A YOUNG CHIEF OF HAWAIIA YOUNG CHIEF OF HAWAII
Then Haina-kolo came out of her house near by and was guided to the side of her husband. As she saw him her heart melted and flowed to him like the mingling of floating sea-mosses. Olopana arose and said: "O chiefs and people, I have been asked to come here to the marriage of my sister with one whom she has met in dreams and loved. I agree to this wedding. Our parents approve, and the gods have given their signs. Our chiefess shall belong to the stranger. You shall obey him. I will do as he may direct. They shall now become husband and wife."
The people shouted again and again, saying, "This is the husband of our chiefess." Then began the hookupu. Six districts brought six piles of offerings. There were treasures andtreasures of all kinds. Then came the wonderful feast of all the people.
The fish companions of Ke-au-nini, who had drawn his boat from Kuai-he-lani, wanted Haina-kolo for themselves. While they were at the feast they found they could not get her, and they grew cold and ashamed and angry. Soon they broke away from the feast. Moi and Uhu ran away to the sea and returned to their homes. Niu-loa-hiki (a great eel) looked at Ke-au-nini and said: "You are very strange. I thought I should have my reward this day, but the winning has come to you. I am angry, because you are my servant. It is a shame for the chiefs of Hawaii to let you become their ruler." His angry eyes flashed fire, he opened his mouth and started to cry out again, but the people saw him and shouted: "Look, look, there is an eel that comes to the land. He runs and dives into the sea. This eel, Niu-loa-hiki, is more evil than any other of all the family of eels."
Then all the fish ran off angry at this failure and gathered in the sea for consultation. Uhu said he would return at once to Makapuu. He was the Uhu who had the great battle with Kawelo when he was caught in a net. Moi went to the rough water outside the harbor. Kumunuiaiake went to Hilo. He was the huge fish with which Limaloa had a great battle when hecame to visit Hawaii. He was killed by Limaloa. Hou and Awela went wherever they could find a ditch to swim in.
The people feasted on the mullet of Lolakea and the baked dogs of Hilo and the humpbacked mullet of Waiakea and all the sweet things of Hawaii. Then the sports commenced and there was surf-riding, dancing, wrestling, and boxing.
Kawelo-hea, the surf-rider of Kawa in Oahu, was the best surf-rider. Hina-kahua, the child of the battling-places of Kohala, was the best boxer. Pilau-hulu, the noted boy of Olaa, was the best puhenehene-player. Lilinoe was the best konane-player. Luu-kia was the best kilu-player. She was a relative of Haina-kolo.
When the sports were over they returned to the chief's house and slept. Haina-kolo was one who did not closely adhere to the tabu. She ate the tabu things, which were sacred, belonging to the gods, such as bananas and luau. Ke-au-nini had always carefully, from his birth to marriage-day, observed the tabu, but, following the example of his wife, soon laid aside his carefulness, and lived in full disregard of all restraint for a time.
Then Ke-au-nini left Haina-kolo and returned to Kuai-he-lani because dissensions arose between them on account of their wrong-doing.
He did not tell his wife or friends, or even his uncles, but he took his cocoanut-boat to go backto his home secretly. When he was far out in the ocean his sister saw him from her home in Lewa-lani (the blue sky). She sent Kana-ula, her watchman, to go out and guard him and bring him to her. Kana-ula was a strong wind blowing with the black clouds which rise before a storm.
In a little while the watchman saw Ke-au-nini off Kohala, and by his great strength lifted Ke-au-nini and placed him on Kuai-he-lani, where he saw his mother and relatives. Then he went up to Lewa-lani to his sister and dwelt with her to forget his love for Haina-kolo.
Haina-kolo had a great love for her husband, never making any trouble before they separated. Her love for him was burning and full of passion, while she grieved over his disappearance. She soon had a child. The priests living in the heiau (temple), Pakaalana, beat their drums, and all Waipio knew that a chief was born.
Haina-kolo began to go about like one crazed, longing to see the eyes of her husband. She took her child and launched out in the ocean. The boat in which she placed the child was the long husk of a cocoanut. She held fast to this and swam and floated by its side. When they had gone far out in the sea a great wind swept over them and upon them, driving them far out of sight of all land. She looked only for death. This wind was Kana-ula, and had been sent byMoho, who was very angry at the girl for violating the tabu of the gods and eating the things set apart for the gods. This wind was to blow her far away on the ocean until death came.
When Haina-kolo had been blown a little way she prayed and moved her feet, turning toward the place where she had rejoiced with her husband. Then she offered another prayer and began to swim, but was driven out of sight of land. The wind ceased, its anger passed away, and a new land appeared. She swam toward this new land. Lei-makani, the child, saw this land, which was the high place of Ke-ao-lewa, and chanted:
"Destroy the first kou grove;Destroy the second kou grove;Open a wonderful door in the evening;Offer your worship.Return, return, O bird!"
