{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66547/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66547","id":"gutenberg_66547","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66547","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Legends -- Hawaii -- Honolulu"],"text":"LEGENDS\n                                   of\n                              OLD HONOLULU\n\n                              (MYTHOLOGY)\n\n\n               Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian\n                                   BY\n                            W. D. WESTERVELT\n             AUTHOR OF \u201cLEGENDS OF GHOSTS AND GHOST-GODS,\u201d\n             \u201cLEGENDS OF VOLCANOES,\u201d \u201cLIFE OF KAMEHAMEHA.\u201d\n\n\n                   ELLIS PRESS, BOSTON, MASS., U.S.A.\n                     CONSTABLE & CO., LONDON, G.B.\n                                  1916\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOREWORD\n\n\nThe legends of a people are of interest to the scholar, the thinker,\nand the poet.\n\nThe legends tell us of the struggles, the triumphs, and the wanderings\nof the people, of their thoughts, their aspirations; in short, they\ngive us a twilight history of the race.\n\nAs the geologist finds in the rocks the dim records of the beginnings\nof life on our planet, the first foreshadowings of the mighty forests\nthat have since covered the lands, and of the countless forms of animal\nlife that have at last culminated in Man, so does the historian\ndiscover in the legends of a people the dim traces of its origin and\ndevelopment till it comes out in the stronger light of the later day.\n\nSo it is with the legends of the Hawaiians, or of the Polynesian race.\nWe see them, very indistinctly, starting from some distant home in\nAsia, finally reaching the Pacific Ocean, and then gradually spreading\nabroad over its islands till they dominate a large portion of its\nextent.\n\nIn bringing together this collection of Hawaiian legends, the author of\nthis little book has conferred a great favor upon all those residents\nof Hawaii and of those visitors to its shores who may take an interest\nin its original inhabitants, once an exceedingly numerous people, but\nnow a scattering remnant only. To that native race this little book\nwill be at once a joy and a sorrow; to the heart of the haole, who has\nlived among them, known them intimately for thirty years or more (as\nhas the writer of this Foreword), and learned to love them, this\ncollection of the legends of old Honolulu brings a warm \u201cAloha!\u201d\n\n\n    Geo. H. Barton,\n        Director, Teachers\u2019 School of Science, Boston, Mass.\n        Formerly Professor of Geology at the Massachusetts\n        Institute of Technology.\n\n                                                          June 4, 1915.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTABLE OF CONTENTS\n\n\n    CHAPTER                                              PAGE\n\n           Introduction                                   vii\n\n        I. The Migration of the Hawaiians                   1\n       II. Legendary Places in Honolulu                    14\n      III. The God of Pakaka Temple                        23\n       IV. Legend of the Bread-fruit Tree                  28\n        V. The Gods who found Water                        37\n       VI. The Water of Life of Ka-ne                      43\n      VII. Mamala the Surf-rider                           52\n     VIII. A Shark punished at Waikiki                     55\n       IX. The Legendary Origin of Kapa                    59\n        X. Creation of Man                                 70\n       XI. The Chief with the Wonderful Servants           75\n      XII. The Great Dog Ku                                82\n     XIII. The Cannibal Dog-man                            90\n      XIV. The Canoe of the Dragon                         97\n       XV. The Wonderful Shell                            105\n      XVI. The Ghost Dance on Punchbowl                   112\n     XVII. The Bird-man of Nuuanu Valley                  121\n    XVIII. The Owls of Honolulu                           127\n      XIX. The Two Fish from Tahiti                       138\n       XX. Iwa, the Notable Thief of Oahu                 148\n      XXI. Pikoi the Rat-killer                           157\n     XXII. Kawelo                                         173\n    XXIII. \u201cChief Man-eater\u201d                              189\n     XXIV. Lepe-a-moa                                     204\n      XXV. Kamapuaa Legends                               246\n\n           Appendix\n               Polynesian Language\n               Partial List of Hawaiian Terms Used\n               Press Notices\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n    Lotus Lilies and Coconuts                    Frontispiece\n\n                                                OPPOSITE PAGE\n    Young Honolulu and Leahi                                8\n    Honolulu Harbor                                        18\n    Ulu or Breadfruit Trees                                30\n    Le Passage des Brisants                                52\n    Kapa or Bark Cloth (piece of real tapa)                58\n    Kukui or Candle-nut Trees                              82\n    Moanalua                                               94\n    The Gnarl\u00e8d Koa                                       104\n    Misty Falls                                           122\n    Nuuanu Pali                                           136\n    Poi Pounder                                           144\n    The Banyan (in \u201cSongs of Hawaii\u201d called \u201cThe\n      Grandfather Tree\u201d)                                  166\n    A Wahine                                              178\n    A Stone Altar beneath the Lahala Trees                188\n    Hat and Mat Maker                                     204\n    Haliewa and Waianae Mountains                         220\n    Kakuhihewa\u2019s Lands                                    228\n    Wearing the Lei                                       244\n    In Kapiolani Park                                     252\n    Rice Fields and Coconut Trees                         258\n    Map of Oahu                                           278\n\n\nSome illustrations are from the author\u2019s own snapshots.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe ancient Hawaiians were not inventive. They did not study new\nmethods of house-building or farming. They did not seek new tools or\nnew weapons. They could live comfortably as their ancestors lived. But\nthey were imaginative and therefore told many a wonderful tale of gods\nand goblins and men. Some of these stories were centuries old, and were\nclosely akin to legends told in Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and\nmany other islands of the Pacific Ocean. Most of them were of course\nlimited to the locality from which they came. The Honolulu legends\nbelong to this class almost entirely, although a student of Polynesian\nmythology will find many traces of connecting links with the mythology\nof far distant islands.\n\nThe legends of Old Honolulu have been compiled from stories told by the\nold Hawaiians. Some of them came from those still living, but many have\nbeen found in the files of papers published from 1850 to 1870.\n\nThe first alphabet for Hawaiians was prepared in 1821. The Hawaiians\nwere taught to read and write their histories and ancient stories as\nrapidly as possible. This was the result of the labors of the American\nmissionaries. Some of the missionaries, notably Mr. Dibble, sent their\npupils out to write down and preserve the old legends and traditions.\nBetween thirty and forty years after the first lesson in the alphabet\nthe Hawaiians were writing articles for papers published regularly in\ntheir own language\u2014such as Ka Hae Hawaii (The Hawaiian Flag), Ke Kuokoa\n(The Independent), Ka Hoku Pakipika (The Star of the Pacific). These\nwere followed by many papers down to the present time edited solely by\nHawaiians.\n\nCareful research through these papers brings many stories of the past\ninto the hands of students. It is chiefly in this way that these\nlegends of Old Honolulu have been gathered together. This is the result\nof several years\u2019 work of note-taking and compilation.\n\nThese legends belong of course to Honolulu people, and will be chiefly\ninteresting to them and those who are acquainted with the city and the\nisland of Oahu. It is hoped that the folk-lore lovers the world over\nwill also enjoy comparing these tales with those of other lands.\n\nSometimes these old stories have been touched up and added to by the\nHawaiian story-teller who has had contact with foreign literature, and\nthe reader may trace the influence of modern ideas; but this does not\noccur frequently.\n\nThe legend of \u201cChief Man-eater\u201d comes the nearest to historic times.\nCannibalism was not a custom among the ancient Hawaiians. These are\nunquestionably sporadic cases handed down in legends.\n\nThese legends have been printed in the following papers and magazines:\nThe Friend, The Paradise of the Pacific, The Mid-Pacific, Thrum\u2019s\nHawaiian Annual, Historical Society Reports, The Advertiser and Star\nBulletin, published in Honolulu.\n\n\n    The Author.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPRONUNCIATION\n\n\n\u201cA syllable in Hawaiian may consist of a single vowel, or a consonant\nunited with a vowel or at most of a consonant and two vowels, never of\nmore than one consonant. The accent of five-sixths of the words is on\nthe penult, and a few proper names accent the first syllable.\n\nIn Hawaiian every syllable ends in a vowel and no syllable can have\nmore than three letters, generally not more than two and a large number\nof syllables consist of single letters\u2014vowels. Hence the vowel sounds\ngreatly predominate over the consonant. The language may therefore\nappear monotonous to one unacquainted with its force.\n\nIn Hawaiian there is a great lack of generic terms, as is the case with\nall uncultivated languages. No people have use for generic terms until\nthey begin to reason and the language shows that they were better\nwarriors and poets than philosophers and statesmen. Their language,\nhowever, richly abounds in specific names and epithets.\n\nThe general rule, then, is that the accent falls on the penult; but\nthere are many exceptions and some words which look the same to the eye\ntake on entirely different meanings by different tones, accents, or\ninflections.\n\nThe study of these kaaos or legends would demonstrate that the\nHawaiians possessed a language not only adapted to their former\nnecessities but capable of being used in introducing the arts of\ncivilized society and especially of pure morals, of law, and the\nreligion of the Bible.\u201d\n\n\nThe above quotations are from Lorrin Andrew\u2019s Dictionary of the\nHawaiian Language, containing some 15,500 Hawaiian words, printed in\nHonolulu in 1865.\n\n\n                 {  a    is sounded as in father\n                 {  e    ,, \u00a0\u00a0,,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ,, ,, they\n                 {  i    ,, \u00a0\u00a0,,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ,, ,, marine\n                 {  o    ,, \u00a0\u00a0,,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ,, ,, note\nHawaiian vowels  {  u    ,, \u00a0\u00a0,,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ,, ,, rule or as oo in moon\n                 {  ai   when sounded as a diphthong resembles English\n                 {       ay\n                 {  au   when sounded as a diphthong resembles ou as\n                 {       in loud\n\n\nThe consonants are h, k, l, m, n, p, and w. No distinction is made\nbetween k and t or l and r, and w sounds like v between the penult and\nfinal syllable of a word.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI\n\nTHE MIGRATION OF THE HAWAIIANS\n\n\nThe fountain source of the Mississippi has been discovered and\nrediscovered. The origin of the Polynesian race has been a subject for\ndiscovery and rediscovery. The older theory of Malay origin as set\nforth in the earlier encyclop\u00e6dias is now recognized as untenable. The\nMalays followed the Polynesians rather than preceded them. The\ncomparative study of Polynesian legends leads almost irresistibly to\nthe conclusion that the Polynesians were Aryans, coming at least from\nIndia to Malaysia and possibly coming from Arabia, as Fornander of\nHawaii so earnestly argues. It is now accepted that the Polynesians did\nnot originate from Malay parentage, and that they did occupy for an\nindefinite period the region around the Sunda Straits from Java to the\nMolucca Islands, and also that the greater portion of the Polynesians\nwas driven out from this region and scattered over the Pacific in the\nearly part of the Christian Era. The legends that cluster around Wakea\nhave greatly aided in making plain some things concerning the\ndisposition of the Polynesians. By sifting the legends of Hawaii-loa we\nlearn how the great voyager becomes one of the first Vikings of the\nPacific. His home at last is found to be Gilolo of the Molucca Islands.\nFrom the legends we become acquainted with Wakea (possibly meaning\n\u201cnoonday,\u201d or \u201cthe white time\u201d) and his wife Papa (earth), the most\nwidely remembered of all the ancestors of the Polynesian race. Their\nnames are found in the legends of the most prominent island groups, and\nthe highest places are granted them among the demi-gods and sometimes\namong the chief deities. Their deeds belong to the most ancient\ntimes\u2014the creation or discovery of the various islands of the Pacific\nworld. Those who worshipped Wakea and Papa are found in such widely\nseparated localities that it must be considered impossible for even a\ndemi-god to have had so many homes. Atea, or Wakea, was one of the\nhighest gods of the Marquesas Islands. Here his name means \u201clight.\u201d The\nMarquesans evidently look back of all their present history and locate\nAtea in the ancient homeland. Vatea in the Society Islands, Wakea in\nHawaii and New Zealand, Makea, Vakea and Akea are phonetic variations\nof the one name when written down by the students who made a written\nform for words repeated from generation to generation by word of mouth\nalone. Even under the name \u201cWakea\u201d this ancient chief is known in most\nwidely separated islands. The only reasonable explanation for this\nwidespread reference to Wakea is that he was an ancestor belonging in\ncommon to all the scattered Polynesians. It seems as if there must have\nbeen a period when Wakea was king or chief of a united people. He must\nhave been of great ability and probably was the great king of the\nUnited Polynesians. If this were the fact it would naturally result\nthat his memory would be carried wherever the dispersed race might go.\n\nIn the myths and legends of the Hervey Islands, Vatea is located near\nthe beginning of their national existence. First of all the Hervey\nIslanders place Te-ake-ia-roe (The root of all existence). Then there\ncame upon the ancient world Te Vaerua (The breath, or The life). Then\ncame the god time\u2014Te Manawa roa (The long ago). Then their creation\nlegends locate Vari, a woman whose name means \u201cthe beginning,\u201d a name\ncuriously similar to the Hebrew word \u201cbara,\u201d \u201cto create,\u201d as in Gen. i.\n1. Her children were torn out of her breasts and given homes in the\nancient mist-land, with which, without any preparation or introduction,\nHawaiki is confused in a part of the legend. It has been suggested that\nthis Hawaiki is Savaii of the Samoan Islands, from which the Hervey\nIslands may have had their origin in a migration of the Middle Ages.\nOne of the children of Vari dwelt in \u201ca sacred tabu island\u201d and became\nthe god of the fish. Another sought a home \u201cwhere the red parrots\u2019\nfeathers were gathered\u201d\u2014the royal feathers for the high chiefs\u2019\ngarments. Another became the echo-god and lived in \u201cthe hollow gray\nrocks.\u201d Another as the god of the winds went far out \u201con the deep\nocean.\u201d Another, a girl, found a home, \u201cthe silent land,\u201d with her\nmother. Wakea, or Vatea, the eldest of this family, remained in Ava-iki\n(Hawaii), the ancestral home\u2014\u201cthe bright land of Vatea.\u201d Here he\nmarried Papa. This Ava-iki was to the Herveyites of later generations\nthe fiery volcanic under-world. When the long sea-voyages ceased after\nsome centuries, the islanders realized that Ava-iki was very closely\nconnected with their history. They had but a misty idea of far-off\nlands, and they did know of earthquakes and lava caves and volcanic\nfires\u2014so they located Ava-iki as the secret world under their islands.\nThis under-world with legendary inconsistency was located on the\nocean\u2019s surface, when it became necessary to have their islands\ndiscovered by the descendants of Vatea. According to the Hervey\nlegends, Vatea was the father of Lono and Kanaloa, two of the great\ngods of the Polynesians. They were twins. Lono had three sons, whom he\nsent away. They sailed out through many heavens and from Ava-iki pulled\nup out of the deep ocean two of the Hervey Islands. The natives of the\nHervey group supposed that the horizon around their group enclosed the\nworld. Beyond this world line were heavens and heavens. A daring\nvoyager by sailing through the sky-line would break out from this world\ninto an unknown world or a heaven bounded by new horizons. Strangers\n\u201cbroke through\u201d from heaven, sometimes making use of the path of the\nsun. Thus about twenty-five generations ago Raa (possibly Laa, the\nHawaiian) broke down the horizon\u2019s bars and established a line of kings\nin Raiatea. So also when Captain Cook came to the Hervey Islands the\nnatives said: \u201cWhence comes this strange thing? It has climbed up [come\nup forcibly] from the thin land, the home of Wakea.\u201d He had pierced the\nwestern heavens from which their ancestors had come.\n\nWhen the sons of Lono unexpectedly saw a speck of land far away over\nthe sea, they cried out that here was a place created for them by their\ndeified ancestors. As they came nearer they \u201cpulled up\u201d the islands\nuntil they grew to be high mountains rising from the deep waters. In\nthese mountains they found the lava caves and deep chasms which they\nalways said extended down under the seas back to Ava-iki. They made\ntheir caves a passageway for spirits to the fairy home of the dead, and\ntherefore into certain chasms cast the bodies of the dead, that the\nspirit might more easily find the path to the under-world.\n\nVatea was a descendant of \u201cthe long ago,\u201d according to the Hervey\nlegend. Wakea of Hawaii was a son of Kahiko, \u201cthe ancient.\u201d Wakea\u2019s\nhome is more definitely stated in the Hawaiian than in the Hervey\nlegends. He lived in O-Lolo-i-mehani, or The Red Lolo, a name\nconfidently referred by Fornander in \u201cThe Polynesian Race\u201d to Gilolo,\nthe principal island of the Moluccas. The Red Lolo, as suggested by\nFornander, would refer not alone to volcanic action and its decaying\ndebris, but would fittingly designate the largest and most important\nisland of the group. The fire bursting from many volcanoes in the\nregion of the Sunda Straits was \u201croyal\u201d to the beholders, who felt that\ndivine power was present in the mysterious red flames. Hence all the\nPolynesian tribes invested the red color with especial dignity as a\nmark of royalty and pre-eminence. It was on the banners allowed only to\nchiefs when their boats sailed away to visit distant lands. It was the\ncolor of the war cloaks of chiefly warriors. In the recent days of the\nmonarchy of Hawaii, the richest crimson was the only color allowed in\nupholstering the great throne room. Gilolo might worthily bear the name\n\u201cThe Red Lolo\u201d in Hawaiian story. Here Hawaii-loa, the first of the\nPolynesian Vikings, had his home. Here the Chieftainess Oupe, a\nPolynesian princess, dwelt. In O-Lolo Wakea married the granddaughter\nof Oupe, whose name was Papa. She is almost as widely known in legends\nas her husband. Papa was said to be a tabued descendant of Hawaii-loa\nand therefore superior in rank to Wakea. Papa is described as \u201cvery\nfair and almost white.\u201d Her name means \u201cearth,\u201d and Wakea\u2019s name might\nmean \u201cnoonday.\u201d This, with the many experiences through which they both\npassed, would lay the foundation for a very pretty sun-myth, but we\ncannot avoid the human aspect of the legends and give them both a more\nworthy position as ancestors of a scattered people.\n\nKahiko, the ancient, is recorded as having had three sons, from whom\ndescended the chiefs, the priests and the common people,\u2014the\nhusbandmen,\u2014almost a Shem, Ham and Japheth division. Other legends,\nhowever, give Kahiko only two sons, the eldest, Wakea, having power\nboth as chief and priest. All the legends unite in making Wakea the\nhead of the class of chiefs. This would very readily explain the high\nplace held by Wakea throughout Polynesia and also the jealous grasp\nupon genealogical records maintained by the royal families of the\nPacific.\n\nWakea and Papa are credited with being the creators of many island\nkingdoms of the Pacific. Sometimes the credit is given partly to a\nmischievous fisherman-god, Maui, after whom one of the Hawaiian Islands\nis named. One of the Hawaiian legends goes back to the creation or\ndiscovery of Hawaii and ascribes the creation of the world to Wakea and\nPapa. The two were living together in \u201cPo\u201d\u2014\u201cdarkness,\u201d or \u201cchaos.\u201d Papa\nbrought into existence a gourd calabash including bowl and cover, with\nthe pulp and seeds inside. Wakea threw the cover upward and it became\nheaven. From the pulp and seeds he made the sky and the sun and moon\nand stars. From the juice of the pulp he made the rain. The bowl he\nfashioned into the land and sea. Other legends limit the creative\nlabors of Wakea to the Hawaiian group. With the aid of Papa he\nestablished a portion of the islands; then discord entered the royal\nfamily and a separation was decided upon. The Hawaiian custom has\nalways been for either chief or chiefess to exercise the right to\ndivorce and to contract the marriage ties. Wakea is said to have\ndivorced Papa by spitting in her face, according to an ancient custom.\nWakea selected a chieftainess named Hina, from whom the island Molokai\n(the leper island) received the name \u201cMolokaihina\u201d\u2014the ancient name of\nthe island. Morotai was also an island lying near Gilolo in the Molucca\ngroup, and might be the place from which Wakea secured his bride. Papa\nselected as her new husband a chief named Lua. The ancient name of Oahu\n(the island upon which Honolulu is located) was \u201cOahu-a-lua\u201d (The Oahu\nof Lua). One of the Celebes Islands bears a name for one of its\ndistricts very similar to Oahu\u2014\u201cOuadju.\u201d Papa seems to have been\npartially crazed by her divorce. She marries many husbands. She voyages\nback and forth between distant islands. In an ancient island, Tahiti,\nshe bears children from whom the Tahitians claim descent. In the\nCelebes she and her people experience a famine and she is compelled to\nsend to O-Lolo for food. In New Zealand legend she becomes the wife of\nLangi (Hawaiian Lani, or heaven), a union of \u201cearth\u201d and \u201cheaven.\u201d They\nhave six children. Four of these are the chief gods of ancient Hawaii:\nKa-ne, \u201clight\u201d; Ku, \u201cthe builder\u201d; Lono, \u201csound\u201d; and Kanaloa. Two of\nthe children are not named in Hawaiian annals, unless it might be that\none, Tawhirri, should be represented in Kahili, the tall standard used\nfor centuries as the insignia of very high chief families. The other\nname, \u201cHaumia,\u201d might possibly be Haumea, a second name given to Papa\nin the legends. The Maoris of New Zealand deify all of these six sons\nof Lani and Papa.\n\nKa-ne was \u201cfather of forests.\u201d He was very strong. In ancient days the\nsky was not separated from the earth. He lifted up the heavens and\npushed down the earth\u2014and thus made space for all things to grow. It\nwas while the sky rested its full weight upon the earth that the leaves\nstarted into life, but were flat and thin because there was no chance\nto become plump and full like the fruit which came later. Here is the\nfoundation for another sun-myth of the Pacific, wherein it might be\nsaid light came and separating darkness from the earth brought life\ninto the world. Light could well be \u201cthe father of forests.\u201d The second\nson was Tawhirri, \u201cthe father of winds and storms.\u201d A part of his name\nwas \u201cmatea,\u201d which might possibly be referred to Wakea. He dwelt in the\nskies with his father Lani.\n\nThe third son was Lono, who was \u201cthe father of all cultivated food.\u201d\n\nThe fourth was Haumia, \u201cthe father of uncultivated food\u201d\u2014such food as\ngrew wild in the forests or among the herbs or in the midst of the\nedible sea-mosses.\n\nThe fifth son was Kanaloa, \u201cthe father of all reptiles and fishes,\u201d at\nfirst dwelling in Hawaiki on the land with all his descendants.\n\nThe sixth son was Ku \u201cwith the red face,\u201d \u201cthe father of fierce or\ncruel men.\u201d Ku was easily made angry, and after a time waged war\nagainst his brothers and their followers. There was great destruction,\nbut Ku could not win the victory alone. He was compelled to call upon\nTawhirri, \u201cthe father of winds and storms.\u201d Fierce men and fierce\nstorms made it difficult for the remainder of the household to escape.\nThe \u201cfather of forests\u201d bowed to the earth under the terrific force of\nhurricanes and tornadoes. The \u201cfathers of foods\u201d buried themselves deep\nin the ground to escape destruction at the hands of cruel mankind and\ntempestuous nature. Then came the bitter conflict between the family of\nKanaloa and their combined enemies. Cruel men were without pity in the\nblows dealt against their inferior kindred. At last the fish fled to\nthe sea and sought safety in distant waters, finding homes where the\nchildren of Ku did not care to follow. The reptiles fled inland to the\nsecret recesses of the mountains and forests. There they have kept\ntheir wild savage life through the centuries even to the present day,\nas in Sumatra, Borneo, the Celebes, the Philippines and other sections\nof the region around the Sunda Straits. They are not now ocean lovers\nany more than in the ages past. They do not \u201cgo down to the sea in\nships.\u201d Neither do they love the coming of Dutch or Spanish or American\ncivilization. They seem to have an hereditary dislike for strange and\ncruel men.\n\nThe sea rovers became great wanderers, carrying with them the name of\n\u201cKanaloa\u201d and planting it in almost all the Pacific islands to be\nworshipped as one of the supreme gods.\n\nHow much these domestic troubles surrounding the name of Papa may have\nhad to do with an early migration of the Polynesians we do not know. It\nmay be that while the household was engaged in war the Malays came from\nthe north and with tornado power scattered the divided family,\ncompelling swift flight to distant lands. It is now understood that the\ngreat dispersion of the Polynesians came from the incursions of the\npowerful Malays during the second century of the Christian Era. Some of\nthe Hawaiian and New Zealand legends imply that for a number of\ngenerations a part of the Polynesians remained in the old family home,\nHawaiki. The New Zealanders enter quite fully into the account of the\ntroubles attending the coming of their ancestors from Hawaiki. They\nmention battles and domestic discords. They tell of the long journeys\nand wearisome efforts put forth until their ancestors find Northern New\nZealand, Ke-ao-tea-roa (The great white land). This was pulled up out\nof the sea for them by Maui with his wonderful fish-hook. This story of\nthe magic fishing of the disobedient and mischievous Maui is common in\nPolynesia.\n\nAfter the discovery of New Zealand, boats were sent back to Hawaiki to\ninduce large companies of colonists to leave the land of warfare and\ntrouble and settle in rich lands bordering the beautiful bays of New\nZealand.\n\nLike stories of discovery of new lands and return for friends adorn the\nlegends of all Polynesia. Wakea\u2019s descendants were clannish and stood\nby each other in that great migration of the second century as well as\nin the better-remembered journeys of later years. There seems to have\nbeen a continued migration of the Polynesians. Sometimes they were\napparently fought off by the black race, as in Australia; sometimes\nthey held their own for a time, keeping the black men inland, as in\nFiji; and sometimes they struck out boldly for new lands, as when they\nsailed long distances to the Hawaiian and Easter Islands. It is said\nthat the purest forms of the Polynesian language, most harmonious with\none another, were carried by the children of Wakea to the far distant\nislands of New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nLEGENDARY PLACES IN HONOLULU\n\n\nHo-no-lu-lu is a name made by the union of the two words \u201cHono\u201d and\n\u201clulu.\u201d Some say it means \u201cSheltered Hollow.\u201d The old Hawaiians say\nthat \u201cHono\u201d means \u201cabundance\u201d and \u201clulu\u201d means \u201ccalm,\u201d or \u201cpeace,\u201d or\n\u201cabundance of peace.\u201d The navigator who gave the definition \u201cFair\nHaven\u201d was out of the way, inasmuch as the name does not belong to a\nharbor, but to a district having \u201cabundant calm,\u201d or \u201ca pleasant slope\nof restful land.\u201d\n\n\u201cHonolulu\u201d was probably a name given to a very rich district of farm\nland near what is now known as the junction of Liliha and School\nStreets, because its chief was Honolulu, one of the high chiefs of the\ntime of Kakuhihewa, according to the legends. Kamakau, the Hawaiian\nhistorian, describes this farm district thus: \u201cHonolulu was a small\ndistrict, a pleasant land looking toward the west,\u2014a fat land, with\nflowing streams and springs of water, abundant water for taro patches.\nMists resting inland breathed softly on the flowers of the hala-tree.\u201d\n\nKakuhihewa was a king of Oahu in the long, long ago, and was so noted\nthat for centuries the island Oahu has been named after him \u201cThe Oahu\nof Kakuhihewa.\u201d He divided the island among his favorite chiefs and\nofficers, who gave their names to the places received by them from the\nking. Thus what is now known as Honolulu was until the time of\nKamehameha I., about the year 1800, almost always mentioned as Kou,\nafter the chief Kou, who was an ilamuku (marshal), under King\nKakuhihewa. Kou appears to have been a small district, or, rather, a\nchief\u2019s group of houses and grounds, loosely defined as lying between\nHotel Street and the sea and between Nuuanu Avenue and Alakea Street.\n\nKe-kai-o-Mamala was the name of the surf which came in the outer\nentrance of the harbor of Kou. It was named after Mamala, a chiefess\nwho loved to play konane (Hawaiian checkers), drink awa, and ride the\nsurf. Her first husband was the shark-man Ouha, who later became a\nshark-god, living as a great shark outside the reefs of Waikiki and\nKoko Head. Her second husband was the chief Hono-kau-pu, to whom the\nking gave the land east of Kou, which afterward bore the name of its\nchief. In this section of Kou now called Honolulu were several very\ninteresting places.\n\nKewalo was the place where the Kauwa, a very low class of servants,\nwere drowned by holding their heads under water. The custom was known\nas \u201cKe-kai-heehee,\u201d \u201ckai\u201d meaning \u201csea\u201d and \u201chee\u201d \u201csliding along,\u201d\nhence the sliding of the servants under the waves of the sea. Kewalo\nwas also the nesting-ground of the owl who was the cause of a battle\nbetween the owls and the king Kakuhihewa, where the owls from Kauai to\nHawaii gathered together and defeated the forces of the king.\n\nToward the mountains above Kewalo lies Makiki plain, the place where\nrats abounded, living in a dense growth of small trees and shrubs. This\nwas a famous place for hunting rats with bows and arrows.\n\nUla-kua, the place where idols were made, was near the lumber-yards at\nthe foot of the present Richards Street.\n\nKa-wai-a-hao (The water belonging to Hao), the site of the noted old\nnative church, was the location of a fine fountain of water belonging\nto a chief named Hao.\n\nKe-kau-kukui was close to Ula-kua, and was the place where small konane\n(checker) boards were laid. These were flat stones with rows of little\nholes in which a game was played with black and white stones. Here\nMamala and Ouha drank awa and played konane, and Kekuanaoa, father of\nKamehameha\u00a0V., built his home.\n\nKou was probably the most noted place for konane on Oahu. There was a\nfamous stone almost opposite the site of the temple. Here the chiefs\ngathered for many a game. Property and even lives were freely gambled\naway. The Spreckels Building covers the site of this well-known\ngambling resort.\n\nIn Hono-kau-pu was one of the noted places for rolling the flat-sided\nstone disc known as \u201cthe maika stone.\u201d This was not far from Richards\nand Queen Streets, although the great \u201cUlu-maika\u201d place for the\ngathering of the chiefs was in Kou. This was a hard, smooth track about\ntwelve feet wide extending from the corner of Merchant and Fort Streets\nnow occupied by the Bank of Hawaii along the seaward side of Merchant\nStreet to the place beyond Nuuanu Avenue known as the old iron works at\nUla-ko-heo. It was used by the highest chiefs for rolling the stone\ndisc known as \u201cthe maika stone.\u201d Kamehameha I. is recorded as having\nused this maika track.\n\nKa-ua-nono-ula (rain-with-the-red-rainbow) was the place in this\ndistrict for the wai-lua, or ghosts, to gather for their nightly games\nand sports. Under the shadows of the trees, near the present Hawaiian\nBoard Mission rooms at the junction of Alakea and Merchant Streets,\nthese ghosts made night a source of dread to all the people. Another\nplace in Honolulu for the gathering of ghosts was at the corner of King\nStreet and Nuuanu Avenue.\n\nPuu-o-wai-na, or Punchbowl, was a \u201chill of sacrifice\u201d or \u201coffering,\u201d\naccording to the meaning of the native words, and not \u201cWine-hill\u201d as\nmany persons have said. Kamakau, a native historian of nearly fifty\nyears ago, says: \u201cFormerly there was an imu ahi, a fire oven, for\nburning men on this hill. Chiefs and common people were burned as\nsacrifices in that noted place. Men were brought for sacrifice from\nKauai, Oahu, and Maui, but not from Hawaii. People could be burned in\nthis place for violating the tabus of the tabu divine chiefs.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe great stone on the top of Punchbowl Hill was the place for burning\nmen.\u201d\n\nPart of an ancient chant concerning Punchbowl reads as follows:\n\n\n       \u201cO the raging tabu fire of Keaka,\n        O the high ascending fire of the sacrifice!\n                Tabu fire, scattered ashes.\n                Tabu fire, spreading heat.\u201d\n\n\nNuuanu Valley is full of interesting legendary places. The most\ninteresting, however, is the little valley made by a mountain spur\npushing its way out from the Kalihi foothills into the larger valley,\nand bearing the name \u201cWaolani,\u201d the wilderness home of the gods, and\nnow the home of Honolulu\u2019s Country Club. This region belonged to the\neepa people. These were almost the same as the ill-shaped, deformed or\ninjured gnomes of European fairy tales. In this beautiful little valley\nwhich opened into Nuuanu Valley was the heiau Waolani built for\nKa-hanai-a-ke-Akua (The chief brought up by the gods), long before the\ndays of Kakuhihewa. It was said that the two divine caretakers of this\nchief were Kahano and Newa, and that Kahano was the god who lay down on\nthe ocean, stretching out his hands until one rested on Kahiki (Tahiti\nor some other foreign land) and the other rested on Oahu. Over his arms\nas a great bridge walked the Menehunes, or fairy people, to Oahu. They\ncame to be servants for this young chief who was in the care of the\ngods. They built fish-ponds and temples. They lived in Manoa Valley and\non Punchbowl Hill. Ku-leo-nui (Ku-with-the-loud-voice) was their\nmaster. He could call them any evening. His voice was heard over all\nthe island. They came at once and almost invariably finished each task\nbefore the rays of the rising sun drove them to their hidden resorts in\nforest or wilderness.\n\nWaolani heiau was the place where the noted legendary musical shell\n\u201cKiha-pu\u201d had its first home\u2014from which it was stolen by Kapuni and\ncarried to its historic home in Waipio Valley, Hawaii. Below Waolani\nHeights, the Menehunes built the temple Ka-he-iki for the\n\u201cchild-nourished-by-the-gods,\u201d and here the priest and prophet lived\nwho founded the priest-clan called \u201cMo-o-kahuna,\u201d one of the most\nsacred clans of the ancient Hawaiians. Not far from this temple was the\nscene of the dramatic plea of an owl for her eggs when taken from\nKewalo by a man who had found her nest. It forms part of the story of\nthe battle of the owls and the king.\n\nNearer the banks of the Nuuanu stream was the great bread-fruit tree\ninto which a woman thrust her husband by magic power when he was about\nto be slain and offered as sacrifice to the gods. This tree became one\nof the most powerful wooden gods of the Hawaiians, being preserved, it\nis said, even to the times of Kamehameha I.\n\nAt the foot of Nuuanu Valley is Pu-iwa, a place by the side of the\nNuuanu stream. Here a father, Maikoha, told his daughters to bury his\nbody, that from it might spring the wauke- [1]tree, used for making\nkapa ever since. From this place, the legend says, the wauke-tree\nspread over all the islands.\n\nIn the bed of the Nuuanu is the legendary stone called \u201cThe Canoe of\nthe Dragon.\u201d This lies among the boulders in the stream not far from\nthe old Kaumakapili Church premises.\n\nIn Nuuanu Valley was the fierce conflict between Kawelo, the strong man\nfrom Kauai, assisted by two friends, and a band of robbers. In this\nbattle torn-up trees figured as mighty war-clubs.\n\nThese are legendary places which border Kou, the ancient Honolulu.\nBesides these are many more spots of great interest, as in Waikiki and\nManoa Valley, but these lie beyond the boundaries of Kou and ancient\nHonolulu. In Kou itself was the noted Pakaka Temple. This temple was\nstanding on the western side of the foot of Fort Street long after the\nfort was built from which the street was named. It was just below the\nfort. Pakaka was owned by Kinau, the mother of Kamehameha V. It was a\nheiau, or temple, built before the time of Kakuhihewa. In this temple,\nthe school of the priests of Oahu had its headquarters for centuries.\nThe walls of the temple were adorned with heads of men offered in\nsacrifice.\n\nEnormous quantities of stone were used in the construction of all these\nheiaus often passed by hand from quarries at great distances so the\nwork of erection was one consuming much time and energy.\n\nAccording to the latest investigations there were one hundred and eight\nheiaus on the island of Oahu, some evidences of which may still be\ntraced, showing the far-reaching influence of kings and priests over\nthese primitive people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nTHE GOD OF PAKAKA TEMPLE\n\n\nPakaka [2] was a heiau, or temple. There are several legends connected\nwith this heiau. One of the most interesting is that which tells how\nthe god of the temple came into being.\n\nThe story of the god of this temple is a story of voyages and\nvicissitudes. Olopana had sailed away from Waipio, Hawaii, for the\nislands of distant seas. Somewhere in all that great number of islands\nwhich were grouped under the general name \u201cKahiki\u201d Olopana found a\nhome. Here his daughter Mu-lei-ula (Mu-with-the-red-garland) was\nexperiencing great trouble being near to childbirth. For some reason\nHaumea, one of the divine Polynesian ancestors, had stopped for a time\nto visit the people of that land. When the friends were afraid that\nMu-lei-ula would die, Haumea came to help, saying: \u201cIn our land the\nmother lives. The mother and child both live.\u201d The people said, \u201cIf you\ngive us aid, how can we render payment or give you a reward?\u201d\n\nHaumea said: \u201cThere is a beautiful tree with two strange but glorious\nflowers, which I like very much. It is \u2018the tree of changing leaves\u2019\nwith two flowers, one kind singing sharply, and the other singing from\ntime to time. For this tree I will save the life of the chief\u2019s\ndaughter and her child.\u201d\n\nGladly the sick girl and her friends promised to give this beautiful\ntree to Haumea. It was a tree dearly loved by the princess.\n\nHaumea commenced the prayers and incantations which accompanied her\ntreatment of the sick, and the chiefess rapidly grew stronger. This had\ncome so quickly and easily that she repented the gift of the tree with\nthe beautiful flowers, and cried out, \u201cI will not give the tree.\u201d\n\nImmediately she began to lose strength, and called to Haumea that she\nwould give the tree if she could be forgiven and healed. However, as\nstrength came to her once more she again felt sorry for her tree and\nrefused to let it go. Again the incantations were broken off and the\ndivine aid withdrawn.\n\nOlopana in agony cried to his daughter: \u201cGive up your tree. Of what use\nwill it be with its flowers if you die?\u201d Then Haumea, with the most\npowerful incantations, gave her the final strength, and mother and\nchild both lived and became well and strong.\n\nHaumea took the tree and travelled over the far seas to distant Hawaii.\nOn that larger island she found no place to plant the tree. She crossed\nover to the island Maui, and came to the \u201cfour rivers.\u201d There she found\nthe awa of the gods and prepared it for drinking, but needed fresh\nwater to mix with it.\n\nShe laid her tree on the ground at Puu-kume by the Wai-hee stream and\nwent down after water. When she returned the tree had rooted. While she\nlooked it began to stand up and send forth branches. She built a stone\nwall around it, to protect it from the winds. When it blossomed Haumea\nreturned to her divine home in Nuumealani, [3] the land of mists and\nshadows where the gods dwelt.\n\nBy and by a man took his stone axe and went out to cut a tree, perhaps\nto make a god. He saw a new tree, short and beautiful, and after hours\nof labor cut it down. The night was coming on, so he left it as it fell\nand went home.\n\nThat night a fierce and mighty storm came down from the mountains.\nBlood-red were the streams of water pouring down into the valleys.\nDuring twenty nights and twenty days the angry rain punished the land\nabove and around Wai-hee. The river was more than a rushing torrent. It\nbuilt up hills and dug ravines. It hurled its mighty waves against the\nwall inside which the tree stood. It crushed the wall, scattered the\nstones, and bore the tree down one of the deep ravines. The branches\nwere broken off and carried with the trunk of the tree far out into the\nocean.\n\nFor six months the waves tossed this burden from one place to another,\nand at last threw the largest branch on the reef near the beach of\nKailua, on the island Hawaii. The people saw a very wonderful thing.\nWhere this branch lay stranded in the water, fish of many kinds\ngathered leaping around it. The chiefs took this wonderful branch\ninland and made the god Makalei, which was a god of Hawaii for\ngenerations.\n\nAnother branch came into the possession of some of the Maui chiefs, and\nwas used as a stick for hanging bundles upon. It became a god for the\nchiefs of Maui, with the name Ku-ke-olo-ewa.\n\nThe body of the tree rolled back and forth along the beach near the\nfour waters, and was wrapped in the refuse of the sea.\n\nA chief and his wife had not yet found a god for their home. In a dream\nthey were told to get a god. For three days they consulted priests,\nrepeated prayers and incantations, and offered sacrifices to the great\ngods, while they made search for wood from which to cut out their god.\nOn the third night the omens led them down to the beach and they saw\nthis trunk of a tree rolling back and forth. A dim haze was playing\nover it in the moonlight. They took that tree, cut out their god, and\ncalled it Ku-hoo-nee-nuu. They built a heiau, or temple, for this god,\nand named that heiau Waihau and made it tabu, or a sacred place to\nwhich the priests and high chiefs alone were admitted freely.\n\nThe mana, or divine power, of this god was very great, and it was a\nnoted god from Hawaii to Kauai. Favor and prosperity rested upon this\nchief who had found the tree, made it a god, and built a temple for it.