but there, on reaching the calabash, as she looked she saw
indeed a child therein. She immediately put forth her hands toward
the child and lifting it, carefully examined its form and noted
its agreeable features. As the thought quickly possessed this girl,
she said: "Now, my guardian, you and your husband take and rear this
child till he is grown, then I will be his wife."
The guardian answered her: "When this child becomes grown you will
be old; that is, your days will be in the evening of life, while his
place will be in the early morn. Will you not thereby have lasting
cause for dissatisfaction and contention between you in the future?"
Kikihale answering her guardian said: "You are not to blame; these
things are mine to consider, for the reason that the desire is mine,
not yours, my guardian."
After this talking the child was quickly known of among the chiefs
and attendants. He was nourished and brought up to adult age, when
Kikihale took him for her husband as she had said; and for a time
they dwelt together as man and wife without disagreement between
them. But during these days Kikihale saw plainly that her husband was
not disposed to do anything for their support; therefore she mourned
over it continually and angrily reproved him, finally, saying:
"O my husband, can you not go forth also, as others, to assist
our father and the attendants in the duties of fishing, instead of
eating till you are satisfied, then rolling over with face upward
to the ridge-pole of the house and counting the ahos? It may do
while my father is alive; but if he should die, whence would come
our support?" Thus she spoke reproachingly from day to day, and the
words stung Puniaiki's heart with much pain.
And this is what he said to his wife one day: "It is unpleasant to
hear you constantly talking thus. Not as wild animals is the catching
of fish in the sea; they are obedient if called, and you may eat
wastefully of my fish when procured. I have authority over fish,
men, pigs, and dogs. If you are a favorite of your father then go to
him for double canoes, with their fishing appurtenances, and men to
paddle them."
When Kikihale heard these words of her husband she hastened to Kou,
her father, and told him all that Puniaiki had said, and the request
was promptly executed. Kikihale returned to her husband and told him
all she had done.
On Puniaiki's going down to the canoe place he found the men were
making ready the canoes with the nets, rods, lines, and the pearl
fish-hooks. Here he lit a fire and burned up the pearl fish-hooks,
at which his wife was much angered and cried loudly for the hiaku
pearl hooks of her father. She went and told Kou of this mischievous
action of her husband, but he answered her not a word at this act of
his son-in-law, though he had supplied five gourds filled with them,
a thousand in number, and the strangest thing was, that all were
burned up save two only which Kou had reserved.
That night Puniaiki slept apart from his wife, and he told the canoe
paddlers to sleep in the canoe sheds, not to go to their homes that
night; and they obeyed his voice.
It was Kou's habit to rouse his men before break of day to sail in
the malaus for aku fishing at the mouth of the harbor, for that was
their feeding-time, not after the sun had risen. Thus would the canoes
enter the schools of aku and this chief became famous thereby as a
most successful fisherman. But on this day was seen the sorcerer's
work of this child of Aiai.
As Kou with his men set out always before dawn, here was this Puniaiki
above at his place at sunrise. At this time on his awaking from sleep
he turned his face mountainward, and looking at Kaumakapili he saw
a rainbow and its reddish mist spread out at that place, wherein was
standing a human form. He felt conscious that it was Aiai his father,
therefore he went there and Aiai showed him the place of the _pa_
(fish-hook) called Kahuai, and he said to his son: "Here will I stay
till you return; be quick."
Upon Puniaiki reaching the landing the canoes were quickly made
ready to depart, and as they reached Kapapoko and Pakaka, at the sea
of Kuloloia, they went on to Ulukua, now the lighthouse location of
Honolulu harbor. At this place Puniaiki asked the paddlers: "What is
the name of that surf cresting beneath the prow of our canoes?"
"Puuiki," replied the men.
He then said to them: "Point straight the prow of the canoes and paddle
with strength." At these words of Puniaiki their minds were in doubt,
because there were probably no akus at that place in the surf; but
that was none of their business. As they neared the breakers of Puuiki,
below the mouth of Mamala, Puniaiki said to his men: "Turn the canoes
around and go shorewards." And in returning he said quickly, "Paddle
strong, for here we are on the top of a school of akus." But strange to
say, as the men looked in the water they saw no fish swimming about,
but on reaching Ulakua Puniaiki opened up the fish-hook, Kahuai,
from its wrapping in the gourd and held it in his hand.
At this the akus, unprecedented in number, fairly leaped into the
canoes. They became so filled with the fish, without labor, that
they sank in the water as they reached Kapuukolo, and the men jumped
overboard to float them to the beach. The canoe men wondered greatly
at this work of the son-in-law of Kou the chief; and the shore people
shouted as the akus which filled the harbor swam toward the fishpond
of Kuwili and on to the mouth of Leleo stream.
When the canoes touched shore Puniaiki seized two fishes in his hands
and went to join his father where he was staying, and Aiai directed
him to take them up to where his mother lived. These akus were not
gifts for her, but an offering to Ku-ula at a ko'a established just
above Kahuailanawai. Puniaiki obeyed the instructions of his father,
and on returning to him he was sent back to his mother, Puiwa, with
a supply of akus. She was greatly surprised that this handsome young
man, with his gift of akus for her to eat, was her own son, and these
were the first fruits of his labor.
The people marvelled at the quantity of fish throughout the harbor, so
that even the stream at Kikihale was also full of akus, and Puniaiki
commanded the people to take of them day and night; and the news of
this visit of akus went all around Oahu. This unequalled haul of akus
was a great humiliation to Kou, affecting his fame as a fisherman;
but he was neither jealous of his son-in-law nor angry,--he just
sat silent. He thought much on the subject but with kindly feelings,
resulting in turning over this employment to him who could prosecute
it without worry.
Shortly afterwards Aiai arranged with Puniaiki for the establishing
of ku-ulas, ko'as, and fish stones around the island of Oahu, which
were as follows:
The Kou stone was for Honolulu and Kaumakapili; a ku-ula at Kupahu;
a fish stone at Hanapouli, Ewa. Ahuena was the ku-ula for Waipio; two
were assigned for Honouliuli. Hani-o was the name of the ko'a outside
of Kalaeloa; Kua and Maunalahilahi for Waianae; Kamalino for Waimea;
and Kaihukuuna for Laiemaloo, Koolau.
Aiai and his son also visited Kauai and Niihau on this work, then
they turned and went together to Hawaii. The principal or most noted
fishing-grounds there are: Poo-a, Kahaka, and Olelomoana at Kona;
Kalae at Kau; Kupakea at Puna, and I at Hilo.
In former times at most of these fishing-grounds were seen multitudes
and varieties of fish, all around the islands, and occasionally deep
sea kinds came close in shore, but in this new era there are not so
many. Some people say it is on account of the change of the times.
XXIII
KANEAUKAI
A LEGEND OF WAIALUA
_Thos. G. Thrum_
Long ago, when the Hawaiians were in the darkness of superstition and
kahunaism, with their gods and lords many, there lived at Mokuleia,
Waialua, two old men whose business it was to pray to Kaneaukai for
a plentiful supply of fish. These men were quite poor in worldly
possessions, but given to the habit of drinking a potion of awa after
their evening meal of poi and fish.