The mother said: "No, my child, that is not a bird. Oh, my child, that is Ke-ao-lewa, the land where we shall find a shore."
But she went on patiently, swimming by the capes of Kohala, and came near to the places of noted surf and was almost on the land. Moho saw her still swimming and sent another wind servant, Makani-kona, the south wind, to drive her again out in the ocean. This south wind came like a whirlwind, sweeping and twisting over the waves, sending Haina-kolo far out inthe tossing sea. He thought he had killed her, so he went back to Moho.
Moho asked him about his journey over the seas. He replied, "You sent me to kill, and that I did." She was satisfied and ceased her vigilance. Tired and suffering, Haina-kolo and her child floated far out in the ocean, too weary to swim. Then Lei-makani saw Ke-ao-lewa again lifted up and spread out like the wings of a floating bird. Help came to her in a great shark, Kau-naha-ili-pakapaka (Kau-naha, with a rough skin), belonging to the family of Pii-moi, one of the relatives of Ku, who swam up to her and carried her and the child until he was tired. Haina-kolo was rested and warmed by the sun. She saw that her shark friend was growing weak, so she called to the sun, "O sun, go on your way to the land of Ka-lewa-nuu, and tell Ke-au-nini that we are here at the cape of Ka-ia."
The sun did not hear the cry from the sea. She called again, using the same words. The sun heard this call of Haina-kolo and went on to the place where Ke-au-nini was staying and called to him, "O Ke-au-nini, your wife is near the cape of Ka-ia."
Moho heard the call. She was playing konane with her brother. She made a noise to confuse the words of the sun, and said to her brother, "O ke ku kela, o ka holo keia. Niole ka luna,kopala ka ele, na ke kea ka ai." "Take this one up. Let that one move. Take that up slowly. The black is blotted out, the white wins."
Then the sun called again, saying the same words, and Ke-au-nini heard, leaped up and left his sister, and went down to Kuai-he-lani and entered the temple, where he was accustomed to sleep, and fell as one dead. While he was reclining, his spirit left his body and went down to Milu and stayed there a long time.
Haina-kolo was very near the land in the afternoon. Soon they came to the beach. There she dug a little hole for her child and laid him in his little boat in it and went up the path like a crazy person to the top of the high precipices of Ka-hula-anu (the cold dancing) and began to eat fruit growing on the trees. She clothed herself in leaves, then rushed into the forest.
Lei-makani was still floating where his mother had left him, near a place where the servants of Luu-kia went fishing every morning to get the food loved by the chiefs. Two men, Ka-holo-holo-uka and Ka-holo-holo-kai, had come down for Luu-kia, carrying a net. They threw their net over the water and the child floated into it. They thought they had a great fish. They carried the net up on the beach and found the boy. It was a little dark, and hard to see what they were catching. One called to the other,"What have we caught this morning?" The other said: "I thought we had a great fish, but this is a child. I will take this child to my home." The other said, "No—This is a fish." So they had a quarrel until the sun rose. Then they went up to the village.
Ka-holo-holo-uka told his wife, "We have a child." Then he told her how they had caught Lei-makani. They talked loudly. This chiefess heard their noisy clamor and asked her servant, "What's the trouble with these noisy ones?" They told her and she wanted that child brought to her, and commanded Maile-lau-lii (small leaf maile) to go and get it. He took it to Luu-kia, who marked its wonderful beauty. She sent for the fishermen to tell her how they got the child. They told her about the fishing.
She wanted to know who were the parents. They said: "We do not know. This may be the child of Haina-kolo, for we know she has disappeared with her child. She may be dead and this may be her boy."
Luu-kia said, "You two take the child, and I will give the name, Lopa-iki-hele-wale [going without anything]. Then you care for it until it grows up."
They took the child to the land of Opaeloa, as a good place to bring it up. The fishermen said to Luu-kia, "Will you provide food, fish, andclothing?" She said, "Yes." They thought the child would not understand, but it knew all these words. The fisherman and his wife took the child away. Waipio Valley people were surrounded by precipices, but the gods of Waipio watched all the troubles by sending messengers to go over to the upland and follow Haina-kolo.
Ku and Hina and Olopana were burdened by the loss of Haina-kolo and Lei-makani, so they went to the temple at Pakaalana, where the uncles of Ke-au-nini were staying. There they consulted the gods with signs and sorceries.