\n\nThe king who was living on the island Oahu heard about this tree, and\nsent servants to the island Maui to find out whether or no the reports\nwere true. If true they should bring that god to Oahu.\n\nThey found the god and told the chief that the king wanted to establish\nit at Kou, [4] and would build a temple for it there. The chief readily\ngave up his god and it was carried over to its new home.\n\nSo the temple, or heiau, was built at Kou and the god Ku-hoo-nee-nuu\nplaced in it. This temple was Pakaka, the most noted temple on the\nisland Oahu, while its god, the log of the tree from a foreign land,\nbecame the god of the chiefs of Oahu.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nLEGEND OF THE BREAD-FRUIT TREE\n\n\nThe wonderful bread-fruit [5] tree was a great tree growing on the\neastern bank of the rippling brook Puehuehu. [6] It was a tabu tree,\nset apart for the high chief from Kou and the chiefs from Honolulu to\nrest under while on their way to bathe in the celebrated diving-pool\nWai-kaha-lulu. That tree became a god, and this is the story of its\ntransformation:\n\nPapa and Wakea were the ancestors of the great scattered sea-going and\nsea-loving people living in all the islands now known as Polynesia.\nThey had their home in every group of islands where their descendants\ncould find room to multiply.\n\nThey came to the island of Oahu, and, according to almost all the\nlegends, were the first residents. The story of the magic bread-fruit\ntree, however, says that Papa sailed from Kahiki (a far-off land) with\nher husband Wakea, landing on Oahu and finding a home in the mountain\nupland near the precipice Kilohana.\n\nPapa was a kupua\u2014a woman having many wonderful and miraculous powers.\nShe had also several names. Sometimes she was called Haumea, but at\nlast she left her power and a new name, Ka-meha-i-kana, in the magic\nbread-fruit tree.\n\nPapa was a beautiful woman, whose skin shone like polished dark ivory\nthrough the flowers and vines and leaves which were the only clothes\nshe knew. Where she and her husband had settled down they found a\nfruitful country\u2014with bananas and sugar-cane and taro. [7] They built a\nhouse on the mountain ridge and feasted on the abundance of food around\nthem. Here they rested well protected when rains were falling or the\nhot sun was shining.\n\nPapa day by day looked over the seacoast which stretches away in miles\nof marvellous beauty below the precipices of the northern mountain\nrange of the island Oahu. Clear, deep pools, well filled with most\ndelicate fish, lay restfully among moss-covered projections of the\nbordering coral reef. The restless murmur of surf waves beating in and\nout through the broken lines of the reef called to her, so, catching up\nsome long leaves of the hala-tree, she made a light basket and hurried\ndown to the sea. In a little while she had gathered sea-moss and caught\nall the crabs she wished to take home.\n\nShe turned toward the mountain range and carried her burden to Hoakola,\nwhere there was a spring of beautiful clear, cold, fresh water. She\nlaid down her moss and crabs to wash them clean.\n\nShe looked up, and on the mountain-side discerned there something\nstrange. She saw her husband in the hands of men who had captured and\nbound him and were compelling him to walk down the opposite side of the\nrange. Her heart leaped with fear and anguish. She forgot her crabs and\nmoss and ran up the steep way to her home. The moss rooted itself by\nthe spring, but the crabs escaped to the sea.\n\nOn the Honolulu side of the mountains were many chiefs and their\npeople, living among whom was Lele-hoo-mao, the ruler, whose fields\nwere often despoiled by Papa and her husband. It was his servants who\nwhile searching the country around these fields, had found and captured\nWakea. They were forcing him to the temple Pakaka [8] to be there\noffered in sacrifice. They were shouting, \u201cWe have found the\nmischief-maker and have tied him.\u201d\n\nPapa threw around her some of the vines which she had fashioned into a\nskirt, and ran over the hills to the edge of Nuuanu Valley.\n\nPeering down the valley she saw her husband and his captors, and\ncautiously she descended. She found a man by the side of the stream\nPuehuehu, who said to her: \u201cA man has been carried by who is to be\nbaked in an oven this day. The fire is burning in the valley below.\u201d\n\nPapa said, \u201cGive me water to drink.\u201d\n\nThe man said, \u201cI have none.\u201d\n\nThen Papa took a stone and smashed it against the ground. It broke\nthrough into a pool of water. She drank and hastened on to the\nbread-fruit tree at Nini, where she overtook her husband and the men\nwho guarded him. He was alive, his hands bound behind him and his leaf\nclothing torn from his body. Wailing and crying that she must kiss him,\nshe rushed to him and began pushing and pulling him, whirling him\naround and around.\n\nSuddenly the great bread-fruit tree opened and she leaped with him\nthrough the doorway into the heart of the tree. The opening closed in a\nmoment.\n\nPapa, by her miraculous power, opened the tree on the other side. They\npassed through and went rapidly up the mountain-side to their home,\nwhich was near the head of Kalihi Valley.\n\nAs they ran Papa threw off her vine pa-u, or skirt. The vine became the\nbeautiful morning-glory, delicate in blossom and powerful in medicinal\nqualities. The astonished men had lost their captive. According to the\nancient Hawaiian proverb, \u201cTheir fence was around the field of\nnothingness.\u201d They pushed against the tree, but the opening was tightly\nclosed. They ran around under the heavy-leaved branches and found\nnothing. They believed that the great tree held their captive in its\nmagic power.\n\nQuickly ran the messenger to their high chief, Lele-hoo-mao, to tell\nhim about the trouble at the tabu bread-fruit tree at Nini and that the\nsacrifice for which the oven was being heated was lost.\n\nThe chiefs consulted together and decided to cut down that tree and\ntake the captive out of his hiding-place. They sent tree-cutters with\ntheir stone axes.\n\nThe leader of the tree-cutters struck the tree with his stone axe. A\nchip leaped from the tree, struck him, and he fell dead.\n\nAnother caught the axe. Again chips flew and the workman fell dead.\n\nThen all the cutters struck and gashed the tree.\n\nWhenever a chip hit any one he died, and the sap of the tree flowed out\nand was spattered under the blows of the stone axes. Whenever a drop\ntouched a workman or a bystander he fell dead.\n\nThe people were filled with fear and cried to their priest for help.\n\nWohi, the priest, came to the tree, bowed before it, and remained in\nsilent thought a long time. Then he raised his head and said: \u201cIt was\nnot a woman who went into that tree. It was Papa from Kahiki. She is a\ngoddess and has a multitude of bodies. If we treat her well we shall\nnot be destroyed.\u201d\n\nWohi commanded the people to offer sacrifices at the foot of the tree.\nThis was done with prayers and incantations. A black pig, black awa and\nred fish were offered to Papa. Then Wohi commanded the wood-cutters to\nrub themselves bountifully with coconut oil and go fearlessly to their\nwork. Chips struck them and the sap of the tree was spattered over\nthem, but they toiled on unhurt until the great tree fell.\n\nOut of this magic bread-fruit tree a great goddess was made. Papa gave\nto it one of her names, Ka-meha-i-kana, and endowed it with power so\nthat it was noted from Kauai to Hawaii. It became one of the great gods\nof Oahu, but was taken to Maui, where Kamehameha secured it as his god\nto aid in establishing his rule over all the islands.\n\nThe peculiar divine gift supposed to reside in this image made from the\nwonderful bread-fruit tree was the ability to aid worshippers in\nwinning land and power from other people and wisely employing the best\nmeans of firmly establishing their own government, thus protecting and\npreserving the kingdom.\n\nPapa dwelt above the Kalihi Valley and looked down over the plains of\nHonolulu and Ewa covered with well-watered growing plants which gave\nfood or shade to the multiplying people.\n\nIt is said that after a time she had a daughter, Kapo, who also had\nkupua, or magic power. Kapo had many names, such as Kapo-ula-kinau and\nLaka. She was a high tabu goddess of the ancient Hawaiian hulas, or\ndances. She had also the power of assuming many bodies at will and\ncould appear in any form from the mo-o, or lizard, to a human being.\n\nNote: Kapo is the name of a place and of a wonderful stone with a\n\u201cfront like the front of a house and a back like the tail of a fish.\u201d\nThe legends of sixty years ago say that Kapo still stood in that place\nas one of the guardians of Kalihi Valley.\n\nKapo was born from the eyes of Haumea, or Papa.\n\nPapa looked away from Kapo and there was born from her head a sharp\npali, or precipice, often mist-covered; this was Ka-moho-alii. Then\nPele was born. She was the one who had mighty battles with Kamapuaa,\nthe pig-man, who almost destroyed the volcano Kilauea. It was\nKa-moho-alii who rubbed sticks and rekindled the volcanic fires for his\nsister Pele, thus driving Kamapuaa down the sides of Kilauea into the\nocean.\n\nThese three, according to the Honolulu legends, were the highest-born\nchildren of Papa and Wakea.\n\nDown the Kalihi stream below Papa\u2019s home were two stones to which the\nHawaiians gave eepa, or gnomelike, power. If any traveller passes these\nstones on his way up to Papa\u2019s resting-place, that wayfarer stops by\nthese stones, gathers leaves and makes leis, or garlands, and places\nthem on these stones, that there may be no trouble in all that day\u2019s\nwanderings.\n\nSometimes mischievous people dip branches from lehua-trees in water and\nsprinkle the eepa rocks; then woe to the traveller, for piercing rains\nare supposed to fall. From this comes the proverb belonging to the\nresidents of Kalihi Valley, \u201cHere is the sharp-headed rain of Kalihi\u201d\n(\u201cKa ua poo lipilipi o Kalihi\u201d).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nTHE GODS WHO FOUND WATER\n\n\nFour great gods with a large retinue of lesser gods came from Kahiki to\nthe Hawaiian Islands. \u201cKahiki\u201d meant any land beyond the skies which\ncame down to the seas around the Hawaiian group. These gods settled for\na time in Nuuanu Valley, back of the lands now known as Honolulu. These\nfour great gods were worshipped by the Polynesians scattered all over\nthe Pacific Ocean. Their names were Ku, Lono, Ka-ne and Kanaloa.\n\nKa-ne and Kanaloa were the water-finders, opening springs and pools\nover all the islands, each pool known now as Ka-Wai-a-ke-Akua (The\nwater provided by a god).\n\nIn one of the very old Hawaiian newspapers the question was asked,\n\u201cWhat are the waters of Ka-ne?\u201d The answers came: The heavy showers of\nlife-giving rain, the mountain stream swelling into a torrent lifting\nand carrying away canoes, the rainbow-colored rain loved by Ka-ne, the\ncontinually flowing brooks of the valleys and the fresh waters found\nanywhere\u2014these were the waters of Ka-ne.\n\nIt may reasonably be surmised that from the realization of the blessing\nof fresh waters the ancient Polynesians as well as the Hawaiians looked\nup to some waters to be found somewhere in the lands of the gods, which\nwere called \u201cthe waters of life of Ka-ne.\u201d The Hawaiian legends said:\n\u201cIf any one is dead and this water is thrown upon him, he becomes alive\nagain. Old people bathing in this water go back to their youth.\u201d If the\ncommon fresh water of the hills and plains was good, it was easy to\nlook beyond to something better.\n\nThe gods Ka-ne and Kanaloa were very closely allied to the farming\ninterests of the people of the long ago. Prayers were offered to them\nin all the different stages of the process of farming. When a field was\nselected some article of food was cooked and offered with the prayer:\n\n\n           \u201cHere is food,\n            O Gods, Ka-ne and Kanaloa!\n            Here is food for us.\n            Give life to us and our family.\n            Life for the parents feeble with age.\n            Life for all in the household.\n            When digging and planting our land\n            Life for us\u2014\n            This is our prayer. Amama.\u201d\n\n\nA similar prayer was made while cultivating the crops or harvesting the\nripened product.\n\nIt may be that the close connection of waters with plant growth made\nthese two gods the especial gods of farmers.\n\nThere was a host of other gods whose names were sometimes used in\nprayers offered while farming. Each of these gods bore the name \u201cKa-ne\u201d\n(sometimes Ku or Lono would be substituted), followed by an adjective\nshowing some method of work, but all these names of lesser gods were\napparently used to explain the particular task desired, as when the\nname \u201cKa-ne-apuaa\u201d was mentioned in some prayers, the word \u201cpuaa\u201d (pig)\ncarried the idea of digging or uprooting the soil.\n\nKa-ne and Kanaloa were great travellers. Together they journeyed over\nKauai, coming (according to an account written in the Kuokoa about 1868\nby the Rev. J. Waiamau) from far-away lands. They appeared more like\nmen than gods, and the Kauai people did not worship them, so they\nopened up only a few springs and crossed over to the island Oahu.\n\nThroughout all the islands the awa root has been found. It was bitter\nand very astringent, but when crushed and mixed with water the juice\nbecame a liquor greatly loved by the people. \u201cThese two gods drank awa\nfrom Kauai to Hawaii,\u201d so the old legends say.\n\nThey journeyed along the coast of the island Oahu until they came to\nKalihi, one of the present suburbs of the city of Honolulu. For a long\ntime they had been looking up the hillsides and along the water courses\nfor awa [9]\u2014but had not found what seemed desirable.\n\nAt Kalihi a number of fine awa roots were growing. They pulled up the\nroots and prepared them for chewing. When the awa was ready Kanaloa\nlooked for fresh water, but could not find any. So he said to Ka-ne:\n\u201cOur awa is good, but there is no water in this place. Where can we\nfind water for this awa?\u201d\n\nKa-ne said, \u201cThere is indeed water here.\u201d He had a \u201clarge and strong\nstaff,\u201d in some of the legends called a spear. This he took in his\nhands and stepped out on the bed of lava which now underlies the soil\nof that region. He began to strike the earth. Deep went the point of\nhis staff into the rock, smashing and splintering it and breaking open\na hole out of which water leaped for them to mix with their prepared\nawa. This pool of fresh water has been known since the days of old as\nKa-puka-Wai-o-Kalihi (The water door of Kalihi). The gods, stupefied by\nthe liquor, lay down and slept. When at last they were weary of that\nresting-place, they passed Nuuanu Valley and went into the most\nbeautiful rainbow valley of the world, Manoa Valley, the home of the\nrainbow princess. This valley is one of the well-settled suburbs of\nHonolulu.\n\nWell-wooded precipices guard the upper end of the valley and make\ndifficult the path to the tops of the mountains rising thousands of\nfeet above.\n\nHere the gods found most excellent awa, and Kanaloa cried, \u201cO my\nbrother, this is awa surpassing any other we have found; but where\nshall I go to find water?\u201d Ka-ne replied, \u201cHere in this hillside is\nwater.\u201d So he took his staff and struck it fiercely against the\nprecipice by which they had found awa. Rapidly the rocks were broken\noff. The precipice crept back from the mighty strokes of the god and a\nlarge pool of clear, cool water appeared among the great stones which\nhad fallen. There they mixed awa and water and drank again and again\nuntil the sleep of the drunkard came and they rested by the fountain\nthey had made. This pool is still at the head of Manoa Valley, and to\nthis day is called Ka-Wai-a-ke-Akua (The water provided by a god).\n\nThe servants of hundreds of chiefs have borne water from this place to\ntheir thirsty masters.\n\nIn the days of Kamehameha I. very often messengers came from this pool\nof water of the gods with calabashes full of water swinging from the\nends of sticks laid over their shoulders. When they came near any\nindividual or group of Hawaiians they had to call out loudly, giving\nwarning so that all by whom they passed could fall prostrate before the\ngift of the gods to the great king.\n\nKa-ne and Kanaloa made many springs of fresh waters in all the\ndifferent islands. Sometimes a watchman refused to let them take the\ndesired awa\u2014the legends say that they called such persons stingy, and\ncaught them and put them to death. At Honuaula they broke a large place\nand made a great fish-pond.\n\nThey went to Kohala, Hawaii, and found a temple in which they lived for\na long time, and the people of Hawaii thought they were gods. Therefore\nthey brought sacrifices and offered worship, and Ka-ne and Kanaloa were\nsatisfied to remain as two of the gods of the islands.\n\nThis idea of \u201cstriking a rock for water springs\u201d is not connected with\nor derived in any way from Biblical sources. The tool used by Hawaiians\nfor centuries for digging was called the o-o, which was but little more\nthan a sharp-pointed stick or staff, which was a lever as well as a\nspade. There is nothing in the legend beyond the expression of a desire\nto locate water springs as a gift from the gods.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nTHE WATER OF LIFE OF KA-NE\n\nA Legend of Old Hawaii\n\n    \u201cWhen the moon dies she goes to the living water of Ka-ne, to the\n    water which can restore all to life, even the moon to the path in\n    the sky.\u201d\u2014Maori Legend of New Zealand.\n\n\nThe Hawaiians of long ago shared in the belief that somewhere along the\ndeep sea beyond the horizon around their islands, or somewhere in the\ncloud-land above the heavens which rested on their mountains, there was\na land known as \u201cThe land of the water of life of the gods.\u201d In this\nland was a lake of living water in which always rested the power of\nrestoration to life. This water was called in the Hawaiian language Ka\nwai ola a Ka-ne, literally \u201cThe water living of Ka-ne,\u201d or \u201cThe water\nof life of Ka-ne.\u201d\n\nMention of this \u201cwai ola\u201d is found in many of the Pacific island\ngroups, such as New Zealand, the Tongas, Samoa, Tahiti and the Hawaiian\nIslands. The thought of \u201cwater of life\u201d cannot be limited to only a few\nreferences in legends. Some of the most interesting legendary\nexperiences in several island groups belong to the stories of a search\nafter this \u201cwater of life.\u201d\n\nKa-ne was one of the four greatest gods of the Polynesians. In his\nhands was placed the care of the water of life. If any person secured\nthis water, the power of the god went with it. A sick person drinking\nit would recover health, and a dead person sprinkled with it would be\nrestored to life.\n\nIn the misty past of the Hawaiian Islands a king was very, very ill.\nAll his friends thought that he was going to die. The family came\ntogether in the enclosure around the house where the sick man lay.\nThree sons were wailing sorely because of their heavy grief.\n\nAn old man, a stranger, passing by asked them the cause of the trouble.\nOne of the young men replied, \u201cOur father lies in that house very near\ndeath.\u201d\n\nThe old man looked over the wall upon the young men and said slowly: \u201cI\nhave heard of something which would make your father well. He must\ndrink of the water of life of Ka-ne. But this is very hard to find and\ndifficult to get.\u201d\n\nThe old man disappeared, but the eldest son said, \u201cI shall not fail to\nfind this water of life, and I shall be my father\u2019s favorite and shall\nhave the kingdom.\u201d He ran to his father for permission to go and find\nthis water of life.\n\nThe old king said: \u201cNo, there are many difficulties and even death in\nthe way. It is better to die here.\u201d The young prince urged his father\nto let him try, and at last received permission.\n\nThe prince, taking his water calabash, hastened away. As he went along\na path through the forest, suddenly an ugly little man, a dwarf (an\na-a), appeared in his path and called out, \u201cWhere are you going that\nyou are in such a hurry?\u201d The prince answered roughly: \u201cIs this your\nbusiness? I have nothing to say to you.\u201d He pushed the little man aside\nand ran on.\n\nThe dwarf was very angry and determined to punish the rough speaker, so\nhe made the path twist and turn and grow narrow before the traveller.\nThe further the prince ran, the more bewildered he was, and the more\nnarrow became the way, and thicker and thicker were the trees and vines\nand ferns through which the path wound. At last he fell to the earth,\ncrawling and fighting against the tangled masses of ferns and the\nclinging tendrils of the vines of the land of fairies and gnomes. They\ntwined themselves around him and tied him tight with living coils, and\nfinally he lay like one who was dead.\n\nFor a long time the family waited and at last came to the conclusion\nthat he had been overcome by some difficulty. The second son said that\nhe would go and find that water of life, so taking his water calabash\nhe ran swiftly along the path which his brother had taken. His thought\nwas also the selfish one, that he might succeed where his brother had\nfailed and so win the kingdom.\n\nAs he ran along he met the same little man, who was the king of the\nfairies although he appeared as a dwarf. The little man called out,\n\u201cWhere are you going in such a hurry?\u201d\n\nThe prince spoke roughly, pushed him out of the way, and rushed on.\nSoon he also was caught in the tangled woods and held fast like one who\nwas dead.\n\nThen the last, the youngest son, took his calabash and went away\nthinking that he might be able to rescue his brothers as well as get\nthe water of life for his father. He met the same little man, who asked\nhim where he was going. He told the dwarf about the king\u2019s illness and\nthe report of the \u201cwater of life of Ka-ne,\u201d and asked the dwarf if he\ncould aid in any way. \u201cFor,\u201d said the prince, \u201cmy father is near death,\nand this living water will heal him and I do not know the way.\u201d\n\nThe little man said: \u201cBecause you have spoken gently and have asked my\nhelp and have not been rough and rude as were your brothers, I will\ntell you where to go and will give you aid. The path will open before\nyou at the bidding of this strong staff which I give you. By and by you\nwill come to the palace of a king who is a sorcerer. In his house is\nthe fountain of that water of life. You cannot get into that house\nunless you take three bundles of food which I will give you. Take the\nfood in one hand and your strong staff in the other. Strike the door of\nthat king\u2019s house three times with your staff and an opening will be\nmade. Then you will see two dragons with open mouths ready to devour\nyou. Quickly throw food in their mouths and they will become quiet.\nFill your calabash with the living water and hurry away. At midnight\nthe doors will be shut, and you cannot escape.\u201d\n\nThe prince thanked the little man, took the presents and went his way\nrejoicing, and after a long time he came to the strange land and the\nsorcerer\u2019s house. Three times he struck until he broke the wall and\nmade a door for himself. He saw the dragons and threw the food into\ntheir mouths, making them his friends. He went in and saw some young\nchiefs, who welcomed him and gave him a war-club and a bundle of food.\nHe went on to another room, where he met a beautiful maiden whom he\nloved at once with all his heart. She told him as she looked in his\neyes that after a time they would meet again and live as husband and\nwife. Then she showed him where he could get the water of life, and\nwarned him to be in haste. He dipped his calabash in the spring and\nleaped through the door just at the stroke of midnight.\n\nWith great joy he hastened from land to land and from sea to sea\nwatching for the little man, the a-a, who had aided him so much. As if\nhis wish were known soon the little man appeared and asked him how he\nfared on his journey. The prince told him about the long way and his\nsuccess and then offered to pay as best he could for all the aid so\nkindly given.\n\nThe dwarf refused all reward. Then the prince said he would be so bold\nas to ask one favor more. The little man said, \u201cYou have been so\nthoughtful in dealing with me as one highly honored by you, ask and\nperhaps I can give you what you wish.\u201d\n\nThe prince said, \u201cI do not want to return home without my brothers; can\nyou help me find them?\u201d \u201cThey are dead in the forest,\u201d said the dwarf.\n\u201cIf you find them they will only do you harm. Let them rest in their\nbeds of vines and ferns. They have evil hearts.\u201d\n\nBut the young chief pressed his kindly thought and the dwarf showed him\nthe tangled path through the forest. With his magic staff he opened the\nway and found his brothers. He sprinkled a little of the water of life\nover them and strength returned to them. He told them how he had found\nthe \u201cliving water of Ka-ne,\u201d and had received gifts and also the\npromise of a beautiful bride. The brothers forgot their long death-like\nsleep and were jealous and angry at the success of their younger\nbrother.\n\nThey journeyed far before they reached home. They passed a strange land\nwhere the high chief was resisting a large body of rebels. The land was\nlying desolate and the people were starving. The young prince pitied\nthe high chief and his people and gave them a part of the bundle of\nfood from the house of the god Ka-ne. They ate and became very strong.\nThen he let the chief have his war-club. Quickly the rebels were\ndestroyed and the land had quiet and peace.\n\nHe aided another chief in his wars, and still another in his\ndifficulties, and at last came with his brothers to the seacoast of his\nown land. There they lay down to sleep, but the wicked brothers felt\nthat there were no more troubles in which they would need the magic aid\nof their brother, so they first planned to kill him, but the magic\nwar-club seemed to defend him. Then they took his calabash of the water\nof life and poured the water into their water-jars, filling his\ncalabash again with salt, sickish sea-water. They went on home the next\nmorning. The young prince pressed forward with his calabash, gave it to\nhis father, telling him to drink and recover life. The king drank\ndeeply of the salt water and was made more seriously sick, almost to\ndeath. Then the older brothers came, charging the young prince with an\nattempt to poison his father. They gave him the real water of life and\nhe immediately became strong as in the days of his youth.\n\nThe king was very angry with the youngest son and sent him away with an\nofficer who was skilled in the forest. The officer was a friend of the\nyoung prince and helped him to find a safe hiding-place, where he lived\na long time.\n\nBy and by the three great kings came from distant lands with many\npresents for the prince who had given them peace and great prosperity.\nThey told the father what a wonderful son he had, and wanted to give\nhim their thanks. The father called the officer whom he had sent away\nwith the young man and acknowledged the wrong he had done. The officer\ntold him the prince was not dead, so the king sent messengers to find\nhim.\n\nMeanwhile one of the most beautiful princesses of all the world had\nsent word everywhere that she would be seated in her house and any\nprince who could walk straight to her along a line drawn in the air by\nher sorcerers, without turning to either side, should be her husband.\nThere was a day set for the contest.\n\nThe messengers sent out by the king to find the prince knew all about\nthis contest, so they made all things known to their young chief when\nthey found him. He went with his swift steps of love to the land of the\nbeautiful girl. His brothers had both failed in their most careful\nendeavors, but the young prince followed his heart\u2019s desire and went\nstraight to a door which opened of its own accord. Out leaped the\nmaiden of the palace of the land of Ka-ne. Into his arms she rushed and\nsent her servants everywhere to proclaim that her lord had been found.\n\nThe brothers ran away to distant lands and never returned. The prince\nand the princess became king and queen and lived in great peace and\nhappiness, administering the affairs of their kingdom for the welfare\nof their subjects.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nMAMALA THE SURF-RIDER\n\n\n\u201cKou\u201d was a noted place for games and sports among the chiefs of long\nago. A little to the east of Kou was a pond with a beautiful grove of\ncoconut-trees belonging to a chief, Hono-kau-pu, and afterward known by\nhis name. Straight out toward the ocean was the narrow entrance to the\nharbor, through which rolled the finest surf waves of old Honolulu. The\nsurf bore the name \u201cKe-kai-o-Mamala\u201d (The sea of Mamala). When the surf\nrose high it was called \u201cKa-nuku-o-Mamala\u201d (The nose of Mamala).\n\nMamala was a chiefess of kupua character. This meant that she was a\nmo-o, or gigantic lizard or crocodile, as well as a beautiful woman,\nand could assume whichever shape she most desired. One of the legends\nsays that she was a shark and woman, and had for her husband the\nshark-man Ouha, afterward a shark-god having his home in the ocean near\nKoko Head. Mamala and Ouha drank awa together and played konane on the\nlarge smooth stone at Kou.\n\nMamala was a wonderful surf-rider. Very skilfully she danced on the\nroughest waves. The surf in which she most delighted rose far out in\nthe rough sea, where the winds blew strong and whitecaps were on waves\nwhich rolled in rough disorder into the bay of Kou. The people on the\nbeach, watching her, filled the air with resounding applause, clapping\ntheir hands over her extraordinary athletic feats.\n\nThe chief, Hono-kau-pu, chose to take Mamala as his wife, so she left\nOuha and lived with her new husband. Ouha was angry and tried at first\nto injure Hono and Mamala, but he was driven away. He fled to the lake\nKa-ihi-Kapu toward Waikiki. There he appeared as a man with a basketful\nof shrimps and fresh fish, which he offered to the women of that place,\nsaying, \u201cHere is life [i.e., a living thing] for the children.\u201d He\nopened his basket, but the shrimps and the fish leaped out and escaped\ninto the water.\n\nThe women ridiculed the god-man. As the ancient legendary characters of\nall Polynesia could not endure anything that brought shame or disgrace\nupon them in the eyes of others, Ouha fled from the taunts of the\nwomen, casting off his human form, and dissolving his connection with\nhumanity. Thus he became the great shark-god of the coast between\nWaikiki and Koko Head.\n\nThe surf-rider was remembered in the beautiful mele, or chant, coming\nfrom ancient times and called the mele of Hono-kau-pu:\n\n\n           \u201cThe surf rises at Koolau,\n            Blowing the waves into mist,\n            Into little drops,\n            Spray falling along the hidden harbor.\n            There is my dear husband Ouha,\n            There is the shaking sea, the running sea of Kou,\n            The crab-like moving sea of Kou.\n            Prepare the awa to drink, the crab to eat.\n            The small konane board is at Hono-kau-pu.\n            My friend on the highest point of the surf.\n            This is a good surf for us.\n            My love has gone away.\n            Smooth is the floor of Kou,\n            Fine is the breeze from the mountains.\n            I wait for you to return,\n            The games are prepared,\n            Pa-poko, pa-loa, pa-lele,\n            Leap away to Tahiti\n            By the path to Nuumealani (home of the gods,)\n            Will that lover (Ouha) return?\n            I belong to Hono-kau-pu,\n            From the top of the tossing surf waves.\n            The eyes of the day and the night are forgotten.\n            Kou has the large konane board.\n            This is the day, and to-night\n            The eyes meet at Kou.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nA SHARK PUNISHED AT WAIKIKI\n\n\nAmong the legendary characters of the early Hawaiians was Ka-ehu\u2014the\nlittle yellow shark of Pearl Harbor. He had been given magic power and\ngreat wisdom by his ancestor Ka-moho-alii the shark-god, brother of the\nfire goddess Pele.\n\nPart of his life had been spent with his parents, who guarded the sea\nprecipices of the Coast of Puna in the southern part of the island\nHawaii. While at Pearl Harbor he became homesick for the beauty of\nPuna, so he chanted:\n\n\n       \u201cO my land of rustling lehua [10]-trees!\n        Rain is treading on your budding flowers,\n        It carries them to the sea.\n        They meet the fish in the sea.\n        This is the day when love meets love,\n        My longings are stirring within me\n        For the spirit friends of my land.\n        They call me back to my home,\n        I must return.\u201d\n\n\nKa-ehu called his shark friends and started along the Oahu shores on\nhis way to Hawaii. At Waikiki they met Pehu, a shark visitor from Maui,\nwho lived in the sea belonging to Hono-ka-hau. Pehu was a man-eating\nshark and was swimming back and forth at Kalehua-wike. [11] He was\nwaiting for some surf-rider to go out far enough to be caught.\n\nKa-ehu asked him what he was doing there. He replied, \u201cI am catching a\ncrab for my breakfast.\u201d\n\nKa-ehu said, \u201cWe will help you catch your crab.\u201d\n\nHe told Pehu to go near the coral reef while he and his large retinue\nof sharks would go seaward. When a number of surf-riders were far out\nhe and his sharks would appear and drive them shoreward in a tumultuous\nrush; then Pehu could easily catch the crab. This pleased the shark\nfrom Maui, so he went close to the reef and hid himself in its shadows.\n\nKa-ehu said to his friends: \u201cWe must kill this man-eating shark who is\ndestroying our people. This will be a part of our pay to them for\nhonoring us at Puu-loa (Pearl Harbor). We will all go and push Pehu\ninto the shallow water.\u201d\n\nA number of surf-riders poised on the waves, and Pehu called for the\nother sharks to come, but Ka-ehu told him to wait for a better chance.\nSoon two men started on a wave from the distant dark blue sea where the\nhigh surf begins.\n\nKa-ehu gave a signal for an attack. He told his friends to rush in\nunder the great wave and as it passed over the waiting Pehu, crowd the\nmen and their surf-boards to one side and push the leaping Pehu so that\nhe would be upset. Then while he was floundering in the surf they must\nhurl him over the reef.\n\nAs Pehu leaped to catch one of the coming surf-riders he was astonished\nto see the man shoved to one side, then as he rose almost straight up\nin the water he was caught by the other sharks and tossed over and over\nuntil he plunged head first into a deep hole in the coral. There he\nthrashed his great tail about, but only forced himself farther in so\nthat he could not escape.\n\nThe surf-riders were greatly frightened when they saw the company of\nsharks swimming swiftly outside the coral reef\u2014but they were not afraid\nof Pehu. They went out to the hole and killed him and cut his body in\npieces. Inside the body they found hair and bones, showing that this\nshark had been destroying some of their people.\n\nThey took the pieces of the body of that great fish to Pele-ula, [12]\nwhere they made a great oven and burned the pieces.\n\nKa-ehu passed on toward Hawaii as a knight-errant, meeting many\nadventures and punishing evil-minded residents of the great sea.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nTHE LEGENDARY ORIGIN OF KAPA\n\n\nNote: Dr. Brigham, the director of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, well\nsays, \u201cKapa (tapa) is simply ka (the) and pa (beaten) or the beaten\nthing.\u201d\n\nThe cloth used for centuries by the Hawaiians and some other\nPolynesians was \u201cthe beaten thing\u201d resulting from beating the inner\nmucilaginous bark of certain trees into pulp and then into sheets which\ncould be used for clothing or covering.\n\nThe letters \u201ck\u201d and \u201ct\u201d have from time immemorial been interchangeable\namong the Hawaiians, therefore the words \u201ckapa\u201d and \u201ctapa\u201d have both\nbeen freely used as the name of the ancient wood-pulp cloth of the\nHawaiians.\n\nThe old people said that in the very long ago their ancestors did not\nhave anything like the kapa cloth which has been known for many\ncenturies. They said also that there was no kapa maoli, meaning that\nthere was nothing in nature which provided clothing or covering. Very\nlittle reference is made in the legends to the use of skins as\nclothing, although the dog and pig were brought with chickens by their\nearly ancestors.\n\nThe clothing of the oldest time was sometimes made by tying dried\nbanana leaves around the body, and coverings were made by throwing dry\nbanana leaves over the body. Thus Kawelo was warmed and brought back to\nlife, according to one of the most famous legends of the island Kauai.\n\nThe long, fragrant leaves of the ti [13] plant were dried, soaked in\nwater until soft, the outside scraped off, then fastened together by\nbraiding or tying. In this way a very warm cloak was made and worn by\nbird-catchers. They found it very good for shedding rain and keeping\nout cold when they went into the mountains.\n\nSometimes the long leaves of the Lau-hala were thatched into covering\nfor the body as well as for the house. So also grass was braided into\nvery fine cloaks as well as into mats. Banana leaves hanging in strips\nlike a fringe were used for malos (loin cloths) for men, and pa-us\n(skirts) for women.\n\nFor many generations the Hawaiians made most beautiful and costly\nfeather garments. They braided or wove a foundation mesh of very fine\nvegetable fibres, such as the long threads of the ieie [14] vine. This\nmesh was fashioned into a mahiole, or warrior\u2019s helmet, a kihei, or\nshoulder cape, or an ahuula, or long cloak, and covered with the most\nbrilliant red and golden feathers which could be secured from the birds\nof the forest.\n\nIn the legend of Makuakaumana the gods Ka-ne and Kanaloa are\nrepresented as feeling pity for one of their worshippers when they saw\nhim shivering in a fierce storm of cold rain; therefore they taught him\nhow to make a kihei, or shoulder cape. Great was the wonder of the\npeople of the northern side of the island of Oahu when he appeared\namong them and taught them how to make cloaks like \u201cthe gift of the\ngods.\u201d The legend is interesting, but only shows that the people\nsometime learned how to make a work-day cloak. Presumably the Hawaiian\nmethod of pounding the adhesive bark of certain trees until that bark\nbecomes a pulpy mass and then making it into sheets and drying it was\nused in Samoa and many other islands of the Pacific Ocean and also even\nin Mexico hundreds of years ago. Evidently the Hawaiian brought the art\nwith him or learned it from the sea rovers of about the tenth century.\nNevertheless, the Hawaiian legend of the origin of kapa is a myth well\nworth keeping on record in Hawaiian literature. It was partly published\nin a native paper, the Kuokoa, in 1865, but many references in other\nlegends printed about the same time fill out the story.\n\n\n\nBack of Honolulu a beautiful valley rises in a gentle slope between two\nrugged, precipitous ranges of lava mountains until it reaches cloudland\nand drinks ceaselessly from the fountains of the sky. A stream of\nlaughing water rising from waterfalls blown into spray by swift winds\nrushes and leaps in numberless cascades through pleasant groves down\nthis valley of restful shadows until it is lost in the coral reefs of\nan iridescent sea.\n\nThis is the noted Nuuanu Valley of winding ways loved by sightseers as\nthey climb to the grand outlook over extinct craters, island coast and\nboundless ocean, called \u201cthe view from Nuuanu Pali.\u201d\n\nThis was the valley supposed to have been the first habitation of the\ngods, from which all life spread over the island group. Here the\ngnomes, or the eepa people, had their home, and here the Menehunes (the\nfairies) built a temple for \u201cthe child adopted by the gods.\u201d\n\nThe waters of the valley stream fertilized large areas where the valley\nbroadened into the broad seaside plain in which now lies the city of\nHonolulu. Here at Pu-iwa, by the side of the running water, a farmer by\nthe name of Maikoha lived with his daughters, having no care except\nraising whatever food they needed for themselves and for their tribute\nto the king and their offerings to the gods.\n\nYears passed by and Maikoha became weak and ill. The eepa people of the\nupper valley had always sent driving rains and cold winds down the\nvalley, and Maikoha had cared little for them; but the old man at last\nwent into the days of death feeling a chill which struck to his very\nheart. On his death-bed he called his daughters and commanded them to\nlisten carefully and to obey his words, saying: \u201cWhen I die, bury my\nbody close to the waters of our pleasant stream. A tree will grow from\nthat burial-place. This tree will be to you for kapa, from which you\nwill make all things good for clothing as well as covering when you\nsleep or are ill. The bark of this tree is the part you will use.\u201d\n\nWhen death came, the daughters buried their father by the running\nwater. After a time a tree grew from the grave. The daughters saw that\nit was a new tree such as they had never seen before. It was not tall\nand large, but threw out a number of small, spreading branches. This\nwas the wauke [15] tree.\n\nThe daughters with great fear drew near to this monument which was over\ntheir father\u2019s grave. They believed it was a gift from the aumakua, the\nghost-god, into which they supposed the spirit of their father had been\nchanged.\n\nReverently they touched the tree, broke off some of the branches,\nstripped off the bark, and pounded and pounded until the pieces were\nfastened together in a rude kind of cloth. Thus they found kapa, \u201cthe\nbeaten thing,\u201d and learned how to make it into small and large pieces\nand out of these fashion such clothing as met their need.\n\nWherever they cut or broke the branches of this new tree the broken\npieces took root, or, if the fragments were caught by the swift-flowing\nstream, they were tossed on the bank or carried and scattered over the\nplain, and wherever they went they found a place to plant themselves\nuntil they grew even to the sea.\n\nBranches were carried to the other islands; thus the wauke became a\nblessing to all the people. This tree under the name \u201caute,\u201d which is\nthe same as wauke, was a blessing to many Polynesians, from Tahiti to\nNew Zealand.\n\nIn after years other trees, such as the mamaki, [16] the maa-loa and\npo-ulu, were found to have bark from which kapa could be made; but the\nold people said, \u201cFrom the wauke we get the best kapa for fine, soft\nclothing.\u201d\n\nMaikoha became the chief aumakua, or ancestor-god, of the Hawaiian\nkapa-makers, and has been worshipped for generations. When they planted\nthe wauke branches, or shoots, prayers and incantations and sacrifices\nwere offered to Maikoha. Before branches were cut and placed in bundles\nto be carried to a field set apart for kapa-making, the favor of\nMaikoha was again sought.\n\nOne of the daughters of Maikoha, whose name was Lau-hu-iki, became the\naumakua of all those who pounded the prepared bark, for to her was\ngiven the power of finding kapa in the bark of the wauke-tree, and she\nhad the power of teaching how to pound as well as bless the labor of\nthose who worshipped her.\n\nThe other daughter, Laa-hana, was also worshipped as an aumakua by\nthose who used especially marked clubs while beating the bark into\npatterns or marked lines, for they said she learned how to scratch the\nclubs with sharks\u2019 teeth so that marks would be left in the pounded\nsheets. She was also able to teach those who worshipped her to mark\nfigures or patterns on the pounded kapa.\n\nThus Maikoha and his daughters became the chief gods of the\nkapa-makers; but other ancestral gods were also found from time to time\nas some new step was taken in perfecting the art.\n\nEhu, a man, was made the aumakua of kapa-dyers because he learned how\nto dip the cloth in dyes and give it color. He discovered the red dye\nin the blood of the kukui [17] tree; therefore prayers were offered to\nhim and sacrifices laid on his altar when the kapa-maker desired to\ncolor some of the work.\n\nA small corner in a house in the kapa-field usually had a very small\npile of stones called \u201cthe altars.