Legend of Kinau and Tuanoa: a Tale of the Sandwich Islands.
A heavy gloom was upon the minds of the people of Wauhoo in
consequence of the recent death of their king, Hoapili. Melancholy
filled their hearts; wailings and lamentations of various kinds
were heard over all parts of the island. Every grade mourned for
the regal victim of death; and men, women, and children were seen
tearing their hair, wounding themselves with sharp-pointed weapons,
tearing their flesh with sharks’ teeth, and breaking their own front
teeth with stones, to convince each other of the acuteness of their
sorrows; and, above all, they prepared, as was their usual custom on
such events, to offer up to the Great Spirit five human beings as a
sacrifice. Many a loving maiden, when she heard of the king’s death,
felt a pang rush through her heart and a whirling through her brain
as she thought of the youth who had won her affections.
On such occasions, it was customary for the eric, or chief of each
district, to select a young man from that part of the country over
which he had control, and to send him to the proper place as one of
the victims to be immolated at the shrine of the deceased king. Thus
there was a dreadful uncertainty in the minds of the whole people
until the unfortunates were chosen; and there was no appeal from the
will of the eric; so that, when the summons was made, there remained
no hope for the unhappy chosen one.
In the village of Waikukii, of which Nahi was the eric, or chieftain,
lived Tuanoa, a young man, and Kinau, his betrothed bride. They
had resided near each other from their infancy, and, even in the
early dawning of the mind and the affections, they were observed
constantly together; and no doubt, at that time, there was interwoven
with their young heartstrings the tender passion of love, that
“grew with their growth and strengthened with their strength.”
Tuanoa was a fine young man, much beloved by his neighbors. He was
active and brave in the extreme, and he had performed many acts of
prowess, which gave him a standing-place within the circle of the
conquerors at a feast, or “hoola hoola;” and he was, withal, of a
most kind and affectionate disposition, of which his friends and
neighbors were well aware. Kinau, his beloved maiden, was the most
beautiful girl in the village, and of good family and estate; besides
which, she was the most esteemed tappa-maker in the whole island.
None of her competitors could approach her genius, which was so
frequently displayed in designing figures and ornaments to adorn her
productions, so that her tappas (native cloths) exceeded in beauty
and strength those of all others, and they were worn by the king and
queen. Her disposition was of that rare and delightful description
which finds pleasure in searching after the sorrows of others in
order to relieve them, and blessing itself that it had the power
to do so. With such a person, disposition, and possessions, we can
not wonder that Kinau was much beloved, and that Tuanoa was so much
envied by the spirited young men of the village. But they enjoyed no
hope of gaining the object of their admiration, for she took every
opportunity of expressing her undying love for Tuanoa, and he to her.
Notwithstanding all this, there had been an eye fixed long and
ardently upon Kinau, and she was well aware of the fact, much to her
sorrow; and many a burning tear, as it rolled over her beautiful
cheek, awakened in Tuanoa’s breast a powerful feeling of regret,
mingled with surprise at the unhappy change which had come over the
mind of his beloved. How often did he entreat, in tenderest words,
for the avowal of the cause, which never was fully given. Kinau
full well knew that if Tuanoa were to be made aware of the fact, he
would commit some rash act that would most probably hurl them both
to destruction; and she left the whole to chance, hoping that soon a
day would come when the dark cloud of anticipated misfortune would be
dispelled, and the sunshine of her love again break forth strong and
clear.
It was the eye of the powerful eric Nahi which had fallen on Kinau,
and he had even sought a private interview with her, and declared
his love; but she resolutely refused to listen to his advances a
moment. “What!” said the haughty eric, “do you refuse to listen to
the voice of Nahi, your chief? Daughter of my neighbor, tremble! Let
tears as salt as the waters of the ocean fall quick and fast from
thy earth-bound eye! Refuse to listen to the voice of Nahi, and the
volcano of Waikukii shall consume the blood of Tuanoa, as the shark
of the ocean devours the newly-hatched turtle.”
“Oh great Nahi,” answered Kinau, “suffer your neighbor’s daughter to
return the love of Tuanoa, whose love, like mine, burns as the fire
of the volcano, which the waters of the ocean can not quench.”
“Tremble!” exclaimed the eric, “daughter of Kuakini, and the beloved
of Tuanoa. Go from the presence of Nahi, and let there be no more
said.”
Kinau went from his presence with trembling limbs and a palpitating
heart. She knew the disposition of Nahi; cruel and vindictive in the
extreme, he spared nothing to obtain the object of his wishes. He had
committed many crimes, for which he had often been reproved by the
late king and his fellow erics. The people, also, were disgusted with
his tyrannical conduct, and these things combined caused him to be
more careful than he had been in the earlier part of his government.