They sent Ke-au-miki to get some little stones at Kea-au, a place near Haena. His brother said: "Get thirteen stones—seven white and six black. Make them fast in a bundle, so they cannot be lost, then come back by Pana-ewa and get awa (piper methysticum) which man did not plant, but which was carried by the birds to the trees and planted there. Then return this evening and we will study the signs." Ke-au-miki went up the pali (precipice) and hastened along the top running and leaping and flying over Hamakua to Hilo.
The Hilo palis were nothing to this man as he sped swiftly over the gulches until he came to the Wailuku River guarded by the kupua Pili-a-mo-o, who concealed the path so that nonecould find it until a price was paid. The dragon covered the path with its rough skin.
Ke-au-miki stood looking for a path, but could only see what seemed to be pahoehoe lava. The tail of the dragon was like a kukui-tree-trunk lying in the water. He saw the tail switching and rising up to strike him. Then he knew that this was a kupua. The tail almost struck him on the head. He called to Kahuli in Kuai-he-lani, who sent a mighty wind and hurled aside the waters, caught up the body of the dragon and let it fall, smashing it on the rocks, breaking the beds of lava.
Then Ke-au-miki rushed over the river and up the precipices, speeding along to Pa-ai-ie, where the long ohia point of Pana-ewa is found, then turned toward the sea and went to Haena, to the place where the little stones aala-manu are found. He picked up the stones and ran to Pana-ewa and got the awa hanging on the tree, tied up the awa and stones and hurried back. He crossed the gulch at Konolii and met a man, Lolo-ka-eha, who tried to take the awa away from him. He was a robber. When they came face to face, Ke-au-miki caught the man with his hand, hurled him over the precipice and killed him. When he saw that this man was dead, he ran as swiftly as the wind until he met a very beautiful woman, Wai-puna-lei. She saw him and asked him to be her husband, but he would not stop. He crossed Hilo boundaries to Hamakua, to the place where the kapa-trees were growing, as the sun was going down over the palis. He came to the temple door and laid down his burden.
THE HOME OF THE DRAGONS NEAR HILOTHE HOME OF THE DRAGONS NEAR HILO
Then Ke-au-kai said: "This is my word to all the people: Prepare the awa while I take the little stones, pour awa into a cup: I will cover it up and we will watch the signs. If, while I chant, the bubbles on the awa come to the left side, we will find Haina-kolo. If they go to the right, she is fully lost. Let all the people keep silence; no noise, no running about, no sleeping. Watch all the signs and the clouds in the heavens."
Then he chanted:
"O Ku and Kane and Kanaloa,Let the magic power come.Amama ua noa.Tabu is lifted fromMy bird-catching place for food.You are a stranger, I am a resident.Let the friend be taken care of.United is the earth of the tabu woman. Amama."
The bubbles stood on the right side, and the priest said, "We shall never find Haina-kolo; the gods have gone away." Olopana said: "I am much troubled for my brother and sister, and that child I wanted for the chief of this land. Ido not understand why these things have come to us."
All the people were silent, weeping softly, but Ke-au-kai and his brother were not troubled, for they knew their chief and wife were in the care of the aumakuas.
When Lei-makani had grown up, Luu-kia took him as her husband. He went surf-riding daily. She was very jealous of Maile, who would often go surf-riding with him. Lei-makani did not care for her, for he knew she was a sister of his mother although she had a child by him. One day, when he went with Maile, Luu-kia was angry and caught that child and killed it by dashing it against a stone.
The servants went down to the beach, waiting for Lei-makani to come to land. Then they told him about the death of his child and their fear for him if he went up to the house with Maile. Lei-makani left his surf-board and went to the house weeping, and found the child's body by the stone. He took a piece of kapa and wrapped it up, carrying the broken body down to a fountain, where he cleansed it and offered chants and incantations until the child became alive. His mother, Haina-kolo, heard the following chants and came to her son, for the voice was carried to her by kupuas who had magic powers. The child's name was Lono-kai. He wrapped it againin soft warm kapas and chanted while he washed the child, naming the fountain Kama-ahala (a child has passed away):
"Kama-ahala smells of the blood;The sick smell of the blood rises.Washed away in the earth is the blood;Hard is the red bloodWarmed by the heat of the heavens,Laid out under the shining sky.Lono-kai-o-lohia is dead."
Then the voice of the child was heard in a low moan from the bundle, saying, "Lono-kai-o-lohia [Lono possessed of the Ala spirit] is alive." The father heard the voice and softly uttered another chant:
"In the silenceHas been heard the gods of the night;What is this wailing over us?Wailing for the death ofLono, the spirit of the sea—dead!"
