Kona, called _Ahua Hanalei_. A third temple was also erected by him on
the flank of Mauna Kea, in the direction of Hilo, at the place called
Puukeekee. Traces of a temple built by the same king may also be
recognized at Mauna Halepohaha, where are found the ruins of Umi's houses
covered with a large block of lava.[17]
They give Umi the name of King of the Mountains. Tradition declares that
he retired to the centre of the island, through love for his people, and
these are the reasons which explain the seclusion to which he devoted
himself. It was a received custom in Hawaiian antiquity that the numerous
attendants of the chiefs, when traversing a plantation, should break
down the cocoa-nuts, lay waste the fields, and commit all sorts of havoc
prejudicial to the interests of proprietors or cultivators. To avoid a
sort of scourge which followed the royal steps, Umi made his abode in the
mountains, in order that the robberies of his attendants might no longer
cause the tears of the people to flow. In his retreat Umi lived, with his
retainers, upon the tribute in kind which his subjects brought him from
all parts of the coast. In time of famine, his servants went through the
forest and collected the _hapuu_, a nourishing fern which then took the
place of poi.
Umi, however, did not spend all his time in the mountains. He came to
live at various times on the sea-shore at Kailua. He employed everywhere
workmen to cut stones, to serve, some say, in the construction of a
sepulchral cave; according to others, to build a magnificent palace.
Whatever may have been their destination, the stones were admirably
hewn.[18] In our days the Calvinistic missionaries have used them in the
erection of the great church of Kailua, without any need of cutting them
anew. There are still seen, scattered in various places, the hewn stones
of King Umi, _na pohaku kulai a Umi_. It is natural to suppose that they
used to hew these hard, and very large stones with other tools than those
of Hawaiian origin. Iron must have been known in the time of Umi, and its
presence is explained by the wrecks of ships which ocean currents may have
drifted ashore. It is certain that they were acquainted with iron long
before the arrival of Cook, as is proved by the already cited passage from
an old romance: _O luna, o lalo, kai, o uka, a o ka hao pae, ko ke'lii_.
Umi, some time before his death, said to his old friend Koi: "There is
no place, nor is there any possible way to conceal my bones. You must
disappear from my presence. I am going to take back all the lands which
I have given you around Hawaii, and they will think you in disgrace. You
will then withdraw to another island, and as soon as you hear of my death,
or only that I am dangerously sick, return secretly to take away my body."
Koi executed the wishes of the chief, his _aikane_. He repaired to
Molokai, whence he hastened to set sail for Hawaii as soon as he heard of
Umi's death. He landed at Honokohau. On setting foot on shore, he met a
Kanaka, in all respects like his dearly-loved chief. He seized him, killed
him, and carried his body by night to Kailua. Koi entered secretly the
palace where the corpse of Umi was lying. The guards were asleep, and Koi
carried away the royal remains, leaving in their place the body of the old
man of Honokohau, and then disappeared with his canoe. Some say that he
deposited the body of Umi in the great pali of Kahulaana, but no one knows
the exact spot; others say that it was in a cave at Waipio, at Puaahuku,
at the top of the great pali over which the cascade of Hiilawe falls.
From time immemorial it was the custom at Hawaii to eat the flesh of
great chiefs after death, then the bones were collected in a bundle, and
concealed far out of the way. Generally it was to a faithful attendant, a
devoted _kahu_, that the honor of eating the flesh of his chief belonged
by a sentiment of friendship, _no ke aloha_. If they did not always eat
the flesh of high chiefs and distinguished personages, they always took
away their dead bodies, to bury them in the most secret caves, or in most
inaccessible places. But the same care was not taken with chiefs who had
been regarded as wicked during their lives. The proverb says of this:
_Aole e nalo ana na iwi o ke 'lii kolohe; e nalo loa na iwi o ke 'lii
maikai_--The bones of a bad chief do not disappear; those of a good chief
are veiled from the eyes of all the world.
The high chiefs, before death, made their most trusty attendants swear to
conceal their bones so that no one could discover them. "I do not wish,"
said the dying chief, "that my bones should be made into arrows to
shoot mice, or into fish-hooks." So it is very difficult to find the
burial-place of such or such a chief. Mausoleums have been built in some
places, and it is said that here are interred the nobles and kings; but
it would seem that there are only empty coffins, or the bodies of common
natives substituted for those of the personages in whose honor these
monuments have been raised.
THE HISTORY OF KEAWE.
Whatever the historian, David Malo, may say, it is very doubtful whether
there were several chiefs of the name of Keawe. It is probable that there
was only one high chief of this name, that he was the son of Umi, and was
called Keawe the Great--_Keawe nui_ _a Umi_. David Malo was interested, as
the natives know, in swelling the genealogy of the alii, and he wished to
flatter both nobility and people by distinguishing Keawe nui, of the race
of Umi, from another Keawe. There are two Keawe, as seven Maui, and nine
Hina. It is not, indeed, so long a period from Umi to the present era,
that we can not unveil the truth from the clouds which surround, it.
The people, in general, only speak of one Keawe, who inherited the power
of his father Umi. He was supreme ruler in the island of Hawaii, and is
even said to have united, as Kamehameha has since done, all the group
under his sceptre. Kamehameha conquered the islands by force of arms;
Keawe had conquered them by his travels and alliances. While he passed
through the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Oahu, he contracted marriages
everywhere, as well with the women of the people as with the highest
chiefesses. These unions gave him children who made him beloved of all
the high chiefs of that time. He was regarded at Maui and Oahu as supreme
king. The king of Kauai even went so far as to send messengers to declare
to him that he recognized his sovereignty. Such is the origin of Keawe's
power.
By his numerous marriages with chiefesses and common women without
distinction, this king has made the Hawaiian nobility, the present alii
say, bastard and dishonored. The chiefs descended from Keawe conceal their
origin, and are by no means flattered when reminded of it. From Keawe
down, the genealogies become a focus of disputes, and it would be really
dangerous for the rash historian who did not spare the susceptibilities of
chiefs on this subject.
The principle on which those who condemn the conduct of Keawe rests is the
purity of the blood of the royal stock, required by ancient usages, whose
aim was to preserve the true nobility without alloy. Disdaining this rule,
Keawe contracted numerous marriages, which gave him as mothers of his
children women of low birth. The posterity of this chief, noble without
doubt, but of impure origin, likes not to have its lame genealogy
recalled. It is with the sensitiveness of the Hawaiians on this subject,
as with many other things in this world: they attack bitterly the amours
of Keawe, and seem to forget that Umi, their great chief, whose memory
they preserve with so much care, was of plebeian blood by his mother.
It seems certain that King Keawe usually resided at the bay of Hoonaunau,
in Kona. The heiau of Hoonaunau, where may still be seen the stakes of
ohia (_Metrosideros_) planted by Keawe, is called _Hale a Keawe_--The
house built by Keawe. It served also as a City of Refuge.[19]
VARIOUS DOCUMENTS ON THE PROVINCE OF KA'U.