The fish that frequented the waters of Mokuleia were the aweoweo,
kala, manini, and many other varieties that find their habitat inside
the coral reefs. Crabs of the white variety burrowed in the sand near
the seashore and were dug out by the people, young and old. The squid
also were speared by the skilful fishermen, and were eaten stewed,
or salted and sun-dried and roasted on the coals. The salt likely
came from Kaena Point, from salt-water evaporation in the holes of
rocks so plentiful on that stormy cape. Or it may have been made on
the salt pans of Paukauwila, near the stream of that name, where a
few years ago this industry existed on a small scale.
But to return to our worshippers of Kaneaukai. One morning on going out
upon the seashore they found a log of wood, somewhat resembling the
human form, which they took home and set in a corner of their lowly
hut, and continued their habit of praying to Kaneaukai. One evening,
after having prepared a scanty supper of poi and salt, with perhaps a
few roasted kukui-nuts, as a relish, and a couple of cocoanut cups of
awa as their usual drink, they saw a handsome young man approaching,
who entered their hut and saluted them. He introduced himself by
saying, "I am Kaneaukai to whom you have been praying, and that which
you have set up is my image; you have done well in caring for it."
He sat down, after the Hawaiian custom, as if to share their evening
meal, which the two old men invited him to partake of with them, but
regretted the scanty supply of awa. He said: "Pour the awa back into
the bowl and divide into three." This they did and at once shared
their meal with their guest.
After supper Kaneaukai said to the two old men, "Go to Keawanui and
you will get fish enough for the present." He then disappeared, and
the fishermen went as instructed and obtained three fishes; one they
gave to an old sorceress who lived near by, and the other two they
kept for themselves.
Soon after this there was a large school of fish secured by the
fishermen of Mokuleia. So abundant were the fish that after salting
all they could, there was enough to give away to the neighbors;
and even the dogs had more than they desired.
Leaving the Mokuleia people to the enjoyment of their unusual
supply of fish, we will turn to the abode of two kahunas, who were
also fishermen, living on the south side of Waimea Valley, Oahu. One
morning, being out of fish, they went out into the harbor to try their
luck, and casting their net they caught up a calcareous stone about as
large as a man's head, and a pilot fish. They let the pilot fish go,
and threw the stone back into the sea. Again they cast their net and
again they caught the stone and the pilot fish; and so again at the
third haul. At this they concluded that the stone was a representative
of some god. The elder of the two said: "Let us take this stone ashore
and set it up as an idol, but the pilot fish we will let go." So they
did, setting it up on the turn of the bluff on the south side of the
harbor of Waimea. They built an inclosure about it and smoothed off
the rocky bluff by putting flat stones from the immediate neighborhood
about the stone idol thus strangely found.
About ten days after the finding of the stone idol the two old kahunas
were sitting by their grass hut in the dusk of the evening, bewailing
the scarcity of fish, when Kaneaukai himself appeared before them
in the guise of a young man. He told them that they had done well in
setting up his stone image, and if they would follow his directions
they would have a plentiful supply of fish. Said he, "Go to Mokuleia,
and you will find my wooden idol; bring it here and set it up alongside
of my stone idol." But they demurred, as it was a dark night and there
were usually quicksands after a freshet in the Kamananui River. His
answer was, "Send your grandsons." And so the two young men were sent
to get the wooden idol and were told where they could find it.
The young men started for Mokuleia by way of Kaika, near the place
where salt was made a few years ago. Being strangers, they were in
doubt about the true way, when a meteor (_hoku kaolele_) appeared and
went before them, showing them how to escape the quicksands. After
crossing the river they went on to Mokuleia as directed by Kaneaukai,
and found the wooden idol in the hut of the two old men. They
shouldered it, and taking as much dried fish as they could carry,
returned by the same way that they had come, arriving at home about
midnight.
The next day the two old kahunas set up the wooden idol in the same
inclosure with the stone representative of Kaneaukai. The wooden
image has long since disappeared, having been destroyed, probably,
at the time Kaahumanu made a tour of Oahu after her conversion to
Christianity, when she issued her edict to burn all the idols. But
the stone idol was not destroyed. Even during the past sixty years
offerings of roast pigs are known to have been placed before it. This
was done secretly for fear of the chiefs, who had published laws
against idolatry.
Accounts differ, various narrators giving the story some embellishments
of their own. So good a man as a deacon of Waialua in telling the
above seemed to believe that, instead of being a legend it was true;
for an old man, to whom he referred as authority, said that one of
the young men who went to Mokuleia and brought the wooden idol to
Waimea was his own grandfather.
An aged resident of the locality gives this version: Following the
placement of their strangely found stone these two men dreamed of
Kaneaukai as a god in some far-distant land, to whom they petitioned
that he would crown their labors with success by granting them a
plentiful supply of fish. Dreaming thus, Kaneaukai revealed himself to
them as being already at their shore; that the stone which they had
been permitted to find and had honored by setting up at Kehauapuu,
was himself, in response to their petitions; and since they had
been faithful so far, upon continuance of the same, and offerings
thereto, they should ever after be successful in their fishing. As if
in confirmation of this covenant, this locality has ever since been
noted for the periodical visits of schools of the anae-holo and kala,
which are prevalent from April to July, coming, it is said, from Ohea,
Honuaula, Maui, by way of Kahuku, and returning the same way.
So strong was the superstitious belief of the people in this deified
stone that when, some twenty years ago, the road supervisor of the
district threw it over and broke off a portion, it was prophesied
that Kaneaukai would be avenged for the insult. And when shortly
afterward the supervisor lost his position and removed from the
district, returning not to the day of his death; and since several
of his relatives have met untimely ends, not a few felt it was the
recompense of his sacrilegious act.
XXIV
THE SHARK-MAN, NANAUE
_Mrs. E. M. Nakuina_
_Kamohoalii_, the King-shark of Hawaii and Maui, has several deep
sea caves that he uses in turn as his habitat. There are several of
these at the bottom of the palisades, extending from Waipio toward
Kohala, on the island of Hawaii. A favorite one was at Koamano, on the
mainland, and another was at Maiaukiu, the small islet just abreast
of the valley of Waipio. It was the belief of the ancient Hawaiians
that several of these shark gods could assume any shape they chose,
the human form even, when occasion demanded.
In the reign of Umi, a beautiful girl, called Kalei, living in Waipio,
was very fond of shellfish, and frequently went to Kuiopihi for her
favorite article of diet. She generally went in the company of other
women, but if the sea was a little rough, and her usual companion
was afraid to venture out on the wild and dangerous beach, she very
often went alone rather than go without her favorite sea-shells.