The voice came again from the kapas, "Lono, the spirit of the sea, is alive." Lei-makani's love for his child was overflowing, and again he uttered an incantation to his own parents:
"O Ku, the father!O Hina, the mother!Olopana was the first-born;Haina-kolo, the sister, was born:Haina-kolo and Ke-au-nini were the parents:Lei-makani was the child:I am Lei-makani, the child of Haina-kolo,The sacred woman of Waipio's precipices;My mother is living among the ripe halas;For us was the fruit of the ulii;I was found by the fisherman;I am the child of the pali hula-anu;I was cared for by one of my familyInland at Opaeloa;They gave me the name Lopa-iki-hele-wale[Little lazy fellow having nothing];But I am Lei-makani—you shall hear it."
His heart was heavy with longing for his mother, and the gods of the wind, the wind brothers, took his plaintive love-chant to the ears of Haina-kolo, who had wandered in her insanity, but was now free from her craze and had become herself. She followed that voice over the precipices and valleys to the top of a precipice. Standing there and looking down she saw her child and grandchild below, and she chanted:
"Thy voice I have heardSoftly echoed by the pali,Wailing against the pali;Thy voice, my child beloved;My child, indeed;My child, when the cloud hung overAnd the rainbow light was above us,That day when we floated togetherWhen the sea was breaking my heart;My child of the cape of Ka-ia,When the sun was hanging above us.Where have I been?Tell Ke-au-nini-ula-o-ka-lani;I was in the midst of the seaWith the child of our love;My child, my little child,Where are you? Oh, come back!"
Then she went down the precipice and met her son holding his child in his arms, and wailed:
"My lord from the fogs of the inland,From the precipices fighting the wind,Striking down along the ridges;My child, with the voice of a bird,Echoed by the precipice of Pakohi,Shaking and dancing on inaccessible places,Laughing out on the broken watersWhere we were floating in danger;There I loved dearly your voiceFighting with wavesWhile the fierce storm was above usSeen by your many godsWho dwell in the shining sky—Auwe for us both!"
They waited a little while, until the time when Lono-kai became strong again. Then they went up to the village.
Haina-kolo had run into the forest, her wet pa-u torn off, no clothing left. Her long hair was her cloak, clothing her from head to foot. She wandered until cold, then dressed herself with leaves. As her right senses returned she made warm garments of leaves and ate fruits of the forest. When they came to the village they met the people who knew Haina-kolo. She dwelt there until Lono-kai grew up. He and his father looked like twins, having great resemblance, people told them, to Ke-au-nini. The boy asked, "Where is my grandfather, Ke-au-nini?" Lei-makani said: "I never saw your grandfather. He was very tabu and sacred. He killed his ownfather, Ku-aha-ilo, god of the heavens. I know by my mana [spirit power] that he is with the daughters of Milu." The boy said: "I must go and find him. I will go in my spirit body, leaving this human body. You must not forbid the journey." Ke-au-kai, the priest, said: "You cannot find him unless you learn what to do before you go. Those chiefs of Milu have many sports and games. I tell you these things must be learned before you go into that land. If you are able to win against the spirits of that place you can get your grandfather."
All the chiefs aided the boy to acquire skill in all sports. They went to the fields of Paaohau. Nuanua, the most skilful teacher of hula, taught him to dance. The highest chiefs and chiefesses went with him to help, taking their retinues with them. Lei-makani said: "The knowledge of sports is the means by which you will catch your grandfather. Now be careful. Do not be stingy with food. Give to others and take care of the people."
They went up in a great company, and Haina-kolo wondered at the beauty of the boy, and asked why they were travelling. Lono-kai told them the reason for his journey and desire to see the field of sports.
Nuanua, the hula teacher, sent his assistants to get all kinds of leaves and flowers used in thehula, then sent for a black pig to be used as an omen. If it ran to Lono-kai, he would become a good dancer; if not, he would fail. The pig went to him. The priest offered this prayer:
"Laka is living where the forest leaves are trembling,The ghost-god of dancers above and below,From the boundary of the North to the place most southern;O Laka, your altar is covered with leaves,The dancing leaves of the ieie vine;This offering of leaves is the labor of the gods,The gods of your family, Pele and Hiiaka;The women living in warm winds come here for the toil,And this labor of ours is learning your dance.Tabu laid down; tabu lifted. Amama ua noa [We are through]!"
The priest lifted his eyes, and the pig was seen lying at the foot of the boy. Then he commenced teaching the boy the kilu and the first dance. They were thirty days learning the dances, and the boy learned all those his teachers knew.
Then they went around Hawaii, studying the dances. He was told to go back and get all the new ideas and seek the gods to learn their newest dance, for theirs differed from those of his teachers. He was to seek this knowledge in dreams. Lei-makani said: "Your teachers have shown you the slow way; if that is all you know, you will win fame, but not victory. You must learn from the gods." Lono-kai again went to Hamakua with his companions and learned how to play konane, the favorite game of Ke-au-nini. The teacher said, "I have taught you all I knowinside and outside, as I would not teach the other young chiefs." The boy said to him, "There is one thing more,—give offerings to the gods that they may teach us in our dreams newer and better ways."