Kinau was well aware of this, and she therefore trusted that he would
cease his importunities; but she dreaded his revenge, as she well
knew that if an opportunity should ever present itself whereby he
might injure her or Tuanoa, and escape the observation of the people
from the apparent injustice of the act, he would seize upon it with
avidity; and this was the cause of her dejection.
The king, Hoapili, had been dangerously ill for some days, and the
active mind of Kinau saw the dreadful chasm which might be opened
to receive her in the event of the king’s death. She knew that Nahi
had the power of choosing one of the victims for the sacrifice, and
the thought almost bereft her of her senses. She well knew that
Tuanoa, the brave and beloved Tuanoa, would be sacrificed to the
revenge of the cruel eric; and, under these trying circumstances, the
constitution of Kinau evidently began to decline, much to the grief
of her lover, who perceived his beautiful companion, like a lovely
flower beset by the canker-worm, silently robbed of her beauty. He
saw the devastation it committed, but could not discover its retreat.
Kinau still kept the secret within her own breast.
One evening, as, to their minds, the sun was once more going to rest
in the deep bosom of the ocean, the lovers reclined on the shelving
and moss-covered rocks which were near to the habitation of Kinau,
in the beautiful valley of Menoa. The broad-leaved banana waved
around them, and fanned their cheeks with the sweet-scented evening
air, when, just as the Pelé of Nuanu cast its deep shadow across the
valley of her fathers, a distant cry of sorrow fell upon the ears
of the unhappy pair. To Kinau’s mind the cause was revealed in an
instant. “The king is gone!” shrieked the unhappy maid. “Oh, Tuanoa,
let us fly; let us bury ourselves in the depths of the ocean, for
death is for us also!” The extreme agitation of her mind robbed her
of her senses; and as she lay, apparently without life, in the arms
of her beloved and thunder-stricken Tuanoa, a number of their friends
quickly approached the scene to render assistance, and to inquire the
cause of the outcry.
“Neighbors,” exclaimed the bewildered Tuanoa, “my peace is broken;
my beloved is no longer herself; the spirit of darkness has been
here and stolen the light of her soul!” While they were using means
to restore Kinau to her senses and to comfort Tuanoa, a band of
persons approached, and proclaimed, amid loud wailings, that Hoapili
the Good had given his last breath to the winds; and from out this
mass of phrensied human beings rushed three men, with disordered
dress and disheveled hair, with red streams of blood gushing from
self-inflicted wounds, and approached Tuanoa. They immediately
produced from under their torn tappas the fatal summons from the
eric Nahi, which consisted merely of three dark-colored poisonous
nuts, delineated with certain inscriptions and figures. Too well the
brave Tuanoa knew their import, but he was helpless before them. They
presented them to him with certain forms and ceremonies, and then,
as if impatient for his heart’s best blood, leaped upon and bound
him securely. Astonishment filled the minds of all his neighbors,
who stood around Kinau, their hearts ready to burst with grief. They
knew not the revengeful feelings which had actuated the hated eric to
the choice of the best person in the village instead of the worst,
as was the usual custom; for there was even a by-word among them,
which was addressed to persons of bad repute, “Ah! you will serve for
the fire—you will serve for the fire,” meaning that they would serve
for the purpose for which Tuanoa had been taken. When the sounds of
the phrensied multitude had passed away, and had left the valley of
Menoa again to its solemn quietude, and there was only heard at
intervals from out the group which still surrounded the bereft and
senseless maiden the low murmur or the sorrowful exclamation for the
departed king and the sorrows of the divided lovers, Kinau opened her
discolored eyes, and shot them around the group, but saw not Tuanoa.
“Ah!” she exclaimed, “half of my soul has expired. Friends and
neighbors, go; stay not with Kinau; the sun no longer shines upon
her tarro-patches;[6] the water of the mountain has also turned from
their roots, and has fallen into the hands of Nahi.”
Her kind neighbors did all in their power to comfort her in her great
affliction, and then left her to the care of her aged parents. Nature
soon overcame the infirm pair with sleep, and Kinau left her home,
never more to return except with her beloved Tuanoa.
The past few months had altered the lovely Kinau very much. Her
features were shrunken and distorted; her hair torn and loose; her
dark eyes, rolling and flashing, betokened the storm within; her
heaving bosom gave proof of the agitated heart; but her step was
firm, and she stood erect, as if, with the last effort of a shattered
frame, she had determined to devote all her remaining strength to
one great purpose. She was convinced that there remained no hope
from human means for the restoration of her beloved Tuanoa, and she
therefore determined to visit the enchanter Kelkuewa, a thing seldom
or scarcely ever attempted before, even by the bravest of the erics.
But Kinau, feeling strong in her virtuous cause, feared not, and
dared destruction in its wildest forms. Kelkuewa, the enchanter,
resided in a glen at the bottom of the Pelé of Nuanu, and near the
entrance of which the enchanted waterfall of two thousand feet in
descent finished its perpendicular career. Here was the supposed
habitation of a lizard as large as a man, which the tradition of the
islanders claims as having resided there since the Flood.