In those days the Waipio River emptied over a low fall into a basin
partly open to the sea; this basin is now completely filled up with
rocks from some convulsion of nature, which has happened since then. In
this was a deep pool, a favorite bathing-place for all Waipio. The
King shark god, Kamohoalii, used to visit this pool very often to
sport in the fresh waters of the Waipio River. Taking into account
the many different tales told of the doings of this shark god, he
must have had quite an eye for human physical beauty.
Kalei, as was to be expected from a strong, well-formed Hawaiian girl
of those days, was an expert swimmer, a good diver, and noted for the
neatness and grace with which she would _lelekawa_ (jump from the
rocks into deep water) without any splashing of water, which would
happen to unskilful divers, from the awkward attitudes they would
assume in the act of jumping.
It seems Kamohoalii, the King-shark, had noted the charms of the
beautiful Kalei, and his heart, or whatever answers in place of it with
fishes, had been captured by them. But he could not expect to make
much of an impression on the maiden's susceptibilities _in propria
persona_, even though he was perfectly able to take her bodily into
his capacious maw; so he must needs go courting in a more pleasing
way. Assuming the form of a very handsome man, he walked on the beach
one rather rough morning, waiting for the girl's appearance.
Now the very wildness of the elements afforded him the chance he
desired, as, though Kalei was counted among the most agile and quick
of rock-fishers, that morning, when she did come, and alone, as her
usual companions were deterred by the rough weather, she made several
unsuccessful springs to escape a high threatening wave raised by the
god himself; and apparently, if it had not been for the prompt and
effective assistance rendered by the handsome stranger, she would
have been swept out into the sea.
Thus an acquaintance was established. Kalei met the stranger from
time to time, and finally became his wife.
Some little time before she expected to become a mother, her husband,
who all this time would only come home at night, told her his true
nature, and informing her that he would have to leave her, gave orders
in regard to the bringing up of the future child. He particularly
cautioned the mother never to let him be fed on animal flesh of any
kind, as he would be born with a dual nature, and with a body that
he could change at will.
In time Kalei was delivered of a fine healthy boy, apparently the same
as any other child, but he had, besides the normal mouth of a human
being, a shark's mouth on his back between the shoulder blades. Kalei
had told her family of the kind of being her husband was, and they
all agreed to keep the matter of the shark-mouth on the child's back
a secret, as there was no knowing what fears and jealousies might be
excited in the minds of the King or high chiefs by such an abnormal
being, and the babe might be killed.
The old grandfather, far from heeding the warning given by Kamohoalii
in the matter of animal diet, as soon as the boy, who was called
Nanaue, was old enough to come under the taboo in regard to the
eating of males, and had to take his meals at the mua house with the
men of the family, took especial pains to feed him on dog meat and
pork. He had a hope that his grandson would grow up to be a great,
strong man, and become a famous warrior; and there was no knowing
what possibilities lay before a strong, skilful warrior in those
days. So he fed the boy with meat, whenever it was obtainable. The
boy thrived, grew strong, big, and handsome as a young lama (_Maba
sandwicensis_) tree.
There was another pool with a small fall of the Waipio River very
near the house of Kalei, and the boy very often went into it while
his mother watched on the banks. Whenever he got into the water he
would take the form of a shark and would chase and eat the small fish
which abounded in the pool. As he grew old enough to understand,
his mother took especial pains to impress on him the necessity of
concealing his shark nature from other people.
This place was also another favorite bathing-place of the people, but
Nanaue, contrary to all the habits of a genuine Hawaiian, would never
go in bathing with the others, but always alone; and when his mother
was able, she used to go with him and sit on the banks, holding the
kapa scarf, which he always wore to hide the shark-mouth on his back.
When he became a man, his appetite for animal diet, indulged
in childhood, had grown so strong that a human being's ordinary
allowance would not suffice for him. The old grandfather had died in
the meantime, so that he was dependent on the food supplied by his
stepfather and uncles, and they had to expostulate with him on what
they called his shark-like voracity. This gave rise to the common
native nickname of a _manohae_ (ravenous shark) for a very gluttonous
man, especially in the matter of meat.
Nanaue used to spend a good deal of his time in the two pools,
the one inland and the other opening into the sea. The busy-bodies
(they had some in those days as well as now) were set to wondering
why he always kept a _kihei_, or mantle, on his shoulders; and for
such a handsomely shaped, athletic young man, it was indeed a matter
of wonder and speculation, considering the usual attire of the youth
of those days. He also kept aloof from all the games and pastimes
of the young people, for fear that the wind or some active movement
might displace the kapa mantle, and the shark-mouth be exposed to view.
About this time children and eventually grown-up people began to
disappear mysteriously.
Nanaue had one good quality that seemed to redeem his apparent
unsociability; he was almost always to be seen working in his
mother's taro or potato patch when not fishing or bathing. People
going to the sea beach would have to pass these potato or taro
patches, and it was Nanaue's habit to accost them with the query of
where they were going. If they answered, "To bathe in the sea," or,
"Fishing," he would answer, "Take care, or you may disappear head and
tail." Whenever he so accosted any one it would not be long before
some member of the party so addressed would be bitten by a shark.
If it should be a man or woman going to the beach alone, that person
would never be seen again, as the shark-man would immediately follow,
and watching for a favorable opportunity, jump into the sea. Having
previously marked the whereabouts of the person he was after, it was an
easy thing for him to approach quite close, and changing into a shark,
rush on the unsuspecting person and drag him or her down into the
deep, where he would devour his victim at his leisure. This was the
danger to humanity which his king-father foresaw when he cautioned
the mother of the unborn child about feeding him on animal flesh,
as thereby an appetite would be evoked which they had no means of
satisfying, and a human being would furnish the most handy meal of
the kind that he would desire.
Nanaue had been a man grown some time, when an order was promulgated
by Umi, King of Hawaii, for every man dwelling in Waipio to go to
_koele_ work, tilling a large plantation for the King. There were to
be certain days in an _anahulu_ (ten days) to be set aside for this
work, when every man, woman, and child had to go and render service,
excepting the very old and decrepit, and children in arms.
The first day every one went but Nanaue. He kept on working in his
mother's vegetable garden to the astonishment of all who saw him. This
was reported to the King, and several stalwart men were sent after
him. When brought before the King he still wore his _kapa kihei_
or mantle.
The King asked him why he was not doing koele work with every one
else. Nanaue answered he did not know it was required of him. Umi
could not help admiring the bold, free bearing of the handsome man,
and noting his splendid physique, thought he would make a good warrior,
greatly wanted in those ages, and more especially in the reign of Umi,
and simply ordered him to go to work.
Nanaue obeyed, and took his place in the field with the others, and
proved himself a good worker, but still kept on his kihei, which it
would be natural to suppose that he would lay aside as an incumbrance
when engaged in hard labor. At last some of the more venturesome of
the younger folks managed to tear his kapa off, as if accidentally,
when the shark-mouth on his back was seen by all the people near.
Nanaue was so enraged at the displacement of his kapa and his
consequent exposure, that he turned and bit several of the crowd,
while the shark-mouth opened and shut with a snap, and a clicking sound
was heard such as a shark is supposed to make when baulked by its prey.
