APPENDIX.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF A VENERABLE SAVAGE TO THE ANCIENT
HISTORY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.[[A]]
[I am indebted to Mr. William T. Brigham, of Boston, the translator of the following "Contributions of a venerable Savage," and the author of a valuable treatise on the volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands, as well as of several memoirs on the natural history of the Islands, for his kind permission to use this very curious fragment, with his additions, in my volume. The original I have not been able to lay my hands on. It gives a picturesque account of the Hawaiian people before they came into relations with foreigners. It should be remembered by the reader that Mr. Remy is a Frenchman, and that his relations with the Roman Catholic missionaries somewhat colored his views of the labors of the American missionaries on the Islands.
The "contributions" in this translation of Mr. Brigham were privately printed by him some years ago, and the following note by him explains their origin. It will be seen that Mr. Brigham translated the Mele, or chant of Kawelo, from the original.]
One evening, in the month of March, 1853, I landed at Hoopuloa, on the western shore of Hawaii. Among the many natives collected on the beach to bid me welcome and draw my canoe up over the sand, I noticed an old man of average size, remarkably developed chest, and whose hairs, apparently once flaxen, were hoary with age. The countenance of this old man, at once savage and attractive, was furrowed across the forehead with deep and regular wrinkles. His only garment was a shirt of striped calico.
A sort of veneration with which his countrymen seemed to me to regard him only increased the desire I at first felt to become acquainted with the old islander. I was soon told that his name was Kanuha, that he was already a lad when Alapai[[1]] died (about 1752), that he had known Kalaniopuu, Cook, and Kamehameha the Great. When I learned his name and extraordinary age, I turned toward Kanuha, extending my hand. This attention flattered him, and disposed him favorably toward me. So I resolved to take advantage of this lucky encounter to obtain from an eye-witness an insight into Hawaiian customs before the arrival of Europeans.
A hut of pandanus had been prepared for me upon the lava by the care of a missionary. I made the old man enter, and invited him to partake of my repast of poi,[[2]] cocoa-nut, raw fish, and roast dog. While eating the poi with full fingers, Kanuha assured me that he had lived under King Alapai, and had been his runner, as well as the courier of Kalaniopuu, his successor. So great had been Kanuha's strength in his youth that, at the command of his chiefs, he had in a single day accomplished the distance from Hoopuloa to Hilo, more than forty French leagues. When Cook died, in 1779, the little children of Kanuha's children had been born. When I spoke of Alapai to my old savage, he told me that it seemed to him a matter of yesterday; of Cook, it was a thing of to-day.
From these facts it may be believed that Kanuha was not less than one hundred and sixteen years old when I met him on this occasion. This remarkable example of longevity was by no means unique at the Hawaiian Islands a few years since. Father Maréchal knew at Ka'u, in 1844, an aged woman who remembered perfectly having seen Alapai. I had occasion to converse at Kauai with an islander who was already a grandfather when he saw Captain Cook die. I sketched, at this very Hoopuloa, the portrait of an old woman, still vigorous, Meawahine, who told any who would hear her that her breasts were completely developed when her chief gave her as wife to the celebrated English navigator.
Old Kanuha was the senior of all these centenaries. I took advantage of his willing disposition to draw from him the historical treasures with which his memory was stored. Here, in my own order, is what he told me during a night of conversation, interrupted only by the Hawaiian dances (hulahula), and by some pipes of tobacco smoked in turn, in the custom of the country.
OF GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY WITH THE ANCIENT HAWAIIANS.
The soil was the property of the king, who reserved one part of it for himself, assigning another to the nobles, and left the rest to the first occupant. Property, based on a possession more or less ancient, was transmitted by heritage; but the king could always dispose, according to his whims, of property of chiefs and subjects, and the chiefs had the same privilege over the people.
Taxes were not assessed on any basis. The king levied them whenever it seemed good to him, and almost always in an arbitrary way. The chiefs also, and the priests, received a tribute from the people. The tax was always in kind, and consisted of:
Kalo, raw and made into poi;
Potatoes (Convolvulus batatas, L.) many varieties;
Bananas (maia) of different kinds;
Cocoa-nuts (called niu by the natives);
Dogs (destined for food);[[3]]
Hogs;
Fowls;
Fish, crabs, cuttle-fish, shell-fish;
Kukui nuts (Aleurites moluccana) for making relishes, and for
illumination;
Edible sea-weed (limu);
Edible ferns (several species, among others the hapuu);
Awa (Piper methysticum, Forst.);
Ki roots (Cordyline ti, Schott.), a very saccharine vegetable;
Feathers of the Oo (Drepanis pacifica), and of the Iiwi (Drepanis
coccinea): these birds were taken with the glue of the ulu or bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa);
Fabrics of beaten bark (kapa) and fibre of the olona (Boehmeria),
of wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera), of hau (Hilasens tiliasens),
etc.;
Mats of Pandanus and of Scirpus;
Pili (grass to thatch houses with);
Canoes (waa);
Wood for building;
Calabashes (serving for food vessels, and to hold water);
Wooden dishes;
Arms and instruments of war, etc., etc.
A labor tax was also enforced, and it was perhaps the most onerous, because it returned almost regularly every moon for a certain number of days. The work was principally cultivating the loi, or fields of kalo, which belonged to the king or chiefs.
The Hawaiian people were divided into three very distinct classes; these were:
1. The nobility (Alii), comprising the king and the chiefs of whatever degree;
2. The clergy (Kahuna), comprising the priests, doctors, prophets, and sorcerers;
3. Citizens (Makaainana), comprising laborers, farmers, proletaries, and slaves.
THE NOBILITY. NA'LII.
The chiefs or nobles were of several orders. The highest chief bore the title of Moi, which may best be rendered by the word majesty. In a remote period of Hawaiian history, this title was synonymous with Ka lani, heaven. This expression occurs frequently in ancient poems: Auhea oe, e ka lani? Eia ae. This mode of address is very poetic, and quite pleasing to the chiefs.
The Moi was still called kapu and aliinui. To tread on his shadow was a crime punished with death: He make ke ee malu. The chief next the throne took the title of Wohi. He who ranked next, that of Mahana. These titles could belong at the same time to several chiefs of the blood-royal, who were called Alii kapu, Alii wohi. The ordinary nobility furnished the king's aids-de-camp, called Hulumanu (plumed officers).
