David Kalakaua
The Legends and Myths of Hawaii
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Table of contents
MAP of the HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
The Legends and Myths of Hawaii.
HAWAIIAN LEGENDS: INTRODUCTION.
Hina, the Helen of Hawaii.
HINA, THE HELEN OF HAWAII.
The Royal Hunchback.
THE ROYAL HUNCHBACK.
The Triple Marriage of Laa-mai-kahiki.
THE TRIPLE MARRIAGE OF LAA-MAI-KAHIKI.
The Apotheosis of Pele.
THE APOTHEOSIS OF PELE.
Hua, King of Hana.
HUA, KING OF HANA.
The Iron Knife.
THE IRON KNIFE.
The Sacred Spear-Point.
THE SACRED SPEAR-POINT.
Kelea, the Surf-Rider of Maui.
KELEA, THE SURF-RIDER OF MAUI.
Umi, the Peasant Prince of Hawaii.
UMI, THE PEASANT PRINCE OF HAWAII.
Lono and Kaikilani.
LONO AND KAIKILANI.
The Adventures of Iwikauikaua.
THE ADVENTURES OF IWIKAUIKAUA.
The Prophecies of Keaulumoku.
THE PROPHECIES OF KEAULUMOKU.
The Cannibals of Halemanu.
THE CANNIBALS OF HALEMANU.
Kaiana, the Last of the Hawaiian Knights.
KAIANA, THE LAST OF THE HAWAIIAN KNIGHTS.
Kaala, the Flower of Lanai.
KAALA, THE FLOWER OF LANAI.
The Destruction of the Temples.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLES.
The Tomb of Puupehe.
THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE.
The Story of Laieikawai.
THE STORY OF LAIEIKAWAI.
Lohiau, the Lover of a Goddess.
LOHIAU, THE LOVER OF A GODDESS.
Kahavari, Chief of Puna.
KAHAVARI, CHIEF OF PUNA.
Kahalaopuna, the Princess of Manoa.
KAHALAOPUNA, THE PRINCESS OF MANOA.
HAWAIIAN LEGENDS: GLOSSARY.
MAP of the HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
The Legends and Myths of Hawaii.
HAWAIIAN LEGENDS: INTRODUCTION.
Physical
Characteristics of the Hawaiian Islands—Historic Outlines—The
Tabu—Ancient Religion—Ancient Government—Ancient Arts, Habits
and Customs—The Hawaii of To-day.GENERAL
RETROSPECT.The
legends following are of a group of sunny islands lying almost
midway
between Asia and America—a cluster of volcanic craters and
coral-reefs, where the mountains are mantled in perpetual green and
look down upon valleys of eternal spring; where for two-thirds of
the
year the trade-winds, sweeping down from the northwest coast of
America and softened in their passage southward, dally with the
stately cocoas and spreading palms, and mingle their cooling breath
with the ever-living fragrance of fruit and blossom. Deeply
embosomed
in the silent wastes of the broad Pacific, with no habitable land
nearer than two thousand miles, these islands greet the eye of the
approaching mariner like a shadowy paradise, suddenly lifted from
the
blue depths by the malicious spirits of the world of waters, either
to lure him to his destruction or disappear as he drops his anchor
by
the enchanted shore.Mahiole,
or Feathered War-Helmet.The
legends are of a little archipelago which was unknown to the
civilized world until the closing years of the last century, and of
a
people who for many centuries exchanged no word or product with the
rest of mankind; who had lost all knowledge, save the little
retained
by the dreamiest of legends, of the great world beyond their island
home; whose origin may be traced to the ancient Cushites of Arabia,
and whose legends repeat the story of the Jewish genesis; who
developed and passed through an age of chivalry somewhat more
barbarous, perhaps, but scarcely less affluent in deeds of
enterprise
and valor than that which characterized the contemporaneous races
of
the continental world; whose chiefs and priests claimed kinship
with
the gods, and step by step told back their lineage not only to him
who rode the floods, but to the sinning pair whose re-entrance to
the
forfeited joys of Paradise was prevented by the large, white bird
of
Kane;
who fought without shields and went to their death without fear;
whose implements of war and industry were of wood, stone and bone,
yet who erected great temples to their gods, and constructed barges
and canoes which they navigated by the stars; who peopled the
elements with spirits, reverenced the priesthood, bowed to the
revelations of their prophets, and submitted without complaint to
the
oppressions of the
tabu;
who observed the rite of circumcision, built places of refuge after
the manner of the ancient Israelites, and held sacred the religious
legends of the priests and chronological
meles
of the chiefs.As
the mind reverts to the past of the Hawaiian group, and dwells for
a
moment upon the shadowy history of its people, mighty forms rise
and