The news of the shark-mouth and his characteristic shark-like actions
were quickly reported to the King, with the fact of the disappearance
of so many people in the vicinity of the pools frequented by Nanaue;
and of his pretended warnings to people going to the sea, which were
immediately followed by a shark bite or by their being eaten bodily,
with every one's surmise and belief that this man was at the bottom
of all those disappearances. The King believed it was even so, and
ordered a large fire to be lighted, and Nanaue to be thrown in to be
burnt alive.
When Nanaue saw what was before him, he called on the shark god,
his father, to help him; then, seeming to be endowed with superhuman
strength in answer to his prayer, he burst the ropes with which he
had been bound in preparation for the burning, and breaking through
the throng of Umi's warriors, who attempted to detain him, he ran,
followed by the whole multitude, toward the pool that emptied into
the sea. When he got to the edge of the rocks bordering the pool,
he waited till the foremost persons were within arm's length, when
he leaped into the water and immediately turned into a large shark
on the surface of the water, in plain view of the people who had
arrived, and whose numbers were being continually augmented by more
and more arrivals.
He lay on the surface some little time, as if to recover his breath,
and then turned over on his back, and raising his head partly out
of the water, snapped his teeth at the crowd who, by this time,
completely lined the banks, and then, as if in derision or defiance
of them, turned and flirted his tail at them and swam out to sea.
The people and chiefs were for killing his mother and relatives for
having brought up such a monster. Kalei and her brothers were seized,
bound, and dragged before Umi, while the people clamored for their
immediate execution, or as some suggested, that they be thrown into
the fire lighted for Nanaue.
But Umi was a wise king and would not consent to any such summary
proceedings, but questioned Kalei in regard to her fearful
offspring. The grieved and frightened mother told everything in
connection with the paternity and bringing up of the child, and with
the warning given by the dread sea-father.
Umi considered that the great sea god Kamohoalii was on the whole a
beneficent as well as a powerful one. Should the relatives and mother
of that shark god's son be killed, there would then be no possible
means of checking the ravages of that son, who might linger around
the coast and creeks of the island, taking on human shape at will,
for the purpose of travelling inland to any place he liked, and then
reassume his fish form and lie in wait in the many deep pools formed
by the streams and springs.
Umi, therefore, ordered Kalei and her relatives to be set at liberty,
while the priests and shark kahunas were requested to make offerings
and invocations to Kamohoalii that his spirit might take possession
of one of his _hakas_ (mediums devoted to his cult), and so express
to humanity his desires in regard to his bad son, who had presumed to
eat human beings, a practice well known to be contrary to Kamohoalii's
design.
This was done, whereupon the shark god manifested himself through a
haka, and expressed his grief at the action of his wayward son. He
told them that the grandfather was to blame for feeding him on animal
flesh contrary to his orders, and if it were not for that extenuating
circumstance, he would order his son to be killed by his own shark
officers; but as it was, he would require of him that he should
disappear forever from the shores of Hawaii. Should Nanaue disregard
that order and be seen by any of his father's shark soldiers, he was
to be instantly killed.
Then the shark god, who it seems retained an affection for his human
wife, exacted a promise that she and her relatives were to be forever
free from any persecutions on account of her unnatural son, on pain
of the return and freedom from the taboo of that son.
Accordingly Nanaue left the island of Hawaii, crossed over to Maui,
and landing at Kipahulu, resumed his human shape and went inland. He
was seen by the people, and when questioned, told them he was a
traveller from Hawaii, who had landed at Hana and was going around
sightseeing. He was so good looking, pleasant, and beguiling in his
conversation that people generally liked him. He was taken as _aikane_
by one of the petty chiefs of the place, who gave his own sister for
wife to Nanaue. The latter made a stipulation that his sleeping house
should be separated from that of his wife, on account of a pretended
vow, but really in order that his peculiar second mouth might escape
detection.
For a while the charms of the pretty girl who had become his wife
seem to have been sufficient to prevent him from trying to eat human
beings, but after a while, when the novelty of his position as a
husband had worn off, and the desire for human flesh had again become
very strong, he resumed the old practice for which he had been driven
away from Hawaii.
He was eventually detected in the very act of pushing a girl into the
sea, jumping in after her, then turning into a shark, and commencing
to devour her, to the horror of some people who were fishing with
hook and rod from some rocks where he had not observed them. These
people raised the alarm, and Nanaue seeing that he was discovered,
left for Molokai where he was not known.
He took up his residence on Molokai at Poniuohua, adjoining the ahupuaa
of Kainalu, and it was not very long before he was at his old practice
of observing and accosting people, giving them his peculiar warning,
following them to the sea in his human shape, then seizing one of
them as a shark and pulling the unfortunate one to the bottom, where
he would devour his victim. In the excitement of such an occurrence,
people would fail to notice his absence until he would reappear
at some distant point far away from the throng, as if engaged in
shrimping or crabbing.
This went on for some time, till the frightened and harassed people
in desperation went to consult a shark kahuna, as the ravages of the
man-eating shark had put a practical taboo on all kinds of fishing. It
was not safe to be anywhere near the sea, even in the shallowest water.
The kahuna told them to lie in wait for Nanaue, and the next time
he prophesied that a person would be eaten head and tail, to have
some strong men seize him and pull off his kapa mantle, when a shark
mouth would be found on his back. This was done, and the mouth seen,
but the shark-man was so strong when they seized him and attempted to
bind him, that he broke away from them several times. He was finally
overpowered near the seashore and tightly bound. All the people then
turned their attention to gathering brush and firewood to burn him,
for it was well known that it is only by being totally consumed by
fire that a man-shark can be thoroughly destroyed, and prevented from
taking possession of the body of some harmless fish shark, who would
then be incited to do all the pernicious acts of a man-shark.
While he lay there on the low sandy beach, the tide was coming in, and
as most of the people were returning with fagots and brush, Nanaue made
a supreme effort and rolled over so that his feet touched the water,
when he was enabled at once to change into a monster shark. Those who
were near him saw it, but were not disposed to let him off so easily,
and they ran several rows of netting makai, the water being very
shallow for quite a distance out. The shark's flippers were all bound
by the ropes with which the man Nanaue had been bound, and this with
the shallowness of the water prevented him from exerting his great
strength to advantage. He did succeed in struggling to the breakers,
though momentarily growing weaker from loss of blood, as the people
were striking at him with clubs, spears, stone adzes and anything
that would hurt or wound, so as to prevent his escape.
With all that, he would have got clear, if the people had not called
to their aid the demigod Unauna, who lived in the mountains of upper
Kainalu. It was then a case of Akua _vs_. Akua, but Unauna was only a
young demigod, and not supposed to have acquired his full strength and
supernatural powers, while Nanaue was a full-grown man and shark. If
it had not been for the latter's being hampered by the cords with
which he was bound, the nets in his way, as well as the loss of blood,
it is fully believed that he would have got the better of the young
local presiding deity; but he was finally conquered and hauled up on
the hill slopes of Kainalu to be burnt.