The people of Ka'u are designated in the group under the name of _Na Mamo
a ke kipi_--The descendants of the rebellion. The province of Ka'u has
always been regarded as a land fatal to chiefs. At the present day
an inhabitant of Ka'u can be distinguished among other natives. He is
energetic, haughty in speech, and always ready to strike a blow when
occasion presents. He is proud, and worships his liberty. Several Hawaiian
chiefs have been killed by the people of Ka'u, among others Kohaokalani,
Koihala, etc.
THE HISTORY OF KOHAOKALANI.
He was, according to tradition, the most important chief on the island,
and reigned in royal state at Hilea. He it was who built the heiau
situated on the great plain of Makanau. The sea worn pebbles may still be
seen, which Kohaokalani had his people carry up on to the height, about
two leagues from the shore. These pebbles were intended for the interior
pavement of the temple. The people, worn out by the great difficulty of
transportation, tired of the yoke of royalty, and incited by disloyal
priests, began to let their discontent and discouragement show itself. A
conspiracy was soon formed by these two classes leagued against the chief,
and a religious ceremony offered an occasion to rid themselves of the
despot.
The temple was completed, and it only remained to carry a god up there.
This divinity was nothing but an ohia-tree of enormous size, which had
been cut down in the forest above Ninole. At the appointed day the chief
priests and people set to work to draw the god to his residence. In order
to reach the height of Makanau there was a very steep pali to be ascended.
They had to carry up the god on the side toward Ninole, which was all the
better for the execution of their premeditated plan. Arrived at the base
of the precipice, all pulled at the rope; but the god, either by the
contrivance of the priests, or owing to the obstacles which the roughness
of the rock presented, ascended only with great difficulty. "The god
will never come to the top of the pali," said the Kahuna, "if the chief
continues to walk before him; the god should go first by right of power,
and the chief below, following, to push the lower end; otherwise we shall
never overcome his resistance." The high chief, Kohaokalani, complied with
the advice of the priests, placed himself beneath the god, and pushed
the end from below. Instantly priests and people let go the cord, and the
enormous god, rolling upon the chief, crushed him at once. The death of
Kohaokalani is attributed chiefly to the Kahuna.
THE HISTORY OF KOIHALA.
Koihala reigned at Ka'u. He was a very great chief--perhaps the entire
island recognized his authority. An abuse of power hastened his death.
He had commanded the people of Ka'u to bring him food upon the plain of
Punaluu, at the place known under the name of Puuonuhe. A party of men set
out with pounded kalo (_paiai_, differing from poi in not being diluted),
bound up in leaves of ki, called _la'i_ (a contraction for _lau-ki_). When
they arrived at the top of the plateau, which is very elevated, they found
that the chief had set out for Kaalikii, two leagues from Puuonuhe, and
that he had left orders for them to bring him the provisions in this
distant place. The bearers hastened toward Kaalikii. As soon as they
came there, orders were given for them to proceed to Waioahukini, half
a league's walk in the same direction, and beneath the great pali of
Malilele, on the shore. They went on. Arrived at Waioahukini, they were
ordered to go and join the chief at Kalae. There they had to climb again
the great pali, and two leagues more to go. When they reached the cape of
Kalae, the most southern point of the Hawaiian group, they were sent to
seek the chief at the village of Mahana; but he had left for Paihaa, a
village near Kaalualu, a little bay where the native vessels now anchor.
There, at last, they must find the tyrant. Exasperated, dying of hunger,
indignant at the cruel way in which the chief made sport of their pains,
the bearers sat down on the grass and took counsel. First they decided to
eat up the food, without leaving any thing for the chief who entertained
himself so strangely in fatiguing his people _(hooluhi howa_). They
moreover determined to carry to him, instead of kalo, bundles of stones.
The trial of Koihala is ended, his insupportable yoke is about to fall.
The determined conspirators, after satisfying their hunger, set off, and
soon arrived, with humble mien, in the presence of the chief, between
Paihau and Kaalualu. "Prince," said they, "here are your servants with
provisions." They humbly laid at his feet their bundles wrapped in la'i.
The wrappers were opened, and the scene changes. These people, apparently
half dead, became in an instant like furious lions, ready to devour their
prey. They armed themselves with stones, and showered them upon Koihala
and his company, who perished together.
Two other high chiefs of the island were exterminated by the same people.
One was killed at Kalae, beaten to death by the paddles of fishermen; the
other was stoned at Aukukano.
These revolts against the chiefs have given birth, to several proverbial
expressions, applied to the district of Ka'u. Thus it is called _Aina
makaha_--Land of torrents: a nation which removes and shatters every
thing like a torrent; _Ka'u makaha_--Ka'u the torrent; _Ka lua kupapau
o na'lii_--The sepulchre of the high chiefs; _Aina kipi_--The rebellious
land.
LEGEND OF KALEIKINI.
He was a chief of the olden time.
On the sea-shore, between Kaalikii and Pohue, the waves were ingulfed
beneath the land, and shot into the air by a natural aperture some fifty
feet from the shore. The water leaped to a prodigious height, disappeared
in the form of fine rain, and fell in vapor over a circuit of two leagues,
spreading sterility over the land to such an extent that neither kalo nor
sweet-potatoes could be grown there. The chief Kaleikini closed the mouth
of the gulf by means of enormous stones, which he made the natives roll
thither. It is plainly seen that this blow-hole has been closed by human
hands. There still remains a little opening through which the water hisses
to the height of thirty or forty feet.
Kaleikini closed at Kohala, on the shore of Nailima, a volcanic mouth like
that of Ka'u.
On the heights of Honokane, he silenced the thunders of a water-fall by
changing its course. At Maui Hikina, he secured the foundations of the
hill of Puuiki, which the great tides had rendered unstable. To do this,
he put into the caverns of Puuiki a huge rock, which stopped the tumults
of the sea, and put an end to the trembling of the hill.
For these feats of strength, and many others like them, Kaleikini was
called _Kupua_--Wizard.[D]
DOCUMENTS ON THE PROVINCE OF PUNA.
According to common tradition, the district of Puna was, until two
centuries ago, a magnificent country, possessing a sandy soil, it is true,
but one very favorable to vegetation, and with smooth and even roads. The
Hawaiians of our day hold a tradition from their ancestors, that their
great-grandparents beheld the advent of the volcanic floods in Puna. Here,
in brief, is the tradition as it is preserved by the natives:
LEGEND OF KELIIKUKU.
This high chief reigned in Puna. He journeyed to the island of Oahu. There
he a prophet of Kauai, named Kaneakalau, who asked him who he was. "I am,"
replied the chief, "Keliikuku of Puna." The prophet then asked him what
sort of a country he possessed. The chief said: "My country is charming;
every thing is found there in abundance; everywhere are sandy plains which
produce marvelously."--"Alas!" replied the prophet, "go, return to your
beautiful country; you will find it overthrown, abominable. Pele has made
of it a heap of ruins; the trees of the mountains have descended toward
the sea; the ohia and pandanus are on the shore. Your country is no longer
habitable." The chief made answer; "Prophet of evil, if what you now tell
me is true, you shall live; but if, when I return to my country, I prove
the falsity of your predictions, I will come back on purpose, and you
shall die by my hand."