By the side of the nobility were the Kahu alii, literally guardians of the chiefs, of noble origin by the younger branch, but who dared not claim the title of chief in the presence of their elders. The Kahu alii of the male sex might be considered born chamberlains; of the female, ladies of the bed-chamber.
There were five kinds of Kahu alii, which are: Iwikuamoo, Ipukuha, Paakahili, Kiaipoo, Aipuupuu.
These titles constituted as many hereditary charges reserved for the lesser nobility. The functions of the Iwikuamoo (backbone of the chief) were to rub his lord on the back, when stretched on his mat. The Ipukuha had charge of the royal spittoons. The Paakahili carried a very long plume (kahili), which he waved, around the royal person to drive away the flies and gnats. The duties of this officer were continual and most fatiguing, for he must constantly remain near the person of his master, armed with his kahili, whether the king was seated or reclining, eating or sleeping. The Kiaipoo's special charge was to watch at the side of his august chief during sleep. The Aipuupuu was the chief cook, and, besides, performed functions similar to those of steward or purveyor.
There were, besides, other inferior chiefs, as the Puuku, attendants of the house or palace; Malama ukana, charged with the care of provisions in traveling; Aialo, who had the privilege of eating in the presence of the chief; and, at the present day, the Muki baka, who had the honor of lighting the king's pipe and carrying his tobacco-pouch.
Although the people considered these last four orders as belonging to the nobility, it seems that they were of lower rank than the citizens favored by the chiefs.
Finally, the king had always in his service the Hula, who, like the buffoon or jester of the French kings, must amuse his majesty by mimicry or dancing. The Kahu alii, or Kaukaualii, as they are now styled, are attendants or followers of the high chiefs by right of birth. They accompany their masters everywhere, almost in the same manner that a governess follows her pupil.[[4]] From the throne down nobility was hereditary. The right of primogeniture was recognized as natural law. Nobility transmitted through the mother was considered far superior to that on the father's side only, even if he were the highest of chiefs. This usage was founded on the following proverb: Maopopo ka makuahine, aole maopopo ka makuakane (It is always evident who the mother is, but one is never sure about the father). Agreeably to this principle, the high chiefs, when they could not find wives of a sufficiently illustrious origin, might espouse their sisters and their nieces, or, in default of either of these, their own mother. Nevertheless, history furnishes us several examples of kings who were not noble on the maternal side.[[5]]
THE CLERGY. NA KAHUNA.
The priests formed three orders:
1. The Kahuna proper.
2. The Kaula, or prophets.
3. The Kilo, diviners or magicians.
The priesthood, properly so called (Kahuna maoli, Kahuna pule), was hereditary. The priests received their titles from their fathers, and transmitted them to their offspring, male and female, for the Hawaiians had priestesses as well. The priest was the peer of the nobility; he had a portion of land in all the estates of the chiefs, and sometimes acquired such power as to be formidable to the alii. In religious ceremonies, the priests were clothed with absolute power, and selected the victims for the sacrifices. This privilege gave them an immense and dangerous influence in private life, whence the Hawaiian proverb: The priest's man is inviolable, the chief's man is the prey of death, Aole e make ko ke kahuna kanaka, o ko ke 'lii kanaka ke make.
The kahuna, being clothed with supreme power in the exercise of his functions, alone could designate the victim suitable to appease the anger of the gods. The people feared him much for this prerogative, which gave the power of life and death over all, and the result was that the priest had constantly at his service an innumerable crowd of men and women wholly devoted to him. It was not proper for him to choose victims from a people who paid him every imaginable attention. But among the servants of the alii, if there were any who had offended the priest or his partisans, nothing more was necessary to condemn to death such or such an attendant of even the highest chief. From this it may be seen how dangerous it was not to enjoy the good graces of the kahuna, who, by his numerous clan, might revolutionize the whole country. History affords us an example in the Kahuna Kaleihokuu of Laupahoehoe, who had in his service so considerable a body of retainers that he was able in a day, by a single act of his will, to put to death the great chief Hakau, of Waipio, and substitute in his place Umi, the bastard son (poolua) of King Liloa, who had, however, been adopted by Kaleihokuu. Another example of this remarkable power is seen in the Kahuna of Ka'u, who massacred the high chief Kohookalani, in the neighborhood of Ninole, tumbling down upon him a huge tree from the top of the pali (precipice) of Hilea.
The Kahuna, especially those of the race of Paao, were the natural depositaries of history, and took the revered title of Mo'olelo, or historians. Some individuals of this stock still exist, and they are all esteemed by the natives, and regarded as the chiefs of the historical and priestly caste. The sacerdotal order had its origin in Paao, whose descendants have always been regarded as the Kahuna maoli.[[6]] Paao came from a distant land called Kahiki. According to several chiefs, his genealogy must be more correct than that of the kings. Common tradition declares that Paao came from foreign countries, landing on the north-west shore of Hawaii (Kohala), at Puuepa, in the place where, to this day, are seen the ruins of the Heiau (temple) of Mokini, the most ancient of all the temples, and which he is said to have built. The advent of Paao and his erection of this heiau are so ancient, according to the old men, that Night helped the priest raise the temple: Na ka po i kukulu ae la Mokini, a na Paao nae. These sayings, in the native tongue, indicate the high antiquity of Paao.[[7]]
To build the temple of Mokini, which also served as a city of refuge, Paao had stones brought from all sides, even from Pololu, a village situated four or five leagues from Mokini or Puuepa. The Kanakas formed a chain the whole length of the route, and passed the stones from one to another—an easy thing in those times—from the immense population of the neighborhood.
Paao has always been considered as the first of the Kahuna. For this reason his descendants, independently of the fact that they are regarded as Mookahuna, that is, of the priesthood, are more like nobles in the eye of the people, and are respected by the chiefs themselves. There are, in the neighborhood of Mokini, stones which are considered petrifactions of the canoe, paddles, and fish-hooks of Paao.
At Pololu, toward the mountain, are found fields of a very beautiful verdure. They are called the pastures, or grass-plots, of Paao (Na mauu a Paao). The old priest cultivated these fields himself, where no one since his time has dared to use spade or mattock. If an islander was impious enough to cultivate the meadow of Paao, the people believe that a terrible punishment would be the inevitable consequence of that profanation. Disastrous rains, furious torrents, would surely ravage the neighboring country.