So they waited quietly, offering sacrifices. The priests told him to set apart a pig while he made a prayer. If the pig died during the prayer, he would not forget anything learned. The boy laid his right hand on the pig and began to pray:
"Here is a pig, an offering to the gods.O Lono in the Under-world, Lono in the sky:O Kane, who makes not-to-be-broken laws,Kane in the darkness, Kane in the hot wind,Kane of the generations, Kane of the thunder,Kane in the whirlwind and the storm:Here is labor—labor of the gods.My body is alive for you!Filled up is the Nuu-pule.My prayer is for those you hold dear.O Laka, come with knowledge and magic power!Laka, dancing in the moving forest leavesOf the mountain ridges and the valleys,Return and bestow the knowledgeOf Pele and Hiiaka, the guardians of the wind,Knowing the multitude of the gods of the night,Knowing Aukele-nui-aku in the Under-world.O people of the night,Here is the pig, the offering!Come with knowledge, magic power, and safety.Amama ua noa."
Then the boy lifted his hand and the pig lay silent in death. Then came thunder shaking the earth, and lightning flashing in flames, and a storm breaking in red rain. Mists came and the shadows of the thousands of gods of Ke-au-nini fell upon the boy. The teachers and friends sat in perfect silence for a long time. The storm was beating outside, and the boy was overcome with weariness and wondered at the silence of his friends.
Rainbow colors were about him, and the people were awed by their fears and sat still until evening came. Then the teacher asked the boy if he saw what had been done in the darkness resting over him, and if he could explain to them. The boy said, "I do not understand you; perhaps my teacher can explain."
Nuanua said: "I am growing old and have never seen such things above any one learning the dance. You have come to me modestly, like one of the common people, when I should have gone to you, and now the gods show your worth and power and their favor."
Then he took a piece of wood from the hula altar which was covered with leaves and flowers, and, putting it in a cup of awa, shook it, and looked, and said to the boy: "This is the best I can do for you. Now the gods will take you in their care." Then he poured awa into cups, passing them to all the people as he chanted incantations, all the company clapping their hands. Then they drank. But the boy's cup was drunk by the eepas of Po (gnomes of thenight). So the company feasted and the night became calm. Lono-kai that night left his friends with Nuanua and journeyed on. He waited some days and then told Lei-makani he thought he was ready. He said: "Yes, I have heard about your success, but I will see what you can do. We will wait another ten days before you go." Then for two days all the people of Waipio brought their offerings. They built a great lanai, and feasted. Lei-makani told the people that he had called them together to see the wonderful power in the sports of the boy. So the boy stood up and chanted:
"O Kuamu-amu [the little people of the clouds of the sky],The alii thronging in crowds from Kuai-he-lani,On the shoulders of Moana-liha, divided at the waters,Divided at the waters of the heavy mist,And the rain coming from the skies,And the storm rushing inland.Broken into mists are the falls of the mountains,—Mists that bathe the buds of the flowers,Opening the buds below the precipices.Arise, O beloved one!"
244. Kihikihi, (Zanclus Canescens)244. Kihikihi, (Zanclus Canescens)
Ke-au-nini heard this chant, even down in Po, while he was sporting with the eepas of Milu, while his spirit body was with his friend Popo-alaea. He repeated the same chant, and the ghosts all rejoiced and laughed, and Laka leaped to his side and danced before him. They had the same sports as the noted ones on Hawaii. Lono-kai danced in magic power before all the people until the time came for him to go along the path of his visions of the night. All omens and signs had been noted and were found to be favorable. One of the old priests told the people to make known their thought about the best path for the young chief, but they were silent. Then Moli-lele, an old priest who had the spirit of the unihipilis resting upon him, said: "I know that there will be many troubles. Cold and fierce winds come over the sea. Low tides come in the morning. The land of Kane-huna-moku rises in the coral surf." He chanted:
"Dead is this chief of ours,Caught as a bird strikes a fish;The foam of surf waves rises up,Smiting and driving below.No sorcerer of the land is there,Where the coral reef labors,And the rock-eating Hina of the far-off sea."
The chiefs began to wail, but lightning was in the eyes of the boy and his face was filled with anger at this word of the old priest. Then another priest arose and said: "O chiefs and people, I have seen the path to the Under-world, and it is not right for this young man to go. His body is human and easily captured by the ghosts. He might be safe if he could get the body of the one he seeks. There are fierce guardians of the path who will make war on whoever comes in the flesh."