The shallow ravine left by the passage of his immense body over the
light yielding soil of the Kainalu Hill slope can be seen to this
day, as also a ring or deep groove completely around the top of a
tall insulated rock very near the top of Kainalu Hill, around which
Unauna had thrown the rope, to assist him in hauling the big shark
uphill. The place was ever afterwards called Puumano (Shark Hill),
and is so known to this day.
Nanaue was so large, that in the attempt to burn him, the blood
and water oozing out of his burning body put out the fire several
times. Not to be outwitted in that way by the shark son of Kamohoalii,
Unauna ordered the people to cut and bring for the purpose of splitting
into knives, bamboos from the sacred grove of Kainalu. The shark flesh
was then cut into strips, partly dried, and then burnt, but the whole
bamboo grove had to be used before the big shark was all cut. The god
Mohoalii (another form of the name of the god Kamohoalii), father
of Unauna, was so angered by the desecration of the grove, or more
likely on account of the use to which it was put, that he took away
all the edge and sharpness from the bamboos of this grove forever,
and to this day they are different from the bamboos of any other
place or grove on the islands, in this particular, that a piece of
them cannot cut any more than any piece of common wood.
XXV
FISH STORIES AND SUPERSTITIONS
_Translated by M. K. Nakuina_
The following narration of the different fishes here given is told
and largely believed in by native fishermen. All may not agree as to
particulars in this version, but the main features are well known
and vary but little. Some of these stories are termed mythical, in
others the truth is never questioned, and together they have a deep
hold on the Hawaiian mind. Further and confirmatory information may
be obtained from fishermen and others, and by visiting the market
the varieties here mentioned may be seen almost daily.
In the olden time certain varieties of fish were tabooed and could
not be caught at all times, being subject to the kapu of Ku-ula, the
fish god, who propagated the finny tribes of Hawaiian waters. While
deep sea fishing was more general, that in the shallow sea, or along
shore, was subject to the restrictions of the konohiki of the land,
and aliis, both as to certain kinds and periods. The sign of the
shallow sea kapu was the placing of branches of the hau tree all along
the shore. The people seeing this token of the kapu respected it, and
any violation thereof in ancient times was said to be punishable by
death. While this kapu prevailed the people resorted to the deep sea
stations for their food supply. With the removal of the hau branches,
indicating that the kapu was lifted, the people fished as they desired,
subject only to the makahiki taboo days of the priest or alii, when
no canoes were allowed to go out upon the water.
The first fish caught by a fisherman, or any one else, was marked
and dedicated to Ku-ula. After this offering was made, Ku-ula's right
therein being thus recognized, they were free from further oblations so
far as that particular variety of fish was concerned. All fishermen,
from Hawaii to Niihau, observed this custom religiously. When the
fishermen caught a large supply, whether by the net, hook, or shell,
but one of a kind, as just stated, was reserved as an offering to
Ku-ula; the remainder was then free to the people.
DEIFIED FISH SUPERSTITION
Some of the varieties of fish we now eat were deified and prayed to
by the people of the olden time, and even some Hawaiians of to-day
labor under like superstition with regard to sharks, eels, oopus,
and some others. They are afraid to eat or touch these lest they
suffer in consequence; and this belief has been perpetuated, handed
down from parents to children, even to the present day. The writer
was one of those brought up to this belief, and only lately has eaten
the kapu fish of his ancestors without fearing a penalty therefor.
STORY OF THE ANAE-HOLO
The anae-holo is a species of mullet unlike the shallow water, or
pond, variety; and the following story of its habit is well known to
any _kupa_ (native born) of Oahu.
The home of the anae-holo is at Honouliuli, Pearl Harbor, at a
place called Ihuopalaai. They make periodical journeys around to
the opposite side of the island, starting from Puuloa and going to
windward, passing successively Kumumanu, Kalihi, Kou, Kalia, Waikiki,
Kaalawai and so on, around to the Koolau side, ending at Laie, and
then returning by the same course to their starting-point. This fish
is not caught at Waianae, Kaena, Waialua, Waimea, or Kahuku because
it does not run that way, though these places are well supplied with
other kinds. The reason given for this is as follows:
Ihuopalaai had a Ku-ula, and this fish god supplied anaes. Ihuopalaai's
sister took a husband and went and lived with him at Laie,
Koolauloa. In course of time a day came when there was no fish to
be had. In her distress and desire for some she bethought herself of
her brother, so she sent her husband to Honouliuli to ask Ihuopalaai
for a supply, saying: "Go to Ihuopalaai, my brother, and ask him for
fish. If he offers you dried fish, refuse it by all means;--do not
take it, because the distance is so long that you would not be able
to carry enough to last us for any length of time."
When her husband arrived at Honouliuli he went to Ihuopalaai and
asked him for fish. His brother-in-law gave him several large bundles
of dried fish, one of which he could not very well lift, let alone
carry a distance. This offer was refused and reply given according to
instruction. Ihuopalaai sat thinking for some time and then told him to
return home, saying: "You take the road on the Kona side of the island;
do not sit, stay, nor sleep on the way till you reach your own house."
The man started as directed, and Ihuopalaai asked Ku-ula to send fish
for his sister, and while the man was journeying homeward as directed
a school of fish was following in the sea, within the breakers. He
did not obey fully the words of Ihuopalaai, for he became so tired
that he sat down on the way; but he noticed that whenever he did so
the fish rested too. The people seeing the school of fish went and
caught some of them. Of course, not knowing that this was his supply,
he did not realize that the people were taking his fish. Reaching home,
he met his wife and told her he had brought no fish, but had seen many
all the way, and pointed out to her the school of anae-holo which was
then resting abreast of their house. She told him it was their supply,
sent by Ihuopalaai, his brother-in-law. They fished, and got all they
desired, whereupon the remainder returned by the same way till they
reached Honouliuli where Ihuopalaai was living. Ever afterward this
variety of fish has come and gone the same way every year to this day,
commencing some time in October and ending in March or April.
Expectant mothers are not allowed to eat of the anae-holo, nor the
aholehole, fearing dire consequences to the child, hence they never
touch them till after the eventful day. Nor are these fish ever
given to children till they are able to pick and eat them of their
own accord.
MYTH OF THE HILU
The hilu is said to have once possessed a human form, but by some
strange event its body was changed to that of a fish. No knowledge of
its ancestry or place of origin is given, but the story is as follows:
Hilu-ula and Hilu-uli were born twins, one a male and the other a
female. They had human form, but with power to assume that of the fish
now known as hilu. The two children grew up together and in due time
when Hilu-uli, the sister, was grown up, she left her brother and
parents without saying a word and went into the sea, and, assuming
her fish form, set out on a journey, eventually reaching Heeia,
Koolaupoko. During the time of her journey she increased the numbers
of the hilu so that by the time they came close to Heeia there was so
large a school that the sea was red with them. When the people of Heeia
and Kaneohe saw this, they paddled out in their canoes to discover
that it was a fish they had never seen nor heard of before. Returning
to the shore for nets, they surrounded the school and drew in so many
that they were not able to care for them in their canoes. The fishes
multiplied so rapidly that when the first school was surrounded and
dragged ashore, another one appeared, and so on, till the people were
surfeited. Yet the fish stayed in the locality, circling around. The
people ate of them in all styles known to Hawaiians; raw, lawalued,
salted, and broiled over a fire of coals.