Some Hawaiians pretend that there exists another sacerdotal race besides that of Paao, more ancient even than that, and whose priests belonged at the same time to a race of chiefs. It is the family of Maui, probably of Maui-hope, the last of the seven children of Hina,[[8]] the same who captured the sea-monster Piimoe. The origin of this race, to which Naihe of Kohala pretends to belong, is fabulous. Since the reign of Kamehameha, the priests of the order of Maui have lost favor.
The second class of the clergy was composed of the prophets (Kaula), an inoffensive and very respectable people, who gave vent to their inspiration from time to time in unexpected and uncalled-for prophesies. The third order of the clergy is that of Kilo, diviners or magicians. With these may be classed the Kilokilo, the Kahunalapaau and Kahunaanaana, a sort of doctors regarded as sorcerers, to whom was attributed the power of putting to death by sorcery and witchcraft.[[9]] The Kahunaanaana and the Kahunalapaau have never been considered as belonging to the high caste of Kahuna maoli.
The Kahunaanaana, or sorcerers, inherited their functions. They were thoroughly detested, and the people feared them, and do to this day. When the chiefs were dissatisfied with a sorcerer, they had his head cut off with a stone axe (koipohaku), or cast him from the top of a pali.
The doctors were of two kinds. The first, the Kahunalapaau proper, comprised all who used plants in the treatment of disease. Just as the sorcerers understood poisonous vegetables, so the doctors knew the simples which furnished remedies to work cures. The second kind comprised the spiritual doctors, who had various names, and who seem to have been intermediate between priests and magicians, sharing at once in the attributes of both. They were:
Kahuna makani, doctors of winds;
Kahuna hoonohonoho akua, who caused the gods to descend on the sick;
Kahuna aumakua, doctors of diseases of the old;
Kahuna Pele, doctors or priests of Pele, goddess of volcanoes.
All the doctors of the second kind are still found in the islands,[[10]] where they have remained idolaters, although they have been for the most part baptized. There is hardly a Kanaka who has not had recourse to them in his complaints, preferring their cures and their remedies to those of the foreign physicians. Laws have been enacted to prohibit these charlatans from exercising their art; but under the rule of Kamehameha III., who protected them, these laws have not been enforced.
THE CITIZENS. NA MAKAAINANA.
The class of Makaainana comprises all the inhabitants not included in the two preceding classes; that is to say, the bulk of the people.
There were two degrees of this cast: the kanaka wale, freemen, private citizens, and the kauwa or servants. The Hawaiian saying, O luna, o lalo, kai, o uka a o ka hao pae, ko ke 'lii (All above, all below, the sea, the land, and iron cast upon the shore, all belong to the king), exactly defines the third class of the nation, called makaainana, the class that possesses nothing, and has no right save that of sustenance.
The Hawaiians honored canoe-builders and great fishers as privileged citizens. The chiefs themselves granted them some consideration; but it must be confessed that the honorable position they occupied in society was due to their skill in their calling rather than to any thing else. These builders were generally deeply in debt. They ate in advance the price of their labor, which usually consisted of hogs and fowls, and they died of starvation before the leaves ceased to sprout on the tree their adze had transformed into a canoe.
The kauwa, servants, must not be confounded with the kauwa maoli, actual slaves. A high chief, even a wohi, would call himself without dishonor ke kauwa a ke 'lii nui, the servant of the king. At present, their excellencies the ministers and the nobles do not hesitate to sign their names under the formula kou kauwa, your servant; but it is none the less true, for all that, that formerly there were among the common people a class, few in number, of slaves, or serfs, greatly despised by the Hawaiians, and still to our days so lowered in public opinion that a simple peasant refuses to associate with the descendants of this caste.
They point the finger at people of kauwa extraction, lampoon them, and touch the soles of their feet when they speak of them, to mark the lowness of their origin. If they were independent, and even rich, an ordinary islander would deem himself disgraced to marry his daughter to one of these pariahs.
The slaves were not permitted to cross the threshold of the chiefs' palace. They could do no more than crawl on hands and knees to the door. In spite of the many changes infused into Hawaiian institutions, the kauwa families remain branded with a stigma, in the opinion of the natives, and the laws, which accord them the same rights as other citizens, can not reinstate them.
It seems certain that the origin of slavery among the Hawaiians must be sought in conquests. The vanquished, who were made prisoners, became slaves, and their posterity inherited their condition.
From time immemorial the islanders have clothed themselves, the men with the malo, the women with the pau. The malo is bound around the loins, after having passed between the legs, to cover the pudenda. The pau is a short skirt, made of bark cloth or of the ki leaves, which reaches from the waist half down to the knees. The old popular songs show clearly that this costume has always been worn by the natives. To go naked was regarded as a sign of madness, or as a mark of divine birth. Sometimes the kings were attended by a man sprung from the gods, and this happy mortal alone had the right to follow, puris naturalibus, his august master. The people said, in speaking of him, He akua ia, he is a god.
Kapa, a kind of large sheet in which the chiefs dressed themselves, was made of the soaked and beaten bark of several shrubs, such as the wauke, olona, hau, oloa. Fine varieties were even made of the kukui (Aleurites moluccana). In ancient times it was an offense punishable with death for a common man to wear a double kapa or malo.
The Hawaiians have never worn shoes. In certain districts where lava is very abundant, they make sandals (kamaa) with the leaves of the ki and pandanus. They always go bare-headed, except in battle, where they like to exhibit themselves adorned with a sort of helmet made of twigs and feathers.
The women never wear any thing but flowers on their heads. Tattooing was known, but less practiced than at the Marquesas, and much more rudely.
The Hawaiians are not cannibals. They have been upbraided in Europe as eaters of human flesh, but such is not the case. They have never killed a man for food. It is true that in sacrifices they eat certain parts of the victim, but there it was a religious rite, not an act of cannibalism. So, also, when they ate the flesh of their dearest chiefs, it was to do honor to their memory by a mark of love: they never eat the flesh of bad chiefs.
