XIV
HOW HIIAKA FOUND WAHINE-OMAO
The story of the journey of the youngest sister of Pele, the goddess of volcanic fires, when seeking a husband for her oldest sister, has a simple and yet exceedingly human element in the incidents which cluster around the finding of a faithful follower and friend. It is a story of two girls attracted to each other by lovable qualities. Hiiaka was a goddess with an attendant from the old Hawaiian fairyland—the Guardian of Ferns. Then there was added the human helper, Wahine-omao, or “the light-colored woman.”
While Hiiaka was journeying through the lower part of the forest which she had freed from demons, the Guardian of Ferns said: “I hear the grunting of a pig, but cannot tell whether it is before us or on one side. Where is it—from the sea or inland?”
Hiiaka said: “This is a pig from the sea. It [[105]]is the Humuhumu-nukunuku-a-puaa. It is the grunting, angular pigfish. There is also a pig from the land. There are two pigs. They are before us. They belong to a woman and are for a gift—a sacrifice to the sister goddess who is over us two. This is Wahine-omao.”
They walked on through the restful shadows of the forest and soon met a beautiful woman carrying a little black pig and a striped, angular fish. Humuhumu means “grunting.” Nuku-nuku means “cornered.” Puaa means “pig.” The Humuhumu-nukunuku-a-puaa was a fish with a sharp-pointed back, grunting like a pig. It was the fish into which the fabled demi-god Kamapuaa changed himself when fleeing from the destructive fires of Pele.
Hiiaka greeted the stranger, “Love to you, O Wahine-omao.”
The woman replied: “It is strange that you two have my name while your eyes are unknown to me. What are your names and where do you go?”