While the Koolau people were thus fishing and feasting, Hilu-ula,
the brother, arrived among them in his human form; and when he saw
the hilu-uli broiling over the coal fire he recognized the fish form
of his sister. This so angered him that he assumed the form of a
whirlwind and entered every house where they had hilu and blew the
fish all back into the sea. Since then the hilu-uli has dark scales,
and is well known all over the islands.
THE HOU, OR SNORING FISH
The hou lives in shallow water. When fishing with torches on a
quiet, still night, if one gets close to where it is sleeping it
will be heard to snore as if it were a human being. This is a small,
beautifully colored fish. Certain sharks also, sleeping in shallow
water, can be heard at times indulging in the same habit.
There are many kinds of fish known to these islands, and other stories
connected with them, which, if gathered together, would make an
interesting collection of yarns as "fishy" as any country can produce.
THE END
GLOSSARY OF HAWAIIAN WORDS
aaho, p. 142.
ahaaina, feast, p. 150.
aheahea, p. 135.
aholehole, a species of fish.
ahos, small sticks used in thatching, p. 245.
Ahu o Kakaalaneo, the name given to the original feather cloak,
p. 155.
ahupuaa, a small division of a country under the care of a head man.
ahuula, a feather cloak, p. 155.
Ai Kanaka, man eater, p. 191.
aikane, an intimate friend of the same sex, p. 264.
Aina-i ka-kaupo-o-Kane (the land in the heart of Kane), the primeval
home of mankind, p. 17.
Aina kumupuaa a Kane, see Kan-aka-maoli.
Aina lauena a Kane, p. 24.
Aina-wai-akua-a-Kane (the land of the divine water of Kane), the
primeval home of mankind, p. 17.
aipunpuu, chief cook or steward, p. 141.
akaaka laughter, p. 118.
aku, a species of fish, the bonito.
akua, a deity, p. 184.
akule, a species of fish.
ala, a smooth, round stone.
alae, mud-hens, p. 33.
alaea, red earth, of which the body of the first man was made, p. 16.
Alehe-ka-la, sun snarer, p. 32.
alii, chief.
Alii aimoku, sovereign of the land.
aloha, a word betokening greeting or farewell.
Aloha ino oe, eia ihonei paha oe e make ai, he ai mainei Pele,
Compassion great to you! Close here, perhaps, is your death; Pele
comes devouring, p. 40.
Aloha oe! Alas for you! p. 41.
anae-holo, p. 270.
anahulu, a period of ten days.
Ana puhi, eel's cave, p. 188.
ano akua nae, p. 51.
Aole! no! p. 40.
ao poko, short cloud, p. 207.
apapani (or apapane), a scarlet bird, p. 182.
a-pe, a plant having broad leaves of an acrid taste, like kalo,
but stronger.
auki, the ki leaf (Dracæna terminalis), p. 119.
Aumakua, ancestral shades, p. 93; god, p. 220.
aupehu, p. 220.
auwai, watercourse, p. 110.
Auwe ka make! alas, he is dead! p. 176.
awa, the name of a plant of a bitter, acrid taste, from which
an intoxicating drink is made; also the name of the liquor itself,
expressed from the root of the plant.
aweoweo, a species of reddish fish.
Eia o Hana la he aina aupehu; o Hana keia i ka ia iki; ka ia o Kama;
ka ia o Lanakila, p. 220.
Elepaio, a small green bird (Chasiempis sandwichensis), p. 125.
ha, the lower stem of leaves when cut from the root, p. 114.
haawe, back-load, p. 126.
haka, a medium devoted to the cult of a god, p. 263.
hala tree (Pandanus odoratissimus), p. 121.
halau, shed, p. 113.
hau, a forest tree--a species of hibiscus; also, the bark of this
tree from which ropes are made.
he ekolu ula o ka la, the third brightness of the sun, p. 204.
hee kupua, wonderful octopus, p. 234.
heiau, temple.
he keehina honua a Kane, p. 15.
he 'lii kahuli, p. 19.
He Lualoa no Na 'lii, a deep pit for the chiefs, p. 241.
he mau anahulu, about thirty days.
He po hookahi, a ao ua pau, in one night, and by dawn it is finished,
p. 109.
He waa halau Alii o ka Moku, the royal vessel, the ark, p. 20.
hiaku, name of a place in the sea beyond the kaiuli, and inside
the kohola, p. 242.
Hi-ka-po-loa, Most Excellent, p. 15
Hilo, the first day (of the new moon), p. 75.
hilu, a species of fish, spotted with various colors, p. 273.
hinahina, leaves of a gray or withered appearance, p. 98.
hinalea, a species of small fish.
hokeo, a fisherman's gourd.
hoku kaolele, a meteor, p. 253.
holua, sled.
honu, sea turtle, p. 183.
hou, a species of fish, p. 274.
hula, drum.
ieie, the leaves of the ie, a decorative vine.
iiwi, a small red bird.
i ka muli o Hea, p. 24.
Ikiki, a summer month--July or August, p. 74.
i kini akua, spirits, angels.
Ikua, a winter month--December or January, p. 74.
i kuhaia, the spittle of the gods, p. 18.
ilalo loa i ka po, p. 18.
ili hau, the bark of the hau tree from which ropes are made, p. 218.
ilio, dog.
i mea ole, nothing.
imu, oven.
iwi kuamoo, the backbone.
ka aina i ka haupo a Kane, p. 24.
ka aina momona a Kane, p. 24.
kaao, legend-bearer, p. 108.
ka holua ana o Kahawali, Kahawali's sliding-place, p. 39.
kahu, keeper, p. 188.
kahuna lapaau, medical priest, p. 53.
Kaiakahinalii, the Flood, p. 20.
Kai a Kahinalii, Sea of Kahinalaa, p. 37.
kai-ula-a-Kane, the Red Sea of Kane, p. 24.
kaiuli, the deep sea.
kai waena, middle post (of a house), p. 223.
Kakelekele, hydropathic cure, p. 126.
kala, a species of fish.
Ka lae o ka ilio, the dog's forehead, p. 240.
Ka lae o ka laau, p. 240.
Kalana-i hau-ola (Kalana with the life-giving dew), the primeval
home of mankind, p. 17.
kalo, the well-known vegetable of Hawaii, a species of Arum
esculentum; Colocasia antiquorum, p. 131.
kamaainas, original inhabitants, p. 140.
kamani tree, Calophyllum inophyllum, p. 72.
kanaka, a man; the general name of men, women, and children of all
classes, in distinction from animals.