disappear—men of the stature of eight or nine feet, crowned with
helmets of feathers and bearing spears thirty feet in length. Such
men were Kiha, and Liloa, and Umi, and Lono, all kings of Hawaii
during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; and little less in
bulk
and none the less in valor was the great Kamehameha, who conquered
and consolidated the several islands under one government, and died
as late as 1819. And beside Umi, whose life was a romance, stands
his
humble friend Maukaleoleo, who, with his feet upon the ground,
could
reach the cocoanuts of standing trees; and back of him in the past
is
seen Kana, the son of Hina, whose height was measured by
paces.GROUP
OF ANCIENT WEAPONS.War-Club.Pahoa,
or Wooden Dagger.Shark’s-Teeth
Knife.Flint-edged
Knife.Stone
Battle-Axe.Stone
Battle-Axe.Ihe,
or Javelin, 6 to 8 feet long.Spear,
16 to 20 feet long.And,
glancing still farther backward through the centuries, we behold
adventurous chiefs, in barges and double canoes a hundred feet in
length, making the journey between the Hawaiian and more southern
groups, guided only by the sun and stars. Later we see battles,
with
dusky thousands in line. The warriors are naked to the loins, and
are
armed with spears, slings, clubs, battle-axes, javelins and knives
of
wood or ivory. They have neither bows nor shields. They either
catch
with their hands or ward with their own the weapons that are
thrown.
Their chiefs, towering above them in stature, have thrown off their
gaudy feather cloaks and helmets, and, with spear and stone
halberd,
are at the front of battle. The opposing forces are so disposed as
to
present a right and left wing and centre, the king or principal
chief
commanding the latter in person. In the rear of each hostile line
are
a large number of women with calabashes of food and water with
which
to refresh their battling fathers, husbands and brothers. While the
battle rages their wails, cries and prayers are incessant, and when
defeat menaces their friends they here and there take part in the
combat. The augurs have been consulted, sacrifices and promises to
the gods have been made, and, as the warring lines approach, the
war-gods of the opposing chiefs, newly decorated and attended by
long-haired priests, are borne to the front. War-cries and shouts
of
defiance follow. The priests retire, and the slingers open the
battle. Spears are thrown, and soon the struggle is hand-to-hand
all
over the field. They fight in groups and squads around their chiefs
and leaders, who range the field in search of enemies worthy of
their
weapons. No quarter is given or expected. The first prisoners taken
are reserved as offerings to the gods, and are regarded as the most
precious of sacrifices. Finally the leading chief of one of the
opposing armies falls. A desperate struggle over his body ensues,
and
his dispirited followers begin to give ground and are soon in
retreat. Some escape to a stronghold in the neighboring mountains,
and a few, perhaps, to a temple of refuge; but the most of them are
overtaken and slain. The prisoners who are spared become the slaves
of their captors, and the victory is celebrated with feasting and
bountiful sacrifices to the gods.This
is a representative battle of the past, either for the supremacy of
rival chiefs or in repelling invasion from a neighboring island.
But
here and there we catch glimpses of actual conflicts indicative of
the warlike spirit and chivalry of the early Hawaiians. Far back in
the past we see the beautiful Hina abducted from her Hawaiian
husband
by a prince of Molokai, and kept a prisoner in the fortress of
Haupu
until her sons grow to manhood, when she is rescued at the end of
an
assault which leaves the last of her defenders dead. Later we see
the
eight hundred helmeted chiefs of the king of Hawaii, all of noble
blood, hurling themselves to destruction against the spears of the
armies of Maui on the plains of Wailuku. And then, less than a
generation after, Kamehameha is seen in the last battle of the
conquest, when, at the head of sixteen thousand warriors, he sweeps
the Oahuan army over the precipice of Nuuanu and becomes the master
of the archipelago. Finally we behold Kekuaokalani, the last
defender
in arms of the Hawaiian gods and temples, trampling upon the edict
of
the king against the worship of his fathers, and dying, with his
faithful wife Manono, on the field of Kuamoo.
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