The Hawaiians do not deny that the entrails of Captain Cook were eaten; but they insist that it was done by children, who mistook them for the viscera of a hog, an error easily explained when it is known that the body had been opened and stripped of as much flesh as possible, to be burned to ashes, as was due the body of a god. The officers of the distinguished navigator demanded his bones, but as they were destroyed,[[B]] those of a Kanaka were surrendered in their stead, receiving on board the ships of the expedition the honors intended for the unfortunate commander.
The condition of the women among the ancient Hawaiians was like that of servants well treated by their masters. The chiefesses alone enjoyed equal rights with men. It is a convincing proof that women were regarded as inferior to men, that they could in no case eat with their husbands, and that the kapu was often put upon their eating the most delicious food. Thus bananas were prohibited on pain of death. Their principal occupations consisted in making kapa, the malo and pau, and in preparing food.
Marriage was performed by cohabitation with the consent of the relations. Polygamy was only practiced by the chiefs. Children were very independent, and although their parents respected them so much as seldom to dare lay hands on them, they were quite ready to part with them to oblige a friend who evinced a desire for them. Often an infant was promised before birth. This singular custom still exists, but is much less frequent.
They had little regard for old men who had become useless, and even killed them to get them out of the way. It was allowable to suffocate infants to avoid the trouble of bringing them up. Women bestowed their affection upon dogs and pigs, and suckled them equally with their children. Fleas, lice, and grasshoppers were eaten, but flies inspired an unconquerable horror; if one fell into a calabash of poi, the whole was thrown away.[[11]]
The Hawaiians practiced a sort of circumcision, differing from that of the Jews, but having the same sanitary object. This operation (mahele) consisted in slitting the prepuce by means of a bamboo. The mahele has fallen into disuse, but is still practiced in some places, unbeknown to the missionaries, upon children eight or ten years old. A sort of priest (kahuna) performs the operation.[[12]]
The Hawaiian women are always delivered without pain, except in very exceptional cases. The first time they had occasion to witness, in the persons of the missionaries' wives, the painful childbirths of the white race, they could not restrain their bursts of laughter, supposing it to be mere custom, and not pain, that could thus draw cries from the wives of the Haole (foreigners).
The ancient Hawaiians cared for their dead. They wrapped them in kapa with fragrant herbs, such as the flowers of the sugar-cane, which had the property of embalming them. They buried in their houses, or carried their bodies to grottoes dug in the solid rock. More frequently they were deposited in natural caves, a kind of catacombs, where the corpses were preserved without putrefaction, drying like mummies. It was a sacred duty to furnish food to the dead for several weeks. Sometimes the remains were thrown into the boiling lava of the volcanoes, and this mode of sepulture was regarded as homage paid to the goddess Pele, who fed principally on human flesh.
THE STORY OF UMI; HIS BIRTH AND YOUTH.
Liloa reigned over the island of Hawaii. In the course of one of his journeys through the province of Hamakua, he met a woman of the people named Akahikameainoa, who pleased him, and whose favors he claimed as supreme chief.
Akahikameainoa was then in her menses, so that the malo of the king was soiled with the discharge. Liloa said to the woman: "If you bring into the world a man-child, it shall belong to me; if a girl, it shall be yours. I leave with you as tokens of my sovereign will my niho palaoa (whale's tooth), and my lei. Conceal these things from all eyes; they will one day be a souvenir of our relation, a proof of the paternity of the child who shall be born from our loves."
That would, indeed, be an unexceptionable testimony, for by the law of kapu a wife could not, under pain of death, approach her husband while in her courses. The soiled malo and the time of the child's birth would give certain indications.
Akahikameainoa carefully concealed the royal tokens of her adultery, saying nothing to any one, not even to her husband. The spot where she hid them is known to this day as Huna na niho, the hiding place of the teeth.
Liloa then held his court at Waipio in all the splendor of the time. Besides a considerable troop of servants, he had in attendance priests (kahuna), prophets (kaula), nobles, and his only son, Hakau. The palace was made merry night and day by the licentious motions of the dancers, and by the music of the resounding calabashes.
Nine moons after her meeting with the king, Akahikameainoa gave birth to a man-child, which she called Umi, and brought up under the roof of her husband, who believed himself the father. The child developed rapidly, became strong, and acquired a royal stature. In his social games, in the sports of youth, he always bore away the palm. He was, moreover, a great eater: Hao wale i ka ai a me ka ia.[[13]] In a word, Umi was a perfect Kanaka, and a skillful fighter, who made his comrades suffer for it. At this time he conceived a strong affection for two peasants of the neighborhood, Koi of Kukui-haole and Omakamau, who became his aikane.
One day his supposed father, angry at his conduct, was about to punish him: "Strike him not," exclaimed Akahikameainoa, "he is your lord and chief! Do not imagine that he is the son of us two: he is the child of Liloa, your king." Umi was then about fifteen or sixteen years old.
His mother, after this declaration, startling as a thunder-bolt, went and uncovered the tokens Liloa had left as proof, and placed them before her husband, who was motionless with fear at the thought of the high treason he had been on the point of committing.
In the mean time, Liloa had grown old, and Akahikameainoa, deeming the moment had arrived, invested Umi with the royal malo, the niho palaoa, and the lei, emblems of power, which high chiefs alone had the right to wear. "Go," said she to him then; "go, my son, present yourself at Waipio to King Liloa, your father. Tell him you are his child, and show him, in proof of your words, these tokens which he left with me."
Umi, proud enough of the revelation of his mother, at once departs, accompanied by Koi and Omakamau.
The palace of Liloa was surrounded by guards, priests, diviners, and sorcerers. The kapu extended to the edge of the outer inclosure, and no one might pass on penalty of death. Umi advanced boldly and crossed the threshold. Exclamations and cries of death sounded in his ears from all sides. Without troubling himself, he passed on and entered the end door. Liloa was asleep, wrapped in his royal mantle of red and yellow feathers. Umi stooped, and, without ceremony, uncovered his head. Liloa, awakening, said, "Owai la keia?—Who is this?" "It is I," replied the youth; "it is I, Umi, your son." So saying, he displays his malo at the king's feet. At this token Liloa, while rubbing his eyes, recognized Umi, and had him proclaimed his son. Behold, then, Umi admitted to the rank of high chief, if not the equal of Hakau, his eldest son, at least his prime minister by birth—his lieutenant.