\u201d Here small offerings of leaves or\nfruit could be placed while the worshipper chanted his prayer.\n\nKapa-dyers searched forests for trees and plants which could give\nlife-blood for different dyes. The sap of these plants was carefully\nput in bamboo joints and carried to the place where the pounders sang\nand worked.\n\nOfferings of leaves and fruits and flowers were made to Ehu from time\nto time while the dyes were being collected as well as when they were\nused to color the kapa.\n\nSometimes the sheets were spotted by sprinkling colors over them.\nSometimes they were marked in lines and figures by using bamboo splints\nor bamboos with ends pounded into brush-like fibres. Stone cups were\nkept in the kapa-fields for the dye and the marking-splint.\n\nSometimes torn-up pieces of dyed kapas were pounded up with new sheets,\nproducing a mottled effect. White kapas of the best texture were used\nin the temples to cover the gods during certain parts of the temple\nceremonies. They were also used to mark a strict tabu. When kapa was\nlaid on an object, it meant that it was not to be touched under pain of\npunishment by the guarding aumakua. Fastened to a staff and placed in a\npath, it meant that this path was tabu. It was in this way that tabu\nstandards were placed around the temples.\n\nA kapa dipped in a black dye was kept for the death covering,\nespecially for those of very high rank.\n\nSometimes the perfumes of sweet flowers or the oil of such trees as the\niliahi [18] (sandalwood) were pounded into the kapa while it was being\nmade. The perfumes were made in this way. The sweet-smelling things\nwere placed in a calabash and covered with water. Hot stones were put\nin the water and the fragrance drawn out of the plants. The water was\nboiled away until the perfume became very strong. This was done with\nthe sweet-scented flowers of the niu [19] (coconut) and of the\nlau-hala, [20] and the wood of the iliahi and other fragrant plants.\n\nWhen the kapas were perfumed, they were dried inside a house so that\nthe fragrance should not be lost.\n\nSometimes the kapas were well scraped with pieces of shell or rubbed\nwith stones, then were rolled in dirt and put in a calabash and well\nsoaked for a long time. When these kapas were washed, scraped and\npounded again, they became very soft. Often the kapa-maker would take\nthese sheets of kapa and spread them over a layer of cold, wet,\nfresh-water moss, leaving them all night for the dew to fall upon.\nThese kapas became very bright and shining. Sometimes finished kapas\nwere oiled so that they became excellent protectors from the wet and\ncold of heavy mists and rains. These oiled kapas were frequently\nvarnished by being rubbed with eggs. Spider eggs were considered the\nbest for this purpose.\n\nIn the early time a flat stone was used upon which to pound out the\nsheets of kapa, but blocks of wood and long, heavy sticks were found to\ngive the best results. These were called kua-kuku. A block cut in a\ncertain way was very much liked by the women, for it gave back a soft\nsound with the rhythmic beat of the mallets, accompanied by their own\nchants and incantations to Maikoha or one of the other aumakuas.\n\nHina, the mother of the demi-god Maui, was the great kapa-maker of the\nlegends of the ancient Hawaiians. It is said that she still spreads her\nkapas in the sky. They are the beautiful clouds of all colors,\nsometimes piled up and sometimes lying in sheets. When fierce winds\nblow and lift and toss the cloud kapas and roll off the stones which\nHina has placed on them to hold them down, or when she throws off the\nstones herself, the noise of the rolling stones is the thunder which\nmen hear.\n\nWhen Hina rolls the cloud sheets together, the folds glisten and flash\nin the light of the sun; thus what men call lightning is the sunlight\nleaping from sheet to sheet of Hina\u2019s kapas in cloudland.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nCREATION OF MAN\n\nThe Kamakau Legend\n\nNote: Mauka [21] of Honolulu rises a cloud-capped range. Beyond this is\nthe place where Kamakau, a native historian of about sixty years ago,\nsays that the Hawaiian gods created the first inhabitants of these\nislands. The story has been repeated in several Hawaiian papers and\nwith embellishments, was adopted by Judge Fornander and mentioned in\nnotes in his work \u201cThe Polynesian Race.\u201d Parts of the story are\nevidently old Hawaiian, but the part which describes the creation of\nman is thoroughly Biblical with the addition of a few touches of the\nimagination.\n\n\n           \u201cThe sky is established.\n            The earth is established.\n            Fastened and fastened,\n            Always holding together,\n            Entangled in obscurity,\n            Near each other a group of islands\n            Spreads out like a flock of birds.\n            Leaping up are the divided places.\n            Lifted far up are the heavens.\n            Polished by striking,\n            Lamps rest in the sky.\n            Presently the clouds move,\n            The great sun rises in splendor,\n            Mankind arises to pleasure,\n            The moving sky is above.\u201d        Hawaiian Chant.\n\n\nKu, Ka-ne, Lono and Kanaloa were the first gods made.\n\nThe gods had come from far-off unknown lands. They brought with them\nthe mysterious people who live in precipices and trees and rocks. These\nwere the invisible spirits of the air.\n\nThe earth was a calabash. The gods threw the calabash cover upward and\nit became the sky. Part of the thick \u201cflesh\u201d became the sun. Another\npart was the moon. The stars came from the seeds.\n\nThe gods went over to a small island called Mokapu, and thought they\nwould make man to be chief over all other things. Mololani was the\ncrater hill which forms the little island. On the sunrise side of this\nhill, near the sea, was the place where red dirt lay mixed with dark\nblue and black soil. Here Ka-ne scratched the dirt together and made\nthe form of a man.\n\nKanaloa ridiculed the mass of dirt and made a better form, but it did\nnot have life. Ka-ne said, \u201cYou have made a dirt image; let it become\nstone.\u201d\n\nThen Ka-ne ordered Ku and Lono to carefully obey his directions. They\nwere afraid he would kill them, so at once they caught one of the\nspirits of the air and pushed it into the image Ka-ne had made.\n\nWhen the spirit had been pushed into the body, Ka-ne stood by the image\nand called, \u201cHiki au-E-ola! E-ola!\u201d (\u201cI come, live! live!\u201d)\n\nKu and Lono responded \u201cLive! live!\u201d Then Ka-ne called again, \u201cI come,\nawake! awake!\u201d and the other two responded, \u201cAwake! awake!\u201d and the\nimage became a living man.\n\nThen Ka-ne cried, \u201cI come, arise! arise!\u201d The other gods repeated,\n\u201cArise! arise!\u201d and the image stood up\u2014a man with a living spirit. They\nnamed him Wela-ahi-lani-nui, or \u201cThe great heaven burning hot.\u201d\n\nThey chanted, giving the divine signs attending the birth of a chief:\n\n\nNote: Fornander, in his book \u201cThe Polynesian Race,\u201d says that Lono\nbrought whitish clay from the four ends of the world, with which to\nmake the head, but there is no foundation for this statement in the\nlegends. This must have been a verbal statement made to him by Kamakau.\n\n\n           \u201cThe stars were burning.\n            Hot were the months.\n            Land rises in islands,\n            High surf is like mountains,\n            Pele throws out her body (of lava).\n            Broken masses of rain from the sky,\n            The land is shaken by earthquakes,\n            Ikuwa [22] reverberates with thunder.\u201d\n\n\nThe gods took this man to their home and nourished him. When he became\nstrong he went out to walk around the home of the gods. Soon he noticed\na shadow going around with his body. It walked when he walked, and\nrested when he rested. He wondered what this thing was, and called it\n\u201caka,\u201d or \u201cshadow.\u201d\n\nWhen he slept, Ku, Ka-ne and Lono tore open his body, and Ka-ne took\nout a woman, leaving Ku and Lono to heal the body. Then they put the\nwoman by the side of the man and they were alike.\n\nWela-ahi-lani-nui woke and found a beautiful one lying by him, and\nthought: \u201cThis is that thing which has been by my side, my aka. The\ngods have changed it into this beautiful one.\u201d So he gave her the name\n\u201cKe-aka-huli-lani\u201d (The-heaven-changed-shadow). These were the\nancestors of the Hawaiians and all the peoples of the islands of the\ngreat ocean.\n\nIt must be remembered that there are many other Hawaiian legends which\nmention other first men and women as ancestors of the Hawaiian people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nTHE CHIEF WITH THE WONDERFUL SERVANTS [23]\n\n\nA certain chief who lived on the island of Oahu in the very misty\nmemory of long, long ago thought he would travel over his lands and see\ntheir condition. So pleased was he that he boasted of his wide domain\nwhen he met a fellow-traveller. The man said, \u201cI can see the lands of\nWakea and Papa and they are larger and fairer than these fine places of\nyours.\u201d Then they decided to go together to find that wonderful land of\nthe gods.\n\nSoon they passed a man standing by the way-side. The chief asked him\nwhat he was doing. The man replied: \u201cI am Mama-loa [The very swift]. I\nam waiting for the sun to rise, that I may run and catch him.\u201d They all\nwaited until the sun appeared and started to rise above the island. The\nman ran very fast and caught it, tied it, and held it as a prisoner for\na time.\n\nThen the three travelled together\u2014the chief, whose name was Ikaika-loa\n(The very strong), and the man who could see clearly a long distance,\nwhose name was Ike-loa (The-far-sighted), and Mama-loa. In a little\nwhile they saw two men sleeping by the path. One was shivering with\ncold; his name was Kanaka-make-anu (Man-who-dies-in-the-cold). The\nother was burning as if over a fire; his name was Kanaka-make-wela\n(Man-who-dies-in-the-fire). They warmed one and cooled the other, and\nall went on together.\n\nThey came to a field for rat-shooting, and found a man standing with\nbow and arrow, shooting very skilfully. His name was Pana-pololei\n(The-straight-shooter). They asked him to go to the lands of Wakea and\nPapa, so he journeyed with them. By and by they found a man lying by\nthe path with his ear to the ground. The chief asked him, \u201cWhat are you\ndoing?\u201d He looked up and said, \u201cI have been listening to the quarrel\nbetween Papa and Wakea.\u201d The man who was listening to their harsh words\nwas Hoo-lohe-loa (The-man-who-could-hear-afar-off). They all journeyed\non until they entered a land [24] more beautiful than any they had ever\nseen before.\n\nThe watchmen of that country saw six fine-looking men coming and with\nthem a seventh man, superior in every way. The report of the coming of\nthese strangers was quickly sent to the chiefess who ruled the land\nunder Wakea and Papa. She commanded her chief to take his warriors and\nmeet these strangers and bring them to her house. There they were\nentertained. While they slept the chiefess gathered her people together\nuntil the enclosure around the houses was filled with people.\n\nIn the morning Ikaika-loa, the chief, said to the chiefess: \u201cI have\nheard that you propound hard riddles. If I guess your riddles you shall\nbecome my wife.\u201d The chiefess agreed, took him out of the house, and\nsaid, \u201cThe man who is now my husband is standing by the door of the\nhouse of Wakea and Papa; where is the door of that house?\u201d The chief\nturned to Ike-loa and secretly asked if he could see the door of Papa\u2019s\nhouse. He looked all around and at last said: \u201cThe door of that house\nis where the trunk of that great tree is. If you are strong and can\nbreak that tree you can find the door, because it is in one of the\nroots of that tree.\u201d\n\nThen the chief went out to that tree and lifted and twisted the bark\nand tore away the wood, opening the door.\n\nAfter this the chiefess said: \u201cThere are three dogs. One belongs to our\nhigh chief, Wakea; one to his wife, Papa; and one is mine. Can you\npoint out the dog belonging to each of us?\u201d\n\nThe chief whispered to his servant Hoo-lohe-loa, \u201cListen and learn the\nnames of the dogs.\u201d So the man who could hear clearly put his ear to\nthe ground and heard Papa telling her servants: \u201cThis black dog of\nPapa\u2019s shall go out first, then the red dog of Wakea. The white dog\nbelonging to the chiefess shall go last.\u201d Thus the chief learned how to\nname the dogs.\n\nWhen the black dog leaped through the door the chief cried out, \u201cThere\nis the black dog belonging to Papa.\u201d\n\nWhen the red dog followed he said, \u201cThat is the red dog of Wakea.\u201d\n\nThen came the white dog, and the chief cried out, \u201cThat white dog\nbelongs to us, O Chiefess.\u201d\n\nAfter this they prepared for a feast. The chiefess said: \u201cVery far is\nthe sweet water we wish. You send one of your men and I will send one\nof my women each with a calabash for water. If your man comes back\nfirst while we eat, we will marry.\u201d\n\nThe chief gave a calabash to Mama-loa and he made ready to go\u2014a woman\nwith her calabash standing by his side.\n\nAt the word they started on their race. The man ran swiftly, thinking\nthere was no one among all men so swift as he, but the woman passed him\nand was leaving him far behind.\n\nThe chief called Pana-pololei, the straight shooter, and told him they\nneeded his skill. He took his bow and arrows and shot. Far, far the\narrow sped and whizzed just back of the head of the woman. She was so\nstartled that she stumbled and fell to the ground and the man passed\nby.\n\nAfter a time the chief said to Ike-loa, the far-sighted, \u201cHow are they\nrunning now?\u201d\n\nThe servant said, \u201cThe woman is again winning.\u201d\n\nThe chief said to his rat-hunter, \u201cPerhaps you have another arrow?\u201d and\nagain an arrow sped after the swift runners. It grazed the back of the\nwoman and she fell. Mama-loa passed her, rushed to the spring, filled\nhis calabash and started back. But the woman was very swift, and,\nquickly dipping her calabash, turned and soon passed the man. An arrow\nsped touching the head of the woman, and she fell forward, breaking the\ncalabash and spilling the water; but she leaped up and saved a little\nwater and hastened after the man who had sped past her.\n\n\u201cAh, how she runs! She flies by the man as they are almost at the end\nof their race,\u201d exclaimed Ike-loa.\n\nThen the chief called to his bowman: \u201cO Pana-pololei! Perhaps you have\nanother arrow?\u201d The bowman shot a blunt arrow, striking the woman\u2019s\nbreast, and she fell, out of breath, losing all the water from her\nbroken calabash.\n\nThe chief took the calabash from his man and poured water into a\ncoconut-cup and gave to the chiefess to drink.\n\nWhen the woman came the chiefess asked why she had failed. The woman\nreplied: \u201cI passed that man, but something struck me and I fell down.\nThis came to me again and again, but I could not see anything. At last\nI fell and the calabash was broken and all the water lost, and this man\nwon the race.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile Mama-loa was being ridiculed by the other servants of the\nchief. He asked: \u201cWhy do you laugh at me? Did you not see my victory?\u201d\n\nThey laughed the more, and said: \u201cKa! If we had not aided you, you\nwould have been defeated.\u201d Then they told him how he had been watched\nby the far-sighted one and aided by the arrows of his friend.\n\nThe chiefess told the chief that she had one more test before the\nmarriage could take place.\n\nShe said: \u201cIn this land there are two places, one very hot and one very\ncold. If you can send men to live in these two places we will marry.\u201d\n\nThen the chief said to Kanaka-make-anu, \u201cYou die in the cold, but\nperhaps you can go to the very hot place for the chiefess.\u201d And\nKanaka-make-wela who suffered from heat he asked to go into the cold.\nThe two servants said: \u201cWe go, but we will never return. These are our\nnatural dwelling-places.\u201d\n\nThere were no more riddles to solve, so the chief and chiefess married\nand lived royally in that beautiful land of the gods.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nTHE GREAT DOG KU\n\nKu-ilio-loa\n\nKu, the dog-man, decided to come down from the clouds and visit\nmankind, so he assumed the form of a little dog and went around almost\nunnoticed.\n\nKu saw a group of three rainbows moving from place to place or resting\nfor a long time above the home of a high chief. Sometimes the rainbows\nwent up to the forests of ohia and kukui-trees on the mountain-side.\nSometimes they rested over the deep pools made by the waterfalls of the\nswiftly descending mountain streams. Most frequently the beautiful\ncolors were arched over a small grove of trees around a bathing-pool\nprotected on two sides by steep ledges of rock over which diverging\nstreams poured their cool waters which rose from the shadows and\nrippled away through the little valley toward the sea. On the remaining\nside of this sequestered nook was a sunny beach of black sand, back of\nwhich the trees opened their promise of refreshing shade.\n\nHere Na-pihe-nui, the daughter of the high chief, came daily with her\ncompany of maidens to bathe and sport in the water and then let the\nafternoon hours pass in rest and pleasant conversation.\n\nOne day while diving into the pool from a shelf on the rocky ledge one\nof the girls saw something moving on the shore. She called to her\ncompanions and with them hastened to the place where their clothes had\nbeen thrown down. Here they found a little white dog lying on the kapa\nmantle of the princess.\n\nFor a time they played with the little stranger and were very much\ndelighted with his unusual intelligence. He gambolled around them in\ngreat delight, obeying the call of one after the other, but showing\nvery marked preference for the princess. When the maidens returned home\nthey took the little dog with them and cared for him.\n\nThe high chief, Polihale, was interested in the peculiar powers\npossessed by this strange dog. Perhaps he thought that it was under the\ncontrol of some spirit. His suspicions were in some way aroused and the\ndog was watched. Soon the chief learned that this was a man of\nmarvellous ability, who could appear as a dog or a man at his own\npleasure. Then the chief called his retainers and ordered them to kill\nthis dog. They gathered stones and clubs and tried to surround it, but\nit dashed into the woods and made its escape. It was the great dog Ku,\nwho had seen the three rainbows and followed them to the bathing-pool\nand then, having seen the princess, had determined to find an\nopportunity to carry her away as his wife. This premature discovery\ndrove him away before he could accomplish his purpose.\n\nThen Ku changed himself into a man of fine appearance and came boldly\nto the high chief\u2019s home demanding the princess in marriage, but the\nchief, warned by the omens as studied by his soothsayers, refused.\n\nKu was in great anger and threatened to kill the chief\u2019s people, and to\ndestroy the protectors of the princess, but the high chief drove him\naway.\n\nA dream came to the high chief, in which he saw the strange man coming\nas a great dog. The next morning as he looked toward the mountains he\nsaw this same large dog stretching itself out of a cave on the\nmountain-side; so he knew that this dog with magical powers would be a\nvery difficult enemy to overcome.\n\nThe chief soon learned that Ku was catching his people one by one and\ndevouring them and decided to take final issue with his enemy.\n\nSelecting a cave he hid all the women of his family in it, placing the\nprincess in their care. They took provisions with them and prepared for\na long siege. Water could be found in the cave itself. Stones were\nplaced before the opening so that the enemy would find it hard to\nenter.\n\nThen the high chief and his followers waged war against Ku, the\ndog-man, but Ku was very strong and overthrew his pursuers when they\nclosed in around him. Many times he killed some of the chief\u2019s people\nand carried their bodies away to feast upon them. He was also very\nswift in his motion, rapidly passing from place to place. Sometimes he\nfell like a flash of lightning upon a group of his foes and then in an\nincredibly short time he would make an attack in a far distant place.\n\nThe high chief became desperate and offered sacrifices to his gods and\nsecured charms from his priests. Incantations and prayers were prepared\nagainst Ku.\n\nAt last a terrific battle was fought and Ku was overpowered and beaten\nto the ground. Still he fought fiercely, but the hard wooden spears\npierced him and the heavy clubs broke his bones, until he lay a crushed\nand bleeding mass at the feet of his conquerors. Then they cut his body\nin two pieces, throwing one piece to one side and the other to a place\nsome distance away. Then the power of the priests was invoked and the\ntwo parts of the body of Ku-ilio-loa became two great stones which have\nbeen objects of veneration among the Hawaiians for many years.\n\nKu stretches his form along the mountains and sometimes reveals himself\nas the great dog among the myriad shapes which the changing clouds are\never assuming. Sometimes he is seen in the clouds of Oahu, and then\nagain his form is in the skies of other islands.\n\n\n\nNote: The Hawaiian legends frequently unite animal and human forms and\ncharacteristics in one individual, like the centaurs of Roman\nmythology. In some cases the man always carries with him a part of the\nanimal shape. The legends of shark-men place the shark mouth between\nthe shoulders of the man, and he is compelled to always wear a cloak to\nconceal his deformity.\n\nUsually, however, the legends give to the human being the power to\nchange at will into the peculiar animal form with which he has affinity\nwithout carrying with him any marks of his previous shape. In the Pele\nlegends a chief appears as a beautiful bird and later as a handsome\nman, and marries the chiefess. When the hog-man Kamapuaa, however,\ncourts Pele he is compelled to hide his pig-like deformities under a\ncovering of kapa cloth.\n\nThe legend of the great dog Ku is somewhat reversed from the usual\norder. Ku, the dog, was given the power to change himself into a man\nand return into his animal form whenever he wished.\n\nThe legend is unique in that it unites a beautiful nature-myth with a\nhistory-myth of ferocious cannibalism.\n\nKu-ilio-loa is a magic dog who could be large or small at will. He\nroamed over the mountains and could be seen at night stretching himself\nfrom one peak to another or from the mountain height above his home in\na cave below. This is evidently a nature-myth. The clouds on the\nmountains are ever multiform. Sometimes the dim mist in the moonlight\nrears its dog-shaped head over the sloping hills and stretches its\nshadowy length up to the faintly outlined peaks above; and sometimes\nthe small cloud, like a dog at rest, lies quietly in the skies above\nthe mountain forest. It was a beautiful outgrowth of Hawaiian\nimagination.\n\nThe same nature-myth has been applied to the cloud forms of lower Manoa\nValley, a suburb of Honolulu. This cloud-myth was known as the story of\nPoki, the wonder-dog. He was often seen at night especially by those\nwho had stood on the sacred bell rock of Kamoiliili. This rock rang\nwith a sweet, strong tone when struck sharply. It had the power of\ngiving clear vision to the one who stood on it and absorbed its\nmysterious qualities. The visitor must stand on the rock and utter his\nwish to see Poki. Then would his eyes be opened and the wonder-dog of\nthe mountains of Oahu would reveal himself stretched along the\nmountains and silvered by the moonlight. Some of the later Hawaiians\nsay that this wonder-dog of Oahu is the spirit of the chief Boki, who\nwith his wife Liliha owned the lower part of the valley of Manoa. Boki\nin the early days of missionary labor in the Hawaiian Islands became\ndesirous of seeing the world and adding to his riches; therefore he\nfitted out two ships for foreign trade and sailed away. The ship in\nwhich Chief Boki sailed was never heard from. Hence arose the saying,\n\u201cWe will do this or that when Boki comes back.\u201d\n\nBut some of the people changed the thought of the old legend and\nclaimed that his spirit returned and now reveals himself as the dog\nwatching over his loved valley. Magic powers were given to Poki\u2014so that\nhe could stretch himself along the mountains, his hind feet on the\nmountain ridge and his head in the valley below. He could also extend\nhimself to Nuuanu Valley and sometimes spread his body over all the\nisland. Probably the only real connection of Chief Boki with the\nwonder-dog Poki is the similarity of names. But the chief has been\nalmost forgotten. Even the wonder-dog is known only by the\nstory-tellers, while the night clouds, sometimes darkened by falling\nrain, sometimes enriched by the halo of lunar rainbows, and sometimes\nglorified by the silver moonlight, continue to stretch from peak to\npeak along the mountains and watch over all the various forms of life\nin the valleys below.\n\nKu-ilio-loa, the great dog Ku, was destined to have another series of\nlegends grow up about his memory besides those suggested by the adoring\nimaginations of nature lovers.\n\nIt is difficult to analyze the influences which brought the beautiful\nnature-myth down to the degradation of the sensuous life of a brute.\nPerhaps the simplest thought is the best, and the problem is solved by\nsupposing that a chief by the name of Ku became imbued with\ncannibalistic desires and when driven away from his fellow-men made his\nhome among the almost inaccessible peaks where cloud-myth and\ncannibal-legend could very easily be interwoven with each other as the\nmemory of his horrible cannibal life became dimly connected with the\nmysterious cloud-forms among which he died.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIII\n\nTHE CANNIBAL DOG-MAN\n\nNote: The Menehunes were the fairies of Hawaii. The goblins and gnomes\nof valley or woodland were called the eepa people, while monsters\nhaving the power of appearing in different kinds of bodies were called\nkupuas. These usually had cruel and vindictive characters and were\nready to destroy and devour any persons they could catch. There were,\nhowever, many kupuas of kindly spirit who gave watchful care to the\nmembers of their own families.\n\nThe Menehunes were temple-builders, makers of great fish-ponds and even\nhighways. They made canoes, built houses, and did many of the pleasant\nthings fairies are always doing. Their good works are to be found to\nthis day on all the different islands of the Hawaiian group.\n\n\nKa-hanai-a-ke-akua (The-adopted-child-of-the-gods) was the chief whose\nfollowers fought with the dragon-god, Kuna, for a canoe in Nuuanu\nValley. He was a friend of the fairies\u2014the Menehune people. When he had\ngrown into young manhood and was going to have a temple of his own,\nwith his own gods to worship, the Menehunes heard about the plan for\nthe walls and altars and determined to build that temple for the chief.\n\nAs soon as the night shadows had fallen over the mountains back of\nHonolulu the Menehunes were called together by their luna, or leader.\nThe stones necessary for the heiau (temple) walls were pointed out.\nFlat-sided stones were selected for raised places and altars, smooth\nstones were called for from the seashore to be laid down as the temple\nfloor. Bamboo and ohia sticks were to be brought with which to build\nplatforms for sacrifices, such as the bodies of human victims. All\nparts of the temple building [25] even to the thatched houses for the\npriests and chiefs were portioned among the little people.\n\nIn one night the work was finished, a feast was eaten, and the\nMenehunes had scattered in the shadows of the forest thickets.\n\nKahanai took possession of his temple and dedicated it with the tabu\nservice and ceremonies. This meant that a tabu of silence or a tabu\nforbidding work of any kind would be announced, and all the people of\nthe district or place in which the temple was located would obey that\ntabu until the dedication ceremonies were all over and the words \u201cNoa,\nua noa\u201d were used, meaning that the tabu was over and everything could\nbe freely done as before.\n\nThe name given to this temple was Ka-he-iki.\n\nIn this temple the chief placed his friend and guardian, Kahilona, who\nhad cared for him from his babyhood, as his priest and teacher.\nKahilona was the priest of this temple. Kahilona prepared this chant\nfor the temple building.\n\n\n              \u201cGone is the little house,\n                  The little house,\n               Gone is the large house,\n                  The large house,\n               Gone is the short house,\n                  The short house,\n               Gone is the little house,\n               From Maiuu to Maaa-e.\n               Let this be commenced.\n\n            Build, with the soft beat of the drum,\n            With the murmur of the voice of the gods,\n            With the low whine of the dog,\n            With the low grunt of the pig,\n            And the soft whispers of men.\n               Here am I, Kahilona,\n               The teacher of prayer,\n               Proclaimed by Kahilona.\u201d\n\n\nA kupua who was a dog-man overthrew the government of Kahanai and\nbecame the ruling power between Nuuanu Valley and the sea. His own\nhouse and heiau were at Lihue,\u2014a place toward the Waianae Mountains.\nThis kupua never attacked or injured any members of the family of the\nvery high chief or king of the island Oahu, but he was a cannibal, and\nmany of the people were killed and eaten by him. He could appear at\nwill either as a man or a dog.\n\nHis name was Kaupe. After he had eaten some of the people of Oahu he\nwent over the water to eat the men of Maui, and then went on to Hawaii,\nwhere he captured the son of one of the high chiefs and carried him\nback to Oahu, putting him in the temple at Lihue to keep him there\nuntil the time came for a human sacrifice. Then the boy was to be\nkilled and laid on a platform before the gods.\n\nThe father of that boy left Hawaii to follow him to Oahu, thinking\nthere might be some way of saving his son. If he failed he could at\nleast die with him. When the father came to Oahu he very quietly landed\nand looked for some one to give him aid. After a time he met Kahilona,\nthe caretaker of the temple of the Menehunes, and told him all his\ntrouble.\n\nThe priest taught the father the proper incantations by which he could\nget his boy away from the magic power of Kaupe, and save both himself\nand his boy. Then he also taught the father a prayer which he was to\nuse if Kaupe should learn of their escape and pursue them.\n\nAt night he approached the temple at Lihue repeating the chant which\nKahilona had taught him. He watched for the signs which the priest had\ntold him would indicate the place where the boy was kept, and followed\nthem carefully. He continually repeated his chant until he came inside\nthe walls and found the dog asleep guarding the boy. The father slipped\nin, cautiously aroused the boy, and unfastened the cords which bound\nhim. Then they quietly passed the dog, guarded by the incantation:\n\n\n           \u201cO Ku! O Lono! O Ka-ne! O Kanaloa!\n            Save us two. Save us two.\u201d\n\n\nThus they passed out of the temple and fled toward the temple\nKa-he-iki.\n\nWhile they were running a great noise was heard far behind them. The\ndog had been awakened, and had discovered the escape of his prisoner.\nThen rushing like a whirlwind around the temple he found the direction\nin which they had fled. This was the path naturally taken by those\nleaving Oahu to escape to Hawaii. The great dog only waiting to learn\nthe course taken, pursued them on the wings of the wind.\n\nThe two chiefs fled, but saw that it was impossible to outrun the dog.\nThen the father uttered the prayer which the priest had said would save\nthem if Kaupe followed. They ran with increased strength and swiftness,\nbut the dog would soon be upon them. Again the father repeated the\nprayer:\n\n\n           \u201cO Ku! O Lono! O Ka-ne! O Kanaloa!\n            By the power of the gods,\n            By the strength of this prayer,\n            Save us two. Save us two.\u201d\n\n\nThen they found a great stone at Moanalua under which they were able to\nhide.\n\nThe dog had only one thought, which was that the father and son would\nreturn to Hawaii as speedily as possible aided by their gods, so he\nrushed to the beach, leaped into the air and flew to Hawaii.\n\nThe chiefs went to the temple Ka-he-iki, and were gladly welcomed by\nthe priest, Kahilona, who taught them the prayers by which they could\novercome and destroy the dog-man.\n\nAfter they were fully instructed they returned to their home on Hawaii\nand waged war against their enemy. They obeyed the directions of the\npriest and finally killed Kaupe.\n\nBut the ghost of Kaupe was not killed. He returned as a ghost-god to\nthe highest part of Nuuanu Valley, where in his shadow body he can\nsometimes be seen in the clouds which gather around the mountain-tops\nor come down the valley. Sometimes his cloud-form is that of a large\ndog, and sometimes he is very small, but there his ghost rests and\nwatches over the lands which at one time he filled with terror.\n\nKahilona, the priest of the temple Ka-he-iki, became the ancestor of\none of the greatest of the priestly clans of the islands\u2014the\nMo-o-kahuna (the priests of the dragon) class of Oahu, noted for their\nability to read the signs of sky and sea and land.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIV\n\nTHE CANOE OF THE DRAGON\n\n\nKoa-trees, out of which the finest and most enduring calabashes of the\nold Hawaiians were made, grew near the ocean\u2019s sandy shore, but the\nkoa-trees from which canoes were carved and burned were, according to\nsome wise plan of Providence, placed on rough precipitous\nmountain-sides or on the ridges above.\n\nThe fierce winds of the mountains and the habit of bracing themselves\nagainst difficulties made the koa-trees cross-grained and slow in\ngrowth. The koa was the best tree of the Hawaiian Islands for the\ncurled, twisted, and hard-grained wood needed in canoes which were\nbeaten by overwhelming surf waves, rolled over sandy beaches, or\nsmashed against coral or lava reefs.\n\nFrom the time the canoe was cut in the mountains and was dragged and\nrolled over lava beds or sent crashing down steep mountain-sides to the\ntime it lay worn out and conquered by the decay of old age it was\nalways ready to meet the roughest kind of life into which its maker and\nowner could force it to go.\n\nThe calabash used in the plains and in the mountains came from a tree\ngrown in beautiful lines by the sea. The canoe came from the hard\nmountain-koa far from its final workshop. There were gods, sacrifices,\nceremonies, priests and even birds in the rites and superstitions of\nthe canoe-makers. Kupulupulu was the god of the koa forest. Any\nwanderer in the woods was in the domain of that god. It was supposed\nthat every rustling footstep was heard by most acute ears, and every\nmotion of the hand was watched by the sharpest eyes. Dread of the\nunseen and unheard made every forest rover tremble until he had made\nsome proper offering and uttered some effective incantation.\n\nThe ceremony and the wages of the priest who went up the mountain to\nselect a koa-tree for canoe-cutting were like this: First he found a\nfine-appearing tree which he thought would make the kind of canoe\ndesired. Then he took out his fire-sticks and rubbed rapidly until he\nhad sparks of fire in the wood-dust of his lower stick. He caught the\nfire and made a burning oven (imu), heated some stones, cooked a black\npig and a chicken, and prepared food for a feast, and then prayed:\n\n\n       \u201cO Kupulupulu\u2014the god!\n        Here is the pig,\n        Here is the chicken,\n        Here is food.\n        O Kupulupulu!\n        O Kulana wao!\n        O Ku-ohia laka!\n        O Ku waha ilo!\n        Here is food for the gods.\u201d\n\n\nThe aumakuas, or spirits of ancestors, were supposed to join with the\ngods of the prayer in partaking of the shadow of the feast, leaving the\nsubstance for the canoe-makers.\n\nAfter the offering and prayer the priests ate and then lay down to\nsleep until the next day. In the morning after another feast they began\nto cut the tree.\n\nDavid Malo, in his \u201cHawaiian Antiquities,\u201d said that the priest took\nhis stone axe and called upon the female deities of the canoe-cutters\nthus:\n\n\n       \u201cO Lea and Ka-pua-o-alakai!\n        Listen now to the axe.\n        This is the axe which is to cut the tree for the canoe.\u201d\n\n\nAnother account says that when the canoe priest began to cut the tree\nand also as long as they were chopping it down they were talking to the\ngods thus:\n\n\n       \u201cO Ku Akua! O Paapaaina!\n        Take care while the tree is falling,\n        Do not break our boat,\n        Do not let the tree smash and crack.\u201d\n\n\nWhen the tree began to tremble and its leaves and branches rustle, a\ntabu of silence was enjoined upon the workmen, that the tree itself\nmight be the only one heard by the watching gods.\n\nWhen the tree had fallen a careful watch was made for Lea, the wife of\nMoku-halii, the chief god of the canoe-carvers\u2014those who hollowed out\nthe canoe.\n\nIt was supposed that Lea had a double body\u2014sometimes she was a human\nbeing and sometimes she appeared as a bird.\n\nHer bird body was that of the Elepaio, a little bird covered with\nspeckled feathers, red and black on the wings, the woodpecker of the\nHawaiians.\n\n\u201cWhen she calls she gives her name \u2018E-le-pai-o, E-le-pai-o,\nE-le-pai-o!\u2019 very sweetly.\u201d\n\nIf she calls while the tree is being cut down and then flies gently\ndown to the fallen tree and runs up and down from end to end, and does\nnot touch the tree, nor bend the head over, striking the wood, then\nthat tree is sound and good for a canoe.\n\nBut if the goddess strikes the tree here and there it is rotten and of\nno use, and is left lying on the ground.\n\nDavid Malo, as translated by Dr. Emerson, says:\n\n\u201cWhen the tree had fallen the head priest mounted the trunk, axe in\nhand, and called out in a loud voice, \u2018Smite with the axe, and hollow\nthe canoe! Give me my malo!\u2019\n\nThe priest\u2019s wife would hand him a white ceremonial malo with which he\ngirded himself\u2014then walked along the tree a few steps and called out in\na loud voice, \u2018Strike with the axe, and hollow it! Grant us a canoe!\u2019\n\nThen he struck a blow on the tree with the axe. This was repeated until\nhe reached the point where the head of the tree was to be cut off. Here\nhe wreathed the tree with the ieie vine, repeated a prayer, commanded\nsilence, and cut off the top of the tree.\n\nThis done, the priest declared the ceremony performed and the tabu\nlifted.\n\nThen the priests took their stone adzes, hollowed out the canoe on the\ninside, and shaped it on the outside until in its rough shape it was\nready to be dragged by the people down to the beach and finished and\npolished for its work in the sea.\u201d\n\nKa-hanai-a-ke-Akua was a chief residing near Kou. He lived in the time\nwhen gods and men mingled freely with each other and every tabu chief\nwas more or less of a god because of his high birth.\n\nHis priests went up Nuuanu Valley to a place on the side where forests\ncovered a small valley running into the side hills of the larger and\nmore open valley. Great koa-trees fit for canoe-making were found in\nthis forest. However, this part of the valley belonged to the eepa\npeople\u2014the deformed or ill-shaped gnomes of woodland or plain.\nSometimes they seemed to be crippled and warped in mind as well as in\nbody. They could be kind and helpful, but they were often vindictive\nand quarrelsome. There were also ferocious mo-o, or dragon-gods,\nwatching for prey. Travellers were destroyed by them. They sometimes\nappeared as human beings, but were always ready to become mo-os.\n\nOne of these gods came down to the place where the priests were cutting\nthe koa canoe for the high chief. He watched the ceremonies and\nlistened to the incantations while the tree was being cut down. He\ntried to throw obstacles in the way of the men who were steadily\nbreaking chips from the tree-trunk. He directed the force of the wind\nsweeping down the valley against them. He sent black clouds burdened\nwith heavy driving rain. He made discouraging omens and sent signs of\nfailure, but the priests persevered.\n\nAt last the tree fell and was accepted. It was speedily trimmed of its\nbranches, cut roughly to the required shape and partly hollowed out.\nThen coconut ropes and vines were fastened around it, and the people\nbegan to pull it down the valley to the harbor of Kou.\n\nAs they started to drag the log over rough lava ridges outcropping\nalong the valley-side they found their first effort checked. The log\ndid not move down into the valley. Rather, it seemed to go up the\nhillside. The god caught one end and pulled back. Another mighty effort\nwas put forth and the canoe and the god slipped over the stones and\npartly down the hillside. But the dragon-god braced himself again and\nmade the canoe very heavy. He could not hold it fast and it came down\nto the men. It was very difficult to drag it through the forest of the\nvalley-side or the thickets of the valley, so the men pulled it down\ninto the rough, rocky bed of the little stream known as Nuuanu. It was\nthought that the flowing water would help the men and the slippery\nstones would hinder the god.\n\nDown they went pulling against each other. The god seemed to feel that\nthe struggle under such conditions was hopeless, so he let go of the\ncanoe and turned to the flowing water.\n\nBeautiful waterfalls and cascades abound all along the course of this\nmountain stream. It is fed by springs and feathery waterfalls which\nthrow the rainfall from the tops of the mountains far down into the\nvalley.\n\nThe god hastened along this water course, stopped up the springs, and\nturned aside the tributary streams, leaving the bed of the river dry.\nThen he went down once more, caught the canoe, and pulled back. It was\nweary, discouraging work, and the chief\u2019s people became very tired of\ntheir struggle. The night fell when they were still some distance from\nthe sea.\n\nThey had come to a place known as Ka-ho-o-kane. [26] In this place\nthere were sharp turns, steep banks and great stones. Here the\ndragon-god fought most earnestly and wedged the log fast in the rocks.\n\nThe task had become so difficult and it was so dark that the high chief\nallowed his priests to call the people away, leaving the log in the\nplace where the last struggle was made. It was a gift to the mo-o, the\ndragon, and was known as \u201cThe canoe of the dragon-god.\u201d It is said that\nit lies there still, changed into a stone, stuck fast among the other\nhuge stones among which the water from the mountains finds its way\nlaughing at the defeat of the canoe-makers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXV\n\nTHE WONDERFUL SHELL\n\n\nNear Niolapa, on the eastern side of Nuuanu Valley, is the stone where\nKapuni rested when he came after the shell known as the Kiha-pu. Kapuni\nwas a child of Kauhola, who was said to have been a chief, who was\nborn, was walking and had grown up, had become a father, a grandfather,\nand had died, all in one day. Kapuni was born in Waipio Valley, and was\nplaced in the temple Pakaaluna and was made a god.\n\nTwo gods came from Puna. They were Kaakau and Kaohuwalu. They waited\nabove Hakalaoa looking down into Waipio. There they saw Kapuni leaping.\nHe touched a branch of a kukui-tree and fell down. He leaped again and\ntouched the short top branches of the kukui and fell down.\n\nKaakau said to Kaohuwalu, \u201cSuppose we get Kapuni to go with us as our\ntravelling companion, one with us, in fierce storms, or in the cold\nheavy dews of night.\u201d\n\nKaohuwalu assented, and they arose and went down. They called to\nKapuni, asking him to leap up. He tried again and again and always fell\nback.\n\nKaakau caught him as he fell and cut off part of his body because he\nwas too heavy, then he could fly to the sky and return again.\n\nKaakau asked him how he was succeeding. He replied, \u201cVery well indeed;\nI am swift in flight.\u201d Then Kaakau said, \u201cWill you go with us on a\njourney?\u201d Kapuni said, \u201cYes.\u201d\n\nThey went away to the lands of Kahiki and returned to Kauai. From there\nthey heard the wonderful voice of a shell sounding from the temple\nWaolani in Nuuanu Valley.\n\nKapuni said, \u201cWhat is that thing which makes such a sound?