Kanaka-maoli, the people living on the mainland of Kane (Aina
kumupuaa a Kane), p. 22.
Kane, sunlight, p. 15.
kanekoa, a deity, p. 184.
Kane-laa-uli, the fallen chief, he who fell on account of the tree,
p. 17.
Kanikau, lamentation, p. 181.
ka one lauena a Kane, p. 24.
kapa, the cloth beaten from the bark of the paper mulberry, also
from the bark of several other trees; hence, cloth of any kind;
clothing generally.
Kapapahanaumoku, the island bearing rock or stratum, p. 49.
ka poe keo keo maoli, p. 22.
kapu, sacred.
kapu-hoano, sacred or holy days, p. 24.
kapuku, the restoration to life of the dead, p. 151.
Ka Punahou, the new spring, p. 37.
Kauakiowao, Mountain Mist, p. 133.
Kauawaahila, Waahila Rain, p. 133.
kau i ka lele, p. 209.
ki-wai-ola-loa-a-Kane, p. 23.
kawelewele, guiding-ropes, p. 115.
Keakeomilu, the liver of Milu, p. 56.
keawemanhili, a deity, p. 184,
Keinohoomanawanui, a sloven, one persistently unclean, p. 88.
Ke po-lua ahi, the pit of fire, inferno, p. 18.
Ke ue nei au ia olua, I grieve for you two, p. 41.
ki, a plant having a saccharine root, the leaves of which are used
for wrapping up bundles of food; the leaves are also used as food
for cattle and for thatching.
kihei, a mantle worn over the shoulders.
kilu, play, or game, p. 127.
koa tree, Acacia koa.
ko'a aina aumakua, fishing-station, p. 229.
ko'a ia, fishing-station.
ko'a ku-ula, p. 227.
ko'a lawaia, fishing-station, p. 222.
koali, same as kowali.
koas, fighting men, p. 157.
koele, a small division of land; hence, a field planted by the
tenants for a landlord; a garden belonging to the chief, but cultivated
by his people, p. 260.
kohola, a reef.
kolea, plover, p. 71.
kona, a severe storm that comes up from the equator, p. 183.
konane, a game like checkers.
Konohiki, feudal lord, a head man with others under him.
konohili, wife of a feudal lord, p. 87.
kou, a large shade tree growing mostly near the sea, p. 161.
kowali, convolvulus vine, a swing made of these vines, p. 46.
Ku, Substance.
ku, arose, p. 24.
kuaha, a stone-paved platform, p. 156.
Ku-Kaua-Kahi, a triad--the Fundamental Supreme Unity, p. 15.
kukini, trained runner.
kuko, to wish, to lust, p. 89.
kukui tree, Aleurites molluccana, p. 88.
Kulu-ipo, the fallen chief, he who fell on account of the tree,
p. 17.
kumukahi, east wind, p. 41.
Kumu-uli, the fallen tree, he who fell on account of the tree, p. 17.
kupa, native born person, p. 271.
Kupapau o Puupehe, Tomb of Puupehe, p. 181.
kupua, demigod, p. 43.
ku-ula, fishing-station.
Lae, cape (of land), p. 148.
la-i leaves, dracæna leaves.
laka loa, p. 216.
lalo puhaka, p. 16.
lama, a forest tree (Maba sandwicensis) which has very hard wood,
p. 258.
lana, floating, p. 20.
lanai, arbor, p. 150.
lau, four hundred, p. 190.
lauele, a species of turnip.
lawalu, to cook meat on the coals wrapped in ki leaves, p. 147.
leho, kauri shell.
lehoula, a species of leho of a red color, a red shell-fish.
lehua tree, Metrosideros polymorpha.
leiomano, shark's tooth weapon, p. 203.
leis, wreaths.
lele, p. 150.
lelekawa, to jump from the rocks into deep water, p. 256.
lele kowali, p. 46.
Lelepua, arrow flight, p. 88.
lepo ula, red earth, of which the body of the first man was made,
p. 16.
lilo ai kona ola a make iho la, p. 55.
limu, sea-moss, p. 242.
Lo Aikanaka, the last of the man-eating chiefs.
lomilomi, to rub or chafe the body.
Lono, Sound.
lua, killing by breaking the bones, p. 142.
Lua o Milu, the nether world, p. 46.
luau, the kalo leaf; boiled herbs; young kalo leaves gathered and
cooked for food.
ma, a syllable signifying accompanying, together, etc., p. 54.
maika, the name of a popular game; also, the stone used for rolling
in that game, p. 157.
mai ka po mia, from the time of night, darkness, chaos, p. 15.
mai, komo mai, p. 78.
maile, Alyxia olivaeformis, p. 120; fine-leaved variety, Maile
laulii, p. 95.
makaha, floodgates, p. 142.
makahelei, drawn eyes, p. 120.
makahiki, the name of the first day of the year, p. 270.
makai, seaward, p. 217.
Makakehau, Misty Eyes, p. 182.
malailua, goats without horns, such as were found on Mauna Loa,
p. 24.
malau, a place in the sea where the water is still and quiet;
a place where the bait for the aku or bonito is found, p. 246.
malos, girdles worn by the males.
mamani, p. 173.
manaiaakalani, p. 218.
mana kupua, miraculous power, p. 215.
manawa ole, in no time, p. 110; in a short time, p. 113.
manienie-akiaki, a medicinal grass of the olden time, p. 135.
manini, a species of fish caught by diving, p. 250.
mano, dam, p. 110.
manohae, a ravenous shark, p. 259.
maoli, a species of banana; the long, dark-colored plantain, p. 150.
mauka, inland.
Milu, inferno.
Moi, sovereign, p. 186.
moi, a species of fish of a white color.
moo, a general name for all lizards, a serpent.
Moo-kapu, sacred lands, p. 210.
mua, p. 258.
Na akua aumakua o ka poe kahuna kalai waa, p. 216.
nae, the farther side, p. 116.
na-u, jessamine, gardenia.
noa, pertaining to the lower class of people, p. 135.
O haehae ka manu, ke ale nei ka wai, p. 95.
ohelo, a species of small reddish berry; the Hawaiian whortleberry,
p. 182.
ohia, native apple.
ohia hemolele, the sacred apple-tree, p. 17.
ohiki-makaloa, long-eyed sand-crabs, p. 70.
ohua, the name given to the young of the manini fish.
Oi-e, Most Excellent, p. 15.
Oio, p. 48.
oio, a species of fish.
oo, digger, p. 52.
oopu, a species of small fish living in fresh water rivers and ponds.
opae, a small fish; a shrimp; a crab.
opihi-koele, a species of shell-fish, p. 224.
opihis, shell-fish, p. 70.
pa, wall, p. 157.
pa, fish-hook, p. 247.
pa hi aku, fish-pearl.
pahoa, stone hatchet.
pahoehoe, smooth, shining lava.
pahonua, place of refuge, p. 156.
pahoola, a remnant, a piece, p. 56.
pahu kaeke, p. 186.
paiula, the royal red kapa of old, p 145.
pakai, an herb used for food in time of scarcity.
pakui, a house joined to a house above--that is, a tower, p. 158.
pala, ripe, soft; also, as a noun, a vegetable used as food in time
of scarcity.
pale, a director, p. 115.
pali, precipice.
