As the geologist finds in the rocks the dim records of the beginnings of life on our planet, the first foreshadowings of the mighty forests that have since covered the lands, and of the countless forms of animal life that have at last culminated in Man, so does the historian discover in the legends of a people the dim traces of its origin and development till it comes out in the stronger light of the later day.
So it is with the legends of the Hawaiians, or of the Polynesian race. We see them, very indistinctly, starting from some distant home in Asia, finally reaching the Pacific Ocean, and then gradually spreading abroad over its islands till they dominate a large portion of its extent.
In bringing together this collection of Hawaiian legends, the author of this little book has conferred a great favor upon all those residents [[iv]]of Hawaii and of those visitors to its shores who may take an interest in its original inhabitants, once an exceedingly numerous people, but now a scattering remnant only. To that native race this little book will be at once a joy and a sorrow; to the heart of the haole, who has lived among them, known them intimately for thirty years or more (as has the writer of this Foreword), and learned to love them, this collection of the legends of old Honolulu brings a warm “Aloha!”
Geo. H. Barton,
Director, Teachers’ School of Science, Boston, Mass.
Formerly Professor of Geology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
June 4, 1915. [[v]]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |||||||
| [Introduction] | vii | |||||||
| I. | [The Migration of the Hawaiians] | 1 | ||||||
| II. | [Legendary Places in Honolulu] | 14 | ||||||
| III. | [The God of Pakaka Temple] | 23 | ||||||
| IV. | [Legend of the Bread-fruit Tree] | 28 | ||||||
| V. | [The Gods who found Water] | 37 | ||||||
| VI. | [The Water of Life of Ka-ne] | 43 | ||||||
| VII. | [Mamala the Surf-rider] | 52 | ||||||
| VIII. | [A Shark punished at Waikiki] | 55 | ||||||
| IX. | [The Legendary Origin of Kapa] | 59 | ||||||
| X. | [Creation of Man] | 70 | ||||||
| XI. | [The Chief with the Wonderful Servants] | 75 | ||||||
| XII. | [The Great Dog Ku] | 82 | ||||||
| XIII. | [The Cannibal Dog-man] | 90 | ||||||
| XIV. | [The Canoe of the Dragon] | 97 | ||||||
| XV. | [The Wonderful Shell] | 105 | ||||||
| XVI. | [The Ghost Dance on Punchbowl] | 112 | ||||||
| XVII. | [The Bird-man of Nuuanu Valley] | 121 | ||||||
| XVIII. | [The Owls of Honolulu] | 127 | ||||||
| XIX. | [The Two Fish from Tahiti] | 138 | ||||||
| XX. | [Iwa, the Notable Thief of Oahu] | 148 | ||||||
| XXI. | [Pikoi the Rat-killer] | 157 | ||||||
| XXII. | [Kawelo] | 173 | ||||||
| XXIII. | “[Chief Man-eater]” | 189 | ||||||
| XXIV. | [Lepe-a-moa] | 204 | ||||||
| XXV. | [Kamapuaa Legends] | 246 | ||||||
| [Appendix] | ||||||||
| [Polynesian Language] | ||||||||
| [Partial List of Hawaiian Terms Used] | ||||||||
| [Press Notices] | ||||||||
[[vi]]