Unable, in spite of his incredulity, to forget this terrible prophecy,
Keliikuku set sail for Hawaii. He reached Hamakua, and, landing, traveled,
home by short stages. From the heights of Hilo, at the village of
Makahanaloa, he beheld in the distance all his province overwhelmed in
chaotic ruin, a prey to fire and smoke. In despair, the unfortunate
chief hung himself on the very spot where he first discovered this sad
spectacle.
This tradition of the meeting of Keliikuku and Kaneakalau is still
sometimes chanted by the Kanakas. It was reduced to metre, and sung by the
ancients. It is passing away in our day, and in a few years no trace of it
will remain.
Whether the prediction was made or not, the fact is that Puna has been
ravaged by volcanic action.
LEGEND OF THE CHIEF HUA.
The high chief Hua, being in Maui, said to Uluhoomoe, his kahuna, that
he wished for some _uau_ from the mountains (a large bird peculiar to
the island of Hawaii). Uluhoomoe replied that there were no uau in the
mountains--that all the birds had gone to the sea. Hua, getting angry,
said to his priest: "If I send my men to the mountains, and they find any
uau there, I will put you to death."
After this menace, the chief ordered his servants to go to bird-hunting.
They obeyed; but instead of going to the mountains (_mauka_), they set
snares on the shores (_makai_), and captured many birds of different
kinds, among others the uau and ulili. Returning to the palace, they
assured the chief that they had hunted in the mountains.
Hua summoned his kahuna, and said to him: "There are the birds from the
mountains; you are to die." Uluhoomoe smelled of the birds, and replied:
"These birds do not come from the mountains; they have an odor of the
sea." Hua, supported by his attendants, persisted in saying, as he
believed truly, that they came from the mountains, and repeated his
sentence: "You are to die." Uluhoomoe responded: "I shall have a witness
in my favor if you let me open these birds in your presence." The chief
consented, and small fish were found in the crops of the birds. "Behold my
witness," said the kahuna, with a triumphant air; "these birds came from
the sea!"
Hua, in confusion, fell into a terrible rage, and massacred Uluhoomoe
on the spot. The gods avenged the death of the priest by sending a
distressing famine, first on the island of Maui, then on Hawaii. Hua,
thinking to baffle the divine vengeance, went to Hawaii to escape the
scourge; but a famine more terrible yet pursued him there. The chief
vainly traversed every quarter of the islands; he starved to death in the
temple of Makeanehu (Kohala). His bones, after death, dried and shrunk in
the rays of the burning sun, to which his dead body remained exposed.
This is the origin of the Hawaiian epigram always quoted in recalling the
famine which occurred in the reign of Hua, an epigram which no one has
understood, and which has never been written correctly:
_Koele na iwi o Hua i ka la_--The bones of Hua are dry in the sun.[E]
On the island of Hawaii are many places called by the name of this
celebrated chief. At Kailua, in the hamlet of Puaaaekolu, a beautiful
field, known by the name of Mooniohua, recalls one episode of Hua's
misery. Here it was that, one day, running after food which he could never
attain, he fell asleep, weary with fatigue and want. The word Mooniohua is
probably a corruption of _Moe ana o Hua_--The couch of Hua.
THE STORY AND SONG OF KAWELO.
Kawelo, of the island of Kauai, was a sort of giant; handsome, well made,
muscular, his prodigious strength defied animate and inanimate nature. In
his early youth, he felt a violent passion kindle in his bowels for the
Princess Kaakaukuhimalani, so that he sought in every way to touch her
heart. But the princess, too proud, and too high a lady, did not deign to
cast her eyes upon him.
Despairing of making her reciprocate his love, Kawelo poured into his
mother's bosom his grief and his tears. "Mother," said he, "how shall I
succeed in espousing this proud princess? What must I do? Give me your
counsel."
"My son," replied his mother, "a youth who wishes to please ought to make
himself ready at labor, and skillful in fishing; this is the only secret
of making a good match."
Kawelo too eagerly followed his mother's advice, and soon there was not
on the island a more indefatigable planter of kalo, nor a more expert
fisherman. But what succeeds with common women is not always the thing
to charm the daughters of kings. Kaakaukuhimalani could make nothing of a
husband who was a skillful farmer or a lucky fisherman; other talents are
required to touch the hearts of nobles, and hers remained indifferent,
insensible to the sighs of Kawelo. Nobles then, as to-day, regarded
pleasure above all things; and a good comedian was worth more to them than
an honest workman.
In his great perplexity, Kawelo consulted an old dancing-master, who told
him, "Dancing and poetry are the arts most esteemed and appreciated by
those in power. Come with me into the mountains. I will instruct you,
and if you turn out an accomplished dancer, you will have a sure means of
pleasing the insensible Kaakaukuhimalani." Kawelo listened to the advice
of the poet dancing-master, and withdrew into the mountains to pursue his
duties.
He soon became a very skillful dancer, and an excellent reciter of the
mele; so the fame of his skill was not slow in extending through all the
valleys of the island.
One day when Kaakaukuhimalani desired to collect all the accomplished
dancers of Kauai, her attendants spoke to her of Kawelo as a prodigy in
the art, who had not his equal from one end to the other of the group,
from Hawaii to Niihau. "Let some one bring me this marvel!" cried the
princess, pricked with a lively curiosity. The old and cunning preceptor
of the mountains directed his pupil not to present himself at the first
invitation, in order to make his presence more ardently desired. Kawelo,
understanding the value of this advice, did not obey until the third
request; he danced before the princess with a skill so extraordinary that
she fell in love with him, and married him. So Kawelo found himself raised
to princely rank.
The happy parvenu had three older brothers. They were: Kawelomakainoino,
with fierce look and evil eye; Kawelomakahuhu, with unpleasant countenance
and angry expression; Kawelomakaoluolu, with a lovable and gracious face.
All three were endued with the same athletic strength as their younger
brother.
Jealous of the good fortune which a princely marriage had brought their
brother, they resolved to humble him for their pleasure. Taking advantage
of the absence of Kaakaukuhimalani, they seized Kawelo and poured a
calabash of poi over his head. Poor Kawelo! The paste ran down from his
head over all his body, and covered him with a sticky plaster which almost
suffocated him. Overwhelmed with shame at having to undergo so humiliating
a punishment, Kawelo fancied that he could no longer live at Kauai; he
determined to exile himself, and live in Oahu.
He had already embarked in his canoe and prepared to set sail with some
faithful friends, when he saw his wife on the shore. Seated beneath the
shade of a kou (_Gordia sebestena_) Kaakaukuhimalani waved her hand to
Kawelo, crying:
Hoi mai Toi mai kaua! Mai hele aku oe!
Return, Return with me! Go not away from me!
Kawelo, touched with love for his wife, but immovably determined to leave
his island, chants his adieu, which forms the subject of the first canto.
PAHA AKAHI.
Aloha kou e, aloha kou;
Ke aloha mai kou ka hoahele
I ka makani, i ka apaapaa
Anuu o Ahulua.