Then Kalei, another priest, said: "I know their world. I saw the stars this morning, and they told me that the path was stopped against this chief by broken coral and the bones of the dead. The tabu-children of Hina are swimming in the sea. I will prove the danger by this awa cup. If the bubbles of the awa poured in go to the right, he can go. If to the left, he must stay." This he did uttering incantations, but bubbles covered all the surface.
Then the priests advised the young chief to stay and eat the fat of the land. Then Hae-hae, the great chief, said, "We have come to point out a path, if we can, and to make quiet and peaceful that way into Po." He instituted new omens, and showed that the young chief would be successful, but he would have many difficulties to overcome.
Lono-kai arose and said: "The words of these chiefs were twisted. I will go after the spirit-body of my grandfather, as I have sworn to do. My word is fast. I will go to the land where my grandfather stays."
The priests who had tried to terrify Lono-kai were his enemies, and would oppose his journey, and he wanted them killed, but Lei-makani would not permit it. Ku also quieted him with patient words, and he ceased from anger and told them he must prepare at once to go.
Lei-makani had a double canoe made ready, and selected a number of strong men to accompany the young chief. Lono-kai would not have any of these men, but went out early in the morning, took a cup of awa to the temple nearby and chanted his genealogical mele.
Thunder and lightning and heavy wind and rain attended his visit to the temple. He returned to his parents and told them to wait for him thirty days. If a mist was over all the land they might wait and watch ten days more, and if the mist continued, another ten, when he would return with thunder and lightning to meet his friends. But if the voices of the sea were strong at Kumukahi, with mist resting on Opaelolo and rain on Puu-o-ka-polei, then he would be dead.
He took his feather cloak and war weapons from his grandparents, and feather helmet, and went out. He bade his parents farewell, took a cocoanut-husk canoe and went down to the sea. The waves rose high, pounding the face of the coast precipices. Lei-makani ran down to bring Lono-kai back, but according to the proverb he caught the hand of the chiefess who lives in the land of Nowhere. The boy had disappeared.
Out in the sea Lono-kai was tossing in the high waves, passing all the islands, even to the land Niihau. There he met the great watchmanof Kuai-he-lani called Honu (the turtle). He came quietly near the head. Honu asked, "Where are you going?" Lono-kai said: "You speak as if you alone had the right to the sea. You are a humpbacked turtle; you shall become a great round stone." Then the turtle began to slap its fins on the sea, raising waves high as precipices. Five times forty he struck the sea with mighty force, looking for the destruction of the chief as the waves passed over him. But Lono-kai waited until the turtle became tired, thinking the chief dead. As the waters became calm the chief raised his club and struck the right flapper of the turtle, destroying its power.
Then the left fin beat the sea into foam, but Lono-kai waited and broke that fin also; then he broke the back of the turtle into little pieces and went on his way. Soon the ocean grew fierce again. Huge waves came, and whirlwinds. He saw something red in the great sea—a kupua of the ocean. The name of this enemy was Ea, a great red turtle, who crawled out and asked where he was going. Lono-kai said: "What right have you to question me? Have I questioned your right to go on the sea?"
Ea said: "This is not your place. I will kill you. You shall be food for me to eat. When you are dead I will go and kill the watchman who let you come into this tabu-sea of my chief.""Who is your chief?" asked Lono-kai. Ea replied: "Hina-kekai [the calabash for boiling water], the daughter of Pii-moi. Now I will kill you."
Then Ea began to strike the water with his right fin, throwing the water up on all sides in mighty waves, expecting to overthrow Lono-kai and his boat. When he rested to see the result of this battle his fin was on the surface, and the chief struck it and broke it.
Then in another fight, when head and fin were lifted to destroy the boat, Lono-kai struck the neck and broke it, so killing his enemy.
Now he thought all his troubles were over and he could go safely on his way.
But soon there lay before him a new enemy, floating on the sea, a very long thing, like a long stick. He approached and saw that it was like the fin of a shark, but as he came nearer he observed the smooth skin of a long eel. Lifting its head and looking right at him, the eel said: "O, proud man, you are here where you have no business to be. I will mix you with my awa and eat you now." Then he struck at Lono-kai with his tail and hit his eyes and knocked him down, then, thinking Lono-kai was dead, he turned his head to the boat to catch the body, but Lono-kai, leaping up on the head of the eel, holding his boat with one hand and his club with the other, struck the head with the magic club,breaking the bones. Fire came out of the broken head, the eel falling into pieces which became islands of fire in the midst of which appeared a very beautiful woman who asked him whence he came, and why.
