CHAPTER VI

[Footnote 37: The _puloulou_ is said to have been introduced by Paao

some five hundred years ago, together with the ceremonial taboo of which

it is the symbol. Since for a person of low rank to approach a sacred

place or person was death to the intruder, it was necessary to guard

against accidental offences by the use of a sign. The _puloulou_

consisted of a ball-shaped bundle of white bark cloth attached to the

end of a staff. This symbol is to be seen represented upon the Hawaiian

coat of arms; and Kalakaua's _puloulou_, a gilded wooden ball on the end

of a long staff, is preserved in the Bishop Museum.]

[Footnote 38: Long life was the Polynesian idea of divine blessing. Of

Kualii the chanter boasts that he "lived to be carried to battle in a

net." The word is _kaikoko_, "to carry on the back in a net," as in the

case of old and feeble persons. Polynesian dialects contain a full

vocabulary of age terms from infancy to old age.]

[Footnote 39: Chickens were a valuable part of a chief's wealth, since

from their feathers were formed the beautiful fly brushes, _kahili_,

used to wave over chiefs of rank and carried in ceremonial processions.

The entrance to the rock cave is still shown, at the mouth of Kaliuwaa

valley, where Kamapuaa's grandmother shut up her chickens at night, and

it was for robbing his uncle's henroost that this rascally pig-god was

chased away from Oahu. This reference is therefore one of many

indications that the Laieikawai tale belongs with those of the ancient

demigods.]

[Footnote 40: Mr. Meheula suggested to me this translation of the

idiomatic allusions to the canoe and the coral reef.]

The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai · 第 6 / 27 章