Moe iho uei au
I ka po uliuli,
Po uliuli eleele.
Anapanapa, alohi mai ana ia'u
Ke aa o Akua Nunu.
Ine ee au e kui e lei
Ia kuana na aa kulikuli.
Papa o hee ia nei lae.
E u'alo, e u'alo
Ua alo mai nei ia'u
Ka launiu e o peahi e;
E hoi au e, e hoi aku.
CANTO I.
Thou lovest me still! Oh yes
Thou lovest me; thou,
The companion who has followed me.
In the tempest and in the icy
Winds of Ahulua. I, alas!
Sleep in dark night, in dark
And sombre night. My eyes
Have seen the gleaming flashes
Of the face of the god Nunu.
If I resist, I am smitten as by
The thunder-bolts of the deepening storm.
Go, daughter of Papa, away from this
Headland; cease thy lamentations;
Cease to beckon to me
With thy fan of cocoa-nut leaves,
I will come again. Depart thou!
On his arrival at Oahu, Kawelo was well received by the king of that
island, Kakuihewa, who loaded him with favors, and even accorded him great
privileges, to do honor to his wonderful strength. Kawelo did not forget
himself in the midst of the pleasures his strength procured him. He had
vengeful thoughts toward Kauai for the injury he had received from his
brothers. Retiring to a secluded place, and concealing himself as much as
possible from the notice of Kakuihewa, he secretly set about recruiting a
small army of devoted men for an expedition against the island of Kauai.
When he had collected enough warriors, he put to sea with a fleet of light
canoes. Hardly had he left the shore of Oahu, when the marine monster,
Apukohai, met him--an evil omen. He was but the precursor of another
monster, Uhumakaikai, who could raise great waves and capsize canoes. The
oldest sailors never fail to return to land at the first appearance of
Apukohai; all the pilots then advised Kawelo to go back with all speed.
But the chief, full of determination which nothing could shake, would not
change his course; he persisted in sailing toward his destination. This is
the subject of the second canto.
PAHA ELUA.
O ka'u hoa no ia,
E hoolulu ai maua i ka nahele,
I anehu au me he kua ua la
I oee au me he wai la.
I haalulu au me he kikili la.
I anei wau me he olai la.
I alapa au me he uila la.
I ahiki welawela au me he la la.
Melemele ka lau ohia,
Kupu a melemele,
I ka ua o na' pua eha,
Eha, o na ole eha eha,
O na kaula' ha i ke kua
No paihi, o ka paihi o main.
A Haku, Haku ai i ka manawa,
E Pueo e kania,
Manawai ka ua i ka lehua,
E hoi ka ua a ka maka o ka lehua;
La noho mai;
E hoi ka makani
A ka maka oka opua
La noho mai
E hoi ke kai a manawai
Nui ka oo, la noho mai.
E kuu e au i kuu wahi upena
Ma kahi lae:
E hei ka makani la'u.
E kuu e au i kuu wahi upena
Ma ka' lua lae,
E hei ka ino ia 'u
E kuu e au e kuu wahi upena
Ma ka 'kolu lae,
E hei ke kona ia 'u
E kuu e au e kuu wahi upena
Ma ka' ha lae,
E hei luna, e hei lalo,
E hei uka, e hei kai,
E hei Uhumakaikai.
I ke olo no Hina,
E hina kohia i ka aa,
Uhumakaikai.
CANTO II.
I had a friend with whom
I lived peacefully in the wilderness.
I swung like a cloud full of rain,
I murmured like a rivulet,
I shook like a thunder-bolt,
I overturned every thing like an earthquake,
I flashed as lightning,
I consumed like the sun.
Yellow was the ohia leaf;
Unfolding, it turned yellow
Under the rain of the four clouds,
In the month of the four _ole_,
When the fisherman, four ropes
Upon his back, enjoyed calm and fair weather.
Be Lord, be lord of the weather.
O Owl, whose cries give life!
Send down the rain upon the lehua;
Let the rain come again upon
The buds of the lehua. Rest, O Sun!
Let the wind fly
Before the face of the clouds.
Rest, O Sun!
Return, O Ocean of the mighty waters;
Great is thy tumult! Sun rest here.
Rest, O Sun! I will cast my net
At the first headland;
I shall catch the wind.
I will cast my net
At the second headland;
I shall catch a tempest.
I will cast forth my net
At the third headland;
I shall get the south wind.
I will cast forth my net
At the fourth headland;
I shall take above, below,
Land and sea--
I shall take Uhumakaikai.
At a single word of Hina
He shall fall; hard pressed
Shall be the neck of Uhumakaikai.
In the sixteenth verse of this second canto Kawelo invokes the owl, which
the Hawaiians regarded as a god. In extreme perils, if the owl made
its cries heard, it was a sign of safety, as the voice of this bird
was sacred; and more than once has it happened that men, destined to be
immolated on the altar of sacrifices as expiatory victims, have escaped
death merely because the owl (_Pueo_) was heard before the immolation. It
is easy to understand, after this, the invocation that Kawelo made to Pueo
when he found himself in combat with the terrible Uhumakaikai.
In the third canto Kawelo endeavors to destroy the monster. He commences
by saying that he, a chief (_ka lani_), does not disdain to work as a
simple fisherman. Then he pays a tribute to those who have woven the
net he is going to use to capture the monster of the sea. The olona
(_Boehmeria_), a shrub whose bark furnishes the Hawaiians with an
excellent fibre, was regarded as a sort of deity. Before spinning its
fibres, they made libations, and offered sacrifices of hogs, fowls, etc.
Kawelo refers to all this in his song.
PAHA EKOLU.
Huki kuu ka lani
Keaweawekaokai honua,
Kupu ola ua ulu ke opuu.
Ke kahi 'ke olona.
Kahoekukama kohi lani.
O kia ka piko o ke olona,
Ihi a ka ili no moki no lena,
Ahi kuni ka aala,
Kunia, haina, paia,
Holea, hoomoe ka Papa,
Ke kahi ke olona,
Ke kau ko opua,
Ke kea ka maawe
Kau hae ka ilo ka uha,
Ke kaakalawa ka upena:
O kuu aku i kai,
I kai a Papa; ua hina,
E hina, kohia i ka aa
O Uhumakaikai.
CANTO III.
I, a chief, willingly
Cast my net of olona;
The olona springs up, it grows,
It branches and is cut down.
The paddles of the chief beat the sea.
Stripped off is the bark of the alona,
Peeled is the bark of the yellow moki.
The fire exhales a sweet odor;
The sacrifice is ready.
The bark is peeled, the board[F] is made ready,
The olona is carded,
And laid on the board.
White is the cord,
The cord is twisted on the thigh,
Finished is the net!
Cast it into the sea,
Into the sea of Papa; let him fall,
Let him fall, that I may strangle the neck
Of Uhumakaikai.
After having exterminated Uhumakaikai, the conqueror sailed unmolested
toward Kauai, to defeat his other enemies. Kawelo had on this island two
friends, who were at the same time his relations; they were the chiefs
Akahakaloa and Aikanaka. When these chiefs learned that their cousin
intended to return to Kauai, they enrolled themselves in the ranks of his
enemies, and prepared to make a vigorous resistance to his landing. It was
on perceiving their armies upon the shore that Kawelo commenced his fourth
_paha_.