Pali-uli (the blue mountain), the primeval home of mankind, p. 17.
palolo, whitish clay, of which the head of the first man was made,
p. 16.
pani, a stoppage, a closing up, that which stops or closes.
papa holua, a flat sled, p. 40.
pa-u, skirt.
pihoihoi loa, p. 206.
pili, the long, coarse grass used in thatching houses, p. 158.
pipipi, p. 54.
po, night, chaos, pp. 15, 49.
poe poi-uhane, spirit catchers, p. 129.
pohaku-ia, fish stone, p. 241.
poi, the paste or pudding which was formerly the chief food of the
Hawaiians, and still is so to a great extent. It is made of kalo,
sweet potatoes, or breadfruit, but mostly of kalo, by baking the above
articles in an underground oven, and then peeling or pounding them,
adding a little water; it is then left in a mass to ferment; after
fermentation, it is again worked over with more water until it has
the consistency of thick paste. It is eaten cold with the fingers.
Po-ia-milu, inferno, p. 18.
Po-kini-kini, inferno, p. 18.
Po-kua-kini, inferno, p. 18.
po o akua, p. 205.
Po-papa-ia-owa, inferno, p. 18.
Po-pau-ole, inferno, p. 18.
popolo, a plant sometimes eaten in times of scarcity, also used as
a medicine.
pouhana, end post (of a house).
poumanu, corner post (of a house), p. 210.
pou o manu, corner post (of a house), p. 223.
pu, head, p. 115.
puaa, a hog, p. 16.
puhala, the hala tree, p. 233.
puhi, eel, sea snake.
puholoholo, to cook (food) by rolling with hot stones in a covered
gourd, p. 135.
puloulou, sign of kapu, p. 119.
puni ka hiamoe, p. 81.
puoa, a burial tower, p. 148.
Reinga, the leaping place, p. 50.
tapa, p. 144.
Ua, rain, p. 169.
ua haki ka pule, p. 208.
ueue, bait, p. 225.
uhae ia, p. 134.
uhu, a species of fish about the size of the salmon, p. 241.
uki, a plant or shrub sometimes used in thatching; a species of
grass, p. 98.
uku, a species of fish.
Ulu kapu a Kane, the breadfruit tabooed for Kane, p. 17.
uo, a part of the process of feather cloak making, p. 155.
uwau, a species of bird; a kind of waterfowl.
waa, canoe, p. 194.
waa halau, see He waa halau Alii o ka Moku.
Wai a Hiku, water of Hiku, p. 44
Waiakoloa, p. 192.
Wai nao, the spittle of the gods, p. 16.
waoke, banana, p. 79.
Wawa ka Menehune i Puukapele, ma Kauai, puohu ka manu o ka loko o
Kawainui ma Koolaupoko, Oahu, the hum of the voices of the Menehunes
at Puukapele, Kauai, startled the birds of the pond of Kawainui,
at Koolaupoko, Oahu, p. 111.
wiliwili tree, Erythrina monosperma, p. 121.
NOTES
[1] Now the Leper Settlement.
[2] The hill visible from the Lahaina anchorage to the north of
Lahainaluna School, and near to it.
[3] It is not a little remarkable that the progress of Pele, as stated
in this tradition, agrees with geological observation in locating
the earliest volcanic action in this group, on the island of Kauai,
and the latest, on the island of Hawaii.--_Translator._
[4] Ellis's "Polynesian Researches," pp. 365-7.
[5] Dibble's History, p. 99.
[6] An initiatory act, as in the priesthood.
[7] O the four thousand gods,
The forty thousand gods,
The four hundred thousand gods,
The file of gods,
The assembly of gods!
O gods of these woods,
Of the mountain,
And the knoll,
At the water-dam,
Oh, come!
[8] A species of drum made out of a hollowed section of the trunk of a
cocoanut tree and covered over one end with sharkskin. It was generally
used in pairs, one larger than the other, somewhat after the idea of
the bass and tenor drums of civilized nations. One of these drums was
placed on either side of the performer, and the drumming was performed
with both hands by tapping with the fingers. By peculiar variations
of the drumming, known only to the initiated, the performer could
drum out whatever he wished to express in such a way, it is alleged,
as to be intelligible to initiated listeners without uttering a single
syllable with the voice.
[9] Situated beyond Diamond Head.
[10] In Nuuanu Valley.
[11] When the moon is twenty-seven days old.
Hawaiian Yesterdays
_By Dr. Henry M. Lyman_
"Belongs to the small and choice class of books which were written
for the mere joy of calling back days that are past, and with little
thought that other eyes than those of the most intimate friends of the
writer would ever read the pages in which he had set down the memories
of his childhood and youth. In this instance the childhood and youth
were passed among the most unusual surroundings, and the memories
are such as no one born of the present generation can ever hope to
have. Dr. Lyman was born in Hilo in 1835, the child of missionary
parents. With an artistic touch which has placed the sketches just
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on through his delightful pages memories came back to me of three
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Robinson,' and 'Masterman Ready'--and I would be glad to know that
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to their hearts this last idyl of an island."--_Sara Andrew Shafer,
in the N.Y. Times Saturday Review._
"It is a delicious addition to the pleasanter, less serious literature
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which has been very full of satisfying labors in an ennobling
profession... Pure boyhood recollections, unadulterated by later visits
to the scenes in which they had their birth"--_The Hawaiian Star_.
"'Hawaiian Yesterdays' is a book you will like to read. Whatever
else it is, every page of it is in its own way literature.... It is
because of this characteristic, the perfect blending of memory and
imagination, that these personal descriptive reminiscences of the
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the beginning of the last century, that this book takes its place as
literature."--_Chicago Evening Post._
"Keeping the more serious and sometimes tragic elements in the
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impressions and occupations and amusements of the writer. Indeed, not
a few of his pages, in their graphic account of ingenious adaptation of
means to ends, are agreeably reminiscent--unintentionally reminiscent,
no doubt--of that classic of our childhood, 'The Swiss Family
Robinson.' Could a reviewer bestow higher praise."--_The Dial_.
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"If one desires to obtain an impression of the inside of the mission
work which transformed the character of the Sandwich Islanders,
as they used to be known, from heathenism to Christianity, he will
find it in this interesting volume. It is a description of conditions
in the Hawaiian Islands at the time when American missionaries were
establishing their work."--_The Standard_.
"The volume is unique in that it relates to a period about which
American readers have known little."--_Boston Transcript_.
_With numerous illustrations from photographs_
_$2.00 net_
A. C. McClurg & Co., Publishers
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Hawaiian Folk Tales - A Collection of Native Legends" ***
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