He told her he was from Hawaii and was going to Kuai-he-lani and would kill her, for he thought she was a mo-o, or dragon-woman. He said, "You tried to kill me, O woman, and now you must stay and become the fire oven of the ocean." He asked her name. She said to him: "This kupua was Waka, the dragon of the rough head, and I have escaped from his body. I want you now for my husband, and I will accompany you on your journey."
Lono-kai told her, "This would not be right, but when I return, if I come this way, you shall be mine." She said, "My ruler will kill me, for I have been sent to guard this place." Lono-kai asked, "Who is your ruler?" "Hina-kekai, she will kill me. You belong to the Ku-aha-ilo family, which is a very strong family. Therefore we have been watching for you for our chiefess."
Lono-kai told her to go to his land and wait for him. He would be her husband. She must wait there without fault until his return. Then he went away. Waka did not know whence this chief came, so she went to Oahu and landed at Laiewai. There she awaited her husband.
Lono-kai went on to the land of Kuai-he-lani, where he landed and hid his boat among the vines on the beach. He went to the temple where the body of his grandfather lay, clean and beautiful in death. He could not see any door or break in the body for the escape of the spirit.
Then he struck the earth with his magic war-club until a great hole opened. He looked down and saw a large house and many people moving around below. He knew that the spirit of his grandfather was there. He went down and looked about, but the people had disappeared. The remains of a great feast were there. He stood at the door looking in, when two men appeared and welcomed him with an "Aloha," and told him he must have come from the land above, for there was no man like him in that place. They advised him to make his path back into that land from whence he had come, for if the king of the Under-world saw him he would be killed. Lono-kai asked, "Who is your king?" They told him, "Milu." "What does he do?" "Our king dances for Popo-alaea and Ke-au-nini." Lono-kai went with the men to see the sports. They tried to persuade him not to go, but he was very obstinate and asked them to hide him. They said, "If we do this and you are discovered we shall be destroyed."
He told them the reason of his coming andasked their help, and said when he had his grandfather they could follow him into the Upper-world. They went to a house which was large and beautiful. They entered and saw the chiefs playing kilu. After a long time Lono-kai began to make his presence known. Popo-alaea was winning. Then Ke-au-nini chanted:
"The multitude of those below give greetingTo the friends of the inland forest of Puna;We praise the restfulness of our home;The leaves and divine flowers of that place."
Lono-kai chanted the same words as an echo of Ke-au-nini. Silence fell on the group, and Milu cried out: "Who is the disturber of our sport? We must find him and kill him." They began the search, but could not find any one and at last resumed their games. Popo-alaea chanted:
"I welcome back my friend,The great shadow of Waimea,Where stands the milo-tree in the gentle breeze,And the ohia-tree. You know the place."
Ke-au-nini sang the same chant. Then Lono-kai echoed it very softly and sweetly. All said this last voice was the best. Milu again caused a search to be made, but found nothing. The two men hid Lono-kai by a post of the house.
The group returned to the sports. Soon Milu changed the game to hula. Ke-au-nini stood up to dance and began his chant:
"Aloha to our houses without friends.The path goes inland to Papalakamo;Come now and enter!Outside is the trouble, the storm,And there you meet the cold."
The people around were striking the spirit drums. Then Lono-kai chanted:
"Established is the honor of Ke-au-nini(Noteworthy is the name).Lifted up to the high heaven;I am the child of Lei-makani,I am Lono from the sunrise place, Hae-o-hae:I have come after thee, my father;We must return. Where are you?"
Ke-au-nini could not stand up to dance when he heard the voice of his grandchild, for his love overpowered him. He looked up and saw the form of the young chief leaping into the place prepared for the hula and standing there before the chief. The people rose up in great confusion. Lono-kai caught the spirit of Ke-au-nini and put it in a cocoanut-shell. He leaped past the ghosts, and ran very swiftly out of the house.
Some of the people saw him lay hands on Ke-au-nini, and cried out: "Oh, the husband of our chiefess! Oh, the husband of our chiefess! He has taken the husband of our chiefess!" But they did not see Lono-kai go out. The two men who had aided Lono-kai went out as soon as he leaped into the hula place. They hurried along the path toward freedom, but Lono-kai soonovertook them. Milu called to his people to hasten and capture and kill the one who had stolen Ke-au-nini. They saw the two men with Lono-kai, and pursued rapidly, but could not overtake them. The fugitives were very near the opening to the world above. When Lono-kai saw that the pursuers were almost upon him he whirled his magic war-club and struck the ground, making a great hole into which the spirits fell one over the other.
Lono-kai and the two watchmen went up the cave opening by which he had gone down into the land of Milu. Dawn was breaking as they ran into the temple at Kuai-he-lani, where the body of Ke-au-nini was lying. Lono-kai pushed the spirit into the hollow of the foot and held the foot fast, shaking it until the spirit had gone to the very ends of the body and life had returned.