PAHA EHA.
O oe no ia, e ka lani Akahakaloa,
Kipeapea kau ko ohule ia
Kulamanu.
Konia kakahakaloa:
I kea a kau io k'awa
Kiipueaua.
Hahau kau kaua la.
E Aikanaka.
Kii ka pohuli
E hoopulapula
Na na na.
E naenaehele koa
Kona aina.
CANTO IV.
Ah! it is then you, chief Akahakaloa.
A roosting-place is thy bald head become
For the gathering birds.
Disobedient Akahakaloa;
Thou appearest as a warrior
Offshoot of Kiipueaua.
Defeat has come upon you in the
Day of battle, O Aikanaka!
You require transplanting--
Yes, a nursery of warriors--
You do, indeed.
Unfruitful of warriors
Is his country.
In the following song Kawelo exhorts his two old friends, Kalaumaki
and Kaamalama, who had followed him to Oahu, to fight bravely in the
approaching battle. The return of Kawelo was expected, and, foreseeing it,
the islanders had taken advantage of his absence to roll, or carry, to the
bank of the Wailua River immense quantities of stones. The relatives
and friends of Kawelo, who had remained at Kauai during his exile, had
themselves assisted in these warlike preparations, ignorant of their
object. It is on beholding the hostile reception prepared for him that
Kawelo chants the fifth song--a proclamation to his army.
PAHA ELIMA.
E Kaamalama,
E Kalaumaki,
E hooholoia ka pohaku;
E kaua ia iho na waa;
He la, kaikoonui nei;
Be auau nei ka moana;
He kai paha nei kahina 'lii[G]
Ua ku ka hau a ke aa;
Be ahu pohaku
I Wailua.
O ua one maikai nai
Ua malua, ua kahawai,
Ua piha i ka pohaku
A Kauai.
He hula paha ko uka
E lehulehu nei.
He pahea la, he koi,
He koi la, he kukini;
I hee au i ka nalu, a i aia,
Paa ia'u, a hele wale oukou:
E Kaamalama,
E Kalaumaki,
Ka aina o Kauai la
Ua hee.
CANTO V.
O Kaamalama!
O Kalaumaki!
Behold how they heap stones.
Let us draw our canoes ashore;
This is a day when the surf rolls high;
The ocean swells, the sea perchance
Portends another deluge.
Piles of pebbles are collected;
A heap of stones
Has the Wailua become.
This beautiful sandy country
Is now full of pits like the bed of a torrent;
And all Kauai
Has filled it with rocks.
A dance perchance brings hither
This great multitude;
Games or a race--
Games indeed.
If I cast myself upon the surf,
I am caught: you will go free.
O Kaamalama,
O Kalaumaki,
Fled is the land
Of Kauai!
The combat has commenced. The people of Kauai rain showers of stones upon
the landing troops. Kawelo, buried beneath a heap of stones, but still
alive, compares himself to a fish inclosed on all sides by nets, and then
to the victims offered in sacrifices. He then begins his invocations to
the gods.
PAHA AONO.
Puni ke ekule o kai
Ua kaa i ka papau
Ua komo i ka ulu o ka lawaia.
Naha ke aa o ka upena,
Ka hala i ka ulua.
Mohaikea.
Mau ia poai ia o ke kai uli.
Halukuluku ka pohaku
A Kauai me he ua la.
Kolokolo mai ana ka huihui
Ka maeele io'u lima,
Na lima o Paikanaka.
E Kane i ka pualena,
E Ku lani ehu e,
Kamakanaka!
Na'u na Kawelo,
Na ko lawaia.
CANTO VI.
The ekule of the sea is surrounded;
Stranded in a shallow,
It is within the grasp of the fisherman.
Broken are the meshes of the net
Within the hala and ulua.
A sacrifice is to be offered.
Surrounded are the fish of the blue sea.
The rocks fall in showers--
A storm of the stones of Kauai.
The coldness of death creeps over me.
Numb are my limbs,
The limbs of Paikanaka.
O Kane of the yellow flower;
O Ku, ruddy chief;
Kamakanaka!
It is I, Kawelo,
Thy fisherman.
Left for dead beneath the heap of stones, Kawelo, perceiving his danger,
continues his prayer.
PAHA EHIKU.
Ku ke Akua
I ka nana nuu.
O Lono ke akua
I kama Pele.
O Hiaka ke akua
I ka puukii.
O Haulili ke akua
I ka lehelehe
Aumeaume maua me Milu.
I'au, ia ia;
I'au, ia ia;
I'au iho no:
Pakele au, mai make ia ia.
CANTO VII.
O divine Ku,
Who beholdest the inner places.
O Lono, divine one,
Husband of Pele.
O holy Hiaka,
Dweller on the hills.
O Haulili, god
Ruling the lips!
We two have wrestled, Milu and I.
I had the upper hand;
I had the upper hand;
Then was I beneath:
I escaped, all but killed by him.
PAHA EWALU.
He opua la, he opua,
He opua hao walo keia,
Ke maalo nei e ko'u maka.
He mauli waa o Kaamalama.
Eia ke kualau
Hoko o ka pouli makani,
Oe nei la, e Kaamalama
Ke hele ino loa i ke ao.
Ua palala, ua poipu ka lani,
Ua wehe ke alaula o ke alawela,
He alanui ia o Kaamalama.
Oe mai no ma kai,
Owau iho no ma uka;
E hee o Aikanaka
I ke ahiahi.
E u ka ilo la i ko' waha;
Ai na koa i ka ala mihi.
Ai pohaku ko' akua.
Ai Kanaka ko maua akua.
Kuakea ke poo
I ka pehumu.
Nakeke ka aue i ka iliili.
Hai Kaamalama ia oe,
Hae' ke akua ulu ka niho.
Kanekapualena;
E Ku lani ehu e;
Kamakanaka,
Na'n na Kawelo
Na ko lawaia.
CANTO VIII.
Here is a cloud, there another.
This cloud bears destruction;
I have seen it pass before my eyes.
The obscure cloud is the canoe of Kaamalama.
This is the tempest,
Wind in the darkness;
Thou art the sun, Kaamalama,
Rising clouded in the dawn.
Dark and shaded are the heavens,
A warm day begins to dawn.
This is the path of Kaamalama.
Thou art from the sea,
I, indeed, beneath the land mountain.
Fly, O Aikanaka,
In the evening!
Maggots shall fatten in thy mouth;
The soldiers eat the fragrant mihi.
Thy god is a devourer of rocks;
Our god eats human flesh.
Bleached shall be thy head
In the earth-oven.
Thy broken jaw shall rattle on the beach pebbles.
Kaamalama shall sacrifice you,
The god's tooth shall grow on the sacrifice.
O Kane of the yellow flower;
0 Ku, bright chief;
Kamakanaka,
I am Kawelo,
Thy fisherman.