The two brothers lived at court on an equal footing. They took part in the same amusements, wrestling, drawing the bow, plunged with eagerness into all the noble exercises of the country and the time. The people of Umi's suite matched themselves with those of Hakau in the combat with the long lance (pololu), and the party of Umi was always victorious, compelling Hakau to retire in confusion.
Liloa, perceiving that his last hour was drawing near, called his two children to him, and said to them, "You, Hakau, will be chief, and you, Umi, will be his man." This last expression is equivalent to viceroy or prime minister. The two brothers bowed, in token of assent, and the old chief continued: "Do you, Hakau, respect your man; and do you, Umi, respect your sovereign. If you, Hakau, have no consideration for your man, if you quarrel with him, I am not disturbed at the results of your conduct. In the same way, Umi, unless you render your sovereign the homage you owe him, if you rebel against him, it will be for you two to decide your lot." Soon after, having made known his last wishes, Liloa gave up the ghost.
Umi, who was of a proud and independent character, foreseeing, no doubt, even then, the wicked conduct of his brother, would not submit to him, and refused to appear in his presence. Giving up his share of power, he departed from Waipio with his two aikane, and retired into the mountains, where he gave himself up to bird-catching.
Hakau then reigned alone, and ruled according to his fancy. Abusing his authority, he made himself feared, but, at the same time, detested by his people. He brought upon himself the censure of the chief attendants of his father, whom he provoked by all sorts of humiliations and insults. If he saw any one of either sex remarkable for good looks, he had them tattooed in a frightful manner for his good pleasure.
Meanwhile Umi, who had a taste for savage life, had taken leave of his favorites, and wandered alone in the midst of the forests and mountains. One day, when he descended to the shore at Laupahoehoe, in the district of Hilo, he fell in love with a woman of the people, and made her his companion without arousing a suspicion of his high birth. Devoting himself, then, to field labor, he was seen sometimes cultivating the ground, and sometimes going down to the sea to fish.
By generous offerings, he knew how to skillfully flatter an old man named Kaleihokuu, an influential priest, who at last adopted him as one of his children. Umi always kept at the head of the farmers and fishermen, and a considerable number, recognizing his physical superiority, voluntarily enrolled themselves under his orders and those of his foster-father; he was only known by the name of Hanai (foster-child) of Kaleihokuu. Meditating probably, even then, a way of acquiring supreme power, Umi exerted himself to gain the sympathies of the people, in whose labors he took an incredible part. There are seen to this day, above Laupahoehoe, the fields which Umi cultivated, and near the sea can be seen the heiau, or temple, in which Kaleihokuu offered sacrifices to the gods.
Hakau continued to reign, always without showing the least respect to the old officers of Liloa, his father. Two old men, high chiefs by birth, and highly honored under the preceding reign, had persisted in residing near the palace at Waipio, in spite of the insults to which the nearness of the court exposed them. One day when they were hungry, after a long scarcity of food, they said to one of their attendants: "Go to the palace of Hakau. Tell his Majesty that the two old chiefs are hungry, and demand of him, in our name, food, fish, and awa."[[14]] The attendant went at once to the king to fulfill his mission. Hakau replied with foul and insulting terms: "Go tell the two old men that they shall have neither food, fish, nor awa!" The two chiefs, on hearing this cruel reply, commenced to deplore their lot, and regret more bitterly than ever the time they lived under Liloa. Then rousing themselves, they said to their attendant, "We have heard of the foster-son of Kaleihokuu, of his activity, courage, and generosity. Lose no time; go directly to Laupahoehoe, and tell Kaleihokuu that two chiefs desire to see his adopted son." The servant went with all speed to Laupahoehoe, where he delivered his master's message. Kaleihokuu told, him, "Return to your masters, tell them that they will be welcome, if they will come to-morrow to see my foster-son." The old men, at this news, hastened to depart. Arrived at the abode of Kaleihokuu, they found no one, except a man asleep on the mat. They entered, nevertheless, and sat down, leaning their backs against the walls of the pandanus house. "At last," said they, sighing, "our bones are going to revive, akahi a ola na iwi." Then, addressing the slumbering man, "Are you, then, alone here?"—"Yes," replied the young man; "Kaleihokuu is in the fields."—"We are," added they, "the two old men of Waipio, come expressly to see the priest's foster-son."
The young man rises without saying a word, prepares an abundant repast—an entire hog, fish, and awa. The two old men admired the activity and skill of the youth, and said to themselves, "At all events, if the foster-son of Kaleihokuu were as vigorous a stripling as this, we should renew our life!" The young unknown served them food, and made them drunk with awa, and, according to the usage of those times,[[15]] gave up to them the women of Kaleihokuu, that his hospitality might be complete.
The next morning the old men saw Kaleihokuu, and said to him, "Here we have come to become acquainted with your foster-son. May it please the gods that he be like that fine young fellow who entertained us at your house! Our bones would revive."—"Ah, indeed," replied Kaleihokuu; "he who has so well received you is my keiki hanai. I left him at the house on purpose to perform for you the duties of hospitality." The two old men, rejoiced at what they learned, told the priest and his adopted son the ill treatment they had received at the court of Hakau. No more was needed to kindle a war at once.
At the head of a considerable troop of people attached to the service of Kaleihokuu, Umi went by forced marches to Waipio, and the next day Hakau had ceased to reign. He had been slain by the very hand of the vigorous foster-son of the priest.
THE REIGN OF UMI.
Umi ruled in place of Hakau. His two aikane, Koi and Omakamau, had joined him, and resided at his court. Piimaiwaa of Hilo was his most valiant warrior. Ia ia ka mama kakaua—to him belonged the bâton of war, a figurative expression denoting the general-in-chief. Pakaa was one of the favorites of Umi, and Lono was his kahuna.