\u201d\n\nKaakau said, \u201cThat is a shell which belongs to the eepas [gnomes], the\npeople of Waolani, Oahu.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want that shell very much,\u201d said Kapuni. Kaakau told him that the\ntask would be very difficult and dangerous, for the shell was guarded\nby watchmen from hill to hill, from the sea to the summit of the\nvalley, and along all the pathways to the neighboring villages.\n\nThe gods, however, crossed the channel to Oahu, and rested at night\nabove Kahakea. Here was a temple above Waolani. It was upon a hill. In\nit was a noted drum. The name of that temple was Pakaaluna. Kapuni told\nhis friends to stay there waiting for him. If he did not return before\nthe red dust of the dawn was in the sky they would know he was dead. If\nhe returned he would have the shell.\n\nThen he approached the prison enclosure outside the temple. Here he\nwaited by a rock for all the watchmen on the high places around the\ntemple to fall asleep. When the stars arose in the heavens above Nuuanu\nand all were sound asleep he entered the temple and took the shell. He\nflew away and found his companions.\n\nThey made a great jump and leaped to Kalaau Point. As they flew over\nthe water to Molokai the shell touched the top of a wave and sang with\na clear voice.\n\nThe god of Waolani Temple heard the shell singing, looked, and found\nthat it had been stolen. He rushed from the temple, flew over the\nNuuanu precipice and out into the channel from which he had heard the\nsound.\n\nKapuni hid among the waves, the shell ceased its song. The god of\nWaolani went back and forth over the water, but could find nothing.\n\nAfter the god gave up the search Kapuni went on to Molokai and then to\nMaui and Hawaii. As it flew across the channel between Maui and Hawaii\nthe shell struck a high wave and broke off a corner.\n\nWhen they were on the hills of Hawaii they found the temple built at\nHainoa. There the gods of Hawaii were gathered together.\n\nKiha was high chief of Hawaii at that time, and had been dwelling in\nWaipio Valley, cultivating his plant, planting awa, and building a\ntemple for his gods.\n\nWhen that temple was finished and the tabu of silence lifted from all\nthe surrounding country he went to Kawaihae and built another temple,\nestablishing another altar for his gods. He placed the usual tabu upon\nall the land around Kawaihae.\n\nBut the tabu was broken by the sound of that shell blown by the gods of\nthe Hainoa Temple. He was very much troubled, but the gods were too\nstrong for him. At last help came to him from Puapualenalena (The\nyellow flower), a dog belonging to a master who had left his home in\nNiihau some time before.\n\nPuapualenalena was seeking his master, and found him on the uplands of\nHawaii.\n\nThe dog excelled in his skill as a thief, stealing pigs, chickens, tapa\ncloth, all kinds of property for his master.\n\nThe master told that dog to get the tabu awa roots of the king, which\nwere growing on the hillsides of Waipio Valley.\n\nWhen that place was stripped, he sent the dog to the precipices of\nWaimanu, and he took nearly all that was there.\n\nThen the king commanded his people to watch the awa fields and catch\nthe one who was stealing his growing awa.\n\nThey began their watch. When the night was almost over and the dawn was\ntouching the sky they found the thief. These men followed the thief and\ncaught his master in a cave, all wrinkled from drinking much awa.\n\nThey took the master and the dog to the king Kiha as prisoners, and the\nking planned to have them steal that shell which troubled him. If they\nfailed they should be put to death. This was the sentence of the king\nupon his prisoners.\n\nThe master talked with his dog, and told him all the word of the king.\nThey planned to pay for the theft of the awa, but not by the death of\ntheir bodies.\n\nThe dog went out to win the shell from the gods under cover of the\nnight, when the darkness was great and all kinds of shell voices were\nmingling with other voices of the woodland and wilderness.\n\nThen came the softly resonant voice of that shell blown by the gods.\nAccording to an ancient chant, \u201cThe song of Kiha-pu calls Kauai,\u201d\nmeaning the song is listened to from far distant Kauai.\n\nThe dog ran swiftly while the sound of the shell was great, and hid in\na corner of a stone wall of the heiau. He waited and waited a long\ntime. The dawn was almost at hand. Then the watchers fell into deep\nsleep.\n\nThe dog crept softly inside, seized the shell and slipped it away from\nits place, then leaped over six walls of the heiau, but touched the\nseventh and outside wall. Then the shell sang out loud and clear.\n\nThe gods were aroused. They followed, but the dog leaped into a pool of\nwater and concealed himself and the shell while the gods dashed by.\nThey searched the road toward Waipio, then rushed toward the Kona\ndistrict.\n\nThe dog flew from the pond down the precipice of Waipio Valley and laid\nthe shell at the feet of Kiha, the king of Hawaii.\n\nThe dog and his master were given a high place in the affections of the\nking.\n\nThe shell was renowned for its wonderful sound, and could call the\nwarriors of the king from any distance when the king caused it to be\nblown. It was known as Kiha\u2019s shell, the Kiha-pu.\n\nThis shell was carefully preserved by the chiefs of Hawaii from that\nancient time. Generation after generation it was cared for. In the time\nof Kamehameha III. it was kept in his palace. It was among the\ntreasures of King Kalakaua, and now has its resting-place in the hands\nof ex-Queen Liliuokalani in Honolulu.\n\nWhen Kapuni died, his bones, worshipped as one of the gods, were kept\nat Kaawaloa until the tabu and the temples were overthrown.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVI\n\nTHE GHOST DANCE ON PUNCHBOWL\n\nKa Hula O Na Aumakua\n\n\nPunchbowl lies back of Honolulu. It is an extinct volcano. Inside the\ncrater rim is a basin whose sides are grass-covered, with groups of\ntrees here and there. The little houses and small gardens of squatters\nshow that there is no longer any fear of subterranean activity. A large\npart of the city of Honolulu is built on what were once the brown,\ndesolate sides of the volcano sloping down to the sea.\n\nPunchbowl is one of the last attempts of the goddess of fire to retain\nher hold on the island of Oahu. The great ridge of mountains which\nforms the backbone of the island is a gigantic remnant of volcanic\naction, but the craters out of which this vast mass of lava was poured\ndied centuries before the foothill craters threw out the last black\nsand of Punchbowl or uplifted the coral and the white sea sand and\nshells of Leahi Diamond Head.\n\nIn the indefinite long ago, Kakei was the moi, or high ruling chief, of\nOahu. He was enterprising and brave. He not only perfected himself in\nthe use of the spear, the war-club and the sling-stone, but he rallied\naround him the restless young chiefs of the districts which\nacknowledged his supremacy. His court was filled with men who gave and\nreceived blows, who won and lost in the many games, who were penniless\nto-day and rich to-morrow, and yet took all that came as a matter of\ncourse. Kakei called these younger chiefs together and told them to\nreturn to their districts for a time and make preparations for a voyage\nand a battle. They must see that many new canoes were made and the best\nof the old ones repaired and repolished. They must select the bravest\nand best of their retainers and have them well armed and well\nprovisioned. He hinted that it might be a long journey, therefore they\nhad better provide strong mat sails for all the canoes. It might be\nmany days, therefore the provisions should be such as would last. At\nonce the young men with great joy hastened to their homes to obey the\nwill of their chief.\n\nIt was impossible to keep the people from talking about the expedition.\nExcitement predominated. The shrill voices of the women shouted the\nnews from valley to valley. The hum of unwonted industry was heard over\nall the island. Imagination was keenly intent to discover the point\nthreatened by the proposed excursion. Night after night the people\ndiscussed the various enemies of their king, and his prospects for\nsuccessful battle with them, or they talked of the enlargement of his\nkingdom by the acquisition of Molokai or the increase of riches by a\nforay along the coasts of Hawaii. They prophesied great victories and\nmuch spoil. Months passed by and all the preparations were complete. A\nsplendid body of warriors were gathered around their high chief. The\nlarge flotilla of canoes was launched, the sails set, and the colored\npennants placed at the end of each mast. The young chiefs were\nbrilliant in their bright yellow and red war capes and hideous with the\nwar masks which many of them proudly wore as they leaped into their\ncanoes and shouted \u201cAloha\u201d to the friends whom they were leaving.\n\nAs soon as the boats had left the shore the chief turned to the north\nrather than to the south, as all had been led to believe would be the\ncourse. Sails and paddles were both used freely. The winds of the seas\nand the strong arms of the oarsmen vied with each other in hastening\nthe fleet toward the island of Kauai. Night crept over the waters, but\nthe bright stars were unclouded and the path over the waters was as\nstraight by night as it had been by day.\n\nThe morning star was shining and the dawn was painting the clear sky\nwith wonderful tints of pearl when Kakei and his army of warriors,\nalready on the land, raised their war-cry and assaulted the people of\nthe village of Waimea.\n\nCatching war-club and spear the chief of Waimea rushed out of his\nhouse, raising his war-cry. His men, half-awake, confused and dazed by\nthe sudden attack, attempted to aid him in resisting the invaders. The\nbattle was short and decisive. In a very little while many people were\nkilled. The thatched houses were set on fire and a great destruction\nwrought.\n\nKakei had ordered his warriors to seize the canoes and the women and\nchildren and whatever plunder in calabashes, mats, kapa cloth, stone\nimplements and feather cloaks could be had, and gather all together on\nthe beach.\n\nThe captured canoes and their own great fleet were filled and the\nreturn safely made to Oahu. Kakei and his warriors sailed around the\nisland to Honolulu Harbor. There the beach was covered with the new\nriches and the captive women and children. The king ordered a great\nfeast to be prepared on the slopes of Punchbowl. Fish in abundance were\ncaught, pigs and chickens were slaughtered, many ovens with red-hot\nstones were made ready, and huge calabashes of awa prepared.\n\nKakei and his victorious warriors gathered around the poi-bowl, while\nthe hula-girls danced most joyously before them.\n\nSuddenly the earth shook under them, the poi-bowls rocked as if tossed\non the waters of the sea, the feast which had been spread before them\nmoved from place to place as if made of things of life. The rocky\ncliffs of Punchbowl began to separate and come crashing down the\nhillside in great masses. The people fled in every direction, leaving a\npart of their number crushed under the falling stones.\n\nThen came another mighty earthquake. The side of Punchbowl opened and a\nflood of lava poured out, mixed with clouds of steam and foul gases.\nDown over the place where the feast was spread on the luau mats poured\nthe fire. The feast became the food of the fire-goddess. Then a\nwonderful thing appeared above the flowing lava, in the midst of the\nclouds hovering over the crater. A number of the aumakua of Kauai were\nseen in a solemn and stately dance. Back and forth they moved to the\nrhythm of steady peals of erupting gases. The clouds swayed to and fro,\nwhile the ghosts moved back and forth among them. The spirits of the\nancestors had come to protect the women and children of the households\nwhose friendly deities they were. It was the ceremonial, sacred dance\nof the spirits, to be followed by swift punishment of those who had\nbrought such great injury to Kauai.\n\nBut while the ghosts continued their awful dance, the terrified king\nand his warriors hastily prepared a propitiation. The captured women\nand children were called to the beach. All the plunder brought from\nWaimea was hastily collected and placed in the hands of the captives.\nThe kahunas, the priests of the king, were sent to the slope above\nPunchbowl Hill to cry out to the aumakuas that all the reparation\npossible would be made at once.\n\nThe warriors placed the captives and their goods in canoes, and started\nback to Kauai. As the canoes passed out of sight the earthquakes\nceased. No longer was there the thunder of imprisoned gases leaping to\nliberty. The fires died away, and the flood of lava cooled. The\naumakuas had accepted the offered repentance of the king and his\nwarriors.\n\nIt is said that the fire never again returned to that crater or to the\nisland of Oahu.\n\n\n\nNote: Curious and weird tales are told concerning these two small,\npicturesque volcanoes of the city which in tropical luxuriance is one\nof the most beautiful spots in the Pacific Ocean. Near the foot of\nDiamond Head, and not far from the caves which burrow its sides, was\nthe heiau (temple) which was one of the last to be glutted with human\nsacrifices. Its altars were loaded with bodies of dead men when\nKamehameha brought his warriors from Hawaii and Maui and with much\nbloodshed conquered Oahu and unified the Islands under one government.\nOn the brow of Diamond Head, fronting the sea, are the remains of a\nsmall fish-god temple within the walls of which the less cruel\nofferings were made to Kuula to gain his favor in securing food from\nthe sea. Battles were fought and noted deeds of daring done both east\nand west of this prominent crater.\n\nThe summit of Punchbowl is crowned with a bold, frowning pile of\nperpendicular rocks. On the top of this pile peculiar human sacrifices\nare said to have been offered from time to time.\n\nThe natives whisper a story that one of the last kings of the\nKamehameha family, in a drunken fit, so seriously injured his son that\nultimately death resulted. The crazed father planned an expiation. The\nword was quietly passed that no one was to move far away from his home\nthat night. There was an air of mystery around the city. What happened\nwas never accurately known, but a fire burned on the high rock, and the\nsmoke fell around it that night. It was hinted that a drunken sailor\nmight easily have disappeared while staggering through the dark\nshadows, and be but little missed.\n\nBut back in the olden time there was laid the foundation for a legend\nwhich in these later days becomes a good folk-lore tale. Many of the\nHawaiians of to-day believe in the continual presence of the aumakuas,\nthe spirits of the dead. In time past the aumakuas were a powerful\nreality. An ancestor, a father or a grandfather, a makua, died.\nSometimes he went to Po, the under-world, or to Milu, the shadow-land,\nor to Lani, the Hawaiian heaven, and sometimes he remained to be a\ntorment or a blessing to his past friends.\n\nIn Samoa, Turner says that the aumakuas were supposed to come back from\nthe under-world and enter into the bodies of those they wished to\ntrouble. They might find a home in the stomach or heart or bowels, but\nwherever they found an abiding-place the spirit produced disease and\ndeath. If a man was dying, his neighbors desired to be on good terms\nwith him and did all they could to make him comfortable.\n\nThis is very much like the power of praying to death among the\nHawaiians. The spirit of some dead person was supposed to be the real\ndestructive agent in putting to death the one prayed against. The\naumakua (the ancestor spirit) was more powerful than any living human\nforce.\n\nIn Tahiti the oro-matuas (aumakuas) were very malignant, cruel and\nrelentless in punishing those who incurred their displeasure. In all\nthe different groups of islands, however, the ghosts were supposed to\nbelong to particular families and to exert their mysterious power in\ncaring for these households. Many Hawaiian families have stories which\nare still firmly believed, of special favors granted to individuals in\ntime of danger. A school-boy in Hilo told the writer how his\ngrandfather was saved when his canoe upset, and how he was safely\nbrought to the land by the shark into which the family aumakua had\nentered. The story is told of a man captured in battle, tied up in\ngreen ti leaves ready to be put into the pit full of red-hot stones,\nand then set free by the owl in which the protector of his family was\ndwelling. \u201cPeople sometimes gave the bodies of their relatives to\nsharks in order that their spirits might enter into the sharks, or\nthrew them into the crater of Kilauea, that the spirits might join the\ncompany of volcanic deities and afterward befriend the family.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVII\n\nTHE BIRD-MAN OF NUUANU VALLEY\n\n\nNamaka was a noted man of the time of Kalaniopuu. He was born on Kauai,\nbut journeyed forth to find some one whom he would like to call his\nlord. He was skilled in managing land (Kalai-aina), an orator\n(Kakaolelo), and could recite genealogies (Kaauhau). He excelled in\nspear-throwing (lonomakaihe), boxing or breaking the back of his\nopponent (lua), leaping or flying (lele) and astronomy (kilo). All this\nhe had learned on Kauai.\n\nSailing from Kauai he landed on Oahu. In Nuuanu Valley he met Pakuanui,\na very skilful man, a fine orator and boxer. He was the father of\nKa-ele-o-waipio, a noted man of the time of Kamehameha, the maker of a\nchant for the missionaries at Kailua.\n\nToward the upper end of Nuuanu Valley, in a place Ka-hau-komo, where\nspreading hau [27] trees cluster on both sides of the road, Namaka and\nPakuanui had a contest. They prepared themselves for boxing and\nwrestling, and then faced each other to show their skill and agility.\n\nThis man from Kauai appeared like a rainbow bending over the hau-trees,\narched in the red rain, or in the mist cloud over the Pali, as he\ncircled around Pakuanui. He was like the ragged clouds of Lanihuli, or\nthe wind rushing along the top of the Pali. His hands were like the\nrain striking the leaves of the bushes of Malailua. He was so swift and\nstrong that he could catch Pakuanui in any part of his body.\n\nThe man of Oahu could not hold Namaka. That Kauai man was as slippery\nas an eel, and as hard to hold as certain kinds of smooth, slimy fish,\nalways escaping the hands of Pakuanui. But he could strike any place.\nThe hill of the forehead he struck, the ridge of the nose also. There\nwas no place he could not touch. He rushed like a whirlwind around the\nman. However, he did not try to kill Pakuanui. He wished only to\ndisplay his skill.\n\nPakuanui was very much ashamed and angry because he could not do\nanything with Namaka, and planned to kill him when they should reach\nthe Pali (precipice of Nuuanu Valley), to which they were going after\nthe boxing contest.\n\nWhen they came to Kapili at the top of the Pali, a very narrow place,\nPakuanui said to Namaka, \u201cYou may go before me.\u201d\n\nNamaka passed by on the outside and Pakuanui gave him a kick, knocking\nhim over the Pali, expecting him to be dashed to pieces on the rocks at\nthe foot of the precipice.\n\nBut Namaka flew away from the edge of the Pali. The people who were\nwatching said: \u201cHe went off. He flew off from the Pali like an Io bird,\nleaping into the air of Lanihuli, spreading out his arms like wings.\nWhen the strong wind twisted and whirled, Namaka was lifted like a kite\nby the wind, and hung among the kukui branches below a little waterfall\nwhich is on the western side of the precipice where a rivulet starts on\nits way to the ocean.\u201d Then he leaped to the ground and went away to\nMaui. At Pohakuloa, on Maui, Namaka leaped down some precipices,\nshowing his strength and skill.\n\nWhen Namaka came to Hawaii, Kalaniopuu was king. He liked him very much\nand hoped to have him as his lord.\n\n\nNote: The older natives sometimes recall this wonderful flight of the\nman from Kauai who was skilful in leaping and flying from the edge of\nprecipices.\n\n\nHowever, another man from Kauai was a favorite with the king. He knew\nNamaka, and was afraid that he might be supplanted when the king should\nlearn about Namaka\u2019s wonderful powers, so he gave no welcome to Namaka,\nbut turned him away.\n\nNamaka went to Waimea and found Hinai, the high chief of that place, a\nnear relative to Kalaniopuu. He told Hinai what he could do, and was\nmade a favorite of the high chief.\n\nHe taught Hinai how to be very skilful in all his arts, and especially\nin leaping from precipices. He hoped that Hinai\u2019s skill would be noised\nabroad, and the king would hear and wish to have the teacher come to\nlive with him.\n\nHinai became very proficient, and even wonderful, in standing on the\nedge of high precipices and leaping down unhurt. These places have been\npointed out to the young people by their parents.\n\nWhen the favorite of Kalaniopuu heard that there was a very skilful man\nfrom Kauai stopping with the high chief of Waimea, he told the king\nthat an enemy from Kauai was in Waimea.\n\nThe king listened to this man and then he charged Namaka with trying to\nmake his relative Hinai so skilful in leaping down high places that he\ncould always escape any attempt to injure him.\n\nThe favorite said: \u201cThis man, Namaka, can fly over mountains and\nstreams and precipices and plains and not be killed. He is a rebel\nagainst your kingdom.\u201d\n\nKalaniopuu commanded some men to go and kill this stranger from Kauai,\ntelling them to begin war upon Hinai if he opposed their attempt to\ntake the stranger.\n\nNamaka had prepared himself for escape by digging in the ground and\nmaking a pit under his house, with a tunnel and an opening some\ndistance away.\n\nThe warriors from Kalaniopuu surrounded the house, thinking he was\ninside. They consulted about the best method of killing him, and\ndecided to burn him up. They set fire to the house and destroyed it and\nwent away, believing this stranger had been burned to death.\n\nNamaka easily escaped from Hawaii and crossed over to Maui, where he\nremained some time, but he found no one whom he wished to take as his\nlord. Then he went to Oahu, and at last returned to his home on Kauai.\n\nThere prophesying about the chiefs of Hawaii, whom he had considered\nsuperior to those on Maui and Oahu, but not equal to the royal family\nof Kauai, he spoke thus: \u201cThere is no ruling chief in Hawaii who can\nstep his foot on the tabu sand of Kahamaluihi [Kauai]. There is no war\ncanoe or divine chief who can come to Kauai unless a treaty has been\nmade between the two ruling chiefs.\u201d\n\nThe natives call this a prophecy of the skilled chief who could fly\nfrom Nuuanu Pali, and think it was fulfilled because Kamehameha never\nconquered Kauai, but secured it by concession from its king.\n\n\nNote: History repeats itself the world over. Recently the bird-men\nvisited Hawaii and gave exhibitions of flying in a\u00ebroplanes. According\nto old Hawaiian traditions, however, there were bird-men in Hawaii\nbefore the white man came, as the foregoing translation from one of the\nold legends illustrates.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVIII\n\nTHE OWLS OF HONOLULU\n\n\nPUEO\n\nThere are three celebrated \u201cowl\u201d localities in the suburbs of Honolulu,\none in Manoa Valley, the second near the foot of Punchbowl Hill, and\none at Waikiki.\n\nIn Manoa the owl-god lived, and at Waikiki the famous \u201cbattle of the\nowls\u201d was fought.\n\nManoa Valley is one of the most beautiful rainbow valleys in the world.\nThe highest peaks of the island of Oahu are near the head of the\nvalley. The winds which blow down the Pacific Ocean from the northeast\nstrike these mountain-tops. Each cool breeze leaves its burden of\nmoisture in a fleecy cloud to fall down the mountain-side into the\nvalley. So cloud follows cloud, descending the slopes of the foothills\nin gentle rain.\n\nAlmost all day long the valley is open to the sun, which, looking on\nthe luxuriant verdure and clinging mist, sends its abundant blessing of\npenetrating light. Rainbows upon rainbows are painted on the steep\nprecipices at the head of the valley. There are arches and double\narches of exquisite beauty, smashed fragments of scattered color, broad\npillars of glorious fire blazing around green branches of ghost-like\ntrees, great bands of opal hues lying in magnificent masses on the\nhillside, and lunar rainbows almost circular outlined in soft prismatic\nshades in the time of the full moon.\n\nWhen showers creep down the valley one by one, rainbows also chase each\nother in matchless symmetry of quiet, graceful motion. Sometimes the\nmist in the doorway of the valley has become so ethereal that splendid\narches hang in the apparently clear sky without cloud support.\n\nIt is no wonder that from time immemorial the Hawaiians have made the\nvalley the home of royal chiefs, with the rainbow-maiden as their\ndaughter. The story of this child of the skies is told in the legend\nKa-hala-o-Puna (The sweet-scented hala-flower of Puna). Woven into this\nlegend is also the legend of the owl-god of the family to which this\nmaiden belonged, for his home as well as hers was in Manoa Valley.\n\nAlmost in the middle of the valley is a hill on which many years ago a\ntemple was built and dedicated as the home of the owl-god Pueo. The\nhill now bears the name \u201cPu-u\u201d (hill), \u201cPueo\u201d (owl)\u2014\u201cPuu-pueo,\u201d or \u201cThe\nhill of the owl.\u201d\n\nIt was from this temple that the owl-god rescued the rainbow-maiden\nthree times when she had been thrice killed and buried by her faithless\nsuitor, a chief of Waikiki.\n\nKa-hala (the hala flower) had followed this chief almost to the lower\nend of the valley, but she became weary. The angry chief struck her\nwith a bunch of hala nuts, killed her, and buried her under a mass of\nleaves and dirt near the spot called Aihualama. Pueo, the owl-god, had\ncarefully watched the journey of this one of his people. When he saw\nher struck down he hastened to the spot swiftly, dashed aside the dirt,\npulled out the body, and carried it in his claws back to the head of\nthe valley, where by charms and incantations he healed her wounded head\nand restored her to life. Soon her beauty came back to her and\nsurrounded her so that she walked as if encompassed with rainbows.\nAgain the Waikiki chief, to whom she had been affianced by her parents,\ncame after her. Again he became angry because she grew weary in the new\nway by which he led over a high ridge dividing Manoa from a neighboring\nvalley.\n\nA second time he seized a bunch of hala nuts swinging on their long\nstems, and with this as a club struck her on the head, killing her. He\ncovered the body with ferns and vines and went away. The watching\nowl-god took the body tenderly, cared for it, and restored it to life.\nOnce more the radiance of a divine chiefess rested in rainbows around\nthe girl and her Manoa Valley home.\n\nThe third time the chief called for her she obeyed with trembling, and\nfollowed him up the almost precipitous sides of Manoa Valley, over\nridges, across valleys and turbulent streams until they came to the\nridge by the Waolani Temple in Nuuanu Valley. There he killed her and\nburied her. But Pueo scratched away the leaves and dirt, and again gave\nher life.\n\nAt the head of Manoa Valley are many waterfalls pouring down the\nprecipices. The longer and most feathery of these falls are said to be\nthe tears of Ka-hala as she suffered from the attacks of the faithless\nchief of Waikiki.\n\nPueo, the owl-god, was also Pueo-alii, or \u201cking of owls.\u201d He had\nkahunas (priests) who consulted him by signs, and the aumakuas, or\nghost gods, sometimes in oracles. He was thought to be a chief leading\nhis army of ghosts along the hillside below the Puuhonua Temple. [28]\n\nFrom his own residence on Owl\u2019s Hill he governed all the valley,\napparently with much wisdom. It was said that one of the natives in the\nvalley displeased him. He captured the man and at once ordered the\ndeath penalty, calling him a rebel. The man secured the attention of\nthe owl-god for a moment, and presented the plea that he ought to be\npermitted to say something for himself before he was punished. This\nseemed reasonable. The execution was delayed; the man proved that he\nwas innocent of the charge against him. The owl-god established a law\nthat a person must be proved guilty before he could be condemned and\npunished. This came to be a custom among the Hawaiians as the years\npassed by.\n\nThe legends say that the fairy people, the Menehunes, built a temple\nand a fort a little farther up the valley above Puu-pueo, at a place\ncalled Kukaoo, where even now a spreading hau-tree shelters under its\nbranches the remaining walls and scattered stones of the Kukaoo Temple.\nIt is a very ancient and very noted temple site. Some people say that\nthe owl-god and the fairies became enemies and waged bitter war against\neach other. At last the owl-god beat the drum of the owl clan and\ncalled the owl-gods from Kauai to give him aid.\n\nThey flew across the channel in a great cloud and reinforced the\nowl-god. Then came a fierce struggle between the owls and the little\npeople. The fort and the temple were captured and the Menehunes driven\nout of the valley. [29]\n\n\n\n\nKAPOI\n\nThe second legendary owl locality is found near the foot of Punchbowl\nHill. [30]\n\nHonolulu as the name of even a village was not known. Apparently there\nwere very few people living along the watercourse coming down Nuuanu\nValley. It may have been that even Kou, (the ancient name for\nHonolulu,) had not been heard. At any rate, the seacoast was a place of\ngrowing rushes and nesting birds. A dry heated plain almost entirely\ndestitute of trees extended up to the foothills. Taro patches and\nlittle groves of various kinds of trees bordered each watercourse. The\npopulation was small and widely scattered. There was a legend of a band\nof robbers which infested this region. It was almost a \u201cdesolate\nplace.\u201d\n\nDown Pauoa Valley dashes a stream of beautiful clear water. This passes\nalong the eastern edge of a small extinct crater known as Punchbowl\nHill, whose ancient name was Puu-o-wai-na. The water from this stream\nwas easily diverted into choice taro patch land. Here not far from the\nupper end of Fort Street at Kahehuna lived a man by the name of Kapoi.\n\nHis grass house was decaying. The thatch was falling to pieces. It was\nbecoming a poor shelter from the storms which so frequently swept down\nthe valley. Kapoi went to the Kewalo marsh near the beach, where tall\npili grass was growing, to get a bundle of the grass to use for\nthatching. He found a nest of owl\u2019s eggs. He took up his bundle of\ngrass and nest of eggs and returned home.\n\nIn the evening he prepared to cook the eggs. With his fire-sticks he\nhad made a fire in his small imu, or oven. An owl flew down and sat on\nthe wall by the gate. Kapoi had almost finished wrapping the eggs in ti\nleaves and was about to lay them on the hot stones when the owl called\nto him: \u201cO Kapoi! Give me my eggs.\u201d\n\nKapoi said, \u201cHow many eggs belong to you?\u201d\n\nThe owl replied, \u201cI have seven eggs.\u201d\n\nThen Kapoi said, \u201cI am cooking these eggs for I have no fish.\u201d\n\nThe owl pleaded once more: \u201cO Kapoi! Give me back my eggs.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said Kapoi, \u201cI am already wrapping them for cooking.\u201d\n\nThen the owl said: \u201cO Kapoi! You are heartless, and you have no sorrow\nfor me if you do not give back my eggs.\u201d\n\nKapoi was touched, and said, \u201cCome and get your eggs.\u201d\n\nBecause of this kindness the owl became Kapoi\u2019s god, and commanded him\nto build a heiau (temple) and make a raised place and an altar for\nsacrifice. The name of the place where he was to build his temple was\nManoa. Here he built his temple. He laid a sacrifice and some bananas\non the altar, established the day for the tabu to begin and the day\nalso when the tabu should be lifted.\n\nThis was talked about by the people. By and by the high chief heard\nthat a man had built a temple for his god, had made it tabu and had\nlifted the tabu.\n\nKakuhihewa was living at Waikiki. He was the king after whom the island\nOahu was named Oahu-a-Kakuhihewa (The Oahu of Kakuhihewa). This was the\nespecial name of Oahu for centuries. Kakuhihewa encouraged sports and\ngames, and agriculture and fishing. His house was so large that its\ndimensions have come down in the legends, about 250 x 100 feet.\nKakuhihewa was kind, and yet this offence of Kapoi was serious in the\neyes of the people in view of their ancient customs and ideas.\nKakuhihewa had made a law for his temple which he was building at\nWaikiki. He had established his tabu over all the people and had made\nthe decree that, if any chief or man should build a temple with a tabu\non it and should lift that tabu before the tabu on the king\u2019s temple\nshould be over, that chief or man should pay the penalty of death as a\nrebel.\n\nThis king sent out his servants and captured Kapoi. They brought him to\nWaikiki and placed him in the king\u2019s heiau Kapalaha. He was to be\nkilled and offered in sacrifice to the offended god of the king\u2019s\ntemple.\n\n\n\n\nKUKAEUNAHIO\n\nThe third legendary locality for the owl-gods was the scene of the\n\u201cbattle of the owls.\u201d This was at Waikiki. Kapoi was held prisoner in\nthe Waikiki heiau. Usually there was a small, four-square, stone-walled\nenclosure in which sacrifices were kept until the time came when they\nshould be killed and placed on the altar. In some such place Kapoi was\nplaced and guarded.\n\nHis owl-god was grateful for the return of the eggs and determined to\nreward him for his kindness and protect him as a worshipper. In some\nway there must be a rescue. This owl-god was a \u201cfamily god,\u201d belonging\nonly to this man and his immediate household. According to the Hawaiian\ncustom, any individual could select anything he wished as the god for\nhimself and family. Kapoi\u2019s owl-god secured the aid of the king of\nowls, who lived in Manoa Valley on Owl\u2019s Hill. The king of owls sent\nout a call for the owls of all the islands to come and make war against\nthe king of Oahu and his warriors.\n\nKauai legends say that the sound of the drum of the owl-king was so\npenetrating that it could be heard across all the channels by the owls\non the different islands. In one day the owls of Hawaii, Lanai, Maui\nand Molokai had gathered at Kalapueo. [31] The owls of Koolau and\nKahikiku, Oahu, gathered together in Kanoniakapueo. [32] The owls of\nKauani and Niihau gathered in the place toward the sunset\u2014Pueo-hulu-nui\n(near Moanalua).\n\nKakuhihewa had set apart the day of Ka-ne\u2014the day dedicated to the god\nKa-ne and given his name\u2014as the day when Kapoi should be sacrificed.\nThis day was the twenty-seventh of the lunar month. In the morning of\nthat day the priests were to slay Kapoi and place him on the altar of\nthe temple in the presence of the king and his warriors.\n\nAt daybreak the owls rallied around that temple. As the sun rose, its\nlight was obscured. The owls were clouds covering the heavens. Warriors\nand chiefs and priests tried to drive the birds away. The owls flew\ndown and tore the eyes and faces of the men of Kakuhihewa. They\nscratched dirt over them and befouled them. Such an attack was\nirresistible\u2014Kakuhihewa\u2019s men fled, and Kapoi was set free.\n\nKakuhihewa said to Kapoi: \u201cYour god has mana (miraculous power) greater\nthan my god. Your god is a true god.\u201d\n\nKapoi was saved. The owl was worshipped as a god. The place of that\nbattle was Kukaeunahio-ka-pueo\n(The-confused-noise-of-owls-rising-in-masses).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIX\n\nTHE TWO FISH FROM TAHITI\n\n\nStrangers to Hawaiian history should know that to the Hawaiians Tahiti\nmeant any far-away or foreign land. Tahiti belongs to the Society\nIslands. Centuries ago it was one of the points visited by the Vikings\nof the Pacific, the Polynesian sea-rovers, among whom certain chiefs of\nthe Hawaiian Islands were not the least noted. They sailed to Tahiti\nand Samoa and other islands of the great ocean and returned after many\nmonths, celebrating their voyages in personal chants.\n\nThus the names of places many hundreds of miles distant from the\nHawaiian group were recorded in the chants and legends of the most\nfamous families of Hawaiian chiefs and kings. Some of the names brought\nback by the wanderers appear to have been given to places in their own\nhomeland. A large district on the island of Maui, where, it is said,\nthe friends of a Viking would gather for feasting and farewell dancing,\nwas named Kahiki-nui (The great  [33]Tahiti). A point of land not far\nfrom this district was called Keala-i-kahiki (The-way-to-Tahiti). These\nnames are not of recent origin, but are found in the scenes described\nby roving ancestors noted in genealogies of long ago. Probably about\nthe same time that the Vikings of Scandinavia were roaming along the\nAtlantic coasts the Pacific seamen were passing from group to group\namong the Pacific islands.\n\nAfter many voyages and several years probably the people who never\nwandered became careless concerning the specific name of the place to\nwhich some of their friends had sailed, and included the whole outside\nworld in the comprehensive declaration, \u201cGone to Tahiti\u201d (Kahiki). At\nany rate, this has been the usage for some centuries among the\nHawaiians.\n\nThe story I am about to tell you came to me as a marvellous,\nmysterious, miraculous myth of the long ago, when strange powers dwelt\nin both animals and men, and when cannibalism might have been carried\non to be reported later under the guise of eating the flesh of beast or\nfish. In the long ago there were two \u201cfish\u201d crossing the trackless\nwaters of the Pacific Ocean. Their home was in one of the far-away\nlands, known as Tahiti. These \u201cfish\u201d were great canoes filled with men.\nThey decided that they would like to visit some of the lands about\nwhich they had heard in the legends related by their fathers. They knew\nthat certain stars were always in certain places in the sky during a\npart of every year. By sailing according to these stars at night and\nthe sun by day they felt confident that they could find the wonderful\nfire-land of Hawaii about which they had been taught in the stories of\nreturned travellers. So the two \u201cfish\u201d\u2014the two boats\u2014after weary days\nand nights of storm and calm, of soft breeze and strong, continuous\nwinds, found the northeast side of the island of Oahu with its rugged\nfront of steep, precipitous rocks. The travellers landed first on a\npoint of land extending far out into the sea, terminating in a small\nvolcano. Here they made examination of the unfriendly coast and decided\nto journey entirely around the island, one fish, or boat, going toward\nthe north and the other toward the south. They were apparently\nintending to pass around the island and find an appropriate location\nfor a settlement. Possibly they planned to make a permanent home or\nhoped to meet some good community into which they might be absorbed.\nThe point of land which marked the separation of the two companies is\ncalled Makapuu. The boat which sailed toward the north found no good\nresting-place until it came to the fishing-village of Hauula. The\nstories told by the old natives of the present time do not give any\ndetails of the meeting between the strangers and the people residing in\nthe village. Evidently there was dissension and at last a battle. The\nwhole story is summed up by the Hawaiian legend in the saying: \u201cThe\nfish from Tahiti was caught by the fishermen of Hauula. They killed it\nand cut it up into pieces for food.\u201d Thus the visitors found death\ninstead of friendship, and cannibalism was thereby veiled by calling\nthe victims \u201cfish\u201d and the victory a \u201ccatch.\u201d\n\nThe custom of hiding hints of cannibalistic feasts and more definite\nhuman sacrifices under the name of \u201cfish\u201d continued through the\ncenturies even after the discovery of the islands by Captain Cook and\nthe advent of white men. David Malo, a native writer, who, about the\nyear 1840, wrote a concise sketch of Hawaiian history and customs,\ndescribed the capture of human sacrifices by the priests when needed\nfor temple worship. He says: \u201cThe priest conducted a ceremony called\nKa-papa-ulua. It was in this way: The priest accompanied by a number of\nothers went out to sea to fish for ulua with hook and line, using squid\nfor bait. If they were unsuccessful and got no ulua they returned to\nland and went from one house to another, shouting out to the people\nwithin and telling them some lie or other and asking them to come\noutside. If any one did come out, him they killed, and, thrusting a\nhook in his mouth, carried him away to the heiau [temple].\u201d This\nsacrifice was called ulua, and was placed before the god of the temple\nas if it were a fish. Sometimes a part of the body, usually an eye, was\neaten during the ceremonies of consecrating the offering to the idol.\nThis custom has passed the test of centuries and probably was the last\nremnant of cannibalism in the Hawaiian Islands. It endured even to the\ntime of the abolition of the temples and their idols.\n\nThe second fish from Tahiti had gone on southward in its journey around\nthe island of Oahu. It passed the rough and desolate craters of Koko\nHead on the eastern end of the island. It swam by Diamond Head and the\nbeautiful Waikiki Beach. Either the number of the inhabitants was so\nlarge that they were afraid to make any stay or else they preferred to\nmake the complete circuit of the island before locating, for they\nevidently made only a very short stay wherever they landed, and then\nhurried on their journey. By the time they reached Kaena, the\nnorthwestern cape of Oahu, they were evidently anxious concerning their\nmissing companions. Not a boat on the miles of water between Kaena and\nKahuku, the most northerly point on the island. The legend says that\nthe fish changed itself into a man and went inland to search the coast\nfor its friend, but the search was unsuccessful. It was now a weary\njourney from point to point, watching the sea and exploring all the\nspots on the beach where it seemed as if there was any prospect of\nfinding a trace of their expected friends. Where a break in the coral\nreef permitted their boat to approach the land they forced their way to\nshore. Then when the thorough search failed again, the boat was pushed\nout over the line of white inrolling breakers to the great sea until at\nlast the Tahitians came to Kahuku.\n\nNow they appeared no longer as \u201cfish,\u201d but went to the village at\nKahuku as men. They made themselves at home among the people and were\ninvited to a great feast. They heard the story of a battle with a great\nfish at Hauula and the capture of the monster. They heard how it had\nbeen cut up and its fragments widely distributed among the villages on\nthe northwest coast. Evidently provision had been made for several\ngreat feasts. The people of Kahuku, although several miles distant from\nHauula, had received their portion. The friendly strangers must share\nthis great gift with them. But the men from Tahiti with heavy hearts\nrecognized the fragments as a part of their companion. They could not\npartake of the feast, but by kindliness and strategy they managed not\nonly to decline the invitation, but also to secure some portions of the\nflesh to carry down to the sea. These were thrown into the water, and\nimmediately came to life. They had the color of blood as a reminder of\nthe death from which they had been reclaimed. Ever after they bore the\nname \u201cHilu-ula,\u201d or \u201cthe red Hilu.\u201d\n\nThen the \u201cfish\u201d from Tahiti went on around to Hauula. They went up to\nthe tabu land back of Hauula. They pulled up the tabu flags. Then they\ndammed up the waters of the valley above the village until there was\nsufficient for a mighty flood. The storms from the heavy clouds drove\nthe people into their homes. Then the Tahitians opened the flood-gates\nof their mountain reservoir and let the irresistible waters down upon\nthe village. The houses and their inhabitants were swept into the sea\nand destroyed. Thus vengeance came upon the cannibals.\n\nThe Tahitians were \u201cfish,\u201d therefore they went back into the ocean to\nswim around the islands. Sometimes they came near enough to the haunts\nof fishermen to be taken for food. They bear the name \u201chilu.