In the following canto Kawelo reproaches and menaces the chief Kaheleha,
who had deserted him for Aikanaka.
PAHA AIWA.
Kulolou ana ke poo o ka opua,
Ohumuhumu olelo una la'u:
Owau ka! ka ai o ka la na.
E Kaheleha o Puna
Kuu keiki hookama
Aloha ole!
O kaua hoi no hoa
Mai ka wa iki
I hoouka'i kakou
I Wailua;
Lawe ae hoi au, oleloia:
Haina ko'u make
Ia Kauai.
E pono kaakaa laau
Ka Kawelo.
Aole i iki i ka alo i ka pohaku.
Aloha wale oe e Kaheleha
O Puna.
A pa nei ko'poo i ka laau,
Ka laulaa o kuikaa.
Nanaia ka a ouli keokeo.
Papapau hoa aloha wale!
Aikanaka ma,
Aloha,
Aloha i ka hei wale
O na pokii.
CANTO IX.
The head of the cloud bears down
And whispers a word in my ear:
It is I! the food of a rainy day.
O Kahelaha, of Puna,
My adopted son,
Heartless fellow!
We two were comrades
In times of poverty;
In the day of battle
We were together at Wailua.
It might be said
My death was proclaimed
In Kauai.
Good to look upon
Is the strength of Kawelo.
He knows not how to throw stones.
Farewell to you, Kaheleha
Of Puna.
Thy head is split by my spear,
A spliced container!
The whitening form is to be seen.
O Aikanaka, loving only in name,
To you and yours,
Farewell!
Farewell to the ensnared,
The youngest born.
History declares, and this ninth canto confirms it, that Kaheleha of Puna,
Kawelo's friend from his youth, and one of his powerful companions in
arms at the descent on Wailua, believed that Kawelo was mortally wounded
beneath the shower of stones that had covered him, and this belief had
induced him to go over to the camp of Aikanaka. Verses fourteen to sixteen
are the words that Kawelo reproaches Kaheleha with saying before his
enemies. Kaheleha was slain by the hand of Kawelo at the same time with
Aikanaka.
PAHA UMI.
Me he ulu wale la
I ka moana,
O Kauai nui moku lehua;
Aina nui makekau,
Makamaka ole ia Kawelo.
Ua make o Maihuna 'lii,
Maleia ka makuahine;
Ua hooleiia i ka pali nui,
O laua ka! na manu
Kikaha i lelepaumu.
Aloha mai o'u kupuna:
O Au a me Aalohe,
O Aua, a Aaloa,
O Aapoko, o Aamahana.
O Aapoku o Aauopelaea:
Ua make ia Aikanaka.
CANTO X.
Like a forest rising abruptly
Out of the ocean,
Is Kauai, with flowery lehua;
Grand but ungrateful land,
Without friends or dear ones for Kawelo.
They have put to death Maihuna,
As also Malei, my mother.
They have cast from a great pali
Both of them! Were they birds
To fly thus in the air?
Love to you, oh my ancestors:
To you, Au and Aaloha,
To you, Aua and Aaloa,
Aapoko and Aamahana,
Aapoku and Aauopelaea,
Who died by the hand of Aikanaka.
Maihuna was the father of Kawelo, and Aikanaka was his first cousin. The
latter put to death all the family of Kawelo, after having employed them,
with the other inhabitants of Kauai, in collecting the stones which were
to repulse his cousin. It was before the great battle of Wailua that
Kawelo's family was put to death.
In the last canto the hero reproaches his friends for abandoning him in
the day of danger. At the sight of his old friends, whose bodies he
had pierced with many wounds in punishment, he cries: "Where are those
miserable favorites?" He had transfixed them with his lance--that lance
made, he says, for the day of battle.
He compares Aikanaka to a long lance because of his power; he reproaches
him with having betrayed himself, who was comparatively but a little
lance--a little bit of wood (_laau iki_); then he ironically remarks that
Kauai is too small an island for his conquered friends.
PAHA UMIKUMAMAKAHI.
Auhea iho nei la hoi
Ua mau wahi hulu alaala nei
Au i oo aku ai
I ka maka o ke keiki
A Maihuna?
He ihe no ka la kaua.
Pau hewa ka'u iu
Me kau ai,
Pau hewa ka hinihini ai
A ka moamahi.
Komo hewa ko'u waa
Ia lakou.
O lakou ka! ka haalulu
I ka pohaku i kaa nei,
Uina aku la i kahakaha ke one,
Kuu pilikia i Honuakaha.
Makemake i ka laau nui,
Haalele i kahi laau iki.
He iki kahi kihapai
Ka noho ka! i Kauai,
Iki i kalukalu a Puna.
Lilo Puna ia Kaheleha
Lilo Kona ia Kalaumaki,
Lilo Koolau ia Makuakeke,
Lilo Kohala ia Kaamalama,
Lilo Hanalei ia Kanewahineikialoha.
Mimihi ka hune o Kauluiki ma.
Aloha na pokii i ka hei wale.
CANTO XI.
Where just now are those chiefs,
Rebellious and weak,
Whom the point of the spear
Has transfixed--the spear of the
Son of Maihuna?
The spear made for the day of battle.
Stolen was my fish,
And the vegetable food--
Stolen the food raised by
The conqueror.
Mischievously did you
Sink my canoes.
O wretches! ye trembled
When the rocks rolled down,
At the noise they made on the sand.
When I was in danger at Honuakaha,
Ye who desire long lances
And despise those that are small,
Too small a place was Kauai,
Your dwelling;
Small was the kalukalu of Puna.
Puna shall belong to Kaheleeha,
Kona to Kalaumaki,
Koolau to Makuakeke,
Kohala to Kaamalama,
Hanalei to Kanewahineikialoha.
The poverty of Kauluiki and his friends grieves me.
Farewell, little ones caught in the net!
Here ends all that we were able to collect of this original and very
ancient poetry. Tradition relates that Kawelo became king of Kauai, and
reigned over that island to an advanced age.
When old age had lessened his force, and weakened his power, his subjects
seized him and cast him from the top of a tremendous precipice.
[Illustration: THE TARO PLANT.]
NOTES.
[Additions by the translator are inclosed in brackets.]
(1.) The name of Alapai is not found in the genealogy published by David
Malo. Nevertheless, we have positive information from our old man and
other distinguished natives that Alapai was supreme chief of Hawaii
immediately before Kalaniopuu.
(2.) Poi is a paste made of the tuberous root of the kalo (_Colocasia
antiquorum_, var. _esculenta_, Schott.). More than thirty varieties of
kalo are cultivated on the Hawaiian Islands, most of them requiring a
marshy soil, but a few will grow in the dry earth of the mountains. The
tubers of all the kinds are acrid, except one, which is so mild that it
may be eaten raw. After it is freed from acridity by baking, the kalo is
pounded until reduced to a kind of paste which is eaten cold, under the
name of poi. It is the principal food of the natives, with whom it takes
the place of bread. The kalo leaves are eaten like spinach (_luau_), and
the flowers (spathe and spadix), cooked in the leaves of the cordyline
(_C. terminalis_, H.B.K.), form a most delicious dish. It is not only as
poi that the tubers are eaten; they are sliced and fried like potatoes,
or baked whole upon hot stones. It is in this last form that I have eaten
them in my expeditions. A tuber which I carried in my pocket has often
been my only provision for the day.