While Umi reigned over the eastern shores of the island, one of his cousins, Keliiokaloa, ruled the western coast, and held his court at Kailua. It was under the reign of this prince, about two centuries before the voyage of Captain Cook, that a ship was wrecked near Keei, in the district of Kona, not far from the place where the celebrated English navigator met his death in 1779. It was about 1570[[C]] that men of the white race first landed in the archipelago. One man and one woman escaped from the wreck, and reached land near Kealakeakua. Coming to the shore, these unfortunates prostrated themselves on the lava, with their faces to the earth, whence comes the name Kulou, a bowing down, which the place which witnessed this scene still bears. The shipwrecked persons soon conformed to the customs of the natives, who pretend that there exists to our day a family of chiefs descended from these two whites. The Princess Lohea, daughter of Liliha,[[16]] still living, is considered of this origin. Keliiokaloa, who reigned over the coast where this memorable event took place, was a wicked prince, who delighted in wantonly felling cocoa-nut trees and laying waste cultivated lands. His ravages induced Umi to declare war against him.
He took the field at the head of his army, accompanied by his famous warrior, Piimaiwaa; his friends, Koi and Omakamau; his favorite, Pakaa; and Lono, his Kahuna. He turned the flanks of Mauna Kea, and advancing between this mountain and Hualalai, in the direction of Mauna Loa, arrived at the great central plateau of the island, intending to make a descent upon Kailua. Keliiokaloa did not wait for him. Placing himself at the head of his warriors, he marched to meet Umi. The two armies met on the high plain bounded by the colossi of Hawaii, at the place which is called Ahua a Umi.
Two men of the slave race, called Laepuni, famous warriors of Keliiokaloa, fought with a superhuman courage, and Umi was about to fall under their blows, when Piimaiwaa, coming to his rescue, caused the victory to incline to his side. Although history is silent, it is probable that the king of Kailua perished in the battle.
This victory completely rid Umi of his last rival; he reigned henceforth as sole ruler of Hawaii; and to transmit to posterity the remembrance of this remarkable battle, he caused to be erected on the battle-field, by the people of the six provinces, Hilo, Hamakua, Kohala, Kona, Ka'u, and Puna, a singular monument, composed of six polyhedral piles of ancient lava collected in the vicinity. A seventh pyramid was raised by his nobles and officers. In the centre of these enormous piles of stone he built a temple, whose remains are still sufficiently perfect to enable one to restore the entire plan. The whole of this vast monument is called, after the name of its builder, the Heaps of Umi—Ahua Umi.
Umi built another temple at the foot of Pohaku Hanalei, on the coast of 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.[
]
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 | Return, |
| Toi mai kaua! | Return with me! |
| Mai hele aku oe! | 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. | CANTO I. |
| Aloha kou e, aloha kou; | Thou lovest me still! Oh yes |
| Ke aloha mai kou ka hoahele | Thou lovest me; thou, |
| I ka makani, i ka apaapaa | The companion who has followed me. |
| Anuu o Ahulua. | In the tempest and in the icy |
| Moe iho uei au | Winds of Ahulua. I, alas! |
| I ka po uliuli, | Sleep in dark night, in dark |
| Po uliuli eleele. | And sombre night. My eyes |
| Anapanapa, alohi mai ana ia'u | Have seen the gleaming flashes |
| Ke aa o Akua Nunu. | Of the face of the god Nunu. |
| Ine ee au e kui e lei | If I resist, I am smitten as by |
| Ia kuana na aa kulikuli. | The thunder-bolts of the deepening storm. |
| Papa o hee ia nei lae. | Go, daughter of Papa, away from this |
| E u'alo, e u'alo | Headland; cease thy lamentations; |
| Ua alo mai nei ia'u | Cease to beckon to me |
| Ka launiu e o peahi e; | With thy fan of cocoa-nut leaves, |
| E hoi au e, e hoi aku. | 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. | CANTO II. |
| O ka'u hoa no ia, | I had a friend with whom |
| E hoolulu ai maua i ka nahele, | I lived peacefully in the wilderness. |
| I anehu au me he kua ua la | I swung like a cloud full of rain, |
| I oee au me he wai la. | I murmured like a rivulet, |
| I haalulu au me he kikili la. | I shook like a thunder-bolt, |
| I anei wau me he olai la. | I overturned every thing like an earthquake, |
| I alapa au me he uila la. | I flashed as lightning, |
| I ahiki welawela au me he la la. | I consumed like the sun. |
| Melemele ka lau ohia, | Yellow was the ohia leaf; |
| Kupu a melemele, | Unfolding, it turned yellow |
| I ka ua o na' pua eha, | Under the rain of the four clouds, |
| Eha, o na ole eha eha, | In the month of the four ole, |
| O na kaula' ha i ke kua | When the fisherman, four ropes |
| No paihi, o ka paihi o main. | Upon his back, enjoyed calm and fair weather. |
| A Haku, Haku ai i ka manawa, | Be Lord, be lord of the weather. |
| E Pueo e kania, | O Owl, whose cries give life! |
| Manawai ka ua i ka lehua, | Send down the rain upon the lehua; |
| E hoi ka ua a ka maka o ka lehua; | Let the rain come again upon |