\u201d But there\nare two varieties. The red hilu is cooked and eaten, but never eaten\nwithout having felt the power of fire. The trace of the cannibal feast\nis always over its flesh. Therefore it has to be removed by\npurification of the flames over which it is prepared for food. The blue\nhilu, the natives say, is salted and eaten uncooked. Thus the legend\nsays the two fish came from Tahiti, and thus they became the origin of\nsome of the beautiful fish whose colors flash like the rainbow through\nthe clear waters of Hawaii.\n\nAnother legend somewhat similar to this is told by the natives of\nHauula. There is a valley near this village called Kaipapau\n(The-valley-of-the-shallow-sea). Here lived an old kahuna, or priest,\nwho always worshipped the two great gods Ka-ne and Kanaloa. These gods\nhad their home in the place where the old man continually worshipped\nthem, but they loved to go away from time to time for a trip around the\nisland. Once the gods came to their sister\u2019s home and received from her\ndried fish for food. This they carried to the sea and threw into the\nwaters, where it became alive again and swam along the coast while the\ngods journeyed inland. By and by they came to the little river on which\nthe old man had his home. The gods went inland along the bank of the\nriver, and the fish turned also, forcing their way over the sand-bank\nwhich marked the mouth of the little stream. Then they went up the\nriver to a pool before the place where the gods had stopped. Ever\nsince, when high water has made the river accessible, these fish, named\nulua, have come to the place where the gods were worshipped by the\nkahuna and where they rested and drank awa with him. When the gods had\ntaken enough of the awa of the priest they turned away with the warning\nthat when he heard a great noise on the shore he must not go down to\nsee what the people were doing, but ask what the excitement was about,\nand if it was a shark or a great fish he was to remain at home. He must\nnot go to that place.\n\nA few days later a big wave came up from the sea and swept over the\nbeach. When the water flowed back there was left a great whale, the\ntail on the shore and the head out in the sea. The people came to see\nthe whale. They thought that it was dead. They played on its back and\nleaped into the deep waters from its head. Their shouts of joy and loud\nlaughter reached the ears of the priest, who was living inland. Then\nthe people came to the riverside to gather vines and flowers with which\nto make wreaths. Probably it was the intention of the villagers to cut\nthe great fish into pieces and have a feast. The old priest was very\nanxious to see the marvellous fish. He forgot the warning of the gods\nand went to the seaside. The people shouted for the old man to come\nquickly. The old priest stood by the tail of the great fish. As if to\nwelcome him the tail moved. He climbed on the back and ran to the head\nand leaped into the sea. The people cheered the priest as he returned\nto the beach and a second time approached the whale. Again there was\nthe motion of the tail, and again the priest ran along the back, but as\nhe leaped the whale caught him and carried him away to Tahiti.\nTherefore a name was given to a point of land not far from this\nplace\u2014the name \u201cKa-loe-o-ka-palaoa\u201d (The cape of the whale).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXX\n\nIWA, THE NOTABLE THIEF OF OAHU\n\n\nIn ancient Hawaii thieving was an honorable profession. It required\ncultivation as well as natural ability. Even as late as the days of\nCaptain Cook and his discovery of the Hawaiian Islands there is the\nrecord of a chief whose business was to steal successfully. When\nCaptain Cook discovered the island Kauai, a chief by the name of\nKapu-puu (The-tabu-hill) was one of the first to go out to the ships.\nHe went saying, \u201cThere is plenty of iron [hao]. I will \u2018hao\u2019 [steal]\nthe \u2018hao,\u2019 for to \u2018hao\u2019 [to plunder] is my livelihood\u201d\u2014as one historian\nexpressed the saying: \u201cTo plunder is with me house and land.\u201d The\nchief, however, was detected in the act and was shot and killed. The\nnatives never seemed to blame Captain Cook for the death of that chief.\nThe thief was unsuccessful. Really, the sin of stealing consisted in\nbeing detected.\n\nThe story of Iwa, the successful thief, is back in the days when Umi\nwas king of Hawaii, fourteen generations of kings before Kamehameha the\nFirst. The king Umi was well known in Hawaiian historical legends, and\nmany important events are dated with his reign as the reference-point.\n\nIn Puna, Hawaii, while Umi was king, there lived a fisherman by the\nname of Keaau. He was widely known for his skill in fishing with a\nwonderful shell. It was one of the leho shells, and was used in\ncatching squid. Its name was Kalo-kuna. Keaau always returned from\nfishing with his canoe full. After a time he was talked about all\naround the island, and Umi heard about the magic leho of the fisherman.\n\nAt that time Umi dwelt in Kona, where he was fishing after the custom\nof those days. He sent a messenger commanding the fisherman to bring\nhis shell to Kona, where he could show its power and his skill. Then\nthe king, who had the right to take all the property of any of his\nsubjects, took the shell from the fisherman.\n\nKeaau\u2019s heart became very sore for the loss of his shell, so he went to\na man on Hawaii who was skilled in theft and asked him to secretly\nsteal the leho and return it to him. He brought his canoe filled with\nhis property\u2014a pig, some fruit and awa and the black-and-white and\nspotted tapa sheets\u2014to give to the thief who could get back his shell.\nBut neither this thief nor any others on the islands of Hawaii, Maui or\nMolokai was sufficiently skilful to give him any aid.\n\nThen he passed on to Oahu, where he met a man fishing, who, according\nto the custom of the people, invited him to land and accept\nhospitality. When the feast was over, they asked him the object of his\njourney. He told the story of the loss of his leho, and said that he\nwas travelling to find \u201ca thief able to steal back the shell taken by\nthe strong hand of the chief of Hawaii.\u201d\n\nThen the Oahu people told him about Iwa and his marvellous skill in\nplundering. They directed him to row his canoe around by Makapo and\nthen land, and he would find a boy without a malo (loin cloth). He must\ngive him the offering\u2014the good things brought in the canoe. He found\nthe boy and placed before him the gifts. They killed the pig and cooked\nit over hot stones. Then they had a feast, and the boy-thief asked the\ntraveller why he had come to him. The fisherman told all his trouble\nand asked Iwa to go with him to recover the shell. To this Iwa\nconsented, and after a night\u2019s rest prepared to go to Hawaii.\n\nWhen the time came for the journey he placed Keaau in front and took\nhis place to steer and paddle. The name of his paddle was Kapahi, which\nmeans \u201cScatter the water.\u201d Iwa told the fisherman to look sharp at the\nland before them; then he talked to his paddle, saying, \u201cLet the ocean\nmeet the sea of Iwa.\u201d He struck his paddle once into the sea and the\ncanoe rushed by the little islands along the coast and passed to\nNiihau. From Niihau in four paddle-strokes the canoe lay before the\ncoast of Hawaii, where Umi and his chiefs were fishing. One of the\ncanoes had a palm-branch house built over it to shade the fisherman.\nIwa asked if that was the royal canoe, and, learning that it was,\nquickly backed his canoe around a headland and prepared to dive, saying\nto his friend, \u201cI will go and steal that leho.\u201d\n\nHe leaped into the water and sank to the bottom of the ocean. He walked\nalong under the sea aided by his magic power until he came to the place\nwhere the king\u2019s canoes were floating. Over the side of the king\u2019s boat\nhung the cord to which the shell was fastened. Iwa rose quietly under\nthe canoe and caught the leho, slowly drew it down to the bottom, broke\nthe cord and fastened it to sharp rocks, and then went back to the\nplace where Keaau was waiting for him. All along the way giant squid\nand devilfish fought him and tried to take the shell from his hands,\nbut by incantations and the power of his gods he escaped to the canoe,\nand, leaping in, gave the leho to the fisherman, and paddled away to\nPuna. There he dwelt with Keaau for a little while.\n\nWhen the boy-thief took the cord of Umi he thought that a very great\nsquid had seized the shell, and let the line run, afraid lest it might\nbreak and the shell be lost, but when he tried to pull he found it fast\nbelow. He sent to the land for all the people who could dive, but none\nof them could go to the bottom. Ten days and ten nights he waited in\nhis canoe. Then he sent over all the island Hawaii for those who knew\nhow to dive in deep water, but all the noted divers failed. The\nmessenger came to the place where Iwa was staying. Keaau was away\nfishing. Iwa took the messenger to the place where the fisherman dried\nsquid and showed him a great many already caught. Then Iwa said, \u201cGo\nback and tell your king that the leho is not on the line, but a rock is\nholding it fast.\u201d\n\nThe messenger returned to the king and reported the saying of Iwa. Then\nthe king sent swift men to run and bring Iwa to him. The boy agreed to\ngo to Umi, and sped more swiftly than the runners sent for him. When he\nstood before Umi he told the king all his story and leaped into the\nsea, diving down, breaking the rock and bringing up the piece to which\nthe line had been tied. Umi then wanted Iwa to return to Puna and steal\nthat leho for him. Iwa went back to the fisherman\u2019s house, and that\nnight stole the shell for the king.\n\nWhen Umi received the shell he rejoiced greatly at the skill of this\nthief. Then he thought about his tabu stone axe in Waipio Valley, and\nwished to test this boy-thief again.\n\nThis sacred stone axe really belonged to Umi, the son of Liloa, but it\nhad been kept in the tabu heiau (sacred temple) of Pakaalana, in Waipio\nValley. Two old women were guardians of this tabu axe. It was tied fast\nin the middle of a line. One end of that cord was fastened around the\nneck of one old woman, and one end around the neck of the other. Thus\nthey wore the cord as a lei (wreath) of that sacred stone axe of Umi.\nWhen Umi asked the thief if he would steal this axe, Iwa said he would\ntry, but he waited until the sun was almost down, then he ran swiftly\nto Waipio Valley as if he were a messenger of the king, calling to the\npeople and establishing a tabu over the land:\n\n\n       \u201cSleep\u2014sleep for the sacred stone axe of Umi.\n        Tabu\u2014let no man go forth from his house.\n        Tabu\u2014let no dog bark.\n        Tabu\u2014let no rooster crow.\n        Tabu\u2014let no pig make a noise.\n        Sleep\u2014sleep till the tabu is raised.\u201d\n\n\nFive times he called the tabu, beginning at Puukapu near Waimea, as he\nwent to the guarded path to Waipio. When he had established this tabu\nhe travelled down to the place where the old women guarded the axe. He\ncalled again, \u201cHas sleep come to you two?\u201d And they answered, \u201cHere we\nare; we are not asleep.\u201d He called again: \u201cWhere are you? I would touch\nthat sacred axe of Umi and return and report that this hand has held\nthe sacred stone axe of the king.\u201d\n\nHe came near and took the axe and pulled the ends of the string tight\naround the necks of the old women, choking them and throwing them over.\nThen he broke the string and ran swiftly up the path over the\nprecipice. The old women disentangled themselves and began to cry out,\n\u201cStolen is the tabu axe of Umi, and the thief has gone up toward\nWaimea.\u201d The people followed Iwa from place to place, but could not\novertake him, and soon lost him.\n\nIwa went on to the king\u2019s place and lay down to sleep. As morning drew\nnear the king\u2019s people found him asleep and told the king he had not\nbeen away, but when Iwa was awake he was called to the king, who said,\n\u201cHere, you have not got the tabu stone axe.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps not,\u201d said the boy, \u201cbut here is an axe which I found last\nnight. Will you look at it?\u201d The king saw that it was his tabu axe, and\nwondered at the magic power of the thief, for he thought it impossible\nto go to Waipio and return in the one night, and he knew how difficult\nit would be to get the axe and escape from the people.\n\nHe determined to give Iwa another trial\u2014a contest with the best thieves\nof his kingdom. He asked if Iwa would consent to a death contest. The\none surpassing in theft should receive reward. The defeated should be\nput to death. This plan seemed right to the thief from Oahu. It would\nbe a great battle\u2014one against six.\n\nThe king called his clan of six thieves and Iwa, and told them that he\nwould set apart two houses in which they could put their plunder. That\nnight they were to go out and steal, and the one whose house contained\nthe most property should be the victor. The report of the contest\nspread all through the village, and the people prepared to hide their\nproperty.\n\nIwa lay down to sleep while the six men quietly and swiftly passed\namong the people, stealing whatever they could. When they saw Iwa\nasleep they pitied him for his certain death. Toward morning their\nhouse was almost full, and still Iwa slept. The six thieves were very\ntired and hungry, so they prepared a feast and awa. They ate and drank\nuntil overcome with drunkenness. A little before dawn they also fell\nasleep.\n\nIwa arose, hastened to the house filled by the six thieves, and hastily\nremoved all their plunder to his own house. Then he went quietly to\nUmi\u2019s sleeping-house, and, showing his great skill, removed the tapa\nsheets from the bed in which the king was sleeping, and piled them on\nthe other things in his house. Then he lay down again as if asleep.\n\nThe morning cold fell on the king, and he was chilled, and awoke,\nfeeling for the sheets, but could not find them. He remembered the\ncontest, and as the daylight rested upon them he called the people\ntogether.\n\nThey went to the house of the six thieves and opened it to look for\ntheir plunder, and not one thing was there. It was entirely empty.\nAfter this they went to Iwa\u2019s house. When the door was open they saw\nthe king\u2019s tapa sheets on all the other plunder. The six thieves were\nput to death, and Iwa was honored for some years as the very dear\nfriend of the king and the most adroit thief in the kingdom.\n\nAfter a time he longed for the place of his birth, and he asked Umi to\nsend him back to his parents. Umi filled a double canoe with good\nthings and let him go back to the green-sided pali (or precipice) of\nthe district of Koolau, on the island Oahu.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXI\n\nPIKOI THE RAT-KILLER\n\n\nLong, long ago in the Hawaiian Islands, part of the children of a\nchief\u2019s family might be born real boys and girls, while others would be\n\u201cgods\u201d in the form of some one of the various kinds of animals known to\nthe Hawaiians. These \u201cgods\u201d in the family could appear as human beings\nor as animals. They were guardians of the family, or, perhaps it should\nbe said, they watched carefully over some especial brother or sister,\ndoing all sorts of marvellous things such as witches and fairies like\nto do for those whom they love.\n\nIn a family on Kauai six girl-gods were born and only one real girl and\none real boy. These \u201cgods\u201d were all rats and were named \u201cKikoo,\u201d which\nwas the name of the bow used with an arrow for rat-shooting. They were\n\u201cBow-of-the-heaven,\u201d \u201cBow-of-the-earth,\u201d \u201cBow-of-the-mountain,\u201d\n\u201cBow-of-the-ocean,\u201d \u201cBow-of-the-night\u201d and \u201cBow-of-the-day.\u201d\n\nThese rat-sister-gods seemed to have charge of their brother and his\nsports. His incantations and chants were made in their names. The real\nsister was named \u201cKa-ui-o-Manoa\u201d (\u201cThe Beauty of Manoa\u201d). She was a\nvery beautiful woman, who came to Oahu to meet Pawaa, the chief of\nManoa Valley, and marry him. He was an aikane (bosom friend) to\nKakuhihewa, the king of Oahu. They made their home at Kahaloa in Manoa\nValley. They also had Kahoiwai in the upper end of the valley.\n\nThe boy\u2019s name was Pikoi-a-ka-Alala (Pikoi, the son of Alala). In his\ntime the chief sport seemed to be hunting rats with bows and arrows.\nPikoi as a child became very skilful. He was very clear and far\nsighted, and surpassed all the men of Kauai in his ability to kill\nhidden and far-off rats. The legends say this was greatly due to the\naid given by his rat-sisters. At that same time there was on Kauai a\nvery wonderful dog, Puapualenalena (Pupua, the yellow). That dog was\nvery intelligent and very swift.\n\nOne day it ran into the deep forest and saw a small boy who was\nsuccessfully shooting rats. The dog joined him. The dog caught ten rats\nwhile Pikoi shot ten.\n\nSome days later the two friends went into a wilderness. In that day\u2019s\ncontest the dog caught forty and the boy shot forty. Again and again\nthey tried, but the boy could not win from the dog, nor could the dog\nbeat the boy.\n\nAfter a while they became noted throughout Kauai. The story of the\nskill of Pikoi was related on Oahu and repeated even on Hawaii. His\nname was widely known, although few had seen him.\n\nOne day his father Alala told Pikoi that he wanted to see his daughter\nin Manoa Valley. They launched their canoe and sailed across the\nchannel, leaving the marvellous dog behind.\n\nMidway in the channel Pikoi cried out: \u201cLook! There is a great squid!\u201d\nIt was the squid Kakahee, who was a god. Pikoi took his bow and fitted\nan arrow to it, for he saw the huge creature hiding in a pit deep in\nthe coral. The squid rose up from its cave and followed the boat,\nstretching out its long arms and trying to seize them. The boy shot the\nmonster, using the bow and arrow belonging to the ocean. The enemy died\nin a very little while. This was near the cape of Kaena. The name of\nthe land at that place is Kakahee. These monsters of the ocean were\ncalled Kupuas. It was believed that they were evil gods, always hoping\nto inflict some injury on man.\n\nPikoi and his father landed and went up to Manoa Valley. There they met\nKa-ui-o-Manoa and wept from great joy as they embraced each other. A\nfeast was prepared, and all rested for a time.\n\nPikoi wandered away down the valley and out toward the lands\noverlooking the harbor of Kou (Honolulu). On the plain called\nKula-o-ka-hua he saw a chiefess with some of her people. This plain was\nthe comparatively level ground below Makiki Valley. Apparently it was\ncovered at that time with a small shrub, or dwarf-like tree, called\naweoweo. Rats were hiding under the shelter of the thick leaves and\nbranches.\n\nPikoi went to the place where the people were gathered. The chiefess\nwas Kahamaluihi, the wife of the king Kakuhihewa. With her was her\nfamous arrow-shooting chiefess, Ke-pana-kahu, who was shooting against\nMainele, the noted rat-shooting chief of her husband. The queen had\nbeen betting with Mainele and had lost because he was a better shot\nthat day than her friend. She was standing inside tabu lines under a\nshaded place, but Pikoi went in and stood by her. She was angry for a\nmoment, and asked why he was there. He made a pleasant answer about\nwishing to see the sport.\n\nShe asked if he could shoot. He replied that he had been taught a\nlittle of the art, so she offered him the use of a bow and arrow and at\nthat he said, \u201cThis arrow and this bow are not good for this kind of\nshooting.\u201d\n\nShe laughed at him. \u201cYou are only a boy; what can you know about\nrat-hunting?\u201d\n\nHe was a little nettled, and broke the bow and arrow, saying, \u201cThese\nthings are of no use whatever.\u201d\n\nThe chiefess was really angry, and cried out, \u201cWhat do you mean by\nbreaking my things, you deceitful child?\u201d\n\nMeanwhile Pikoi\u2019s father had missed him and had learned from his\ndaughter that the high chiefess was having a rat-shooting contest. He\ntook Pikoi\u2019s bows and arrows wrapped in tapa and went down with the\nbundle on his back.\n\nPikoi took a bow and arrow from the bundle and persuaded the high\nchiefess to make a new wager with Mainele. The queen, in kindly mood,\nplaced treasure against treasure.\n\nMainele prepared to shoot first, agreeing with Pikoi to make fifteen\nthe number of shots for the first trial.\n\nPikoi pointed out rat after rat among the shrubs until Mainele had\nkilled fourteen. Then the boy cried: \u201cThere is only one shot more.\nShoot that rat whose whiskers are by a leaf of that aweoweo tree. The\nbody is concealed, but I can see the whiskers. Shoot that rat, O\nMainele!\u201d\n\nMainele looked the shrubs all over carefully, but could not see the\nleast sign of a rat. The people went near and thrust arrows among the\nleaves, but could see nothing.\n\nThen Mainele said: \u201cThere is no rat in that place. I have looked where\nyou said. You are a lying child when you say that you see the whiskers\nof a rat.\u201d\n\nPikoi insisted that the rat was there. Mainele was vexed, and said:\n\u201cBehold all the treasure I have won from the chiefess and the treasure\nwhich we are now betting. You shall have it all if you shoot and strike\nthe whiskers of any rat in that small tree. If you do not strike a rat\nI will simply claim the present bet.\u201d\n\nThen Pikoi took out of the bundle held by his father a bow and an\narrow. He carefully strung his bow and fixed the arrow, pointing the\neye of that arrow toward the place pointed out before.\n\nThe queen said, \u201cThat is a splendid bow.\u201d Her caretaker, however, was\nwatching the beautiful eyes of the boy, and his general appearance.\n\nPikoi was softly chanting to himself. This was his incantation or\nprayer to his sister-gods:\n\n\n       \u201cThere he is, there he is, O Pikoi!\n        Alala is the father,\n        Koukou is the mother.\n        The divine sisters were born.\n        O Bent-bow-of-heaven!\n        O Bent-bow-of-earth!\n        O Bent-bow-of-the-mountain!\n        O Bent-bow-of-the-ocean!\n        O Bent-bow-of-the-night!\n        O Bent-bow-of-the-day!\n          O Wonderful Ones!\n          O Silent Ones!\n              Silent.\n        There is that rat\u2014\n        That rat in the leaves of the aweoweo,\n        By the fruit of the aweoweo,\n        By the trunk of the aweoweo.\n        Large eyes have you, O Mainele;\n        But you did not see that rat.\n        If you had shot, O Mainele,\n        You would have hit the whiskers of that rat\u2014\n        You would have had two rats\u2014two.\n        Another comes\u2014three rats\u2014three!\u201d\n\n\nThen Mainele said: \u201cYou are a lying child. I, Mainele, am a skilful\nshooter. I have struck my rat in the mouth or the foot or any part of\nthe body, but no one has ever pierced the whiskers. You are trying to\ndeceive.\u201d\n\nPikoi raised his bow, felt his arrow, and said to his father, \u201cWhat\narrow is this?\u201d\n\nHis father replied, \u201cThat is the arrow Mahu, which eats the flower of\nthe lehua-tree.\u201d\n\nPikoi said: \u201cThis will not do. Hand me another.\u201d Then his father gave\nhim Laukona (The-arrow-which-strikes-the-strong-leaf), but the boy\nsaid: \u201cThis arrow has killed only sixty rats and its eye is smooth.\nGive me one more.\u201d\n\nHis father handed him the Huhui (The-bunched-together), an arrow having\nthree or four sharp notches in the point.\n\nPikoi took it, saying, \u201cThis arrow wins the treasure,\u201d and went toward\nthe tree, secretly repeating his chant.\n\nThen he let the arrow go twisting and whirling around, striking and\nentangling the whiskers of three rats.\n\nMainele saw this wonderful shooting, and delivered all the treasures he\nhad wagered. But Pikoi said he had not really won until he had killed\nfourteen more rats, so he shot again a very long arrow among the thick\nleaves of the shrubs, and the arrow was full of rats strung on it from\nend to end hanging on it by forties.\n\nThe people stood with open mouths in silent astonishment, and then\nbroke out in wildest enthusiasm.\n\nWhile they were excited the boy and his father secretly went away to\ntheir home in Manoa Valley and remained there with Ka-ui-o-Manoa a long\ntime, not visiting Waikiki or the noted places of the island Oahu.\n\nKakuhihewa, the king, heard about this strange contest and tried to\nfind the wonderful boy. But he had entirely disappeared. The caretaker\nof the high chiefess was the only one who had carefully observed his\neyes and his general appearance, but she had no knowledge of his home\nor how he had disappeared.\n\nShe suggested that all the men of Oahu be called, district by district,\nto bring offerings to the king, two months being allowed each district,\nlest there should be a surplus of gifts and the people impoverished and\nreduced to a state of famine.\n\nFive years passed. In the sixth year the Valley of Manoa was called\nupon to bring its gifts.\n\nPikoi had grown into manhood and had changed very much in his general\nappearance. His hair was very long, falling far down his body. He asked\nhis sister to cut his hair, and persuaded her to take her husband\u2019s\nshark-tooth knives. She refused at first, saying, \u201cThese knives are\ntabu because they belong to the chief.\u201d At last she took the teeth\u2014one\nabove, or outside of the hair, and one inside\u2014and tried to cut the\nhair, but it was so thick and stout that the handles broke, and she\ngave up, saying, \u201cYour hair is the hair of a god.\u201d However, that night\nwhile he slept his rat-sister-gods came and gnawed off his hair, some\neating one place and some another. It was not even. From this the\nancient saying arose: \u201cLook at his hair. It was cut by rats.\u201d\n\nPawaa, the chief, came home and found his wife greatly troubled. She\ntold him all that she had done, and he said: \u201cBroken were the handles,\nnot the teeth of the shark. If the teeth had broken, that would have\nbeen bad.\u201d\n\nPikoi\u2019s face had been discolored by the sister-gods, so that when he\nappeared with ragged hair no one knew him\u2014not even his father and\nsister. He put on some beautiful garlands of lehua flowers and went\nwith the Manoa people to Waikiki to appear before the king.\n\nThe people were feasting, surf-riding and enjoying all kinds of sports\nbefore they should be called to make obeisance to their king.\n\nPikoi wandered down to the beach at Ulu-kou [34] where the queen and\nher retinue were surf-riding. While he stood near the water the queen\ncame in on a great wave which brought her before him. He asked for her\npapa (surf-board) but she said it was tabu to any one but herself. Any\nother taking that surf-board would be killed by the servants.\n\nThen the chiefess, who was with the queen when Pikoi shot the rats of\nMakiki, came to the shore. The queen said, \u201cHere is a surf-board you\ncan use.\u201d The chiefess gave him her board and did not know him. He went\nout into the sea at Waikiki where the people were sporting. The surf\nwas good only in one place, and that was tabu to the queen. So Pikoi\nallowed a wave to carry him across to the high combers upon which she\nwas riding. She waited for him, because she was pleased with his great\nbeauty, although he had tried to disguise himself.\n\nShe asked him for one of his beautiful leis of lehua flowers, but he\nsaid he must refuse because she was tabu. \u201cNo! No!\u201d she replied.\n\u201cNothing is tabu for me to receive. It will be tabu after I have worn\nit.\u201d So he gave her the garland of flowers. That part of the surf is\nnamed Kalehua-wike (The-loosened-lehua).\n\nThen he asked her to launch her board on the first wave and let him\ncome in on the second. She did not go, but caught the second wave as he\nswept by. He saw her, and tried to cut across from his wave to the\nnext. She followed him, and very skilfully caught that wave and swept\nto the beach with him.\n\nA great cry came from the people. \u201cThat boy has broken the tabu!\u201d\n\u201cThere is death for the boy!\u201d\n\nThe king, Kakuhihewa, heard the shout and looked toward the sea. He saw\nthe tabu queen and that boy on the same surf-wave.\n\nHe called to his officers: \u201cGo quickly and seize that young chief who\nhas broken the tabu of the queen. He shall not live.\u201d\n\nThe officers ran to him, seized him, tossed him around, tore off his\nmalo, struck him with clubs, and began to kill him.\n\nPikoi cried: \u201cStop! Wait until I have had word with the king.\u201d\n\nThey led him to the place where the king waited. Some of the people\ninsulted him, and threw dirt and stones upon him as he passed.\n\nThe king was in kindly mood and listened to his explanation instead of\nordering him to be killed at once.\n\nWhile he was speaking before the king, the queen and the other women\ncame. One of them looked carefully at him and recognized some peculiar\nmarks on his side. She exclaimed, \u201cThere is the wonderful child who won\nthe victory from Mainele. He is the skilful rat-shooter.\u201d\n\nThe king said to the woman, \u201cYou see that this is a fine-looking young\nman, and you are trying to save him.\u201d\n\nThe woman was vexed, and insisted that this was truly the rat-shooter.\n\nThen the king said: \u201cPerhaps we should try him against Mainele. They\nmay shoot here in this house.\u201d This was the house called the Hale-noa\n(Free-for-all-the-family). The king gave the law of the contest. \u201cYou\nmay each shoot like the arrows on your hands [the ten fingers] and five\nmore\u2014fifteen in all.\u201d\n\nPikoi was afraid of this contest. Mainele had his own weapons, while\nPikoi had nothing, but he looked around and saw his father, Alala, who\nnow knew him. The father had the tapa bundle of bows and arrows. The\nwoman recognized him, and called, \u201cBehold the man who has the bow and\narrow for this boy.\u201d\n\nPikoi told Mainele to shoot at some rats under the doorway. He pointed\nthem out one after the other until twelve had been killed.\n\nPikoi said: \u201cThere is one more. His body cannot be seen, but his\nwhiskers are by the edge of the stone step.\u201d\n\nMainele denied that any rat was there, and refused to shoot.\n\nThe king commanded Pikoi not to shoot at any rat under the door, but to\nkill real rats, as Mainele had done.\n\nPikoi took his bow, bent it, and drew it out until it stretched from\none side of the house to the other. The arrow was very long. He called\nto his opponent to point out rats.\n\nMainele could not point out any. Nor could the king see one around the\nhouse.\n\nPikoi shot an arrow at the doorstep and killed a rat which had been\nhiding underneath.\n\nThen Pikoi shot a bent-over, old-man rat in one corner; then pointed to\nthe ridge-pole and chanted his usual chant, ending this time:\n\n\n           \u201cStraight the arrow strikes\n            Hitting the mouth of the rat,\n            From the eye of the arrow to the end\n            Four hundred\u2014four hundred!\u201d\n\n\nThe king said: \u201cShoot your \u2018four hundred\u2014four hundred.\u2019 Mainele shall\npick them up, but if the eye of your arrow fails to find rats, you\ndie.\u201d\n\nPikoi shot his arrow, which glanced along the ridge-pole under the\nthatch, striking rat after rat until the arrow was full from end to\nend,\u2014hundreds and hundreds.\n\nThe high chief Pawaa knew his brother-in-law, embraced him, and wailed\nover his trouble. Then, grasping his war-club, he stepped out of the\nhouse to find the men who had struck Pikoi and torn off his malo. He\nstruck them one after the other on the back of the neck, killing twenty\nmen. The king asked his friend why he had done this. Pawaa replied,\n\u201cBecause they evilly handled my brother-in-law,\u2014the only brother of my\nwife, \u2018The Beauty of Manoa.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe king said, \u201cThat is right.\u201d\n\nThe people who had insulted Pikoi and thrown dirt upon him began to run\naway and try to hide. They fled in different directions.\n\nPikoi caught his bow and fixed an arrow and again chanted to his\nrat-sister-gods, ending with an incantation against those who were in\nflight:\n\n\n           \u201cStrike! Behold there are the rats\u2014the men!\n                  The small man,\n                  The large man,\n                  The tall man,\n                  The short man,\n                  The panting coward.\n                  Fly, arrow! and strike!\n                      Return at last!\u201d\n\n\nThe arrow pierced one of the fleeing men, leaped aside to strike\nanother, passed from side to side around those who had pitied him,\nstriking only those who had been at fault, searching out men as if it\nhad eyes, at last returning to its place in the tapa bundle. The arrow\nwas given the name Ka-pua-akamai-loa (The-very-wise-arrow). Very many\nwere punished by this wise arrow.\n\nWondering and confused was the great assemblage of chiefs, and they\nsaid to each other, \u201cWe have no warrior who can stand before this very\nskilful young man.\u201d\n\nThe king gave Pikoi an honorable place among his chiefs, making him his\npersonal great rat-hunter. The queen adopted him as her own child.\n\nNo one had heard Pikoi\u2019s name during all these wonderful experiences.\nWhen he chanted his prayer in which he gave his name, he had sung so\nsoftly that no one could hear what he was saying. Therefore the people\ncalled him Kapana-kahu-ahi (The-fire-building-shooter), because his\narrow was like fire in its destruction.\n\nPikoi returned to Manoa Valley with Pawaa and his father and sister.\nThere he dwelt for some time in a great grass house, the gift of the\nking.\n\nKakuhihewa planned to give him his daughter in marriage, but\nopportunity for new experiences in Hawaii came to Pikoi, and he went to\nthat island, where he became a noted bird-shooter as well as a\nrat-hunter, and had his final contest with Mainele.\n\nMainele was very much ashamed when the king commanded him to gather up\nnot only the dead bodies of all the people who were slain by that very\nwise arrow, but the bodies of the rats also. He was compelled to make\nthe ground clean from the blood of the dead. He ran away and hid\nhimself in a village with people of the low class until an opportunity\ncame to go to the island Hawaii to attempt a new record for himself\nwith his bow and arrow.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXII\n\nKAWELO\n\n\nMany Kawelos are named in the legends of the islands of Oahu and Kauai,\nbut one only was the strong, the mighty warrior who destroyed a\ngigantic enemy who used trees for spears. He was known as\nKawelo-lei-makua when mentioned in the genealogies.\n\nKawelo\u2019s great-uncle, Kawelo-mahamahaia, was the king of Kauai. The\nland prospered and was quiet under him. When he died, the people\nworshipped him as a god. They said he had become a divine shark,\nwatching over the seacoasts of his island. At last they thought it had\nbecome a stone god\u2014one point the head and one the tail, one side red\nand the other black. His grandson, Kawelo-aikanaka, who became king of\nKauai, was born the same day that brought Kawelo-lei-makua into the\nworld. They were always known as Aikanaka and Kawelo. There was also\nborn that same day Kauahoa, who became the giant of Kauai, and the\npersonal enemy of Kawelo. In their infancy the three boys were taken by\ntheir grandparents to Wailua, and brought up near each other under\ndifferent caretakers.\n\nSome of the legends say that Kawelo\u2019s oldest brother, Kawelo-mai-huna,\nwas born an eepa\u2014a child poorly formed, but having miraculous powers.\nWhen born, the servants wrapped this child in a tapa sheet and thought\nto bury it, but a fierce storm arose. There were sharp lightnings and\nloud thunder. Strong winds swept around the house. So they put the\nbundle in a small calabash, covered it with a feather cloak, and hung\nit in the top of the house. The grandparents came and prophesied a\nmarvellous future for this child. The father started to take down the\ncalabash, but saw only a cloud of red feathers whirling and concealing\nall the upper corner. The old people, with heads bowed down, were\nuttering incantations. There came a sound of raindrops falling on the\nleaves of the forest trees, and a rainbow stood over the door. The\nvoices of beautiful green birds (the Elepaio) were heard all around,\nand rats ran over the thatch of the roof. Then the old people said:\n\u201cThis child has become an eepa. He will appear as man or bird or fish\nor rat.\u201d\n\nOther children were born, then Kawelo, and last of all his faithful\nyounger brother, Kamalama. The old people who took care of Kawelo were\nhis grandparents. They taught the signs and incantations and magic of\nHawaiian thought. They frequently went inland to the place where their\nbest food was growing. They always prepared large calabashes full of\npoi and other food, thinking to have plenty when they returned; but\neach time all the food was eaten. They decided that it was better to\nprovide sports for Kawelo than to leave him idle while they were away,\nso they went to the forest with their servants and made a canoe. After\nmany days their work was done, and they returned to prepare food. Poi\nwas made, and all kinds of food were placed in the ovens for cooking.\nThen they heard a sound like that of a strong wind tearing through the\nforest. They heard the squeaking voices of many rats. Soon they went to\nsee the canoe in the forest, but it was gone. They returned home to eat\nthe poi and cooked food, but they were all gone\u2014only the leaves in\nwhich the food had been wrapped lay in the oven. Kawelo told his\ngrandparents that little people with rat-whiskers had carried the boat\ndown to the river and then had eaten all the food. One, larger than the\nothers, had called to him, \u201cE Kawelo, here is your plaything, the\ncanoe.\u201d\n\nKawelo went down to the river. All day long he paddled up and down the\nriver, and all day long his strength grew with each paddle-stroke. Thus\nday by day he paddled from morning until night, and no one in all the\nisland had such renown for handling a canoe.\n\nThe other boys were carefully trained in all games of skill, in boxing,\nwrestling, spear-throwing, back-breaking, and other athletic exercises.\nKauahoa was very jealous of Kawelo\u2019s plaything, and asked his\ncaretakers to make something for him, so they made a kite (a pe-a) and\ngave it to their foster-child. That kite rose far up in the heavens.\nLoud were the shouts of the people as they saw this beautiful thing in\nthe sky. Kawelo asked for a kite, and in a few days took one out to fly\nby the side of Kauahoa\u2019s kite. He let out the string and it rose higher\nand higher, and the people cheered loudly. Kawelo came nearer and\nnearer to Kauahoa and pulled his kite down slowly and then let it go\nquickly. His kite leaped from side to side, and twisted its strings\naround that held by Kauahoa and broke it, and the kite was blown far\nover the forest, at a place called Kahoo leina a pe-a\n(The-kite-falling). Kawelo said the wind was to blame, so Kauahoa,\nalthough very angry, could find no cause for fighting. Then the\ngrandparents taught Kawelo to box and wrestle and handle the war spear.\nThus the boys grew in stature and in enmity.\n\nAfter a time the king of Kauai died and Aikanaka became king. The\nlegends say the rats warned Kawelo, and he and his grandparents fled to\nthe island of Oahu. The boat flew over the sea like a malolo\n(flying-fish), leaping over the waves at the strong stroke of Kawelo.\nThe rats under their king were concealed in the canoe, and were carried\nover to the new home. Kawelo\u2019s elder brothers and parents had been\nliving for some time on the beach of Waikiki near Ulukou [35] by the\nmouth of the stream Apuakehau. The grandparents took Kawelo and\nKamalama inland and found a beautiful place among taro patches and\ncultivated fields for their home. It was said that when they came to\nthe beach one young man went down into the water and carried the canoe\ninland. Kawelo called him and adopted him as one of the family. The\nboy\u2019s name was Kalaumeke (A-kind-of-ti-leaf). The boy said he was not\nas strong as he appeared to be, for he had the aid of many little\nlong-whiskered people; his real power lay in spear-throwing and\nclub-fighting. There was only one other young man who was his equal\u2014a\nyouth from Ewa, whose name was Kaeleha. Kawelo sent for this man and\ntook him into his family. They dwelt for some time, cultivating the\nplace where the royal lands now lie, back of the Waikiki beach.\n\nOne day they heard great shouting and clapping of hands on the beach,\nand Kawelo went down to see the sport. His brothers had been well\ntaught all the arts of boxing and wrestling, and they were very strong;\nbut they were not able to overthrow a very strong man from Halemanu.\nKawelo challenged the strong man. His elder brothers ridiculed him, but\nKawelo persevered. The strong man was much larger and taller than\nKawelo. He uttered his boast as Kawelo came before him. \u201cStrong is the\nkoa [36] of Halemanu. The kona [wind] cannot bend it.\u201d Kawelo boasted\nin reply, \u201cMauna Waialeale will try against Mauna Kaala.\u201d Then the\nstrong man said: \u201cWhen I call \u2018swing your hands\u2019 we will fall against\neach other.\u201d With this word he advanced and struck at Kawelo, bending\nhim over, but not knocking him down. Kawelo returned the blow with such\nforce that the mighty boxer fell dead. Kawelo gave the body to the king\nof Oahu to be carried as a sacrifice to the gods in the heiau, or\ntemple, Lualualei at Waianae. \u201cThis is said to have been a very ancient\ntemple belonging to the chief Kakuhihewa.\u201d\n\nKawelo\u2019s brothers were greatly mortified to see their younger brother\naccomplish what they had failed to do, so in their shame they returned\nto Kauai with their parents.\n\nThe king of Oahu gave Kawelo lands. His grandparents built him a house.\nIt was well thatched except the top. He was a high tabu chief, and the\nkahunas (priests) said he must finish it with the work of his own\nhands. This he thought he would do with the beautiful feathers of the\nred and yellow birds. He lay down and slept. When he awoke he saw his\nrat-brother, who had miraculous power, finishing all the roof with most\nbeautiful feathers of red and gold. The king of Oahu came to see this\nwonderful place, and blessed it, and lifted his tabu from it so that it\nwould belong fully to Kawelo, although it was more beautiful than that\nof the king himself.\n\nKawelo learned the hula (dance), and went around the island attending\nall hula gatherings until the people called him \u201cthe great hula chief.\u201d\nAt the village of Kaneohe he met the most beautiful woman of that part\nof the island, Kane-wahine-ike-aoha. He married her, gave up the hula,\nand returned home to learn the art of battle with spears and clubs. No\none was more strong or more skilful than his wife\u2019s father. Kawelo sent\nhis wife to the other side of the island to ask her father to teach him\nto fight with the war-club. She went to her father and persuaded him to\naid Kawelo. For many days they practised together, until Kawelo was\nmighty in handling both spear and club.\n\nAfter this Kawelo learned the prayers and incantations and offerings\nupon which good fishing depended. Then he took the fisherman and went\nout in the ocean to do battle with a great fish which had terrified the\npeople of Oahu many years. This was a kupua, or magic fish, possessing\nexceeding great powers. As they went out from Waikiki, with one stroke\nof the paddle Kawelo sent the canoe to Kou, with another stroke he\npassed to Waianae, and then began to fish from the shore far out to the\nsea, using a round, deep net. This method of fishing continues to the\npresent day. A fish is caught and a weight tied to it so that it must\nswim slowly. Other fish come to see the stranger, and the net is drawn\naround them. Many good fish were caught, but the great fish did not\ncome. Again Kawelo came to hunt this Uhumakaikai, but the Uhu sent\nfierce storm-waves against the canoe to drive it to land. Kawelo held\nthe boat strongly with his paddle. Soon the Uhu appeared, trying to\nstrike the boat and upset it. Kawelo and his fisherman carefully\nwatched every move and balanced the boat as needed. Kawelo\u2019s net was in\nthe water, its mouth open, and its full length dragging far behind the\nboat. The Uhu was swimming around the net as if despising its every\nmotion, but Kawelo swept the net sideways and the fish found himself\nswimming into the net. Kawelo swiftly rushed the net forward until the\nUhu was fully enclosed. Then came a marvellous fish-battle. The waves\nswept high around the boat. Kawelo and the fisherman covered it so that\nthe water poured off rather than into it. Then the Uhu swam swiftly out\ninto the blue waters. The fisherman begged Kawelo to cut the cord which\nheld the net. Far out they went\u2014out to the most distant island, Niihau.