Kinau, with firm determination, commenced her task. Passing alone,
away from her friends and neighbors, over the dark plains in the
valley of Menoa, she soon began to ascend the steep and rugged
mountain of Nuanu, and, after excessive exertion, reached its
summit. She cast her wild eyes around, and saw the dark ocean which
encompasses Wauhoo; she could hear its distant roar as it broke with
violence on the weather side of the island; the chilly and unruly
blast of the night-wind almost forced her slender figure from the
pointed rock on which she, for a moment, rested; her loose hair
lashed her burning forehead with its violence. Behind her was the
valley of Menoa, in which she had met the last look of her beloved
Tuanoa; before her was the valley of Nuanu, four thousand feet in
depth. Midway dashing its white foam, she could just observe the
enchanted stream gushing out of a small division in the rocks, and
falling two thousand feet into the valley below, at the bottom of
which the enchanter resided. Still determined to visit him or die
in the attempt, she began the fearful descent of the Pelé of Nuanu,
and after great difficulties—now clinging to the branches of some
friendly tree, and now sliding in various positions—she succeeded
in reaching the source of the waterfall. Almost overcome with
fatigue and contending emotions, she here rested. A torrent of tears
relieved her aching heart, and she again commenced the arduous task
of descending, by the side of the foaming stream, over slippery
rocks and sharp craggy points, her feet torn and bleeding, her heart
almost broken, and her weary frame nearly exhausted. Her disordered
imagination, blinded by her tears, saw visions of darkness and
despair hanging from every rock; and the murmuring of the trees, as
they were moved by the wind, appeared like the voices of her foes
imploring for her destruction. But still Kinau wended her way—yes,
the tender yet powerful passion of love supported her—the passion
of love in woman, invincible love, which has caused the “change of
empires and the loss of worlds,” has “inspired heroism and subdued
avarice.” She succeeded in reaching the glen, where she bathed her
bleeding feet for a moment in the waters of the cascade. The moon,
which had before been hidden behind dark clouds, now peeped through
an opening in them, as if anxious to look upon the devoted girl
and admire her fortitude. The large gray owl, which inhabits the
valleys, flapped his broad wings over her head as he moused among
the rocks; and the quick-flying bat darted in and out of his caves,
as if disturbed by the intruder. Lifting up her eyes, Kinau beheld a
tall old man descending the Pelé. Quickly he took advantage of each
jutting point of rock to secure his footsteps, and he descended with
apparent ease to the spot where Kinau rested. Long gray hair fell
over his shoulders, and he thus addressed the maiden:
“Daughter of Kuakini, and the beloved of Tuanoa, I am he whom you
seek. I have followed you from the valley of Menoa; I have watched
and feel astonished at your strength, fortitude, and love. I know
the spirit of darkness has come over you when the gladness of your
heart was taken from you. Your love for the brave Tuanoa is like the
mountain of Nuanu, fixed forever, and can not change; it is clear and
bright as the water that falls from the Pelé; it is like the fire of
the volcano of Waikukii, which is unquenchable. Daughter of Kuakini,
arise! go to the valley of thy fathers, and rest in the bosom of thy
neighbors; for I have seen a Great Spirit, who, before to-morrow’s
sun reacheth the valley of Nuanu, shall come and save thy Tuanoa from
the blood-consuming fire.”
“Oh great Kelkuewa,” said Kinau, “your words are like water to the
parched tarro; they are like the waters of the ocean to the expiring
fish, which the fisherman returns to its element. I feel my heart
lightened; the cold hand of the spirit of darkness has moved from my
heart. Oh Kelkuewa,” continued the enraptured girl, “they say you
have no daughter. I will be your daughter; I will make your tappas;
I will water your tarro-patches, though I bring the water from the
other side of the mountain of Nuanu.” The enchanter seized the hand
of Kinau, assisted her over the Pelé, and saw her descend to the
valley of her fathers.
The morn of the day on which the tragedy was to be ended appeared.
Before the sun had risen, thousands of the islanders were moving
toward the plains of Whyteetee, on which the immolation of the
victims was to take place. Lamentations were heard over the whole
island. The plains of Whyteetee were soon covered with countless
multitudes, and five immense fires were lighted. As the sun rose, the
odor from the burning sandal-wood perfumed the whole of Wauhoo. In an
inclosure about one hundred feet long and fifty from front to back,
the front wall of which was about six feet high, and the back about
twelve, formed of loose stones or masses of lava piled upon each
other, and situated upon a rise of ground at the end of the plain,
facing the sea, the five victims were placed.