| La noho mai; | The buds of the lehua. Rest, O Sun! |
| E hoi ka makani | Let the wind fly |
| A ka maka oka opua | Before the face of the clouds. |
| La noho mai | Rest, O Sun! |
| E hoi ke kai a manawai | Return, O Ocean of the mighty waters; |
| Nui ka oo, la noho mai. | Great is thy tumult! Sun rest here. |
| E kuu e au i kuu wahi upena | Rest, O Sun! I will cast my net |
| Ma kahi lae: | At the first headland; |
| E hei ka makani la'u. | I shall catch the wind. |
| E kuu e au i kuu wahi upena | I will cast my net |
| Ma ka' lua lae, | At the second headland; |
| E hei ka ino ia 'u | I shall catch a tempest. |
| E kuu e au e kuu wahi upena | I will cast forth my net |
| Ma ka 'kolu lae, | At the third headland; |
| E hei ke kona ia 'u | I shall get the south wind. |
| E kuu e au e kuu wahi upena | I will cast forth my net |
| Ma ka' ha lae, | At the fourth headland; |
| E hei luna, e hei lalo, | I shall take above, below, |
| E hei uka, e hei kai, | Land and sea— |
| E hei Uhumakaikai. | I shall take Uhumakaikai. |
| I ke olo no Hina, | At a single word of Hina |
| E hina kohia i ka aa, | He shall fall; hard pressed |
| Uhumakaikai. | 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. | CANTO III. |
| Huki kuu ka lani | I, a chief, willingly |
| Keaweawekaokai honua, | Cast my net of olona; |
| Kupu ola ua ulu ke opuu. | The olona springs up, it grows, |
| Ke kahi 'ke olona. | It branches and is cut down. |
| Kahoekukama kohi lani. | The paddles of the chief beat the sea. |
| O kia ka piko o ke olona, | Stripped off is the bark of the alona, |
| Ihi a ka ili no moki no lena, | Peeled is the bark of the yellow moki. |
| Ahi kuni ka aala, | The fire exhales a sweet odor; |
| Kunia, haina, paia, | The sacrifice is ready. |
| Holea, hoomoe ka Papa, | The bark is peeled, the board[[F]] is made ready, |
| Ke kahi ke olona, | The olona is carded, |
| Ke kau ko opua, | And laid on the board. |
| Ke kea ka maawe | White is the cord, |
| Kau hae ka ilo ka uha, | The cord is twisted on the thigh, |
| Ke kaakalawa ka upena: | Finished is the net! |
| O kuu aku i kai, | Cast it into the sea, |
| I kai a Papa; ua hina, | Into the sea of Papa; let him fall, |
| E hina, kohia i ka aa | Let him fall, that I may strangle the neck |
| O Uhumakaikai. | 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. | CANTO IV. |
| O oe no ia, e ka lani Akahakaloa, | Ah! it is then you, chief Akahakaloa. |
| Kipeapea kau ko ohule ia | A roosting-place is thy bald head become |
| Kulamanu. | For the gathering birds. |
| Konia kakahakaloa: | Disobedient Akahakaloa; |
| I kea a kau io k'awa | Thou appearest as a warrior |
| Kiipueaua. | Offshoot of Kiipueaua. |
| Hahau kau kaua la. | Defeat has come upon you in the |
| E Aikanaka. | Day of battle, O Aikanaka! |
| Kii ka pohuli | You require transplanting— |
| E hoopulapula | Yes, a nursery of warriors— |
| Na na na. | You do, indeed. |
| E naenaehele koa | Unfruitful of warriors |
| Kona aina. | 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. | CANTO V. |
| E Kaamalama, | O Kaamalama! |
| E Kalaumaki, | O Kalaumaki! |
| E hooholoia ka pohaku; | Behold how they heap stones. |
| E kaua ia iho na waa; | Let us draw our canoes ashore; |
| He la, kaikoonui nei; | This is a day when the surf rolls high; |
| Be auau nei ka moana; | The ocean swells, the sea perchance |
| He kai paha nei kahina 'lii[[G]] | Portends another deluge. |
| Ua ku ka hau a ke aa; | Piles of pebbles are collected; |
| Be ahu pohaku | A heap of stones |
| I Wailua. | Has the Wailua become. |
| O ua one maikai nai | This beautiful sandy country |
| Ua malua, ua kahawai, | Is now full of pits like the bed of a torrent; |
| Ua piha i ka pohaku | And all Kauai |
| A Kauai. | Has filled it with rocks. |
| He hula paha ko uka | A dance perchance brings hither |
| E lehulehu nei. | This great multitude; |
| He pahea la, he koi, | Games or a race— |
| He koi la, he kukini; | Games indeed. |
| I hee au i ka nalu, a i aia, | If I cast myself upon the surf, |
| Paa ia'u, a hele wale oukou: | I am caught: you will go free. |
| E Kaamalama, | O Kaamalama, |
| E Kalaumaki, | O Kalaumaki, |
| Ka aina o Kauai la | Fled is the land |
| Ua hee. | 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. | CANTO VI. |
| Puni ke ekule o kai | The ekule of the sea is surrounded; |
| Ua kaa i ka papau | Stranded in a shallow, |
| Ua komo i ka ulu o ka lawaia. | It is within the grasp of the fisherman. |
| Naha ke aa o ka upena, | Broken are the meshes of the net |
| Ka hala i ka ulua. | Within the hala and ulua. |
| Mohaikea. | A sacrifice is to be offered. |
| Mau ia poai ia o ke kai uli. | Surrounded are the fish of the blue sea. |
| Halukuluku ka pohaku | The rocks fall in showers— |
| A Kauai me he ua la. | A storm of the stones of Kauai. |
| Kolokolo mai ana ka huihui | The coldness of death creeps over me. |
| Ka maeele io'u lima, | Numb are my limbs, |
| Na lima o Paikanaka. | The limbs of Paikanaka. |
| E Kane i ka pualena, | O Kane of the yellow flower; |
| E Ku lani ehu e, | O Ku, ruddy chief; |
| Kamakanaka! | Kamakanaka! |
| Na'u na Kawelo, | It is I, Kawelo, |
| Na ko lawaia. | Thy fisherman. |
Left for dead beneath the heap of stones, Kawelo, perceiving his danger, continues his prayer.