\nKawelo saw a great battle in the net which held the Uhu. There were\nmany fish inside attacking the Uhu. They were a kind of whiskered fish,\nbiting like rats, digging their teeth into the flesh of the great fish.\nKawelo uttered incantations, and the fish became weaker and weaker\nuntil it ceased to struggle. Kawelo paddled with strong strokes back to\nOahu.\n\nMeanwhile the brothers and parents, who had gone to Kauai, were in\ngreat trouble under the persecutions of Aikanaka and his strong man\nKauahoa. At last the mother sent the brothers to Oahu after Kawelo.\nThey came to Waikiki while Kawelo was away trying to kill the Uhu. The\nyoungest brother, Kamalama, received them and sent two messengers to\nfind Kawelo. He recited a family chant, in which the names of the\nvisiting brothers as well as the name of Kawelo\u2019s gods were honored. He\ncharged them to remember the brothers\u2019 names or they would have\ntrouble. They paddled out on the ocean calling for Kawelo and repeating\nthe names from time to time. Suddenly a high surf wave caught their\ncanoe and overturned it, leaving them to struggle in the fierce waters.\nSoon they saw Kawelo coming with his great fish near his canoe. \u201cO\nKawelo!\u201d they cried. \u201cWe had the names of your friends from Kauai\u2014but\nour trouble in the water made us forget.\u201d Then Kawelo recited his\nchant, giving his brothers\u2019 names and also those of the tabu gods. Only\nthe chiefs to whom the gods belonged could speak their names. When\nKawelo uttered their names, the two men cried out, \u201cThose are the men,\nand Kuka-lani-ehu is their god.\u201d Kawelo was very angry at the\ndesecration of the name of his family god in the mouths of the common\nmen. He stuck his paddle deep into the sea, tearing the coral reef to\npieces, but the great fish caught on the coral and Kawelo could not row\nto the men. They rushed their boat to the beach and escaped. Kawelo\nthen took a part of the captured fish and offered it for sacrifice in\nthe temple at Waianae. The rest he brought to his people at Waikiki.\n\nAs he came near the shore he called for his spear-throwers to meet him\non the beach. Seven skilled men stood before him as he landed. They\nhurled their spears at one time straight at him, but he moved himself\nskilfully from side to side and threw the ends of his malo (loincloth)\naround them and caught them all together. Then he called his two\nadopted boys to throw. This they did with great skill, but he caught\nboth spears in one hand. Kamalama took two spears, and Kawelo\u2019s wife\nstood on one side with a fishhook and line in her hand. As the spears\nflew by her she threw out the hook and caught each one.\n\nThe story of the Kauai trouble was soon told. The king of Oahu\nfurnished a large double canoe. From his father-in-law Kawelo secured\nthe historic battle-weapons\u2014war-club and spear\u2014with which he had\nlearned to fight. Food in abundance was placed on the boats, and the\nhousehold went back to Kauai to wage war with Aikanaka and Kauahoa,\nstopping at the heiau Kamaile\u2014afterward called Ka-ne i ka pua lena\n(Ka-ne of the yellow flower)\u2014to offer sacrifices. Some legends say this\ntemple was at Makaha, and that Kane-aki was the name. This Ka-ne was\none of the gods of Kawelo. Kawelo, according to one legend, had his\npeople tie him in a mat as if dead as they approached Wailua, the home\nof Aikanaka. The beach was covered with people\u2014the warriors of\nAikanaka. As the double canoe came to the beach, the people made ready\nto attack. They waited, however, for the newcomers to land and prepare\nfor fight. This was a formal courtesy always demanded by the ethics of\nolden times. When all was ready, Kamalama stood by the apparently dead\nbody of Kawelo, and pulled a cord which unloosed the mats. Kawelo rose\nup with his war-club and spear in hand and rushed upon the multitude.\nHe struck from side to side, and the people fell like the leaves of\ntrees in a whirlwind.\n\nAgain new bodies of warriors hastened from Aikanaka. Kamalama, the\nseven spearmen and the two adopted boys fought this army and drove it\nback under a cliff where Aikanaka had his headquarters. The seven\nspearmen, known in the legends as Naulu (the-seven-bread-fruit-trees),\nwere afraid and retreated to the boat.\n\nTwo noble chiefs asked Aikanaka for two large bodies of men (two\nfour-hundreds), but Kawelo and his handful of helpers defeated them\nwith great slaughter. Thus several larger bodies of soldiers were\ndestroyed, and Aikanaka became cold and afraid in his heart.\n\nThen Kahakaloa, the best skilled in the use of war-clubs in all the\nislands, rose up and went down with the two hundred warriors to fight\nwith Kawelo and his family. The father-in-law of Kawelo knew this chief\nwell and thought that by him Kawelo might be killed if he went to\nKauai, but Kawelo had learned strokes of the club not understood on\nKauai. Soon all the warriors were slain, and Kahakaloa stood alone\nagainst Kawelo. As they faced each other Kahakaloa swiftly struck\nKawelo, but Kawelo while falling gave his club an upward stroke,\nbreaking his enemy\u2019s arm. In the next struggle Kawelo\u2019s swift upward\nstroke killed his foe.\n\nThen Kauahoa, the strongest, tallest and most skilful man of Kauai,\narose and went down to meet Kawelo. Kauahoa took a magic koa-tree,\nroot, stem and branches, for his club with which to fight Kawelo. His\nheart was full of anger as he remembered the troubles between Kawelo\nand himself in their boyhood. As he passed the multitude of his dead\npeople he became beside himself with rage and rushed upon Kawelo.\nKawelo stationed his wife on one side with her powerful fishhooks and\nlines to catch the branches of the mighty tree and hold them fast. Some\nof the legends say that she was very skilful in the use of the ikoi.\nThis was a straight, somewhat heavy, stick with a strong cord fastened\naround the middle. It was said that she was to throw this stick over\nthe branches, whirling and twisting the cord around them, greatly\nentangling them, so that she could pull the tree to one side. Kawelo\nordered his warriors to watch the spots of sunlight sifting through the\nbranches. As the tree was hurled down upon them they must leap into the\nopen places and seize the branches, holding on as best they could. When\nthe giant struck down with his strange war-club, Kawelo\u2019s friends\nfollowed his directions, while he leaped swiftly to one side and ran\naround back of Kauahoa while he was bending over trying to free his\ntree from its troubles. Kawelo struck down with awful force, his\nwar-club cutting Kauahoa in pieces, which fell by the side of the\nkoa-tree.\n\nSomewhere in the battles waged by Kawelo along the coasts of Kauai he\nwas fighting with his giant enemy and struck his spear against the\nmountain ridge at Anahola, piercing it through and through, leaving a\ngreat hole through which the sky is always to be seen.\n\nAikanaka fled to the region near Hanapepe, where he dwelt in poverty.\nKawelo divided the districts of Kauai among his warriors. Kaeleha\nreceived the district in which Aikanaka was sheltered. Soon this\nadopted son of Kawelo met the daughter of Aikanaka and married her.\nAfter a while he wanted Aikanaka to again rule the island. He proposed\nrebellion and told Aikanaka that they could destroy Kawelo because he\nhad never learned the art of fighting with stones. He only understood\nthe use of the war-club and spear. They ordered the women and children\nto gather great piles of stones to hurl against Kawelo.\n\nWhen Kawelo heard about this insurrection, he was very angry. He seized\nhis war-club, Kuikaa, and hastened to Hanapepe. As he came near he saw\nthat the people had barricaded his way with canoes, and that back of\nthese canoes were many large piles of stones in the care of warriors.\nHe raised his war-club and leaped toward his enemies. A sling-stone\nreached him. Then the stones came like heavy rain. He dodged, but there\nwere so many that when he avoided one he would be struck by others. He\nwas bruised and wounded and stunned until he sank to the ground\nunconscious under the fierce shower.\n\nThe people rejoiced, and, to make death sure, threw off the stones and\nbeat the body with clubs until it was cold and they could detect no\nsign of breathing.\n\nAikanaka had built a new unu, or heiau, at Mauilli, in the district of\nKoloa, but no man had been offered as a sacrifice upon its altars. He\nthought he would take Kawelo as the first human sacrifice. The people\ncarried the body of Kawelo to the pa, or outside enclosure, of the\ntemple, but it was dark when they arrived, and they laid the body down,\ncovering it with banana leaves, saying they would come the next morning\nand place the body on the altar, where it should lie until\ndecomposition had taken place.\n\nTwo watchmen had been appointed, one of whom was a near relative to\nKawelo. He soon discovered that Kawelo was not dead. He told Kawelo\nabout the plan to place him on the altar in the morning. He covered\nKawelo again, placing his war-club by his side. In the morning the\nchiefs and people came to the heiau with Aikanaka and Kaeleha. When all\nwere gathered together the watchman whispered to Kawelo. The leaves\nwere thrown off, and Kawelo attacked the multitude and destroyed all\nwho had rebelled against him.\n\nSome of the legends say that Aikanaka had placed Kawelo on the\nsacrificial platform and in the morning had begun to offer the prayer\nconsecrating the dead body to the gods, when Kawelo struck him dead\nbefore his own altar.\n\nWhen this rebellion had been overcome, Kawelo gave a large district\nwith good lands to the watchman who had befriended him. He retained his\nyounger brother Kamalama in the district of Hanamaulu and committed\ntheir parents to his care.\n\nKawelo, as was his right, ruled over all the island, passing from place\nto place, establishing peace and prosperity. He made his home at Hana,\nplanting and fishing for himself, not burdening chiefs or people, but\nbeloved by all. Thus he gained the honored name Kawelo-lei-makua\n(Kawelo, garland-of-his-parents).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXIII\n\n\u201cCHIEF MAN-EATER\u201d\n\n\n\u201cChief man-eater,\u201d the cannibal, lived in the Hawaiian Islands. He was\nalso one of the inhabitants of mistland. Legends gathered around him\nlike clouds. Facts also stood out like tall trees through the clouds.\nHe was a real cannibal, of whom the Hawaiians are not proud.\n\nThe Hawaiians have frequently been called cannibals. Secretaries of the\nMissionary Board under which the first missionaries came to Hawaii, and\npapers of the denomination supporting that mission, have uttered the\nuntruth, \u201cThe cannibals of the Sandwich Islands would erewhile cook and\ncarve a merchant or marine and discourse on the deliciousness of cold\nmissionary.\u201d It was a very forcible background against which to paint\nmoral improvement, but it was not accurate. The Hawaiians claim that\nthey never practised cannibalism. If anything like a feast of human\nflesh was partaken of, it was only in exceedingly rare and obscure\ncases. And of these only \u201cChief Man-eater\u201d is accepted as a historical\nfact. Legends that possibly have had a hint of cannibalism are very\nfew.\n\nIt is recorded that after certain fierce battles of the long ago, as a\nmethod of showing indignity to dead chiefs, their bodies were baked and\nthrown into the sea.\n\nIt is barely possible that the baking was followed by cannibalism, but\nthere is nothing in the record beyond the suggestion.\n\nThe daring act of \u201cheart-eating\u201d is mentioned in Hawaiian annals. This\ncame during or after a battle, when two warriors had been engaged in a\nhand-to-hand struggle. The victor, whose strength was almost gone,\nwould sometimes tear out the heart of the dying opponent and eat it on\nthe spot. It was believed that the strength and courage of the dead\nentered immediately into the living.\n\nThat the Hawaiian chiefs and priests set small value upon life is well\nattested by the large number of human sacrifices required for almost\nall civil and religious ceremonies. For instance, when the famous\nwar-god Kaili was taken to a temple dedicated to it by Kamehameha,\neleven human victims were placed at once upon the altar before it. When\na chief desired a new canoe a man was usually slain at the foot of the\ntree from which the canoe was to be made. Another was slain when the\ncanoe was complete, and others might be sacrificed at different stages\nof the work. When a chief\u2019s house was to be erected, sometimes a victim\nwas sacrificed and buried at each corner, and when the house was\ncompleted another slaughter occurred. When an idol was to be made,\nsubstantially the same sacrifices accompanied the ceremony of choosing\nthe tree and carving the image. At certain times the priests of all the\ntemples demanded human victims, and regularly appointed officers, or\nman-catchers, were appointed to provide for the sacrifice. Not even\ntheir own relatives were spared in the search. Women were almost always\nexempt from this horrible termination of life. When a battle had been\nfought, many captives were sacrificed by both victor and vanquished.\n\nInfanticide was freely practised up to the time of the advent of the\nmissionaries. Even for old people there was often but little love, and\nthe aged and the infirm were left to care for themselves, or placed on\nthe beach for the outstretched hands of the incoming tide.\n\nA native historian says: \u201cThe ancient restrictions of chiefs and\npriests were like the poisoned tooth of a reptile. If the shadow of a\ncommon man fell on a chief, it was death. If he put on any part of the\ngarments of a chief, it was death. If he went into the chief\u2019s yard or\nupon the chief\u2019s house, it was death. If he stood when the king\u2019s\nbathing water or his garments were carried along, or in the king\u2019s\npresence, it was death. If he stood at the mention of the king\u2019s name\nin song, it was death. There were many other offences of the people\nwhich were made capital by the chiefs. The king and the priests were\nmuch alike. The priesthood was oppressive to the people. Human victims\nwere required on many occasions. If tabus were violated it meant death.\nIt was death to be found in a canoe on a tabu or sacred day. If a woman\nate pork, coconuts, bananas, or certain kind of fish or lobster, it was\ndeath.\u201d\n\nThis much, and more, of human cruelty is acknowledged concerning the\nsavage life of ancient Hawaii. Nevertheless, from the beginning of the\nearliest acquaintance of white people with the Hawaiian not an instance\nor hint of cannibalism has been known.\n\nThe idea of eating human flesh was thoroughly repugnant. Alexander, in\nhis brief history of the Hawaiian people, says, \u201cCannibalism was\nregarded with horror and detestation.\u201d Isaac Davis, one of the first\nwhite men to make his home in the islands, declared that the Hawaiians\nhad never been cannibals since the islands were inhabited.\n\nTo the Hawaiian, \u201cChief Man-eater\u201d was the unique and horrid embodiment\nof an insane appetite. He was the \u201cFe-fi-fo-fum\u201d giant of the Hawaiian\nnursery. The very thought of his worse than brutal feast made the\nHawaiian blood run cold.\n\nOne of the legends of Ke-alii-ai Kanaka (The-chief-who-eats-men) tells\nof the sudden appearance on the island of Kauai, in the indefinite\npast, of a stranger chief from a foreign land, with a small band of\nfollowers. The king of Kauai made them welcome. Feasts and games were\nenjoyed, then came the discovery that secret feasts of a horrible\nnature were eaten by the strangers. They were driven from the island.\nThey crossed the channel to Oahu. They knew their reputation would soon\nfollow them, so they went inland to the lofty range of the Waianae\nMountains. Here they established their home, cultivated food and\ncaptured human victims, until finally driven out. Then they launched\ntheir boats and sailed away toward Kahiki, a foreign land.\n\nAi-Kanaka (Man-eater) was the name given to a bay on the island of\nMolokai, now known as the leper island. Here dwelt the priest Kawelo,\nwho, by the aid of the great shark-god Kauhuhu, brought upon his\nenemies a storm which swept them into the sea, where they were eaten by\nthe subjects and companions of the shark-god.\n\nA legend, or, rather, a genealogy, placed a \u201cChief Man-eater\u201d on the\nisland of Hawaii, but no hints are given of man-eating feasts, or of\njourneys to other islands, and the name may simply refer to a fierce\ndisposition. The Oahu chief, Ke-alii-ai Kanaka, lived some time about\nthe middle of the eighteenth century, as nearly as can be estimated. Up\nto the middle of the nineteenth century the accounts of Chief\nMan-eater\u2019s deeds and the accurate knowledge of his place of residence\nwere quite fresh in the minds of old Hawaiians.\n\nIt is still a problem to be decided whether Chief Man-eater was a\nforeigner or a Hawaiian. The difficulty that makes his foreign birth a\nproblem is the accepted date of the close of all intercourse with\nfar-away island groups, such as Samoa and Fiji\u2014at least three hundred\nyears earlier than the century assigned to Ke-alii-ai Kanaka.\n\nIt would seem best to accept the legend that the degenerate chief was a\ndesperado and an outcast from the high chief family of Waialua, on the\nnorthwest coast of Oahu.\n\nKe-alii-ai Kanaka was a powerful man. He is described as a champion\nboxer and wrestler. In some way he learned to love the taste of human\nflesh. When his awful appetite became known he was driven from his\nhome. As he passed through the village the women who had been his\nplaymates and companions fled from him. His former friends, the young\nwarriors, called out \u201cMan-eater! Man-eater!\u201d and openly despised him.\nIn bitter anger he called the few servants who would follow him, and\nfled to the royal Waianae Mountains. Driven from his kindred and\nfriends, he buried himself and his brutal appetite in the mountain\nforests.\n\nIt is possible that soon after this he visited the island Kauai, and\nthere passed himself off as a chief from a foreign land. But \u201chis hand\nwas against every man\u201d and therefore \u201cevery man\u2019s hand was against\nhim.\u201d Finally he made his permanent home among the Waianae Mountains,\nin the range that borders Waialua.\n\nHis followers numbered only a handful, for a single canoe brought them\naway from Kauai\u2014if his was indeed the band driven from the hospitable\nshores of that fertile island.\n\nKokoa and Kalo were the names by which he was known in his nobler young\nmanhood, and Kokoa was his name to his followers, but he was ever after\nChief Man-eater to the Hawaiian world.\n\nIt was a wild and wonderfully beautiful spot that Kokoa chose for his\nfinal home. It was a small plateau, or mesa, of from two to three\nhundred acres on the top of a small mountain surrounded by other higher\nand more precipitous cliffs. It was luxuriantly covered with tropical\ngrowth and blessed with abundant rains. The Hawaiians have given the\nname Halemanu (house-of-the-hand) to this plateau. Its sides, sloping\ndown into the valleys, were so precipitous as to be absolutely\ninaccessible. It could be entered only along a narrow ridge. The\npandanus drooped its long leaves and a\u00ebrial rootlets along the edges.\nThe uluhe, [37] or tangle-fern, massed and matted itself into a thick\ndisguise for the cannibals\u2019 secret paths through the valleys below.\nNative flowers bordered the paths and crowned the plateau, as if man\u2019s\nworst nature could never wither the appeal of things beautiful. A\nmagnificent koa, or native mahogany, tree spread its protecting\nbranches by the spot chosen by Kokoa for his grass house. Kukui-trees\nfurnished their oily nuts for his torches. The ohia, or native apple,\nand the bread-fruit and wild sugar-cane gave generously of their wealth\nto the support of the cannibal band. They easily cultivated taro, the\nuniversal native food, and captured birds and sometimes unwary hunters\nwho penetrated the forest recesses in search of the birds with rare\nyellow feathers. It was a beautiful den into which, spider-like, he\ndragged his victims.\n\nKokoa led his followers into the mountains through winding valleys and\nthick forests and sometimes in the very beds of the Waianae brooks to\nthis secluded retreat lying within the walls of one of the enormous\nextinct craters of the volcanic mountains. As they entered the valley\nbelow the plateau, one of his followers said to another: \u201cOur chief has\nfound a true hiding-place for us. Let us hope that it may not prove a\ntrap. If our presence here should be known to the people of Waialua,\nthey could easily close the entrance to this valley with a strong guard\nand drive us against the steep walls up which we cannot climb.\u201d Kokoa\nonly called out, \u201cWait, I will protect you,\u201d then led them to the\nplateau he had selected.\n\nThe ascent to the summit was along a knife-blade ridge flanked by\npicturesque sides. For a long distance there was only room for one man\nto walk. One of the men carelessly hastened across this causeway,\nbearing a heavy burden of goods and weapons. His foot slipped. His\nburden overbalanced him. The sloping side of the ridge was covered with\ngrass, which afforded no foothold. In a moment the fallen man and his\nburden were hurled down the slope. The terrified friends watched the\nflying body in its rapid descent, and saw it shoot out in space over\nthe edge of a lava cliff, and heard it strike the broken debris at the\nfoot.\n\nTwo of the men were at once sent back to skirt the cliff and secure the\nremains of their companion. The others followed Kokoa with more careful\nsteps.\n\nThis hill, crowned by table-land, which was to be their home, was\napparently the very centre of volcanic activity in former days. It had\nbeen the deposit of the last traces of the crater. Lava and ashes had\nbeen piled up, and then when the fires died away had been coated with\nthe island plant life. Here they found a fortress that could not be\nassailed or approached except by one man at a time. From this place\nraids could be easily made upon the surrounding country. Here they\nbrought their captives for their inhuman feasts.\n\nAfter the grass houses were built for permanent shelter, Kokoa\n(Ke-alii-ai Kanaka) caused a great hole to be made. This was the imu,\nor oven, in which the bodies of animals and men were to be baked. A\nfire was built in the bottom of the hole. Stones were placed upon the\nburning wood. When these stones were thoroughly heated and the fire had\ndied away, the bodies were wrapped in fragrant and spicy leaves, laid\nupon the stones, and covered so that the heat might not escape. Then\nwater was carefully poured down so that clouds of steam might make\ntender the flesh roasting over the heated stones. This was the ordinary\nHawaiian method of preparing fish or chickens or animals for their\nnumerous feasts. [38] It was the regular festival preparation required\nby the cannibals.\n\nAfter a time Kokoa and his companions took a huge outcropping block of\nlava and smoothed away the top, making a hollow ipukai, or table dish,\nor, more literally, a gravy dish, upon which their ghastly repasts were\nserved. This stone table was finally rounded and its sides ornamented\nby rudely carved figures. The stone was five or six feet in\ncircumference. Not far from it the chief\u2019s grass house was built and\nthe ground prepared for the taro which should be their daily food.\n\nSometimes members of the little band carried birds which had been\ncunningly snared, and exchanged them for fish and chickens with\nfamilies living on the seashore. Frequently the entire band would make\nan attack upon a lonely household and carry every member of it to the\nmountain lair, that day after day they might be provided with such food\nas would satisfy the shameless craving of their gross appetites.\n\nThe cannibal band often met strong resistance, and with their captives\ncarried back the dead bodies of their friends. Sickness and death\noccasionally crossed the narrow ridge and struck down some of Chief\nMan-eater\u2019s followers, until at last Ke-alii-ai Kanaka stood alone by\nthe ipukai.\n\nAlone he watched for hunters and for those who came searching for rare\nplants or woods or birds. He guarded well his solitary retreat on the\ntableland. He did many daring deeds and terrified the people by his\nfabulous strength and courage.\n\nOne day he captured and killed a victim whom he carried through the\nforest to Halemanu.\n\nA brother of this victim discovered and followed him to the path along\nthe ridge. He recognized the chief who had been driven long before from\nWaialua. He knew the reputation for boxing and wrestling which belonged\nto his former leader. He went back to his village. For a year Hoahanau\ngave himself up to athletic training. He sought the strong men\u2014the\nboxers and wrestlers of Waialua. He visited other parts of the island\nuntil he found no one who could stand before him. Then alone he sought\nthe hiding-place of Chief Man-eater. He covered his lithe and sinewy\nbody with oil, that his enemy might not easily grasp an arm or limb. He\nreached the narrow pass leading to Halemanu.\n\nHis challenge rang out, and Chief Man-eater came forth to meet him. The\nchief started along the narrow path swinging a heavy war club and\nflourishing a long spear.\n\nHoahanau made himself known and was recognized by the chief. Then\nHoahanau made known the terms upon which he wished to wrestle with the\nchief.\n\n\u201cTake back your club and spear, and stand unarmed beside your ipukai,\nand I will also stand unarmed by your imu. No weapon shall be near our\nhands. Then will we wrestle for the mastery.\u201d\n\nAikanaka despised Hoahanau, whose strength he had well known in the\npast. He believed that he could easily overcome the daring man who\nstood naked before him; therefore, boastfully taunting Hoahanau and\nthreatening to eat his body upon that very ipukai, he threw away his\nweapons and waited the onset.\n\nAs the combatants threw themselves against each other, Aikanaka was\nsurprised to find his antagonist ready for every cunning feint and\nwell-timed blow. It was a long and fearful struggle. The chief had been\nonce thrown to the ground, but had twisted aside and regained his feet\nbefore Hoahanau could take advantage of the fall.\n\nFoaming at the mouth and roaring and screaming like an enraged animal,\nAikanaka turned for a second toward his house, with the thought of\nrushing to secure a weapon. Then Hoahanau leaped upon him, caught him,\nand whirled him over the edge of the plateau. Down the chief swept,\nbroken and mangled by the rough, sharp spurs of lava rock, until the\nlifeless body lodged in the branches of a tall ohia-tree far below.\n\n\n\nNote: This was the beginning and ending of cannibalism in the Hawaiian\nIslands so far as history and definite legend are concerned. Halemanu\nwas visited by Mathison, and a description of the carved stone table\npublished in 1825.\n\nIn 1848, a little party of white men were guided to the crater by an\nold Hawaiian, who repeated to them the story of \u201cChief Man-eater\u201d\nsubstantially as it is given in this record. They found Halemanu. The\nfoundations of the house, or at least of a wall around it, were easily\ntraced. The ipukai and the imu were both there. The party did not\nnotice any carved images on the side of the stone table. Indeed, the\nstone had been so covered by decaying debris that it scarcely extended\na foot above the soil.\n\nIn 1879 and in 1890, Mr. D. D. Baldwin, a member of the party visiting\nHalemanu in 1848, again sought the ipukai without a guide, but the\nluxuriant growth of tangle-fern and grass made exploration difficult,\nand the carved stone table was not found. Somewhere under the debris of\nHalemanu it may wait the patient search of a Hawaiian arch\u00e6ologist.\n\nMr. Joseph Emerson, who has had charge of governmental surveys of a\nlarge part of the islands and also is a prominent authority on Hawaiian\nmatters, says that the sacrificial stone can still be found, and was\nseen by his brother within the past few years. He differs from the\nother writers in the name given to the place and also in regard to the\nlocality. The right name should be \u201cHelemano,\u201d carrying the idea of a\ntrain of followers of some high chief. The locality is some miles\nnorthwest of the Waianae Range in one of the valleys of the Koolau\nMountains. To this place the chiefesses of highest blood were wont to\ncome for the birth of their expected children. The valley was \u201ctabu\u201d or\n\u201csacred.\u201d Near this sacred birthplace of chiefs was the home for a time\nof the noted man-eating chief.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXIV\n\nLEPE-A-MOA\n\n\nTHE CHICKEN-GIRL OF PALAMA\n\nStrange things are sometimes imagined in the Hawaiian legends of\nancient time. The story of Lepe-a-moa is an illustration of the\nblending of the Hawaiian idea of supernatural things with the deeds of\nevery-day life. It is one of those old legends handed down by native\nbards through generations, whose first scenes lie on the island of\nKauai, but change to Oahu.\n\nKeahua was one of the royal chiefs of Kauai. Apparently he was the\nhighest chief on the island, but it was in the days when men were few\nand high chiefs and gods were many. He had spent his boyhood on the\nrich lands of Wailua, Kauai, and from there had crossed the deep\nchannel to Oahu and had come to the home of the chiefess Kapalama after\nher beautiful daughter Kauhao, to take her to Kauai as his wife. But\nsoon after his return one of the kupua gods became angry with him. A\nkupua was a god having a double body, sometimes appearing as a man and\nsometimes as an animal. The animal body always possessed supernatural\npowers.\n\nThis kupua was called Akua-pehu-ale (god-of-the-swollen-billows). He\ndevoured his enemies, and was greatly feared and hated even by his own\ntribe. He attacked Keahua, destroyed his people and drove him into the\nforests far up the mountain-sides, where, at a place called Kawaikini\n(The-many-waters), where fresh spring water abounded, the chief\ngathered his followers together and built a new home.\n\nOne day Kapalama, who was living in her group of houses in the part of\nHonolulu which now bears her name, said to her husband: \u201cO Honouliuli,\nour daughter on Kauai will have a child of magic power and of kupua\ncharacter. Perhaps we should go thither, adopt it, and bring it up;\nthere is life in the bones.\u201d\n\nThey crossed the channel, carrying offerings with them to their gods.\nConcealing their canoes, they went up into the forest. Their daughter\u2019s\nchild was already born, and behold, it was only an egg! The chief had\ngiven an order to carry it out into the deep sea and throw it away as\nan offering to the sea-monsters; but the mother and her soothsayers\nthought it should be kept and brought to life.\n\nKapalama, coming at this time, took the egg, wrapped it carefully in\nsoft kapas, bade farewell to her daughter, and returned to Oahu. Here\nshe had her husband build a fine thatched house of the best grass he\ncould gather. The kapas put inside for beds and clothing were perfumed\nby fragrant ginger flowers, hala blossoms, and the delicate bloom of\nthe niu (coconut) while festoons of the sweet-scented maile graced its\nwalls. For a long time that egg lay wrapped in its coverings of soft\nkapas.\n\nOne day Kapalama told her husband to prepare an imu (oven) for their\ngrandchild. He gathered stones, dug a hole, and took his fire-sticks\nand rubbed until fire came; then he built a fire in the hole and placed\nthe wood and put on the stones, heating them until they were very hot.\nTaking some fine sweet-potatoes, he wrapped them in leaves and laid the\nbundles on the stones, covered all with mats, and poured on sufficient\nwater to make steam in which to cook the potatoes.\n\nWhen all was fully cooked, Kapalama went to the house of the egg and\nlooked in. There she saw a wonderfully beautiful chicken born from that\negg. The feathers were of all the colors of all kinds of birds. They\nnamed the bird-child Lepe-a-moa. They fed it fragments of the cooked\nsweet-potato, and it went to sleep, putting its head under its wing.\n\nThis bird-child had an ancestress who was a bird-woman and who lived up\nin the air in the highest clouds. Her name was Ke-ao-lewa\n(The-moving-cloud). She was a sorceress of the sky, but sometimes came\nto earth in the form of a great bird, or of a woman, to aid her\nrelatives in various ways. When the egg was brought from Kauai,\nKe-ao-lewa told her servants to prepare a swimming-pool for the use of\nthe child. After this bird-child had come into her new life and eaten\nand rested, she went to the edge of the pool, ruffled and picked her\nfeathers and drank of sweet water, then leaped in, swimming and diving\nand splashing all around the pool. When tired of this play, she got out\nand flew up in the branches of a tree, shaking off the water and drying\nherself. After a little while she flew down to her sleeping-house,\nwrapped herself in some fine, soft kapas, and went to sleep.\n\nThus day by day she ate and bathed, and, when by herself she changed\nher bird form into that of a very beautiful girl, her body shone with\nbeauty like the red path of the sunlight on the sea, or the rainbow\nbending in the sky.\n\nOne day after she had made this change she stretched herself out with\nher face downward and called to her grandparents: \u201cOh, where are you\ntwo? Perhaps you will come inside.\u201d\n\nThey heard a weak, muffled voice, and one said: \u201cWhere is that voice\ncalling us two? This is a strange thing. As a tabu place, no one has\nbeen allowed to come here; it is for us and our children alone.\u201d The\nwoman said, \u201cWe will listen again; perhaps we can understand this\nvoice.\u201d Soon they heard the child call as before. Kapalama said: \u201cThat\nis a voice from the house of our child. We must go there.\u201d\n\nShe ran to the house, lifted the mat door, and looked in. When she saw\na beautiful and strong girl lying on the floor she was overcome with\nsurprise, and staggered back and fell to the ground as if dead.\nHonouliuli ran to her, rubbed her body, poured water on her head and\nbrought her back to life. Then she said: \u201cWhen I looked in, I saw our\ngrandchild in a beautiful human body wearing a green and yellow feather\nlei. It was her voice calling us.\u201d\n\nThus Lepe-a-moa came into her two bodies and received her gift of magic\npowers. She was exceedingly beautiful as a girl, so beautiful that her\nglory shone out from her body like radiating fire, filling the house\nand passing through into the mist around, shining in that mist in\nresplendent rainbow colors. The radiance was around her wherever she\nwent.\n\nOne day she said to her grandparents, \u201cI want another kind of food, and\nam going down to the sea for fish and moss.\u201d In her chicken body she\nate the potato food provided, but she desired the food of her friends\nwhen in her human form. Joyously she went down to the shore and saw the\nsurf waves of Palama rolling in. She chanted as she saw this white\nsurf: \u201cMy love, the first surf. I ride on these white waves.\u201d\n\nAs she rested on the crest of a great comber sweeping toward the beach\nshe saw a squid rising up and tossing out its long arms to catch her.\nShe laughed and caught it in her hand, saying, \u201cOne squid, the first,\nfor the gods.\u201d This she took to the beach and put in a fish-basket she\nhad left on the sand with her skirt and lei. Again she went out, and\nsaw two squid rising to meet her. This time she sang, \u201cHere are two\nsquid for the grandparents.\u201d Then she saw and caught another floating\non the wave with her. This she took, exclaiming, \u201cFor me; this squid is\nmine.\u201d\n\nThe grandparents rejoiced when they saw the excellent food provided\nthem. Again and again she went to the sea, catching fish and gathering\nsweet moss from the reef. Thus the days of her childhood passed. Her\ngrandfather gave his name, Honouliuli, to a land district west of\nHonolulu, while Kapalama gave hers to the place where they lived. The\nbird-child\u2019s parents still dwelt in their forest home on Kauai, hidden\nfrom their enemy Akua-pehu-ale.\n\n\n\nNote: In Hawaiian legends and even in history, down to the last ruler\nof the islands, a divinely given rainbow was supposed to be arched from\ntime to time over those of high-chief birth. A child of divine and\nhuman or miraculous power in the family of a high chief would almost\ninvariably have its birth attended by thunder, lightning, storm, and\nbrilliant rainbows. These rainbows would usually follow the child\nwherever it went, resting over any place where it stopped. Sometimes\nthe glory of the royal blood in a child would be so great that it would\nshine through the thatch of a house like a blazing fire, flashing out\nin the darkness like devouring flames, or, if the child was in the sea,\nthe glory shone into the spray like rainbows.\n\nSome legends state that the sorcerers could tell the difference between\nthe colors radiating from members of different royal families. If a\nkahuna saw a canoe far away with a mass of color above it, he could\ngive the name of the person in it and his lineage. It is even stated\nthat it was possible to discern these rainbows of royalty from island\nto island and know where the person was at that time staying.\nLono-o-pua-kau was the god who had charge of these signs of a chief\u2019s\npresence.\n\n\n\n\nKAUILANI AND AKUA-PEHU-ALE.\n\nAfter a time Lepe-a-moa\u2019s mother gave birth to a fine boy, who was\nnamed Kauilani. He was born in the forest by the water-springs\nKawaikini. On the day of his birth a great storm swept over the land.\nRain fell in torrents and swept in red streams down the valleys,\nthunder rolled, lightning flashed, earthquakes shook the land, and\nrainbows arched his birthplace. This time, since a boy was born, he\nbelonged to the family of the father. His grandparents were\nLau-ka-ie-ie and Kani-a-ula.\n\nThey took the child and bathed him in a wonderful fountain called\nWai-ui (Water-of-strength), which had the power of conferring rapid\ngrowth, great strength, and remarkable beauty upon those who bathed\ntherein. The child was taken frequently to this fountain, so that he\ngrew rapidly and was soon a man with only the years of a boy. The two\nold people were kupuas having very great powers. They could appear as\nhuman beings or could assume wind bodies and fly like the wind from\nplace to place. They could not give the boy a double body, but they\ncould give him supernatural powers with his name Kauilani\n(The-divine-athlete). They bound around him their marvellous malo (loin\ncloth) called Paihiku.\n\nWhen Keahua, the father, saw the boy, he said: \u201cHow is it that you have\ngrown so fast and become a man so soon? Life is with you. Perhaps now\nyou can help me. A quarrelsome friend sought war with me a long time\nago and came near killing me; that is why we dwell in this mountain\nforest beyond his reach. Maybe you and my servants can destroy this\nenemy,\u201d telling him also the character and dwelling-place of\nAkua-pehu-ale.\n\nKauilani said to his father, \u201cIf you adopt my plan, perhaps we may kill\nthis Akua-pehu-ale.\u201d The father agreed and asked what steps should be\ntaken. He was then told to send his servants up into the mountain to\ncut down ahakea [39]-trees and shape them into planks, then carry some\nof the sticks to the foot of the precipice near their home, and set\nthem in the ground and to take the others to the sea and there set them\nup like stakes close together.\n\nThat night was made very dark by the sorcery of the young chief. All\nthe people slept soundly. At midnight Kauilani went out into the\ndarkness and called thus to his gods:\n\n\u201cO mountain! O sea! O South! O North! O all ye gods! Come to our aid!\nInland at the foot of the pali is the ahakea; by the sea stands the\nahakea, there by the beach of Hina. Multiply them with the wauke at the\nfoot of the pali of Halelea and by the shore of Wailua. Bananas are\nready for us this night. The bread-fruit and the sugar-cane are ours, O\nye gods!\u201d\n\nRepeating this incantation, he went into his house and slept. In the\nmorning the high chief, Keahua, went out and looked, and behold! the\nsticks planted below the precipice had taken root and sent out branches\nand intertwined until it spread an almost impenetrable thicket. There\nwere also many groups of wauke-trees which had sprung up in the night.\nHe called his wife, saying, \u201cWhile we slept, this wonderful thing has\ntranspired.\u201d\n\nKauilani came out and asked his father to call all the people and have\nthem go out and cut the bark from the wauke-trees, beat it into kapa,\nand spread it out to dry. This was quickly done, and two large houses\nalso built and finished the same day. A tabu of silence was claimed for\nthe night while he again petitioned the gods.\n\nSoon deep darkness rested on the land, and all the people fell asleep,\nfor they were very tired. Kauilani only remained awake at his\nincantations, listening to the rapid work of the gods in cutting trees,\ncarving images, and filling the houses with them.\n\nAwaking the next day, the chief and his people went to the houses and\nsaw they were filled to overflowing with images, and covering the\nplatforms and fences around the houses.\n\nKauilani said to his father, \u201cLet the men go up to a high hill inland\nand burn the dry wood and brush to attract the attention of your enemy\nwhile we prepare our battle.\u201d\n\nAkua-pehu-ale was sporting in the sea when he saw the smoke rising from\nthe hills and mingling with the clouds. He said: \u201cThat is something\ndifferent from a cloud, and must be smoke from a fire made by some man.\nWhat man has escaped my eyes? I will go and see, and when I find him he\nshall be food for me.\u201d Then he came to the beach, and his magic body\nflew to the lands below Kawaikini.\n\nAll the people had been concealed by Kauilani, who alone remained to\nface the sea-monster. He stood in the doorway of one of the two large\nhouses, with an image on each side, for which he had made eyes looking\nlike those of a man.\n\nThe god came up, and, fixing his eyes on the young chief, said: \u201cWhy\nare you hiding here? You have escaped in the past, but now you shall\nbecome my food.\u201d He opened his mouth wide, one jaw rising up like a\nprecipice, the other resting on the ground, his double-pointed tongue\nplaying swiftly and leaping to swallow the chief and the images by his\nside.\n\nKauilani said sternly, \u201cReturn to your place to-day, and you shall see\nmy steps toward your place to-morrow for battle.\u201d\n\nThe god hesitated, and then said: \u201cSweet is the fatness of this place.\nYour bones are soft, your skin is shining. The glory of your body this\nday shall cease.\u201d\n\nThe chief, without making any motion, replied: \u201cWait a little; perhaps\nthis means work for us two. This is my place. If I strike you, you may\nbe my food, and the pieces of your body and your lands and property may\nfall to me like raindrops. It may be best that you should die, for you\nare very old, your eyelids hang down, and your skin is dry like that of\nan unihipili god [a god of skin and bones]. But I am young. This is not\nthe day for our fight. To-morrow we can have our contest. Return to\nyour sea beach; to-morrow I will go down.\u201d\n\nThe god thought a moment, and, knowing that the word of a chief was\npledged for a battle, decided that he would return to a better place\nfor a victory, so turned and went back to the shore.\n\nThe young chief at once called his father and the people, and said:\n\u201cTo-morrow I am going down to fight with our enemy. Perhaps he will\nkill me; if so, glorious will be my death for you; but I would ask you\nto command the people to eat until satisfied, lest they be exhausted in\nthe battle to-morrow; then let them sleep.\u201d\n\nHe laid out his plan of battle and defence. His mother and the\ngrandparents who had cared for him, with a number of the people, were\nto fight protected by the growth of trees at the foot of the pali, and\nwere to turn the god and his people toward the houses filled with the\nwooden gods made by the aumakuas (the ghost-gods).\n\nWhile all slept, Kauilani went out into the darkness and prayed to the\nthousands of the multitude of gods to work and establish his power from\ndawn until night.\n\nIn the morning he girded around him his malo of magic power and made\nready to go down. His father came to him with a polished spear, its end\nshaped to a sharp point, and set it up between them, saying: \u201cThis\nspear is an ancestor of yours. It has miraculous power and can tell you\nwhat to do. Its name is Koa-wi Koa-wa. It now belongs to you to care\nfor you and fight for you.