On a mass of rocks about one hundred feet high, which rise abruptly
out of the plains, and command a view for a considerable distance
around, sat the princes and chiefs, with all the great men of the
island. Among them Nahi was observed in a conspicuous situation,
watching the proceedings with great earnestness, for he had heard
that Kinau had visited the enchanted glen, and he had heard also of
the prophecy of Kelkuewa. Indeed, it was upon the lips of every one,
and many hoped that the prophecy would be fulfilled. The more noble
of the erics and people began to look upon these cruel exhibitions
with disgust, and to long for a pretext for abolishing them. They saw
the abuse, if we may so call it, to which it was liable, from the
base conduct of Nahi, and yet, being a national custom, it was hard
to abolish.
The proceedings of the assembly soon commenced. The first victim,
who happened to be an abandoned wretch, was led out of the inclosure
by the priests, and thrust among the multitude. There were plenty of
the wild and infuriated to commence the attack, by hurling stones and
beating the unfortunate victim with any weapon with which they might
have provided themselves for the occasion, and he was hunted to and
fro like a wild beast, until the spark of life was nearly extinct;
then he was hurled upon the funeral pile, amid the wild exclamations
of the savage throng, while “liquid fire curled round his limbs, and
to his hissing bones and marrow clung.”
Kinau, surrounded by her kindred, was seen in an agitated state,
frequently looking toward the Pelé of Nuanu, and wondering how the
Great Spirit would interpose to save her beloved Tuanoa. Sometimes,
full of hope, her countenance would brighten, and she appeared to
possess new life; then again she would doubt the enchanter’s successful
interference, and her spirits would sink. Thus was her gentle bosom
torn with a thousand conflicting emotions. Despair for a moment
shadowed her invincible spirit with his dark and death-hovering wings,
and the beloved Kinau felt that she would willingly sacrifice her
own life to save that of her lover. Tuanoa observed his adored girl
with those acute feelings which the pencil can not paint nor the pen
justly describe. He was bound to the insensate stake, which heard
not the heart’s flutter or the despairing sigh—which felt not the
tremulous shake of the confined but powerful limb that strove in vain
to break from its moveless grasp. At last, despairing, he hung from his
confinement, apparently a lifeless being.
Another unfortunate but criminal victim was now given to the
infuriated multitude and sacrificed; and the next was to be Tuanoa,
the beloved and innocent Tuanoa, who was insensible now from the
mental anguish he had suffered. To die so young, and such a horrid
death—to go and leave his Kinau behind—this was more than he
could bear, and he fainted from misery. The brave maiden could no
longer bear this uncertainty. She rushed through the crowd of her
kindred—scaled the walls of the inclosure—glided between the guards
with a supernatural quickness, and encircled with her devoted arms
her beloved. But the guards and the priests quickly proceeded to
separate them; and now they unbound, and were about to thrust the
bewildered Tuanoa among the savage group who thirsted for his blood.
The gate of the inclosure was thrown open; already the savage hand
was raised to smite with deadly violence; already the maddened and
phrensied eyes of fanatic men were gleaming with murderous excitement
to grace the royal death; the impatient, loyal crowd, heap upon heap,
swayed to and fro in their eagerness to slay one of themselves—one,
too, who had been formerly beloved by them, and for whom they would
have made great sacrifices, but now hated and condemned; and they
impatiently thirsted for his blood.
But the enchanter at this moment appeared among the people. In a loud
voice he commanded their attention, and pointed to an object which
was seen upon the ocean at a great distance. All eyes were instantly
directed, in great wonder, toward it. During the confusion, a stone
was hurled by an unseen hand, which struck Nahi, and killed him in
an instant; but the event scarcely received attention. The object
to which the enchanter still pointed approached the island rapidly.
It appeared larger every moment, and in a short time its color was
distinguishable. Fear and curiosity increased, for never had the
people witnessed such a sight before. At times it appeared of an
immense breadth, with wide-spreading wings, and in a moment or two
would appear quite narrow, but of great height. Occasionally its
apparent wings shook; then anon the whole mass appeared to stoop to
the surface of the ocean. Swayed by an irresistible impulse, princes,
erics, and people went down to the edge of the sea. The liberated
victims, surrounded by their kindred, followed. The prophecy was
fulfilled. They were liberated by common consent. Never can poet or
painter describe or represent the two enraptured lovers, as they
appeared walking together on the beach, having but “one soul in a
divided body.”
Reader! the “Great Spirit” which so rapidly approached, and was
bringing to those islanders light to disperse their darkness,
humanity and religion to abolish their cruelties, the arts and
sciences to banish their ignorance, was the _great spirit_ of the
immortal navigator COOK, who had just discovered those fertile
islands, and whose ship had been observed by the enchanter on the
previous evening from the heights of the Pelé of Nuanu.
[6] Shallow ponds of water, in which the _tarro_ is cultivated with
great care, similar to those in which rice is grown.