In Algeria, a kind of kalo is cultivated under the name of _chou caraibe_,
whose tubers are larger, but less feculent. [In China, smaller and much
less delicately flavored tubers are common in the markets.]
(3.) The Hawaiians have always been epicures in the article of dog-meat.
The kind they raise for their feasts is small and easily fatted, like pig.
They are fed only on vegetables, especially kalo, to make their flesh more
tender and delicately flavored. Sometimes these dogs are suckled by the
women at the expense of their infants. The ones that have been thus fed at
a woman's breast are called _ilio poli_, and are most esteemed.
(4.) The Kahualii are still genuine parasites in the Hawaiian nation. They
are, to use the language of a Catholic missionary, the Cretans of whom
Paul speaks: "Evil beasts, slow bellies;" a race wholly in subjection to
their appetite, living from day to day, always reclining on the mat, or
else riding horses furiously; having no more serious occupation than to
drink, eat, sleep, dance, tell stories; giving themselves up, in a word,
to all pleasures, lawful and unlawful, without scruple or distinction of
persons. The Kahualii are very lazy. They are ashamed of honest labor,
thinking they would thus detract from their rank as chiefs. Islanders of
this caste are almost never seen in the service of Europeans. When their
patron, the high chief of the family, has made them feel the weight of
his displeasure, these inferior chiefs become notoriously miserable, worse
than the lowest of the Kanakas (generic name of the natives).
(5.) [Kamehameha IV. and V. were only noble through their mother,
Kinau, the wife of Kekuanaoa. They were adopted by Kamehameha III.
(Kauikeaouli).]
(6.) The old historian Namiki, an intelligent man, and well versed in the
secrets of Hawaiian antiquity, has left precious unedited documents, which
have fallen into our hands. His son, Kuikauai, a school-master at Kailua,
one of the true historico-sacerdotal race, has given us a genealogy of his
ancestors which ascends without break to Paao.
(7.) A tradition exists, mentioned by Jarves, that Paao landed at
Kohoukapu before the reign of Umi. According to the same author, Paao was
not a Kanaka, but a man of the Caucasian race. However this may be, every
one agrees that Paao was a foreigner, and a _naauao_ (scholar; literally,
a man with enlightened entrails, the Hawaiians placing the mind and
affections in the bowels).
(8.) Hina, according to tradition, brought into the world several sons,
who dug the palis of Hulaana. It may be asked whether _Hina_, which means
_a fall_, does not indicate a deluge (Kaiakahinalii of the Hawaiians),
or some sort of cataclysm, and whether the islanders have not personified
events.
(9.) It is, however, improbable that there were ever genuine sorcerers
among the Hawaiians, in the sense that word has among Christians. It may
have happened, and indeed it happens every day, that people die after
the machinations of the kahuna-anaana; but it is more reasonable to refer
these tragical deaths to the use of poison, than to attribute them to the
incantations of the sorcerers. It is moreover known that there are on the
group many poisons furnished by trees, by shrubs and sea-weeds; and the
kahuna-anaana understood perfectly these vegetable poisons. The many known
examples of their criminal use inclines us to believe that these kahuna
were rather poisoners than magicians. [Kalaipahoa, the poison-god, was
believed to have been carved out of a very poisonous wood, a few chips of
which would cause death when mixed with the food.]
(10.) During the summer of the year 1852, while I was exploring the island
of Kauai, I was near being the victim, under remarkable circumstances, of
an old kahuna named Lilihae. I was then residing under the humble roof
of the Mission at Moloaa. Lilihae had been baptized, and professed
Christianity, although it was well known that he clung to the worship of
his gods. He was introduced to me by the missionaries as a man who, by his
memory and profession, could add to my historical notes. I indeed obtained
from him most precious material, and in a moment of good nature the old
man even confided to me the secret of certain prayers that the priests
alone should know. I wrote down several formulae at his dictation, only
promising to divulge nothing before his death. The old man evidently
considered himself perjured, for after his revelations he came no more to
see me.
Some days had passed after our last interview, and I thought no more of
him. All at once I lost my appetite and fell sick. I could eat nothing
without experiencing a nausea, followed immediately by continual vomiting.
Two missionaries and my French servant, who partook of my food, exhibited
almost the same symptoms. Not suspecting the true cause of these ailments,
I attributed them to climate and the locality, and especially to the
pestilent winds which had brought an epidemic ophthalmia among
the natives. Things remained in this condition a fortnight without
improvement, when one morning at breakfast a marmalade of bananas was
served. I had hardly touched it to my lips when the nausea returned with
greater violence; I could eat nothing, and soon a salivation came on which
lasted several hours. In the mean while a poor Breton who had established
himself on the island some years ago, and had conformed to savage life,
came to see me. Bananas were scarce in the neighborhood, and he found that
I had a large supply of them, and I offered him a bunch. Fortin, it was
his name, on his way back to his cabin with my present, broke a banana
off the bunch and commenced to eat it. He felt under his tooth a hard
substance, which he caught in his hand. To his great surprise, it was a
sort of blue and white stone. He soon felt ill, and fortunately was able
to vomit what he had swallowed. Furious, and accusing me of a criminal
intention, he returned to my quarters to demand an explanation. I examined
the substance taken from the banana, and found that it was blue vitriol
and corrosive sublimate. The presence of such substances in a banana was
far from natural. I took other bunches of my supply, and found in several
bananas the same poisons, which had been skillfully introduced under the
skin. After some inquiries I found, from Fortin's own wife, that similar
drugs had been sometimes seen in the hands of Lilihae, who had bought them
of a druggist in Honolulu for the treatment of syphilis. The riddle was at
once completely solved. A few days passed, and Lilihae killed himself by
poison, convinced that all his attempts could not kill me. In his native
superstition, he was satisfied that the gods would not forgive his
indiscretion, since they withheld from him the power of taking my
life; and he could devise no simpler way to escape their anger, and the
vengeance of my own God, than to take himself the poison against which
I had rebelled. It was discovered that Lilihae had, in the first place,
tried native poisons on me, and finding them ineffective, he thought that
my foreign nature might require exotic poisons, which he had accordingly
served in the bananas destined for my table. He went, without my
knowledge, into the cook-house where my native servants kept my
provisions, and, under pretext of chatting with them, found means to
poison my food. The unfortunate kahuna died fully persuaded that I was
a more powerful sorcerer than he. It was to be feared that, when he
discovered his impotency, he would intrust the execution of his designs
to his fellows, as is common among sorcerers; but his suicide fortunately
removed this sword of Damocles which hung over my head.
(11.) At the present day, useless old men are no longer destroyed, nor are
the children, whom venereal diseases have rendered very rare, suffocated;
but they do eat lice, fleas, and grasshoppers. Flies inspire the same
disgust, and the women still give their breasts to dogs, pigs, and young
kids.