\u201d The young chief gratefully took the spear\nand then said to his father: \u201cYour part is to be watchman in the battle\nto-day. If the smoke of the conflict rises to the sky and then sweeps\nseaward and at last comes before you, you may know that I am dead; but\nif the smoke rises to the foot of the precipice and passes along to the\ngreat houses, you may know that the enemy is slain.\u201d\n\nThen Kauilani took his spear and went down to the open field near the\nshore, talking all the way to it and to the gods. When he came to the\nseashore, he saw the god rising up like a mighty dragon, roaring and\nmaking a noise like reverberating thunder. As he rushed upon the chief,\nthere was the sound as of great surf-waves beating on the beach. The\nsand and soil of the battlefield was tossed up in great clouds. The god\nfought in his animal body, which was that of a great, swollen\nsea-monster.\n\nKauilani whirled his sharp-edged spear with swift bird\u2019s-wing movement,\nchanting meanwhile: \u201cO Koa-wi Koa-wa, strike! Strike for the lives of\nus two! Strike!\u201d The power of his magic girdle strengthened his arms,\nand the spear was ready to act in harmony with every thought of its\nchief. It struck the open mouth of that god, and turned it toward the\nprecipice and thick trees. Backward it was forced by the swift strokes\nof the spear. When a rush was made, the chief leaped toward the pali,\nand thus the god was driven and lured away from his familiar\nsurroundings. He became tangled in the thickets, and was harassed by\nthe attacks of Kauilani\u2019s friends.\n\nAt last his face was turned toward the houses filled with gods. The\npower which all the ghost gods had placed in the images of wood was now\ndescending upon Akua-pehu-ale, and he began to grow weak rapidly. He\nfelt the loss of strength, and turned to make a desperate rush upon the\nyoung chief.\n\nKauilani struck him a heavy blow, and the spear leaped again and again\nupon him, till he rolled into a mountain stream at a place called\nKapaa, out of which he crawled almost drowned. Then he was driven along\neven to the image houses, where a fierce battle took place, in which\nthe wooden images took part, many of them being torn to pieces by the\nteeth of Akua-pehu-ale.\n\nSome legends say that Kauilani\u2019s ancestress, Ke-ao-lewa, who had\nwatched over his sister, the bird-child, Lepe-a-moa, had come from her\nhome in the clouds to aid in the defeat of Akua-pehu-ale.\n\nAll forces uniting drove their enemy into a great, mysterious cloud of\nmana, or miraculous power, and he fell dead under a final blow of the\ncutting spear Koa-wi Koa-wa. Then Kauilani and his warriors rolled the\ndead body into one of the large houses. There he offered a chant of\nworship and of sacrifice, consecrating it as an offering to all the\ngods who had aided him in his battle.\n\nWhen this ceremony was over he set fire to the houses and burned the\nbody of Akua-pehu-ale and all the wooden images which remained after\nthe conflict, the smoke of which rose up and swept along the foot of\nthe precipice.\n\nThe father saw this, and told his people that the young chief had\nkilled their enemy, so with great rejoicing they prepared a feast for\nthe victorious chief and his helpers.\n\nKauilani went with his parents and grandparents down to the shore and\ntook possession of all that part of the island around Wailua,\ncomprising large fish-ponds, and taro and sweet-potato lands, held by\nthe servants of the vanquished god. These he placed under the charge of\nhis father\u2019s own faithful chiefs, and made his father once more king\nover the lands from which he had been driven.\n\n\n\n\nKAUILANI FINDS HIS SISTER LEPE-A-MOA\n\nFor some time after the famous battle with the evil god, Kauilani aided\nhis parents in establishing a firm and peaceful government, after which\nhe became restless and wanted new experiences.\n\nOne day he asked his mother if he was the only child she had. She told\nhim the story of his sister, who had been born from an egg, and had\nbecome a very beautiful young woman. They had never seen her, because\nshe had been taken to Oahu by her grandparents and there brought up.\n\nKauilani said, \u201cI am going to Oahu to find her.\u201d\n\nHis mother said: \u201cYes, that is right. I will tell you about my people\nand their lands.\u201d So she told him about his ancestors, his grandparents\nand their rich lands around the Nuuanu stream and its bordering plains;\nalso of the stopping-places as he should cross the island to Kapalama,\nhis grandmother, where he would find his sister under a rainbow having\ncertain strong shades of color.\n\nThe parents prepared a red feather cloak for him to wear with his fine\nmagic malo. These he put on, and, taking his ancestral spear, went down\nto the sea. Laying his spear on the water, he poised upon it, when it\ndashed like a great fish through the water; leaping from wave to wave,\nit swept over the sea like a malolo (flying-fish), and landed him on\nthe Oahu beach among the sand-dunes of Waianae.\n\nTaking up his spear he started toward the sunrise side of the island,\ncalling upon it as he went along to direct his path to Kapalama. Then\nhe threw the spear as if it were a dart in the game of pahee, but\ninstead of sliding and skipping along the ground it leaped into the\nair, and, like a bird floating on its wings, went along before the\nyoung chief.\n\nOnce it flew fast and far ahead of him to a place where two women were\nworking, and fell at their feet. They saw the beautiful spear,\nwonderfully polished, and picked it up, and quickly found a\nhiding-place wherein they concealed it. Covering up the deep furrow it\nhad made in the ground where it fell and looking around without seeing\nany one, they resumed their work.\n\nSoon Kauilani came to the place where they were, and, greeting them,\nasked pleasantly, \u201cWhen did you see my travelling companion who passed\nthis way?\u201d They were a little confused, yet said they had not seen any\none.\n\nThen he asked them plainly if a spear had passed them, and again they\ndenied all knowledge of anything coming near. Kauilani said, \u201cHave you\nnot concealed my friend, my spear?\u201d\n\nThey replied: \u201cNo. We have not had anything to do with any spear.\u201d\n\nThe chief softly called, \u201cE Koa-wi! E Koa-wa! E!\u201d The spear replied in\na small, sharp voice, \u201cE-o-e-o!\u201d and leaped out from its hiding-place,\nknocking the women over into the stream near which they had been\nworking.\n\nTaking the spear, he went down to the seashore, scolding it on the way\nfor making sport of him, and threatened to break it if anything else\nwent wrong. The spear said: \u201cYou must not injure me, your ancestor, or\nall your visit will result in failure. But if you lay me down on the\nbeach I will take you to the place where you can find your sister.\u201d\n\nThe chief said, \u201cHow shall I know you are not deceiving me?\u201d\n\nThe spear replied, \u201cSit down on me and in a little while we shall be at\na place where you can see her.\u201d Then it carried the complaining chief\nto the beach of Kou. There it lay on the ground and said: \u201cYou see a\ntree, a wiliwili- [40]tree, standing alone near the sea and looking out\nover the waters? Go you to that tree and climb it and look along the\nbeach until you see a rainbow rising over the waves. Under that rainbow\nyou will see a girl catching squid and shellfish and gathering\nsea-moss. She is doing this for her old people. She is your sister.\u201d\n\nThe chief said, \u201cI will go and see, but if no one is there I will\npunish you for deceiving me, and break you into little pieces.\u201d\n\nHe went to the tree, climbed to the top branches and looked along the\nbeach as the spear had directed. He saw a very strange thing out over\nthe water: red mist and bloody rainclouds moving back and forth over\nthe dark-blue waves, extending far out toward the horizon and also\ncovering the place where he was to see the girl. He called down to the\nspear that he could not see any rainbow or any girl.\n\nThe spear replied: \u201cEverything is changing rapidly on the face of the\nsea. Look again.\u201d\n\nHe watched the whirling mist and rain, and as it moved slowly he saw an\nimmense bird with many red feathers on its body and wings. When it flew\nup from the sea it hid the light from the sun and cast a dark shadow\nover all that beach. He called to the spear, \u201cWhat is this great bird\nflying over the ocean?\u201d\n\nThe spear replied: \u201cThat is one of your ancestors, a kupua. She has a\ndouble body, sometimes appearing as a bird and sometimes in human form.\nHer name is Ka-iwa-ka-la-meha. She has dwelling-places in all the\nislands, and even in Kahiki. She has come to your sister, Lepe-a-moa,\nover the seas of the gods Ka-ne and Kanaloa.\u201d\n\nKauilani watched the great bird as it rose from the sea and flew in\nmighty circles around the heavens, rising higher and higher until it\nwas lost in the sky.\n\nSoon the atmosphere began to clear, and he saw the rainbow and the girl\nin the far distance. He came down and told the spear that all its words\nwere true. The spear again asked the young chief to sit on it. He did\nso, and was carried rapidly to the group of houses where Kapalama was\nliving with her husband and grandchild.\n\nThat same day, after Lepe-a-moa had taken her basket and gone to the\nshore, Kapalama looked along the road toward the sunset and saw a small\ncloud hastening along the way. Watching it carefully, she saw a rainbow\nin the cloud and called to her husband: \u201cO Honouliuli, this is a very\nstrange thing, but from the rainbow in the cloud I know that our\ngrandchild from Kauai is coming to this place. You must quickly fire\nthe oven and prepare food for this our young grandchild.\u201d\n\nHe made the oven ready, and soon had chicken, fish, and sweet-potatoes\ncooking for their visitor.\n\nWhen Kauilani came to his grandparents they all wailed over each other,\naccording to the ancient custom of the Hawaiians. When the greeting was\nfinished he went into the house set apart for men as their\neating-place, into which women were not allowed to enter, and there ate\nhis food. After this he went outside and lay down on a mat and talked\nwith his grandmother.\n\nShe praised him for the great victory won with his spear against his\nfather\u2019s enemy, and then asked why he had come to Oahu.\n\nHe said, \u201cI have come to see my sister in her double nature.\u201d\n\nShe replied: \u201cThat is right. I will take you to her house. There you\nmust make a hollow place and hide under the mats and not let her see or\nhear you, lest you die. But when she falls asleep you must catch her\nand hold her fast until she accepts you as her brother. I will utter my\nchants and prayers for your success.\u201d So he hid himself in the girl\u2019s\nhouse and kept very quiet.\n\nMeanwhile Lepe-a-moa, who was through fishing, picked up her basket and\nstarted toward her home. She saw a rainbow resting over their houses\nand thought some strange chief had come. She rejoiced and determined\nthat the chief should play her favorite game konane, a game resembling\ncheckers. When she came to the houses she asked her grandmother for the\nstrange chief, saying she saw the footsteps of some man, perhaps now\nconcealed by the grandmother.\n\nKapalama denied that any one had come. So the girl went into her house,\nlaid aside her human body, and assumed that of many kinds of birds.\nKapalama broke cooked sweet-potatoes and fed the pieces to this\nbird-body. Having eaten all she wished, Lepe-a-moa went into her house\nand lay down on her mats and fell asleep.\n\nWhen deep sleep was on her the young chief leaped upon her, caught her\nin his arms, and held her fast. Jumping up, she dashed out of the\nhouse, carrying him with her. She flew up into the sky, but he still\nclung to her. The magic power of that spear helped him to hold fast and\nmade the bird fly slowly.\n\nAs she heard her grandmother chanting about herself and her brother,\nthe young chief of Kauai, her anger modified, and she asked the\nstranger, \u201cWho are you, and from whence have you come?\u201d He said, \u201cI am\nfrom Kauai, and I am Kauilani, your younger brother.\u201d\n\nThen she began to love him, and flew back to her grandparents, who\nwelcomed them with great rejoicing.\n\nFor many days the young people and their grandparents dwelt happily\ntogether. In later years the young chief and his sister saved King\nKakuhihewa in a remarkable manner. As a result, the king gave his\nfavorite daughter to Kauilani as his wife, and Lepe-a-moa cared for\ntheir children.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BATTLE OF THE KUPUAS\n\nThis part of the legend of Lepe-a-moa belongs to Waikiki and to Palama.\n[41] It is also one of the ancient long stories handed down from\ngeneration to generation among the Hawaiians. It came from the days of\nKakuhihewa, who was the King Arthur of Oahu traditions and whose chiefs\nwere \u201cthe Knights of the Round Table\u201d after whom most of the noted\nlocalities of Oahu were named. However, this goes back into the misty\npast only about four hundred years.\n\nA boy and a girl were born on the island of Kauai, both possessing\nmiraculous powers. The girl, Lepe-a-moa, was taken as soon as born to\nPalama, and there brought up by her grandparents. The boy, Kauilani,\nwas reared by his parents on Kauai, and there did many wonderful deeds,\nafter which he came to Oahu to visit his sister.\n\nAt birth, Lepe-a-moa was only an egg, which, under the care of the\ngrandparents, developed into a very beautiful maiden who could assume\nat will a multitude of bird forms. Thus she was what the ancient\nlegends called kupua, or a person having both human and animal powers.\n\nThe young chief desired to visit the court of Kakuhihewa, who resided\nat Waikiki. [42] The grandmother, Kapalama, sent messengers to\nKe-ao-lewa, the ruler of the birds of the heavens, for new clothing fit\nfor the young chief, and they returned with a magnificent feather sash,\nand a glorious red feather cloak, shining like the blossoms of the\nlehua-tree, and fringed with yellow feathers which were like golden\nclouds in the light of the setting sun.\n\nHe bound the sash over his shoulders and around his body as a girdle,\nor malo, threw the cloak from the heavens around him, took his magic\nspear, Koa-wi Koa-wa, which had the power of human speech, and\njourneyed to Waikiki.\n\nAt this time Kakuhihewa was entertaining his sister and her husband,\nMaui-nui, who was king of the island of Maui. According to custom, the\ndays were devoted to sports and gambling.\n\nMaui-nui had a kupua, a rooster, which was one of the ancestors of\nKauilani\u2019s family, but was very cruel and destructive. He could assume\na different bird form for each magic power he possessed. This, with his\nmiraculous human powers, made him superior to all the roosters which\nhad ever been his antagonists in cock-fighting. It was the custom of\nthis king to take this kupua in his rooster body, with some other\nchickens, and visit other chiefs, having many battles and winning large\namounts of property, such as the best canoes, the finest mats and\nkapas, and the most royal feather cloaks, as well as the lands of the\nchiefs who had not been subject to him. Sometimes, when all available\nproperty had been won, he would persuade a chief to \u201cbet his bones.\u201d\nThis meant that the poverty-stricken chief, as a last resort, would\nwager his body against some of the property lost. If defeated, his life\nmight be taken and his body sent to the most noted heiau (temple) of\nhis opponent and placed on an altar as a human sacrifice, or the body\nwould be burned or cooked in a fire oven and thrown into the sea.\n\nKakuhihewa and Maui-nui had been passing many days in this sport. When\nthe Maui king was afraid the game might be given up, he would let some\nof the ordinary chickens fight, or would select the weakest from his\nflock. Then a large amount of property might be returned to the\noriginal owners, but he took care to lead his opponents on until their\npride or their shame compelled them to wager their very last resources.\n\nThus the betting had gone on from time to time until the Maui king had\nprovoked Kakuhihewa into betting his kingdom of Oahu in an almost\nhopeless attempt to win back all that had been lost before.\n\nThe Oahu king realized that his brother-in-law was using a bird of\nmagic power, but his bets had been made and word given, and he did not\nknow of any way in which he could get sufficient magic to overcome his\nantagonist. He had heard about Kauilani, a wonderfully powerful young\nchief on Kauai, who had conquered a god of the seas and restored a\nkingdom to his father. He had sent messengers to Kauai to ask this\nyoung chief to come to his aid, promising as a reward the hand of his\nfavorite and most beautiful daughter in marriage; but the days passed\nand no word came from Kauai. Meanwhile Kauilani came before Kakuhihewa\nand was announced as a young chief from Kapalama. No one thought of any\nconnection with the noted warrior of Kauai.\n\nThe king was very much pleased with the young chief, and finally asked\nhim if he had seen his chickens, and if he would like to go to the\nplace where they were kept.\n\nKauilani saw the chickens and sent for water, which the keepers brought\nto him. Taking it, he sprinkled the eyes of the roosters. None of them\nhad sufficient power to keep from shutting their eyes when the water\nstruck their heads. Then he said to the keeper, \u201cThese birds will not\nbe of any use for our chief.\u201d\n\nThen he went to see the king\u2019s tabu rooster, the one reserved by the\nking for any last and desperate conflict. This he also tried and found\nwanting.\n\nThe keepers then sent word to the king that a strange young man with\ngreat wisdom was looking at the chickens, and the king came out and\nasked Kauilani about the tests.\n\nThe young chief sprinkled water as before, and then said to the king,\n\u201cPerhaps your rooster has strength and perhaps he has no power.\u201d\n\nThe king said: \u201cAh! We see that this tabu rooster has no strength for\nthis conflict. He closes his eyes. His enemy is very strong and very\nquick. We shall be defeated and belong to the king of Maui.\u201d\n\nThen Kauilani said, \u201cPerhaps I can find a bird of very great powers who\ncan save us.\u201d\n\nThe king said: \u201cIf you defeat Ke-au-hele-moa, the magic rooster of the\nking of Maui, you shall become my son. My daughter shall be your wife.\u201d\n\nKauilani requested the king to have the place closed where the chickens\nwere kept, so that no spy could watch them. He told the king he had a\nkupua chicken still in an egg, which would kill the great bird of the\nking of Maui, but that before the time came for the festival in which\nthe cock-fighting occurred his chicken would be hatched and have power\nto save the king and his kingdom. The king was filled with delight, and\ntook the handsome young chief at once to his house and sent for his\ndaughter.\n\nHe said to her: \u201cI have set you free from the tabu which I placed upon\nyou as the promised wife of the chief of Kauai. It is better that you\nshould take this young chief as your husband.\u201d\n\nSo they were married and lived together a few days. Then the young\nchief told the king he must go at once to obtain the chicken egg. He\ntold his wife not to be jealous about anything she might hear among the\npeople, and not to be angry in any way whatever at the time of his\nreturn, or he would not continue to have her as his wife.\n\nHe went back to his sister, Lepe-a-moa. She saw him, and leaped to meet\nhim, calling: \u201cCome! Come! Come! I have waited and waited for you.\u201d\n\nHe told her all about his visit and the great need of the king, saying,\n\u201cI have come back for this day only and for your help.\u201d\n\nThen they went to the bathing-pool, and were swimming, diving and\nbathing when they heard the sweet voice of the mischievous elepaio bird\nover them, around them, and at last from the bank of the pool, calling\nout: \u201cOno ka ia! Ono ka ia!\u201d (\u201cThe fish is sweet! The fish is sweet!\u201d)\nThis bird was also Lea, the goddess of canoe-cutters.\n\nKauilani called to her: \u201cWhy do you not get young fish in the ocean? Is\nthis the only place for sweet fish?\u201d\n\nThen the elepaio told the brother and sister about the great rooster\nbelonging to the king of Maui, its miraculous power, and its name,\n\u201cKe-au-hele-moa,\u201d and then said:\n\n\u201cYou two go to the place of the fight. Take great care of your sister.\nPut her in a lei garland around your neck. You will note the appearance\nof that rooster of the king of Maui: very tall; black, white and red\nfeathers; only one tail-feather. If he sees his grandchild before the\nfight she will not escape, but if you keep her hidden until she goes\nout for battle he will be destroyed.\u201d\n\nWhen the brother and sister returned they told the grandparents about\nKakuhihewa\u2019s trouble and the power of the rooster of the king of Maui\nto assume several bodies. Kauilani told them that the Maui king was so\nsure of winning that he had collected a great pile of wood wherewith to\nheat an oven in which to cook Kakuhihewa\u2019s body.\n\nThe grandmother said: \u201cThat great bird is one of our own family, and\nhas very great power, but Lepe-a-moa has much greater power if you two\nwork together. He must not see her until she goes out to fight with\nhim.\u201d\n\nLepe-a-moa said to her brother: \u201cThis is bad for you. You come as if\nyou loved me, but you have taken the king\u2019s daughter for your wife. If\nI go with you and your wife is angry with me, she shall be set aside\nand I will be your wife.\u201d\n\nKauilani said, \u201cThat is right.\u201d\n\nLepe-a-moa made herself very beautiful with a glistening spotted\nfeather cloak. Her pa-u, or skirt, was like fire, flaming and flashing.\nKauilani told her she must go first, as the eldest one of the family.\nThus they passed in their splendid feather dresses down to Kou\n(Honolulu) and out to Pawaa, the people shouting and praising the\nbeautiful girl.\n\nAs they came to Waikiki the noise of the people could be heard far, far\naway: \u201cO the beautiful girl coming with the husband of our chiefess! O\nthe beautiful girl!\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s daughter heard the shout and became very angry. She ordered\nthe people to drive Kauilani and Lepe-a-moa away.\n\nBut the servants knew the reason why the young chief had become the\nhusband of the king\u2019s daughter, and said among themselves: \u201cWe want to\nlive. We must not drive them away.\u201d\n\nLepe-a-moa said to her brother, \u201cI told you that she would be angry\nwith me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the brother, \u201cthat is true, and you shall be my wife.\u201d\n\nThey turned aside from the royal houses. The girl laid aside her girl\nbody and put on her bird body in one of its smallest forms and was\nconcealed in an egg. The brother wrapped this egg in a corner of his\ncloak, put it around his neck and went to the place where the chickens\nwere kept and took one of the small houses of the keepers as his own.\n\nThat evening, when a large calabash of food was brought for the\nchickens and set aside, he took it secretly, gave all the food to his\nsister and turned the calabash up as if it had been upset and the food\neaten by dogs. The caretakers were greatly worried because they had no\nfood that night for the chickens. They knew that the chickens would not\nhave any strength for fighting.\n\nWhen Kakuhihewa heard that his daughter had driven her husband away he\nwas very much troubled, and was afraid that he and his people would be\ndestroyed, so he sent messengers to look everywhere and if possible\nfind the young chief, but they all failed.\n\nAt last one of the guardians of the chickens said, \u201cYour son is\nsleeping in one of our houses.\u201d\n\nKakuhihewa sent Kou, one of the highest officers in his government, to\ngo after Kauilani. This Kou was the chief after whom Kou, the ancient\nHonolulu, was named. Kou found the young chief sleeping, and aroused\nhim, telling him the king was very sorry for the anger of his daughter,\nand asking him to come back to the king\u2019s house and on the morrow see\nthe day of death.\n\nKauilani told Kou to return and tell the king to prepare everything for\nthe day of battle, and hang a large kapa sheet between two posts. He\npointed out two roosters which were to be taken first. The king was to\nsend them one by one to fight. When they were killed the king was to\nask for a time of rest. \u201cAfter this will be the time for my battle.\u201d\nThus he taught Kou, who returned and told the king.\n\nThe next morning the king of Maui sent his messenger to the king of\nOahu, asking if all things were ready for the battle of that day.\n\nThe king of Oahu replied: \u201cYes; we will go to the place of death. If\nthey win, we die; but if we win, there shall be no death. I do not know\nhow to kill a man in this way.\u201d\n\nSo they all went to the battlefield. As soon as all the chiefs and the\npeople were assembled, Maui-nui, king of Maui, leaped up and began his\nboast, proposing the battle and stating the conditions, \u201cDeath for the\ndefeated.\u201d Kakuhihewa quietly answered: \u201cIf I win, I shall not kill\nyou. You have already prepared for our death.\u201d\n\nThe wife of the king of Maui favored the terms of the Oahuan ruler to\nbe applied to both sides, but her husband again called out his\ncondition, \u201cDeath to the defeated.\u201d\n\nThen Kakuhihewa stated his condition: \u201cWe will try one rooster, and\nthen another. If both of my roosters are killed, we will rest until\ntime has been given to get another bird for me.\u201d\n\nThis was agreed to without any opposition. The chickens were quickly\nfreed. The roosters leaped against each other and one fell dead. Then\nthe second battle was fought and the second rooster killed.\n\nWhile they were resting, Kauilani went in behind that large kapa sheet\nwhich he had requested. The egg was wrapped in his cloak, which was\nthrown around his neck. He took out the egg and uttered an incantation:\n\n\n       \u201cThe chicken comes out better in the heat.\n        Both of us were born at midnight.\n        Dust rises and is blown like mist on a wave.\n        Pick the flowers of the ohia\u2014pick the flowers.\n        Fly! Fly! Fly!\n        Leaping in the dust of Kaumaea.\u201d\n\n\nThe egg began to change until it became a full-grown chicken.\n\nKauilani told his bird-sister to go out before the people thus: \u201cGo all\naround the fighting-place. Go to the feet of Maui-nui, and look upon\nhim; then go to the middle and stand there looking into the face of\nyour ancestor. He will then know you perhaps, and will put on many\nkinds of bird bodies. If he puts on red, you must become white. You\nhave more bird bodies than he. You will win. Then if he changes his\nbody again I will tell you what to do until he becomes weary; then you\nput on your spotted body and kill him.\u201d\n\nThe bird then left him and went out before the people. They made a\ngreat noise, laughing and crying out: \u201cA hen! A hen! To fight the great\nrooster!\u201d\n\nBut she was very beautiful in her shining coat of feathers as she\nwaited for the battle. Then the rooster came in, and Kauilani saw that\nhe did not recognize his grandchild. Lepe-a-moa clucked and moved her\nhead and wings like a hen calling to her young chickens. Ke-au-hele-moa\nwas angry. His feathers rose as he came up and he changed their color\ninto red. His antagonist became white.\n\nThen he struck at her, leaped at her, and tried to overthrow her with\nhis wings, but was not able to touch her, while she lightly flew over\nhis head, striking his face and beating him with claws and wings.\n\nThen he became moa-nene (a goose form), but Kauilani uttered a prayer\nand his sister became a swift aloe-bird, a small mud-hen. The battle\nagain was fought, whirling, striking, leaping and flying, but the\nbird-girl was not injured in the least, while the rooster\u2019s face was\nbleeding and his eyes suffering from the terrific and swift blows dealt\nby Lepe-a-moa. She tore him to pieces, until the battle was in a thick\ncloud of flying feathers.\n\nThe people thought he was dead, but his magic power was still in the\nfragments of his body, torn and thrown up, floating far up among the\nclouds. He rested in some mist-clouds above, and put on a body having\nthe color of the yellow blossoms of the hau-tree.\n\nBefore this the day had been quiet, but now, with the return of that\nrooster, the chill of snow and ice came down in a cold mist like the\nsnow mists on the tops of the mountains. The rooster sent this icy,\nfine rain in a stream like a flowing river over Kakuhihewa and his\npeople.\n\nThen Kauilani called to his sister: \u201cBehold Ke-au-hele-moa comes to his\nlast strength. He follows the ice-cloud. Can you make a way of escape?\u201d\nThis call was in a spirit voice and none of the people heard.\n\nLepe-a-moa called upon Ke-ao-lewa (The morning cloud) for help, and a\ncloud was let down as a shield, turning off the cold mist and letting\nit pass on over the sea. So Kakuhihewa and his people were left in\npeace.\n\nLepe-a-moa flew up into a tall coconut-tree and saw her enemy in the\nform of a manu-alala (great black bird) coming behind the mist to the\nbattlefield. She flew down and put on the color of the pua-niu (the\ncream color of a coconut blossom) and again flew like a whirlwind\naround her enemy. Then the ancestor-bird took his last body, that of a\nmoa-a-uha.\n\nKauilani called to his sister to go around before all the people,\nputting on her spotted body, and then return, looking sharply at the\nright wing of her enemy to find a place to break it, then fly against\nthe right eye and pick it out, and after that fly down on the head of\nthe king of Maui, then leap to the last battle, break the left wing,\npluck out the left eye and tear the body to pieces. \u201cThen he will die.\nHe cannot make a new body for himself.\u201d\n\nLepe-a-moa flew down upon the black bird, which tried to strike her\nwith its strong wings, but when the right wing was spread out, showing\nits weak places, she flew in swiftly and broke that wing so that it\ncould not be used. Then she leaped against the head and caught the\nright eye, destroying it. The black bird tried to whirl around and\naround to strike the spotted chicken, but Lepe-a-moa shook her wings\nover her enemy and flew off around the place of battle until she was in\nfront of the Maui king. Before he could think or make a move for\nself-protection she dashed into his hair and tore it with her claws and\nflew back against her enemy. This polluted and disgraced Maui-nui.\n\nThis time she whirled around the left side. He struck at her. As his\nwing was spread out she flew in and broke it, so that it fell useless\nby his side. Then she struck his eye, and he was entirely blind. She\ndashed against him, and he fell over. She clawed and picked and tore\nhis body until it was in small pieces and his life was destroyed.\n\nThe people shouted with a loud voice: \u201cAuwe! Auwe! [Alas! Alas!] The\nrooster of the king of Maui is dead! Ke-au-hele-moa is dead! The king\nof Maui is to die!\u201d\n\nThe name of this rooster, it is said, was given to a place far up\nPalolo Valley, near Honolulu.\n\nWhen the people shouted, Kauilani stood up in his splendid cloak and\nsash and cried out: \u201cAye! Aye! Dead to me\u2014dead to Kauilani, the child\nof Keahua and Kauhao!\u201d\n\nHis sister flew to him and he took her and disappeared in the confused,\nmoving crowd of excited people. Thus they returned to Kapalama.\n\nAt that time Kakuhihewa learned who the young man was, and was glad\nthat he had not treated him uncivilly in any way and so lost his\nwonderful aid. He was very, very thankful for his victory over the king\nof Maui.\n\nHe ordered his servants to find Kauilani, but they could not. He was\nfully lost.\n\nWailuku, the wife of Maui-nui, asked Kakuhihewa what he intended to do\nwith them.\n\nHe replied: \u201cI will not kill. I am for life. I do not know how to make\na man. I do not want death. If you had won, you should have your\ndesire. Now I will have life as my wish.\u201d\n\nMaui-nui returned to his island, but his wife remained with her\nbrother.\n\nThe king ordered his people to make search everywhere for Kauilani.\nThey went to Kauai, but he had not returned to his parents. They\nvisited Maui and Hawaii, but found no trace. For several months the\nsearch was prosecuted. Even the mountains, hills, valleys, forests,\njungles and caves were looked over as carefully as possible. By and by\ntwo chiefs, Kou and Waikiki, saw the signs of a high chief over\nKapalama\u2019s group of houses, and went up to make inquiries. They saw\nKauilani and told him that the king wanted him to come back.\n\nLepe-a-moa said: \u201cYou must reveal yourself, and you must go back to\nthat wife. Her time has come.\u201d\n\nKauilani sent the chiefs, Kou and Waikiki, back to the king with the\nmessage that he would follow the next day.\n\nIn the morning he met the king, who said: \u201cThis year I have been near\nto death and from you came life, and you have been lost, to my sorrow.\nNow my daughter\u2019s child is near birth, perhaps you can give life to\nyour child.\u201d\n\nKauilani went to his wife\u2019s home. The caretakers refused to let him\ngive any aid until they had tried all their arts and failed.\n\nThen Kauilani sent all the people away and stood alone by his wife,\nuttering his chant or incantation of life for the sick one:\n\n\n       \u201cO Aumakuas! Ghost gods!\n        Come from the north, the south, the east, the west.\n        Male and female and children,\n        Come for this cry of distress.\n        O all those who have power in the skies!\n        Come in this time of death.\n        O all the household of Kapalama!\n        Come and give life.\n        I am Kauilani,\n        The strong child of Keahua and Kauhao.\n        Life for the mother and this child.\u201d\n\n\nWhile he was chanting this prayer the child was born. Lepe-a-moa saw\nthat her brother was very busy before the gods, so she secretly took\nthe child and hurried to Kapalama.\n\nThat day there were fierce storms, resounding thunder and flashing\nlightning, while the land shook in the throes of an earthquake. These\nwere the signs usually accompanying the birth of any high chief or\nchiefess.\n\nKakuhihewa was troubled when he knew that the child had disappeared,\nbut was satisfied when he learned that it was with Kapalama and\nLepe-a-moa.\n\nThe baby was a girl and very beautiful, so Lepe-a-moa adopted it as her\nown and gave it the name of Kamamo.\n\nKauilani lived with his wife, making his home all the rest of his life\nin the court of his father-in-law, Kakuhihewa.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXV\n\nKAMAPUAA LEGENDS\n\n\nLEGENDS OF THE HOG-GOD\n\nSome of the most unique legends of the nations have centered around\nimagined monsters. Centaurs, half man and half horse, thronged the\ndreams of Rome. The Hawaiians knew nothing about any animals save the\nfish of the seas, the birds of the forests, and the chickens, the dogs\nand the pigs around their homes. From the devouring shark the Hawaiian\nimagination conceived the idea of the shark-man who indulged in\ncannibalistic tendencies. From the devastations of the hogs they built\nup the experiences of an rude vicious chief whom they called Kamapuaa,\nwho was the principal figure of many rough exploits throughout the\nislands. Sometimes he had a hog\u2019s body with a human head and limbs,\nsometimes a hog\u2019s head rested on a human form, and sometimes he assumed\nthe shape of a hog\u2014quickly reassuming the form of a man. Kalakaua\u2019s\nlegends say that he was a hairy man and cultivated the stiff hair by\ncutting it short so that it stood out like bristles, and that he had\nhis body tattooed so that it would have the appearance of a hog. In\nplace of the ordinary feather cloak worn by chiefs he wore a pigskin\nwith its bristles on the outside and a pigskin girdle around his waist.\n\nThe legends say that he was born at Kaluanui, a part of the district of\nHauula or Koolau coast of the island Oahu. His reputed father was\nOlopana, the high chief of that part of the island, and his mother was\nHina, the daughter of a chief who had come from a foreign land. Other\nlegends say that his father was Kahikiula (The Red Tahiti), a brother\nof Olopana. These brothers had come to Oahu from foreign lands some\ntime before. Fornander always speaks of Olopana as Kamapuaa\u2019s uncle,\nalthough he had taken Hina as his wife.\n\nThe Koolauloa coast of Oahu lies as a luxuriant belt of ever-living\nfoliage a mile or so in width between an ocean of many colors and dark\nbeetling precipices of mountain walls rising some thousands of feet\namong the clouds.\n\nFrom these precipices which mark the landward side of a mighty extinct\ncrater come many mountain streams leaping in cascades of spray down\ninto the quiet green valleys which quickly broaden into the\ncoral-reef-bordered seacoast. From any place by the sea the outline of\nseveral beautiful little valleys can be easily traced.\n\nOne morning while the sunlight of May looked into the hidden recesses\nand crevices of these valleys, bringing into sharp relief of shadow and\nlight the outcropping ledges, a little band of Hawaiians and their\nwhite friends lay in the shade of a great kamani [43] tree and talked\nabout the legends which were told of the rugged rock masses of each\nvalley, and the quiet pools of each rivulet. Where the little party lay\nwas one of the sporting-places of Kamapuaa the \u201chog-child treated in\nthe legends as a demi-god.\u201d Not far away one of the mountain streams\nhad broadened into a quiet bush-shaded lakelet with deep fringes of\ngrass around its borders. Here the legendary hog-man with marvellous\npowers had bathed from time to time. A narrow gorge deep shadowed by\nthe morning sun was the place which Kamapuaa had miraculously bridged\nfor his followers when an enemy was closely pursuing them. Several\nlarge stones on the edges of the valleys were pointed out as the\nmonuments of various adventures. An exquisitely formed little valley\nran deep into the mountain almost in front of the legend-tellers. Far\naway in the upper end where the dark-green foliage blended with still\ndarker shadows the sides of the valley narrowed until they were only\nfrom sixty to seventy feet apart, and unscalable precipices bent toward\neach other, leaving only a narrow strip of sky above. On the right of\nthis valley is a branch-gorge down which fierce storms have hurled\ntorrents of waters and mist. The upper end has been hollowed and\npolished in the shape of a finely rounded canoe of immense proportions.\nIt was from this that the valley took its name Ka-liu-waa, possibly\nhaving the meaning, \u201cthe leaky canoe.\u201d Some of the legends say that\nthis was Kamapuaa\u2019s canoe leaning against the precipice and always\nleaking out the waters which fell in it. Lying toward the west was a\nvery fertile and open tract of land, Kaluanui, where Kamapuaa was said\nto have been born of Hina. After his birth he was thrown away by\nKahiki-houna-kele, an older brother, and left to die. After a time\nHina, the mother, went to a stream of clear, sweet water near her home\nto bathe. After bathing she went to the place where she had left her\npa-u, or tapa skirt, and found a fine little hog lying on it. She\npicked it up and found that it was a baby. She was greatly alarmed, and\ngave the hog-child to another son, Kekelaiaika, that he might care for\nit, but the older brother stole the hog-child and carried it away to a\ncave in which Hina\u2019s mother lived. Her name was Kamaunuaniho. The\ngrandmother knew the hog-child at once as her grandson endowed with\nmarvellous powers, and since the gods had given him the form of a hog\nhe should be called kama (child), puaa (hog). Then she gave to the\nolder brother kapa quilts in which to place Kamapuaa. These were made\nin layers; six sheets of kapa cloth formed the under quilt for a bed\nand six sheets the upper quilt for a cover. In these Kamapuaa slept\nwhile his brother prepared taro [44] and breadfruit for his food. Thus\nthe wonderful hog ate and slept usually in the form of a hog until size\nand strength came to him. Then he became mischievous and began to\ncommit depredations at night. He would root up the taro in the fields\nof his neighbors, and especially in the field of the high chief\nOlopana. Then he would carry the taro home, root up ferns and grass\nuntil he had good land and then plant the stolen taro. Thus his\ngrandmother and her retainers were provided with growing taro, the\nsource of which they did not understand.\n\nHis elder brother prepared an oven in which to cook chickens. Kamapuaa\nrooted up the oven and stole the chickens. This brother\nKahiki-houna-kele caught the hog-child and administered a sound\nwhipping, advising him to go away from home if he wanted to steal, and\nespecially to take what he wanted from Olopana. Adopting this advice,\nKamapuaa extended his raids to the home of the high chief. Here he\nfound many chickens. Kamapuaa quickly killed some, took them in his\nmouth and threw many more on his back and ran home. The morning came\nbefore he had gone far and the people along the way saw the strange\nsight and pursued him. By the use of charms taught him by his\nsorceress-grandmother he made himself run faster and faster until he\nhad outstripped his pursuer. Then he carried his load to his\ngrandmother\u2019s cave and gave the chickens to the family for a great luau\n(feast).\n\nAnother time he stole the sacred rooster belonging to Olopana, as well\nas many other fowls. The chief sent a large number of warriors after\nhim. They chased the man who had been seen carrying the chickens. He\nfled by his grandmother\u2019s cave and threw the chickens inside, then fled\nback up the hillside, revealing himself to his pursuers. They watched\nhim, but he disappeared. He dropped down by the side of a large stone.\nOn this he seated himself and watched the people as they ran through\nthe valley calling to each other. The high grass was around the stone\nso that for a long time he was concealed. For this reason this stone\nstill bears the name Pohaku-pee-o-Kamapuaa (Kamapuaa\u2019s-hiding-stone).\nAfter a time a man who had climbed to the opposite ridge cried out, \u201cE,\nE, there he is sitting on the great stone!\u201d This man was turned into a\nstone by the magic of Kamapuaa. The pursuers hastened up the hillside\nand surrounded the stone, but no man was there. There was a fine black\nhog, which they recognized as the wonderful one belonging to\nKamaunuaniho. So they decided that this was the thief, and seized it\nand carried it down the hill to give to the high chief Olopana. After\ngetting him down into the valley they tried to drive him, but he would\nnot go. Then they sent into the forest for ohia poles and made a large\nlitter. It required many men to carry this enormous hog, who made\nhimself very heavy.\n\nSuddenly Kamapuaa heard his grandmother calling: \u201cBreak the cords!\nBreak the poles! Break the strong men! Escape!\u201d Making a sudden turn on\nthe litter, he broke it in pieces and fell with it to the ground. Then\nhe burst the cords which bound him and attacked the band of men whom he\nhad permitted to capture him. Some legends say that he killed and ate\nmany of them. Others say that he killed and tore the people.\n\nThe wild life lived by Kamapuaa induced a large band of rough lawless\nmen to leave the service of the various high chiefs and follow Kamapuaa\nin his marauding expeditions. They made themselves the terror of the\nwhole Koolau region.\n\nOlopana determined to destroy them, and sent an army of four hundred\nwarriors to uproot Kamapuaa and his robbers. It was necessary for them\nto hasten to their hiding-places, but they were chased up into the\nhills until a deep gorge faced them. No way of escape seemed possible,\nbut Kamapuaa, falling on the ground, became a long hog\u2014stretching out\nhe increased his length until he could reach from side to side of the\ndeep ravine\u2014thus he formed a bridge over which his followers escaped.\n\nKamapuaa, however, was not able to make himself small quickly enough to\nescape from his enemies. He tried to hide himself in a hole and pull\ndead branches and leaves over himself; but they soon found him, bound\nhim securely, and tied him to a great stone which with \u201cthe stone of\nhiding\u201d and \u201cthe watcher\u201d are monuments of the legends to this day.\n\nThe people succeeded in leading the hog-man to Olopana\u2019s home, where\nthey fastened him, keeping him for a great feast, which they hoped to\nhave in a few days, but Kamapuaa, Samson-like, broke all his bonds,\ndestroyed many of his captors\u2014wantonly destroyed coconut-trees and taro\npatches, and then went back to his home.