| PAHA EHIKU. | CANTO VII. |
| Ku ke Akua | O divine Ku, |
| I ka nana nuu. | Who beholdest the inner places. |
| O Lono ke akua | O Lono, divine one, |
| I kama Pele. | Husband of Pele. |
| O Hiaka ke akua | O holy Hiaka, |
| I ka puukii. | Dweller on the hills. |
| O Haulili ke akua | O Haulili, god |
| I ka lehelehe | Ruling the lips! |
| Aumeaume maua me Milu. | We two have wrestled, Milu and I. |
| I'au, ia ia; | I had the upper hand; |
| I'au, ia ia; | I had the upper hand; |
| I'au iho no: | Then was I beneath: |
| Pakele au, mai make ia ia. | I escaped, all but killed by him. |
| PAHA EWALU. | CANTO VIII. |
| He opua la, he opua, | Here is a cloud, there another. |
| He opua hao walo keia, | This cloud bears destruction; |
| Ke maalo nei e ko'u maka. | I have seen it pass before my eyes. |
| He mauli waa o Kaamalama. | The obscure cloud is the canoe of Kaamalama. |
| Eia ke kualau | This is the tempest, |
| Hoko o ka pouli makani, | Wind in the darkness; |
| Oe nei la, e Kaamalama | Thou art the sun, Kaamalama, |
| Ke hele ino loa i ke ao. | Rising clouded in the dawn. |
| Ua palala, ua poipu ka lani, | Dark and shaded are the heavens, |
| Ua wehe ke alaula o ke alawela, | A warm day begins to dawn. |
| He alanui ia o Kaamalama. | This is the path of Kaamalama. |
| Oe mai no ma kai, | Thou art from the sea, |
| Owau iho no ma uka; | I, indeed, beneath the land mountain. |
| E hee o Aikanaka | Fly, O Aikanaka, |
| I ke ahiahi. | In the evening! |
| E u ka ilo la i ko' waha; | Maggots shall fatten in thy mouth; |
| Ai na koa i ka ala mihi. | The soldiers eat the fragrant mihi. |
| Ai pohaku ko' akua. | Thy god is a devourer of rocks; |
| Ai Kanaka ko maua akua. | Our god eats human flesh. |
| Kuakea ke poo | Bleached shall be thy head |
| I ka pehumu. | In the earth-oven. |
| Nakeke ka aue i ka iliili. | Thy broken jaw shall rattle on the beach pebbles. |
| Hai Kaamalama ia oe, | Kaamalama shall sacrifice you, |
| Hae' ke akua ulu ka niho. | The god's tooth shall grow on the sacrifice. |
| Kanekapualena; | O Kane of the yellow flower; |
| E Ku lani ehu e; | O Ku, bright chief; |
| Kamakanaka, | Kamakanaka, |
| Na'n na Kawelo | I am Kawelo, |
| Na ko lawaia. | Thy fisherman. |
In the following canto Kawelo reproaches and menaces the chief Kaheleha, who had deserted him for Aikanaka.
| PAHA AIWA. | CANTO IX. |
| Kulolou ana ke poo o ka opua, | The head of the cloud bears down |
| Ohumuhumu olelo una la'u: | And whispers a word in my ear: |
| Owau ka! ka ai o ka la na. | It is I! the food of a rainy day. |
| E Kaheleha o Puna | O Kahelaha, of Puna, |
| Kuu keiki hookama | My adopted son, |
| Aloha ole! | Heartless fellow! |
| O kaua hoi no hoa | We two were comrades |
| Mai ka wa iki | In times of poverty; |
| I hoouka'i kakou | In the day of battle |
| I Wailua; | We were together at Wailua. |
| Lawe ae hoi au, oleloia: | It might be said |
| Haina ko'u make | My death was proclaimed |
| Ia Kauai. | In Kauai. |
| E pono kaakaa laau | Good to look upon |
| Ka Kawelo. | Is the strength of Kawelo. |
| Aole i iki i ka alo i ka pohaku. | He knows not how to throw stones. |
| Aloha wale oe e Kaheleha | Farewell to you, Kaheleha |
| O Puna. | Of Puna. |
| A pa nei ko'poo i ka laau, | Thy head is split by my spear, |
| Ka laulaa o kuikaa. | A spliced container! |
| Nanaia ka a ouli keokeo. | The whitening form is to be seen. |
| Papapau hoa aloha wale! | O Aikanaka, loving only in name, |
| Aikanaka ma, | To you and yours, |
| Aloha, | Farewell! |
| Aloha i ka hei wale | Farewell to the ensnared, |
| O na pokii. | 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. | CANTO X. |
| Me he ulu wale la | Like a forest rising abruptly |
| I ka moana, | Out of the ocean, |
| O Kauai nui moku lehua; | Is Kauai, with flowery lehua; |
| Aina nui makekau, | Grand but ungrateful land, |
| Makamaka ole ia Kawelo. | Without friends or dear ones for Kawelo. |
| Ua make o Maihuna 'lii, | They have put to death Maihuna, |
| Maleia ka makuahine; | As also Malei, my mother. |
| Ua hooleiia i ka pali nui, | They have cast from a great pali |
| O laua ka! na manu | Both of them! Were they birds |
| Kikaha i lelepaumu. | To fly thus in the air? |
| Aloha mai o'u kupuna: | Love to you, oh my ancestors: |
| O Au a me Aalohe, | To you, Au and Aaloha, |
| O Aua, a Aaloa, | To you, Aua and Aaloa, |
| O Aapoko, o Aamahana. | Aapoko and Aamahana, |
| O Aapoku o Aauopelaea: | Aapoku and Aauopelaea, |
| Ua make ia Aikanaka. | 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. | CANTO XI. |
| Auhea iho nei la hoi | Where just now are those chiefs, |
| Ua mau wahi hulu alaala nei | Rebellious and weak, |
| Au i oo aku ai | Whom the point of the spear |
| I ka maka o ke keiki | Has transfixed—the spear of the |
| A Maihuna? | Son of Maihuna? |
| He ihe no ka la kaua. | The spear made for the day of battle. |
| Pau hewa ka'u iu | Stolen was my fish, |
| Me kau ai, | And the vegetable food— |
| Pau hewa ka hinihini ai | Stolen the food raised by |
| A ka moamahi. | The conqueror. |
| Komo hewa ko'u waa | Mischievously did you |
| Ia lakou. | Sink my canoes. |
| O lakou ka! ka haalulu | O wretches! ye trembled |
| I ka pohaku i kaa nei, | When the rocks rolled down, |
| Uina aku la i kahakaha ke one, | At the noise they made on the sand. |
| Kuu pilikia i Honuakaha. | When I was in danger at Honuakaha, |
| Makemake i ka laau nui, | Ye who desire long lances |
| Haalele i kahi laau iki. | And despise those that are small, |
| He iki kahi kihapai | Too small a place was Kauai, |
| Ka noho ka! i Kauai, | Your dwelling; |
| Iki i kalukalu a Puna. | Small was the kalukalu of Puna. |
| Lilo Puna ia Kaheleha | Puna shall belong to Kaheleeha, |
| Lilo Kona ia Kalaumaki, | Kona to Kalaumaki, |
| Lilo Koolau ia Makuakeke, | Koolau to Makuakeke, |
| Lilo Kohala ia Kaamalama, | Kohala to Kaamalama, |
| Lilo Hanalei ia Kanewahineikialoha. | Hanalei to Kanewahineikialoha. |
| Mimihi ka hune o Kauluiki ma. | The poverty of Kauluiki and his friends grieves me. |
| Aloha na pokii i ka hei wale. | 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.