When Ke-au-nini was fully restored, Lono-kai asked him if he could help restore to their bodies the two spirits who had aided him in escaping. Ke-au-nini evidently did not remember anything of his life in the Under-world, for he did not know these ghosts and thought he had been asleep from the time he entered the temple and fell down in weariness. Lono-kai thought they could not find the bodies, but Ke-au-nini put the ghosts in cocoanuts and carried them up into the forest to one of his ancestors who knewthe bodies from which these ghosts had come. Thus they were restored and had a long and happy life in their former home.
Lono-kai told his grandfather they must return to Hawaii to meet all the friends.
For thirty days mists covered Hawaii and there was thunder and lightning and earthquakes. Then Lono-kai said to Ke-au-nini: "To-morrow we must go to Hawaii. We must have the appropriate ceremonies for cleansing and taking food." Ke-au-nini said: "Yes, I have been a long time in the adopted land of Milu, and my eyes are dimmed and my thought is dazed with the dance of the restless spirits of the night. We must wait until I have performed all the cleansing ceremonies, made offerings and incantations. Prayers must be said for my return to life. Then we will go."
They attended to all the temple rites, and the marks of death were washed away. The body was cleansed, the eyes made clear, so strength and joy returned into the body. Then Ke-au-nini said: "I am ready. I see a multitude of birds circling around Kaula. There is evil toward Hawaii."
They again went into the temple and slept until very early the next morning. Then they took their cocoanut-husk canoes, each holding his own in his hand, and went down to the edgeof the sea and stood there, each pointing the nose of his boat toward Waipio.
None of the people awoke until they landed. They pulled the boats upon the beach and went to their temple. As they came to the door of the temple, drums beat like rolling thunder. Then the sun arose, the mists all vanished from Hawaii. The people awoke and understood that their chiefs had returned. They ran out of their houses shouting and rejoicing. Olopana commanded the chiefs and the people to prepare all kinds of sweet food and gifts and things for a very great luau. When this was done they feasted sixty days and returned to their homes.
Lei-makani became the ruler of Hawaii. Lono-kai-o-lohia was honored by his father. All of the chiefs in that generation were noted throughout the islands.
It was said that there was a beautiful chiefess of Molokai who wanted to find a young chief of Hawaii for her husband, so she sent her kahu, or guardian, and servants to make the journey while she went back to her sleeping-place and dreamed of a very fine young chief shining like the sun and surrounded by all the colors of therainbow. Then she awoke and found no one, but she loved that spirit-body which she had seen in her dreams, so she arose and went down to the beach and told her guardian to make haste and reach Hawaii that day.
When the kahu heard her call, he put forth all his power and uttered the proper incantations. He sped through the waters like a skimming bird, passed the great precipices near Waipio, and soon after dawn landed on the beautiful beach.
The people had not yet come from their homes for the work of the day. He went up to the village and came near the house of Lei-makani. A watchman asked where he was from and the purpose of his journey. He said: "I am a stranger from Molokai, a messenger from my chiefess, who seeks a husband of high rank equal to her own. She has no one worthy to be her husband."
The Waipio chief said: "We have a splendid young chief, but there is no one his equal in rank and beauty. You could not ask for him."
Then Lei-makani heard the noise and came out and asked about this conversation. His watchman told him that this man was from Molokai.
Lei-makani asked the man to approach. The Molokai chief thought that Lei-makani was the handsomest man he had ever seen. Ke-au-kaicame out of the temple and looked upon the stranger and asked why he had come.
When he learned that the man sought a husband for his chiefess, he advised him to return lest he should meet death at the hands of the watchman, but the man would not go away.
After a time the chiefs of Waipio came before Lei-makani. The Molokai chief explained his errand, and praised his chiefess, and said that he was willing to be killed and cooked in an oven if she were not as beautiful and of as high rank as he had told them. Lono-kai at that moment entered the assembly, and the stranger cried out: "This man is the husband for my chiefess. Her tabu rank is the same as the tabu rank of this fine young chief. No others in all the islands are like these two. It would be glorious for them to meet." Lono-kai said, "You return at once and make preparation, and I will come in the evening."
The kahu returned to Molokai, but the chiefess saw him coming back alone and became very angry, her eyes flashing with wrath because he had not brought the young chief with him. She screamed out, "Where is the value of your journey, if you return without my husband?"
"Wait a little," the guardian said gently, "until you hear about what I have seen upon Hawaii. I have found the one you wanted. We must get ready to meet your husband, for the young chief is coming here this evening. When you meet, the love of each of you will be great toward the other."