\n\nHe knew that Olopana would use every endeavor to compass his\ndestruction. So he called his followers together and led them up\nKaliuwaa Valley, stopping to get his grandmother on the way. When he\ncame to the end of the valley, and the steep cliffs up which his people\ncould not possibly climb, he took his grandmother on his neck and\nleaned back against the great precipice. Stretching himself more and\nmore, and rubbing against the black rocks, at last he lifted his\ngrandmother to the top of the cliffs so that she could step off on the\nuplands which sloped down to the Pearl Harbor side of the island. Then\nthe servants and followers climbed up the sides of the great hog by\nclinging to his bristles and escaped. The hollow worn in the rocks\nlooked like a hewn-out canoe, and was given the name Ka-waa-o-Kamapuaa\n(The canoe of Kamapuaa). Kamapuaa then dammed up the water of the\nbeautiful stream by throwing his body across it, and awaited the coming\nof Olopana and his warriors.\n\nAn immense force had been sent out to destroy him. In addition to the\nwarriors who came by land, a great fleet of canoes was sent along the\nseashore to capture any boats in which Kamapuaa and his people might\ntry to escape.\n\nThe canoes gathered in and around the mouth of the stream which flowed\nfrom Kaliuwaa Valley. The warriors began to march along the stream up\ntoward the deep gorge. Suddenly Kamapuaa broke the dam by leaping away\nfrom the waters, and a great flood drowned the warriors, and dashed the\ncanoes together, destroying many and driving the rest far out to sea.\nUhakohi is said to be the place where this flood occurred.\n\nThen Kamapuaa permitted the people to capture him. They went up the\nvalley after the waters had subsided and found nothing left of Kamapuaa\nor his people except a small black hog. They searched the valley\nthoroughly. They found the canoe, turned to stone, leaning against the\nprecipice at the end of the gorge. They said among themselves, \u201cEscaped\nis Kamapuaa with all his people, and ended are our troubles.\u201d\n\nThey caught the hog and bound it to carry to Olopana. As they journeyed\nalong the seashore their burden became marvellously heavy until at last\nan immense litter was required resting on the shoulders of many men. It\nwas said that he sometimes tossed himself over to one side, breaking it\ndown and killing some of the men who carried him. Then again he rolled\nto the other side, bringing a like destruction. Thus he brought trouble\nand death and a long, weary journey to his captors, who soon learned\nthat their captive was the hog-man Kamapuaa. They brought him to their\nking Olopana and placed him in the temple enclosure where sacrifices to\nthe gods were confined. This heiau was in Kaneohe and was known as the\nheiau of Kawaewae. It was in the care of a priest known as Lonoaohi.\n\nLong, long before this capture Olopana had discovered Kamapuaa and\nwould not acknowledge him as his son. The destruction of his\ncoconut-trees and taro patches had been the cause of the first violent\nrupture between the two. Kamapuaa had wantonly broken the walls of\nOlopana\u2019s great fish-pond and set the fish free, and then after three\ntimes raiding the fowls around the grass houses had seized, killed and\neaten the sacred rooster which Olopana considered his household fetish.\n\nWhen Olopana knew that Kamapuaa had been captured and was lying bound\nin the temple enclosure he sent orders that great care should be taken\nlest he escape, and later he should be placed on the altar of sacrifice\nbefore the great gods.\n\nHina, it was said, could not bear the thought that this child of hers,\nbrutal and injurious as he was, should suffer as a sacrifice. She was a\nvery high chiefess, and, like the Hinas throughout Polynesia, was\ncredited with divine powers. She had great influence with the high\npriest Lonoaohi and persuaded him to give Kamapuaa an opportunity to\nescape. This was done by killing a black hog and smearing Kamapuaa\u2019s\nbody with the blood. Thus bearing the appearance of death, he was laid\nunbound on the altar. It was certain that unless detected he could\neasily climb the temple wall and escape.\n\nOlopana, the king, came to offer the chants and prayers which belonged\nto such a sacrifice. He as well as the high priest had temple duties,\nand the privilege of serving at sacrifices of great importance. As was\nhis custom he came from the altar repeating chants and prayers while\nKamapuaa lay before the images of the gods. While he was performing the\nsacrificial rites, Kamapuaa became angry, leaped from the altar,\nchanged himself into his own form, seized the bone daggers used in\ndismembering the sacrifices, and attacked Olopana, striking him again\nand again, until he dropped on the floor of the temple dead. The\nhorrified priests had been powerless to prevent the deed, nor did they\nthink of striking Kamapuaa down at once. In the confusion he rushed\nfrom the temple, fled along the coast to his well-known valleys,\nclimbed the steep precipices and rejoined his grandmother and his\nfollowers.\n\nLeading his band of rough robbers down through the sandalwood [45]\nforests of the Wahiawa region, he crossed over the plains to the\nWaianae Mountains. Here they settled for a time, living in caves. Other\nlawless spirits joined them, and they passed along the Ewa side of the\nisland, ravaging the land like a herd of swine. A part of the island\nthey conquered, making the inhabitants their serfs.\n\nHere on a spur of the Waianae Mountains they built a residence for\nKama-unu-aniho, and established her as their priestess, or kahuna. They\nlevied on the neighboring farmers for whatever taro, sweet-potatoes\n[46] and bananas they needed. They compelled the fishermen to bring\ntribute from the sea. They surrounded their homes with pigs and\nchickens, and in mere wantonness terrorized that part of Oahu.\n\n\n\n\nKAMAPUAA ON OAHU AND KAUAI\n\nFornander says that Kamapuaa was sometimes called \u201cthe eight-eyed\u201d and\nwas also gifted with eight feet. He says, \u201cThis specialty of four faces\nor heads and of corresponding limbs is peculiar to some of the\nprincipal Hindoo deities.\u201d The honorary designation of gods and even\nhigh chiefs in Hawaiian mythology was frequently maka-walu\n(eight-eyed), to express their great endowment of divine powers.\nFornander notes \u201ccoincidence as bearing upon the derivation of\nPolynesian myths and legends. The Kamapuaa stories, however, seem to\nhave no counterpart in any mythology beyond the borders of the Hawaiian\nIslands.\u201d\n\nWhile he lived on the Koolau coast he was simply a devastating, brutal\nmonster, with certain powers belonging to a demi-god, which he used as\nmaliciously as possible. After being driven out to the Honolulu side of\nthe mountains, for a time he led his band of robbers in their various\nexpeditions, but after a time his miraculous powers increased and he\nwent forth terrorizing the island from one end to the other. He had the\npower of changing himself into any kind of a fish. As a shark and as a\nhog he was represented as sometimes eating those whom he conquered in\nbattle. He ravaged the fields and chicken preserves of the different\nchiefs, but it is said never stole or ate pigs or fish.\n\nHe wandered along the low lands from the taro patches of Ewa to the\ncoconut groves of Waikiki, rooting up and destroying the food of the\npeople.\n\nAt Kamoiliili he saw two beautiful women coming from the stream which\nflows from Manoa Valley. He called to them, but when they saw his\ntattooed body and rough clothing made from pigskins they recognized him\nand fled. He pursued them, but they were counted as goddesses, having\ncome from divine foreign families as well as Kamapuaa. They possessed\nmiraculous powers and vanished when he was ready to place his hands\nupon them. They sank down into the earth. Kamapuaa changed himself into\nthe form of a great hog and began to root up the stones and soil and\nbreak his way through the thick layer of petrified coral through which\nthey had disappeared. He first followed the descent of the woman who\nhad been nearest to him. Down he went through soil and stone after her,\nbut suddenly a great flood of water burst upward through the coral\nalmost drowning him. The goddess had stopped his pursuit by turning an\nunderground stream into the entrance which he had made. [47]\n\nAfter this narrow escape Kamapuaa rushed toward Manoa Valley to the\nplace where he had seen the other beautiful woman disappear. Here also\nhe rooted deep through earth and coral, and here again a new spring of\nliving water was uncovered. He could do nothing against the flood,\nwhich threatened his life. The goddesses escaped and the two wells have\nsupplied the people of Kamoiliili for many generations, bearing the\nname, \u201cThe wells, or fountains, of Kamapuaa.\u201d\n\nThe chief of Waikiki had a fine tract [48] well supplied with bananas\nand coconuts and taro. Night after night a great black hog rushed\nthrough Waikiki destroying all the ripening fruit and even going to the\nvery doors of the grass houses searching out the calabashes filled with\npoi waiting for fermentation. These calabashes he dashed to the ground,\ndefiling their contents and breaking and unfitting them for further\nuse. A crowd of warriors rushed out to kill this devastating monster.\nThey struck him with clubs and hurled their spears against his\nbristling sides. The stiff bristles deadened the force of the blows of\nthe clubs and turned the spear-points aside so that he received but\nlittle injury. Meanwhile his fierce tusks were destroying the warriors\nand his cruel jaws were tearing their flesh and breaking their bones.\nIn a short time the few who were able to escape fled from him. The\nchiefs gathered their warriors again and again, and after many battles\ndrove Kamapuaa from cave to cave and from district to district. Finally\nhe leaped into the sea, changed himself into the form of a fish and\npassed over the channel to Kauai.\n\nHe swam westward along the coast, selecting a convenient place for\nlanding, and when night came, sending the people to their sleep, he\nwent ashore. He had marked the location of taro and sugar-cane patches\nand could easily find them in the night. Changing himself into a black\nhog he devoured and trampled the sugar-cane, rooted up taro and upset\ncalabashes, eating the poi and breaking the wooden bowls. Then he fled\nto a rough piece of land which he had decided upon as his hiding-place.\n\nThe people were astonished at the devastation when they came from their\nhouses next morning. Only gods who were angry could have wrought such\nhavoc so unexpectedly, therefore they sent sacrifices to the heiaus,\nthat the gods of their homes might protect them. But the next night\nother fields were made desolate as if a herd of swine had been wantonly\nat work all through the night. After a time watchmen were set around\nthe fields and the mighty hog was seen. The people were called. They\nsurrounded Kamapuaa, caught him and tied him with strongest cords of\nolona [49] fibre and pulled him to one side, that on the new day so\nsoon to dawn they might build their oven and roast him for a great\nfeast.\n\nWhen they thought all was finished the hog suddenly burst his bonds,\nbecame invisible and leaped upon them, tore them and killed them as he\nhad done on Oahu, then rushed away in the darkness.\n\nAgain some watchers found him lying at the foot of a steep precipice,\nsleeping in the daytime. On the edge of the precipice were great\nboulders, which they rolled down upon him, but he was said to have\nallowed the stones to strike him and fall shattered in pieces while he\nsustained very little injury.\n\nThen he assumed the form of a man and made his home by a ledge of rock\ncalled Kipukai. Here there was a spring of very sweet water, which lay\nin the form of a placid pool of clear depths, reflecting wonderfully\nwhatever shadows fell upon its surface. To this two beautiful sisters\nwere in the habit of coming with their water-calabashes. While they\nstooped over the water Kamapuaa came near and cast the shadow as a man\nbefore them on the clear waters. They both wanted the man as their\nhusband who could cast such a shadow. He revealed himself to them and\ntook them both to be his wives. They lived with him at Kipukai and made\nfine sleeping mats for him, cultivated food and prepared it for him to\neat. They pounded kapa that he might be well clothed.\n\nAt that time there were factions on the island of Kauai warring against\neach other. Fierce hand-to-hand battles were waged and rich spoils\ncarried away.\n\nWith the coming of Kamapuaa to Kauai a new and strange appearance\nwrought terror in the hearts of the warriors whenever a battle\noccurred. While the conflict was going on and blows were freely given\nby both club and spear, suddenly a massive war-club would be seen\nwhistling through the air, striking down the chiefs of both parties.\nMighty blows were struck by this mysterious club. No hand could be seen\nholding it, no strong arm swinging it, and no chief near it save those\nstricken by it. Dead and dying warriors covered the ground in its path.\nSometimes when Kamapuaa had been caught in his marauding expedition, he\nwould escape from the ropes tying him, change into a man, seize a club,\nbecome invisible and destroy his captors. He took from the fallen their\nrich feather war cloaks, carried them to his dwelling-place and\nconcealed them under his mats. The people of Kauai were terrified by\nthe marvellous and powerful being who dwelt in their midst. They\nbelieved in the ability of kahunas, or priests, to work all manner of\nevil in strange ways and therefore were sure that some priest was\nworking with evil spirits to compass their destruction. They sought the\nstrongest and most sacred of their own kahunas, but were unable to\nconquer the evil. Meanwhile Kamapuaa, tired of the two wives, began to\nmake life miserable for them, trying to make them angry, that he might\nhave good excuse for killing them. They knew something of his\nmarvellous powers as a demi-god, and watched him when he brought\nbundles to his house and put them away. The chief\u2019s house then as in\nlater years was separated from the houses of the women and was tabu to\nthem, but they waited until they had seen him go far away. Then they\nsearched his house and found the war cloaks of their friends under his\nmats. They hastened and told their friends, who plotted to take\nvengeance on their enemy.\n\nThe women decided to try to drive the demi-god away, so destroyed the\nspring of water from which they had daily brought water for his need.\nThey also carefully concealed all evidences of other springs. Kamapuaa\nreturned from his adventures and was angry when he found no water\nwaiting for him. He called for the women, but they had hidden\nthemselves. He was very thirsty. He rushed to the place of the spring,\nbut could not find it. He looked for water here and there, but the\nsisters had woven mighty spells over all the water-holes and he could\nnot see them. In his rage he rushed about like a blind and crazy man.\nThen the sisters appeared and ridiculed him. They taunted him with his\nfailure to overcome their wiles. They laughed at his suffering. Then in\nhis great anger he leaped upon them, caught them and threw them over a\nprecipice. As they fell upon the ground he uttered his powerful\nincantations and changed them into two stones, which for many\ngenerations have been guardians of that precipice. Then he assumed the\nform of a hog and rooted deep in the rocky soil. Soon he uncovered a\nfountain of water from which he drank deeply, but which he later made\nbitter and left as a mineral-spring to the present day.\n\nThe people of Kauai now knew the secret of the wonderful swinging war\nclub. They knew that a hand held it and an invisible man walked beside\nit, so they fought against a power which they could not see. They felt\ntheir clubs strike some solid body even when they struck at the air.\nCourage came back to them, and at Hanalei the people forced him into a\ncorner, and, carrying stones, tried to fence him in, but he broke the\nwalls down, tore his way through the people and fled. The high chief of\nHanalei threw his magic spear at him as he rushed past, but missed him.\nThe spear struck the mountain-side near the summit and passed through,\nleaving a great hole through which the sky on the other side of the\nmountain can still be seen. Kamapuaa decided that he was tired of\nKauai, therefore he ran to the seashore, leaped into the water and,\nbecoming a fish, swam away to Hawaii.\n\n\n\n\nPELE AND KAMAPUAA\n\nThe three great mountains of Hawaii had been built many centuries\nbefore Pele found an abiding home in the pit of Kilauea. Kilauea itself\nappears rather as a shelter to which she fled than as a house of her\nown building. The sea waters quenched the fires built by her at lower\nlevels, forcing her up higher and higher toward the mountains until she\ntook refuge in the maelstrom of eternal fire known for centuries among\nthe Hawaiians as Ka lua o Pele (The pit of Pele),\u2014the boiling centre of\nthe active pit of fire. Some legends say that Kamapuaa drove Pele from\nplace to place by pouring in water.\n\nThe Kalakaua legends probably give the correct idea of the growths of\nPele-worship as the goddess of volcanic fires when they say that the\nPele family of brave and venturesome high chiefs with their followers\nsettled under the shadows of the smoke-clouds from Kilauea and were\nfinally destroyed by some overwhelming eruption. And yet the\ndestruction was so spectacular, or at least so mysterious, that the\nidea took firm root that Pele and her brothers and sisters, instead of\npassing out of existence, entered into the volcano to dwell there as\nliving spirits having the fires of the under-world as their continual\nheritage. From this home of fire Pele and her sisters could come forth\nassuming the forms in which they had been seen as human beings. This\npower has been the cause of many legends about Pele and her adventures\nwith various chiefs whom she at last overwhelmed with boiling floods of\nlava tossed out of her angry heart. In this way she appeared in\ndifferent parts of the island of Hawaii apparently no longer having any\nfear of danger to her home from incoming seas.\n\nThe last great battle between sea and fire was connected with Pele as a\nfire-goddess and Kamapuaa, the demi-god, part hog and part man. It is a\ncurious legend in which human and divine elements mingle like the\nchanging scenes of a dream. This naturally follows the statement in\nsome of the legends that Ku, one of the highest gods among the\nPolynesians as well as among the Hawaiians, was an ancestor of\nKamapuaa, protecting him and giving him the traits of a demi-god.\nKamapuaa had passed through many adventures on the islands of Oahu and\nKauai, and had lived for a time on Maui. He had, according to some of\nthe legends, developed his mysterious powers so that he could become a\nfish whenever he wished, so sometimes he was represented as leaping\ninto the sea, diving down to great depth, and swimming until he felt\nthe approach of rising land, then he would come to the surface, call\nout the name of the island and go ashore for a visit with the\ninhabitants or dive again and pass on to another island. Thus he is\nrepresented as passing to Hawaii after his adventures on the islands of\nKauai and Oahu.\n\nOn Hawaii he entered into the sports of the chiefs, gambling, boxing,\nsurf-riding, rolling the round ulu maika stone and riding the holua\n(sled). Here he learned about the wonderful princess from the islands\nof the southern seas who had made her home in the fountains of fire.\n\nSome of the legends say that he returned to Oahu, gathered a company of\nadherents and then visited the Pele family as a chief of high rank,\nwinning her as his bride and living with her some time, then separating\nand dividing the island of Hawaii between them, Pele taking the\nsouthern part of the island as the scene for her terrific eruptions,\nand Kamapuaa ruling over the north, watering the land with gentle\nshowers or with melting snow, or sometimes with fierce storms, until\nfor many centuries fertile fields have rewarded the toil of man.\n\nThe better legends send Kamapuaa alone to the contest with the\nfire-goddess, winning her for a time and then entering into a struggle\nin which both lives were at stake.\n\nIt is said that one morning when the tops of the mountains were painted\nby the sunlight from the sea, and the shadows in the valley were\ncreeping under the leaves of the trees of the forests, that Pele and\nher sisters went down toward the hills of Puna. These sisters were\nknown as the Hiiakas, defined by Ellis, who gives the first account of\nthem, as \u201cThe cloud-holders.\u201d Each one had a descriptive title, thus\nHiiaka-noho-lani was \u201cThe heaven-dwelling cloud-holder,\u201d\nHiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele was \u201cThe cloud-holder in the bosom of Pele.\u201d\nThere were at least six Hiiakas, and some legends give many more.\n\nThat morning they heard the sound of a drum in the distance. It was the\ntum-tum-tum of a hula. Filled with curiosity they turned aside to see\nwhat strangers had invaded their territory. One of the sisters, looking\nover the plain to a hill not far away, called out, \u201cWhat a handsome\nman!\u201d and asked her sisters to mark the finely formed athletic stranger\nwho was dancing gloriously outlined in the splendor of the morning\nlight.\n\nPele scornfully looked and said she saw nothing but a great hog-man,\nwhom she would quickly drive from her dominions. Then began the usual\nwar of words with which rival chiefs attacked each other. Pele taunted\nKamapuaa, calling him a hog and ascribing to him the characteristics\nbelonging to swine. Kamapuaa became angry and called Pele \u201cthe woman\nwith red burning eyes, and an angry heart unfit to be called a\nchiefess.\u201d Then Pele in her wrath stamped on the ground until\nearthquakes shook the land around Kamapuaa and a boiling stream of lava\nrolled down from the mountains above. The stranger, throwing around him\nthe finest tapa, stood unmoved until the flood of fire began to roll up\nthe hill on which he stood. Then raising his hands and uttering the\nstrongest incantations he called for heavy rains to fall. Soon the lava\nbecame powerless in the presence of the stranger. Then Pele tried her\nmagical powers to see if she could subdue this stranger, but his\ninvocations seemed to be stronger than those falling from her lips, and\nshe gave up the attempt to destroy him. Pele was always a cruel,\nrevengeful goddess, sweeping away those against whom her wrath might be\nkindled, even if they were close friends of her household.\n\nThe sisters finally prevailed upon her to send across to the hill\ninviting the stranger, who was evidently a high chief, to come and\nvisit them. As the messenger started to bring the young man to the\nsisters he stepped into the shadows, and the messenger found nothing\nbut a small hog rooting among the ferns. This happened day after day\nuntil Pele determined to know this stranger chief who always succeeded\nin thoroughly hiding himself, no matter how carefully the messengers\nmight search. At last the chant of the hula and the dance of the\nsisters on the smooth pahoehoe [50] of a great extinct lava bed led the\nyoung man to approach. Pele revealed herself in her rare and tempting\nbeauty, calling with a sweet voice for the stranger to come and rest by\nher side while her sisters danced. Soon Pele was overcome by the\nwinning strength of this great chief, and she decided to marry him. So\nthey dwelt together in great happiness for a time, sometimes making\ntheir home in one part of Puna and sometimes in another. The places\nwhere they dwelt are pointed out even at this day by the natives who\nknow the traditions of Puna.\n\nBut Kamapuaa had too many of the habits and instincts of a hog to\nplease Pele, besides she was too quickly angry to suit the overbearing\nKamapuaa. Pele was never patient even with her sisters, so with\nKamapuaa she would burst into fiery rage, while taunts and bitter words\nwere freely hurled back and forth. Then Pele stamped on the ground, the\nearth shook, cracks opened in the surface and sometimes clouds of smoke\nand steam arose around Kamapuaa. He was unterrified and matched his\ndivine powers against hers. It was demi-god against demi-goddess. It\nwas the goddess of fire of Hawaii against the hog-god of Oahu. Pele\u2019s\nhome life was given up. The bitterness of strife swept over the black\nsands of the seashore. When the earth seemed ready to open its doors\nand pour out mighty streams of flowing lava in the defence of Pele,\nKamapuaa called for the waters of the ocean to rise. Then flood met\nfire and quenched it. Pele was driven inland. Her former lover,\nhastening after her and striving to overcome her, followed her upward\nuntil at last amid clouds of poisonous gases she went back into her\nspirit home in the pit of Kilauea.\n\nThen Kamapuaa as a god of the sea gathered the waters together in great\nmasses and hurled them into the firepit. Violent explosions followed\nthe inrush of waters. The sides of the great crater were torn to pieces\nby fierce earthquakes. Masses of fire expanded the water into steam,\nand Pele gathered the forces of the under-world to aid in driving back\nKamapuaa. The lavas rose in many lakes and fountains. Rapidly the\nsurface was cooled and the fountains checked, but just as rapidly were\nnew openings made and new streams of fire hurled at the demi-god of\nOahu. It was a mighty battle of the elements. The legends say that the\nhog-man, Kamapuaa, poured water into the crater until its fires were\ndriven back to their lowest depths and Pele was almost drowned by the\nfloods. The clouds of the skies had dropped their burden of rain. All\nthe waters of the sea that Kamapuaa could collect had been poured into\nthe crater. Fornander gives a part of the prayer of Kamapuaa against\nPele. His appeal was directly to the gods of water for assistance. He\ncried for\n\n\n        ... \u201cThe great storm clouds of skie,\u201d\n\n\nwhile Pele prayed for\n\n\n       \u201cThe bright gods of the under-world,\n        The gods thick-clustered for Pele.\u201d\n\n\nIt was the duty of the Pele family to stir up volcanic action, create\nexplosions, hurl lava into the air, make earthquakes, blow out clouds\nof flames and smoke and sulphurous-burdened fumes against all enemies\nof Pele. Into the conflict against Kamapuaa rushed the gods of Po, the\nunder-world, armed with spears of flashing fire, and hurling\nsling-stones of lava. The storms of bursting gases and falling lavas\nwere more than Kamapuaa could endure. Gasping for breath and\noverwhelmed with heat, he found himself driven back. The legends say\nthat Pele and her sisters drank the waters, so that after a time there\nwas no check against the uprising lava. The pit was filled and the\nstreams of fire flowed down upon Kamapuaa. He changed his body into a\nkind of grass now known as Ku-kae-puaa, and tried to stop the flow of\nthe lava. Apparently the grass represented the bristles covering his\nbody when he changed himself into a hog. Kamapuaa has sometimes been\ncalled the Samson of Hawaiian traditions, and it is possible that a\nBiblical idea has crept into the modern versions of the story. Delilah\ncut Samson\u2019s hair and he became weak. The Hawaiian traditions say that,\nif Kamapuaa\u2019s bristles could be burned off, he would lose his power to\ncope with Pele\u2019s forces of fire. When the grass lay in the pathway of\nthe fire, the lava was turned aside for a time, but Pele, inspired by\nthe beginning of victory, called anew upon the gods of the under-world\nfor strong reinforcements.\n\nOut from the pits of Kilauea came vast masses of lava piling up against\nthe field of grass in its pathway and soon the grass began to burn;\nthen Kamapuaa assumed again the shape of a man, the hair or bristles on\nhis body were singed and the smart of many burns began to cause agony.\nDown he rushed to the sea, but the lava spread out on either side,\ncutting off retreat along the beach. Pele followed close behind,\nstriving to overtake him before he could reach the water. The side\nstreams had reached the sea, and the water was rapidly heated into\ntossing, boiling waves. Pele threw great masses of lava at Kamapuaa,\nstriking and churning the sea into which he leaped midst the swirling\nheated mass. Kamapuaa gave up the battle, and, thoroughly defeated,\nchanged himself into a fish. To that fish he gave the tough pigskin\nwhich he assumed when roaming over the islands as the hog-man. It was\nthick enough to stand the boiling waves through which he swam out into\nthe deep sea. The Hawaiians say that this fish has always been able to\nmake a noise like the grunting of a small pig. To this fish was given\nthe name \u201chumu-humu-nuku-nuku-a-puaa.\u201d\n\nIt was said that Kamapuaa fled to foreign lands, where he married a\nhigh chiefess and lived with his family many years. At last the longing\nfor his home-land came over him irresistibly and he returned appearing\nas a humu-humu in his divine place among the Hawaiian fishes, but never\nagain taking to himself the form of a man.\n\nSince this conflict with Kamapuaa, Pele has never feared the powers of\nthe sea. Again and again has she sent her lava streams over the\nterritory surrounding her firepit in the volcano Kilauea, and has swept\nthe seashore, even pouring her lavas into the deep sea, but the ocean\nhas never retaliated by entering into another conflict to destroy Pele\nand her servants. Kamapuaa was the last who poured the sea into the\ndeep pit. The friends of Lohiau, a prince from the island of Kauai,\nwaged warfare with Pele, tearing to pieces a part of the crater in\nwhich she dwelt; but it was a conflict of land forces, and in its\nentirety is one of the very interesting tales handed down by Hawaiian\ntradition.\n\nKamapuaa figured to the last days of Pele-worship in the sacrifices\noffered to the fire-goddess. The most acceptable sacrifice to Pele was\nsupposed to be puaa (a hog). If a hog could not be secured when an\noffering was necessary, the priest would take the fish\nhumu-humu-nuku-nuku-a-puaa and throw it into the pit of fire. If the\nhog and the fish both failed, the priest would offer any of the things\ninto which, it was said in their traditions, Kamapuaa could turn\nhimself.\n\n\nNote: For more Pele stories see the \u201cLegends of Volcanoes\u201d by the\nauthor.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n\nPARTIAL LIST HAWAIIAN TERMS USED\n\naa, 43.\nahakea, 213.\nahuula, 61.\nAihualama, 129.\nAikanaka, 176\u2013193, 201.\naka, 73.\nAkuapehuale, 205, 210\u2013219.\naloe, 239.\nAlala, 159.\naloha, 114.\nAnahola, 186.\nApuakehau, 177.\naumakua, 64, 99, 117, 119, 130, 216, 244.\nAvaiki, 4, 5.\nawa, 108, 109, 115.\naweoweo, 160, 163.\n\neepa, 19, 35, 174.\nEhu, 66.\nElepaio, 100, 174, 233.\nEwa, 34, 177, 259.\n\nHainoa, 108.\nHakalaoa, 105.\nhala, 29, 60, 67, 128, 129.\nHalelea, 213.\nHalemanu, 178, 196, 202.\nHalenoa, 168.\nHana, 188.\nHanalei, 266.\nHanamaulu, 188.\nHanapepe, 186, 187.\nHao, 16.\nhau, 122.\nHaumea, 10, 23, 24, 29, 35.\nHauula, 140\u2013145, 247.\nHawaii, 1, etc.\nHawaiki, 11, 13.\nheiau, 21, 27, 91\u2013117, 135, 142, 187, 229, 256.\nHiiaka, 270.\nHilo, 120.\nhilu, 144.\nHina, 69, 213, 247, 256.\nHinai, 124, 125.\nHoahanau, 200, 201.\nHoakola, 30.\nHonokaupu, 15, 17, 52\u201354.\nHonolulu, 14, 15, 30, 34, 62, 63, 76, 87, 112, 115.\nHonouliuli, 205, 209, 224.\nHoolohaloa, 76\u201378.\nHuhue, 163.\nhula, 34, 115, 179, 270.\nhumu, 276\u2013277.\n\nieie, 60, 101.\nIkaikaloa, 75\u201376.\nIkeloa, 76, 79.\nIkuwa, 73.\nIlamuku, 2.\niliahi, 67, 68.\nimu, 201, 206.\nipukai, 199, 201, 202.\nIwa, 148\u2013156.\n\nKaakau, 105, 106.\nKaauhau, 121.\nKaawaloa, 111.\nKaehu, 55\u201358.\nKaeleha, 177, 188.\nKaeleowaipio, 121.\nKaena, 142, 159.\nKahakaloa, 184.\nKahala, 130.\nKahala-o-Puna, 128.\nKahaloa, 158.\nKahamaluihi, 125, 160.\nKahani, 19, 90\u201392, 101.\nKahano, 19.\nKahaukomo, 122.\nKahehuna, 133.\nKaheiki, 92, 95, 96.\nKahiki, 19\u201337, 106.\nKahikihounakele, 250.\nKahikiku, 136.\nKahikiula, 247.\nKahiko, 7.\nkahili, 9.\nKahilona, 92\u201396.\nKahoiwai, 158.\nKahuku, 142.\nkahuna, 96, 117, 130, 258, 210, 258.\nKaihi-Kapu, 53.\nKaili, 190.\nKailua, 26, 122.\nKaipapau, 145.\nKaiwakalameha, 224.\nkakahee, 159.\nKakei, 112\u2013115.\nkakolele, 121.\nKakuhihewa, 15\u201319, 134\u2013137, 158\u2013167, 227\u2013237.\nKalaau, 107.\nkalaiaina, 121.\nKalakaua, 246, 267.\nKalaniopuu, 121\u2013125.\nKalapueo, 136.\nKalaumeke, 177.\nKalehuawike, 56, 107.\nKalihi, 19, 31\u201335, 40.\nKaliuwaa, 249, 254.\nKalo, 195.\nKalokuna, 149.\nKaluanui, 247, 249.\nKamakau, 14, 18, 70, 72.\nKamalama, 174\u2013184.\nKamamo, 245.\nkamani, 248.\nKamapuaa, 35, 246\u2013277.\nKamaunuaniho, 249, 258.\nKamehaikana, 29, 34.\nKamehameha, 14\u201317, 21, 33, 41, 110, 118, 122, 126, 148, 190.\nKamohoalii, 35, 55.\nKamoiliili, 87, 259, 260.\nKanakamakeanu, 76, 80.\nKanakamakewelu, 76, 81, 86.\nKanaloa, 4\u201312, 37\u201342, 71\u201373, 94, 95, 145, 224.\nKane, 9, 10, 37\u201342, 46\u201357, 61, 71\u201373, 94, 95, 136, 145, 183, 224.\nKaneohe, 256.\nKanepuaa, 39.\nKaohuwalu, 105.\nkapa, 59\u201369, 207, 229, 236, 250, 263.\nKapaa, 218.\nKapahi, 150.\nKapalaha, 135.\nKapalama, 204, 210, 220.\nKapana, 172.\nKapapaulua, 141.\nKapili, 123.\nKapo, 34.\nKapoi, 132\u2013137.\nKapookame, 104.\nKapuakamailoa, 171.\nKapuni, 105\u2013107.\nKapupuu, 148.\nKauahoa, 173\u2013186.\nKauai, 18, 21, 27, 109\u2013136.\nKauanonoula, 17.\nKauhao, 204, 242, 244.\nKauhola, 105.\nKauhuhu, 193.\nKauilani, 211\u2013240.\nKaumakapili, 21, 104.\nKaupe, 93, 95.\nKauwa, 16.\nKauwaewae, 256.\nKawaiahao, 16.\nKawaihae, 108.\nKawaikini, 205, 211, 215.\nKawalo, 193.\nKawelo, 21, 60, 173\u2013188.\nKeaau, 149\u2013152.\nKeahua, 204\u2013213, 242, 244.\nKeaka, 18.\nKeakahulilani, 73.\nKealaikahiki, 139.\nKealii, 193, 194, 198, 199.\nKeaolewa, 207, 219, 228, 240.\nKeauhelemoa, 232, 233, 242.\nkekaiheehee, 16.\nKekelaiaika, 249.\nKekuanaoa, 17.\nKewalo, 16, 20, 133.\nKiha, 108\u2013110.\nKihapu, 20, 109, 118.\nkihei, 60.\nKikoo, 157.\nKilauea, 35, 120, 267, 273, 275.\nkilo, 121.\nKilohana, 28.\nKipukai, 263.\nkoa, 97\u2013102, 196.\nKoawa, Koawi, 218\u2013228.\nKohala, 42.\nKoko, 15, 52, 53, 75, 147.\nKokoa, 195\u2013199.\nKoloa, 187.\nKona, 110, 149.\nkonane, 15, 16, 52, 54.\nKoolau, 54, 156, 203, 247, 259.\nKou, 15\u201328, 52\u201354, 101, 132, 160, 180, 222, 234\u2013243.\nKu, 9, 11, 37, 71\u201373, 82\u201395.\nkuakuku, 68.\nKualii, 132.\nKuhooneenuu, 27.\nKuikaa, 187.\nKuilioloa, 85\u201389.\nKukaepuaa, 275.\nKukaeunahio, 135, 137.\nKukalaniehu, 182.\nKukaoo, 137.\nkukui, 66, 82, 196.\nKulaokahua, 160.\nKuleonui, 19.\nKuna, 90.\nKuokoa, viii, 39, 61, 75.\nkupua, 29, 34, 52, 90\u201393, 159, 180, 204, 205, 229.\nKupulupulu, 98.\nKuula, 118.\n\nLaahana, 63.\nLaka, 34.\nLanai, 136.\nLani, 119.\nLanihuli, 122.\nLauhuiki, 65.\nLaukaieie, 211.\nLaukona, 163.\nLea, 99, 100, 233.\nLeahi, 112.\nleho, 149, 150.\nlehua, 35, 55, 166, 167, 228.\nlei, 35, 153.\nlele, 121.\nLepeamoa, 204\u2013208, 224\u2013245.\nLihue, 92\u201394.\nLiliha, 88.\nLiliuokalani, 111.\nLohiau, 277.\nLono, 4, 5, 9, 10, 37\u201339, 71\u201373, 94.\nLonoaohi, 256.\nlonomakaihe, 121.\nLonopuakau, 211.\nLua, 9.\nlua, 121.\nluau, 251.\n\nMaaloa, 64.\nmahiole, 60.\nmaika, 17.\nmaile, 206.\nMainele, 161\u2013172.\nMakaha, 183.\nMakalei, 26.\nMakapuu, 140.\nmakawalu, 258.\nMakiki, 16, 160, 166.\nMakuakaumana, 61.\nMalailua, 122.\nmalo, 60, 212, 221.\nmalolo, 221.\nmamaki, 64.\nMamala, 52\u201354.\nMamaloa, 75\u201380.\nmana, 27.\nManoa, 19, 87, 127, 130\u2013136, 158\u2013172.\nManualolo, 240.\nMaui, 13\u201327, 56, 69, 93, 107, 118, 125, 136, 138, 232\u2013259.\nMauilli, 189.\nMauinui, 229, 237, 238, 243.\nmauka, 70.\nMauna Kaala, 178.\nmenehune, 62, 90\u201393, 131, 132.\nMilu, 119.\nMoaauha, 240.\nMoanalua, 94, 95, 104, 136.\nmoanene, 239.\nmoi, 112.\nMokapu, 71.\nMokuhalii, 100.\nMolokai, 107, 114, 136, 149.\nMololani, 71.\nmoo, 34, 52, 104.\nMuleiulu, 23.\n\nNamaka, 121\u2013124.\nNapihenui, 83.\nNaulu, 184.\nNewa, 19.\nNiihau, 151, 181.\nNiolapa, 105.\nniu, 67, 206.\nNuuanu, 15\u201321, 30\u201340, 62\u201376, 88\u2013108, 126, 132, 220.\n\nOahu, 9, 15\u201329, 61, 75, 86\u201396, 112\u2013134.\nohia, 196, 238.\nOlopana, 247.\nOuha, 15, 16, 52, 54.\nOupe, 7.\n\npahee, 221.\npahoehoe, 272.\nPakaalana, 105, 106, 153.\nPakaka, 21\u201327, 30.\nPakuanui, 121, 123.\nPalama, 204, 209, 227, 228.\npali, 156.\nPanapololei, 76, 79.\nPapa, 2\u201313, 28\u201335, 75\u201378.\npau, 31, 66.\nPauoa, 90.\nPawaa, 158, 165, 170, 172, 235.\nPehu, 56, 57.\nPele, 58, 66, 267\u2013277.\nPikoi, 157, 172.\nPo, 8, 119.\nPohakuloa, 123.\npoi, 115, 175.\nPoki, 87, 88.\nPolihale, 83.\npoulu, 64.\nPuapualenalena, 108.\nPueo, 129, 130.\nPuhuehu, 28.\nPuiwa, 20, 63.\nPuna, 55, 128, 170.\nPuukapu, 153.\nPuukume, 25.\nPuuhonua, 131.\nPuuowaina, 18, 133.\nPuupueo, 131.\n\ntabu, 91\u2013111, 135, 154, 192, 208.\ntapa or kapa, 108, 156, 169.\ntaro, 132, 196.\nti, 60.\n\nUhakohi, 255.\nuhu, 180, 181.\nUlakoheo, 17.\nUlakua, 16.\nulua, 141.\nuluhe, 196.\nUlukou, 166, 177.\nUmi, 148\u2013156.\nunihipili, 216.\n\nWaaleala, 178.\nWahiawa, 257.\nWaialua, 195, 197, 200.\nWaianae, 93, 180, 182, 203, 221, 257, 258.\nWaihee, 125.\nWaikiki, 15, 21, 53\u201356, 127\u2013135, 142, 164, 166, 227.\nWailua, 173, 204, 213.\nWailuku, 242.\nWaimanu, 109.\nWaimea, 115, 117, 124, 153, 154.\nWaipio, 20, 23, 105, 110, 153.\nWaiui, 211.\nwakea, 1\u201311, 28\u201335, 75\u201379.\nWaolani, 19, 107, 130.\nwauke, 63\u201365, 213, 214.\nWelaahilani, 73.\nwiliwili, 223.\nWohi, 33.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPOLYNESIAN LANGUAGE\n\n\n\u201cA few words should be added on the peculiar genius and structure of\nthe Polynesian language in general and of the Hawaiian dialect in\nparticular.\n\nIt is the law of all Polynesian languages that every word and syllable\nmust end in a vowel, so that no two consonants are ever heard without a\nvowel sound between them.\n\nMost of the radical words are dissyllables, and the accent is generally\non the penult. The Polynesian ear is as nice in marking the slightest\nvariations in vowel sound as it is dull in distinguishing consonants.\n\nThe vocabulary of the Hawaiian is probably richer than that of most\nother Polynesian tongues. Its child-like and primitive character is\nshown by the absence of abstract words and general terms.\n\nAs has been well observed by M. Gaussin, there are three classes of\nwords, corresponding to as many different stages of language: first,\nthose that express sensations; second, images; third, abstract ideas.\n\nNot only are names wanting for the more general abstractions, such as\nspace, nature, fate, etc., but there are very few generic terms. For\nexample there is no generic term for animal, expressing the whole class\nof living creatures or for insects or for colors. At the same time it\nabounds in specific names and in nice distinctions.\n\nSo in the Hawaiian everything that relates to their every-day life or\nto the natural objects with which they are conversant is expressed with\na vivacity, a minuteness and nicety of coloring which cannot be\nreproduced in a foreign tongue. Thus the Hawaiian was very rich in\nterms for every variety of cloud. It has names for every species of\nplant on the mountains or fish in the sea, and is peculiarly copious in\nterms relating to the ocean, the surf and waves.\n\nFor whatever belonged to their religions, their handicrafts or their\namusements, their vocabulary was most copious and minute. Almost every\nstick in a native house had its appropriate name. Hence it abounds in\nsynonyms which are such only in appearance, i.e., \u201cto be broken\u201d as a\nstick is \u2018haki,\u2019 as a string is \u2018moku,\u2019 as a dish \u2018naha,\u2019 as a wall\n\u2018hina.\u2019\n\nBesides the language of every-day life, there was a style appropriate\nto oratory and another to religion and poetry.\n\nThe above-mentioned characteristics make it a pictorial and expressive\nlanguage. It still has the freshness of childhood. Its words are\npictures rather than colorless and abstract symbols of ideas, and are\nredolent of the mountain, the forest and the surf.\n\nHowever it has been and is successfully used to express the\nabstractions of mathematics, of English law, and of theology.\u201d\n\n\n   \u201cThe Hawaiian is but a dialect of the great Polynesian language,\n    which is spoken with extraordinary uniformity over all the numerous\n    islands of the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Hawaii. Again,\n    the Polynesian language is but one member of that wide-spread\n    family of languages, known as the Malayo-Polynesian or Oceanic\n    family, which extends from Madagascar to the Hawaiian Islands and\n    from New Zealand to Formosa. The Hawaiian dialect is peculiarly\n    interesting to the philologist from its isolated position, being\n    the most remote of the family from its primeval seat in\n    Southeastern Asia, and leading the van with the Malagasy in the\n    rear. We believe the Hawaiian to be the most copious and\n    expressive, as well as the richest in native traditional history\n    and poetry. Dr. Reinhold Forster, the celebrated naturalist of\n    Captain Cook\u2019s second voyage, drew up a table containing 47 words\n    taken from 11 Oceanic dialects and the corresponding terms in\n    Malay, Mexican, Peruvian and Chilian. From this table he inferred\n    that the Polynesian languages afford many analogies with the Malay\n    while they present no point of contact with the American.\n\n    Baron William von Humboldt, the distinguished statesman and\n    scholar, showed that the Tagala, the leading language of the\n    Philippine Islands, is by far the richest and most perfect of these\n    languages. \u2018It possesses,\u2019 he says, \u2018all the forms collectively of\n    which particular ones are found singly in other dialects; and it\n    has preserved them all with very trifling exceptions unbroken and\n    in entire harmony and symmetry.\u2019\n\n    The languages of the Oceanic region have been divided into six\n    great groups; i.e., the Polynesian; the Micronesian; the Melanesian\n    or Papuan; the Australian; the Malaysian; the Malagasy. Many\n    examples might be given if they were needed to illustrate the\n    connection of these languages. The Polynesian is an ancient and\n    primitive member of the Malay family. The New Zealand dialect is\n    the most primitive and entire in its forms. The Hawaiians,\n    Marquesans and Tahitians form a closely related group by\n    themselves. For example, the Marquesan converts are using Hawaiian\n    books and the people of the Austral Islands read the Tahitian\n    Bible.\u201d\n\n\nThe above was written by W. D. Alexander in Honolulu in 1865, author of\nthe \u201cHistory of the Hawaiian Islands\u201d as preface to Andrew\u2019s\nDictionary.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera.\n\n[2] Foot of Fort Street near lumber yards.\n\n[3] See \u201cHome of the Ancestors,\u201d Part II., in Legends of Ghosts and\nGhost-Gods.\n\n[4] Ancient Honolulu.\n\n[5] Ulu\u2014Artocarpus incisa.\n\n[6] Near Nuuanu Street Bridge.\n\n[7] Colocasia antiquorum.\n\n[8] The Pakaka temple through its hundreds of years of existence\nreceived from time to time human sacrifice.\n\n[9] Piper Methysticum.\n\n[10] Ohia-lehua. Metrosideros polymorpha.\n\n[11] Near the Moana Hotel.\n\n[12] Near corner Nuuanu and Beretania Streets.\n\n[13] Cordyline terminalis.\n\n[14] Freycinetii Arnotti.\n\n[15] Broussonetia papyrifera.\n\n[16] Pipturus Albidus.\n\n[17] Aluerites Moluccana.\n\n[18] Santalum Freycinetianum.\n\n[19] Cocos nucifera.\n\n[20] Pandanus adoratissimus.\n\n[21] Toward the mountain.\n\n[22] Ikuwa was the month of thunder and lightning.\n\n[23] From the Kuokoa of 1862, Hawaiian newspaper.\n\n[24] The legends say that one of the homes of Wakea and Papa was the\nsplendid country around Nuuanu Valley and Honolulu.\n\n[25] This heiau (temple) was on the road to Pauoa Valley, now Pacific\nHeights.\n\n[26] This place is in the heart of modern Honolulu back of the old\nKaumakapili church site.\n\n[27] Paritium tiliaceus.\n\n[28] This place is now the site of the Castle Home.\n\n[29] Another legend says that the battle was between the little people\nand Kualii, a noted chief of Oahu, of comparatively recent date.\n\n[30] Head of Fort Street.\n\n[31] A place east of Diamond Head.\n\n[32] A place in Nuuanu Valley.\n\n[33] \u201cT\u201d and \u201cK\u201d are interchangeable.\n\n[34] Near the present Moana Hotel.\n\n[35] Site of Moana Hotel.\n\n[36] A tree\u2014Acacia koa.\n\n[37] Gleichenia longissima.\n\n[38] Luau.\n\n[39] Bobea Elatior also Hookeri.\n\n[40] Erythrina Monosperma.\n\n[41] A district in Chinatown, Honolulu.\n\n[42] Near Moana Hotel and Outrigger Club House.\n\n[43] Calophyllum Inophyllum.\n\n[44] Calocasia antiquorum.\n\n[45] Iliahi or Santalum.\n\n[46] Ipomea Batatas.\n\n[47] Near the Kamoiliili church.\n\n[48] Near the Cleghorn residence.\n\n[49] Touchardia latifolia.\n\n[50] Pahoehoe, smooth lava. A-a, rough lava.","title":"Legends of Old Honolulu (Mythology): Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":62041}