(12.) [This operation is certainly still practiced extensively, if not
universally; and the ancient form of _kakiomaka_, or slitting the prepuce,
has given way, generally, to the _okipoepoe_, or the complete removal of
the foreskin. The operation in a case that came under my notice on the
island of Oahu was performed with a bamboo, and attended with a feast and
rejoicings; the subject was about nine years old.]
(13.) The islanders, who admire and honor great eaters, have generally
stomachs of a prodigious capacity. Here is an example: To compensate my
servants, some seven in number, for the hardships I had made them endure
on Mauna Kea, I presented them with an ox that weighed five hundred pounds
uncooked. They killed him in the morning, and the next evening there was
not a morsel left. One will be less astonished at this when I say that
these ogres, when completely stuffed, promote vomitings by introducing
their fingers into their throats, and return again to the charge. [It is
equally true that the Kanakas will go for a long time without much food,
and it can not be said they are a race of gluttons.]
(14.) Awa (_Piper methysticum_) grows spontaneously in the mountains of
the Hawaiian group. The natives formerly cultivated it largely [and
since the removal of the strict prohibition on its culture fields are not
uncommon]. From the roots the natives prepare a very warm and slightly
narcotic intoxicating drink. It is made thus: women chew the roots, and
having well masticated them, spit them, well charged with saliva, into
a calabash used for the purpose. They add a small portion of water, and
press the juice from the chewed roots by squeezing them in their hands.
This done, the liquid is strained through cocoa-nut fibres to separate all
the woody particles it may contain, and the awa is in a drinkable state.
The quantity drunk by each person varies from a quarter to half a
litre (two to four gills). This liquor is taken just before supper, or
immediately after. The taste is very nauseous, disagreeable to the
last degree. One would suppose he was drinking thick dish-water of a
greenish-yellow color. But its effects are particularly pleasant. An
irresistible sleep seizes you, and lasts twelve, twenty-four hours, or
even more, according to the dose, and the temperament of the individual.
Delicious dreams charm this long torpor.
Often when the dose is too great or too small, sleep does not follow; but
in its place an intoxication, accompanied by fantastic ideas, and a strong
desire to skip about, although one can not for a moment balance himself
on his legs. I felt these last symptoms for sixty hours the first time I
tasted this Polynesian liquor. The effects of awa on the constitution of
habitual drinkers are disastrous. The body becomes emaciated, and the skin
is covered, as in leprosy, with large scales, which fall off, and leave
lasting white spots, which often become ulcers.
(15.) This usage still exists in certain families toward great personages
or people they wish especially to honor; but it is disappearing every
day. Formerly when a Kanaka received a visit from a friend of a remote
district, women were always comprised in the exchange of presents on that
occasion. To fail in this was regarded as an unpardonable insult. The
thing was so inwrought in their customs, that the wife of the visitor did
not wait the order of her husband to surrender her person to her host.
(16.) [Liliha was the wife of Boki, governor of Oahu under Kamehameha II.]
(17.) The most curious thing which attracts the traveler's eye in the
ruins of the temples built by Umi is the existence of a mosaic pavement,
in the form of a regular cross, which extends throughout the whole length
and breadth of the inclosure. This symbol is not found in monuments
anterior to this king, nor in those of later times. One can not help
seeing in this an evidence of the influence of the two shipwrecked white
men whose advent we have referred to. Can we not conclude, from the
existence of these Christian emblems, that about the time when the great
Umi filled the group with his name, the Spanish or Portuguese shipwrecked
persons endeavored to introduce the worship of Christ to these islands?
Kama of Waihopua (Ka'u) has given us, through Napi, an explanation of
the four compartments observed in the temple of Umi, represented by the
following figure; but if we accept this explanation of Kama, it is as
difficult to understand why this peculiarity is observed in the monuments
of Umi, and not in any other heiau; as, for example, Kupalaha, situated in
the territory of Makapala; Mokini, at Puuepa; Aiaikamahina, toward the sea
at Kukuipahu; Kuupapaulau, inland at Kukuipahu-mauka. The remains of these
four remarkable temples are found in the district of Kohala. Not the least
vestige of the crucial division is to be seen. The god Kaili [see the
first page of the Appendix], a word which means a theft, was not known
before the time of Umi. [The temple of Iliiliopae, at the mouth of
Mapulehu Valley, on Molokai, is divided as in the diagram, and the same is
true of many other heiau; and as it seems to have been the usual form, it
is not probable that the form of the cross had any thing to do with it.]
+----------------------------------+------------------+
| Place of the god Kaili. | Place of the god Ku. |
+----------------------------------+------------------+
| Place of the priest Lono. | Place of the chief Umi. |
+----------------------------------+------------------+
(18.) It does not seem improbable that a premature death removed the
foreigner who could have given Umi the idea of an art until then unknown;
and had the foreigner lived longer, these curious stones would have
served to build an edifice of which the native architects knew not the
proportions.
(19.) [The cities of Refuge were a remarkable feature of Hawaiian
antiquity. There were two of these _Pahonua_ on Hawaii. The one at
Honaunau, as measured by Rev. W. Ellis, was seven hundred and fifteen feet
in length and four hundred and four feet wide. Its walls were twelve feet
high and fifteen feet thick, formerly surmounted by huge images, which
stood four rods apart, on their whole circuit. Within this inclosure were
three large heiau, one of which was a solid truncated pyramid of stone one
hundred and twenty-six feet by sixty, and ten feet high. Several masses of
rock weighing several tons are found in the walls some six feet from the
ground. During war they were the refuge of all non-combatants. A white
flag was displayed at such times a short distance from the walls, and here
all refugees were safe from the pursuing conquerors. After a short period
they might return unmolested to their homes, the divine protection of
Keawe, the tutelary deity, still continuing with them.]
[Footnote A: The original _Récits d'un Vieux Sauvage pour servir a
l'histoire ancienne de Hawaii_ was read on the 15th of December, 1857, to
the Society of Agriculture, Commerce, Science, and Arts of the Department
of the Marne, of which M. Remy was a corresponding member, and published
at Chalons-sur-Marne in 1859. The translation is perfectly literal, and
the Mele of Kawelo has been translated directly from the Hawaiian, M.
Remy's translation being often too free. A portion of this work was
translated several years since by President W.D. Alexander, of Oahu
College, and published in _The Friend_, at Honolulu, by William T.
Brigham.]
[Footnote B: This was not true. Liholiho carried some to England, and the
rest were probably hidden in some of the many caverns on the shores of
Kealakeakua Bay.--_Trans_.]
[Footnote C: The Hawaiian Islands were discovered in 1555, by Juan
Gaetano, or Gaytan.--_Trans_.]
[Footnote D: Kaleikini may be considered the Hawaiian Hercules.]
[Footnote E: The more common form is, _Koele na iwi o Hua ma i ka la_--Dry
are the bones of Hua and his company in the sun.--_Trans_.]
[Footnote F: On which the bark is beaten to make kapa.]
[Footnote G: The Hawaiians have a tradition of an ancient deluge, called
Kaiakahinalii.]
THE END.