Fornander collection of Hawaiian antiquities and folk-lore, Volume 1 (of 3) : $b The Hawaiians' account of the formation of their islands and origin of their race, with the traditions of their migrations, etc., as gathered from original sources
History
Fornander collection of Hawaiian antiquities and folk-lore, Volume 1 (of 3) : $b The Hawaiians' account of the formation of their islands and origin of their race, with the traditions of their migrations, etc., as gathered from original sources
Folklore -- Hawaii; Hawaii -- Social life and customs; Hawaiian language -- Texts; Legends -- Hawaii
Laamaikahiki lived in Kauai for a time, when he moved over to Kahikinui
in Maui. This place was named in honor of Laamaikahiki. As the place
was too windy, Laamaikahiki left it and sailed for the west coast of
the island of Kahoolawe, where he lived until he finally left for
Tahiti. It is said that because Laamaikahiki lived on Kahoolawe, and
set sail from that island, was the reason why the ocean to the west of
Kahoolawe is called “the road to Tahiti”.
After Laamaikahiki had lived on Kahoolawe for a time, his priests
became dissatisfied with the place, so Laamaikahiki left Kahoolawe and
returned to Kauai. Upon the death of Moikeha the land descended to
Kila, and Laamaikahiki returned to Tahiti.
CHAPTER IV.
THE REIGN OF KILA AND THE JEALOUSY OF HIS BROTHERS.
After the death of Moikeha, his dead body was taken to the cliffs of
Haena where it was deposited until a convenient time for Kila to remove
it to Tahiti. Soon after this Kila began to assume the reins of
government and ruled in place of Moikeha, according to the wish of his
late father, his mother and aunt, and his mother’s father.
When he became king of Kauai and had taken charge of things just as his
father had done before him, he saw that his reign was not going to be
as peaceable as he would like to have it, as his brothers were jealous
of his being made the king of Kauai. This jealousy on the part of the
brothers, coupled with their hatred of him for having been sent to
Tahiti, made them feel all the more bitter against him. However, with
all this bitter feeling entertained by his brothers, all his commands
during any of the large undertakings were always obeyed, they not
having the courage to refuse to obey the orders of the king. But with
all this obedience on their part, Kila’s reign was not altogether
satisfactory. The older brothers often met secretly to consult one
another as to the best way of concealing their hatred and bitter
feelings from their brother. At one of these meetings they adopted a
certain course and decided to draw Kila into consenting to do a certain
thing, although it was several days after the proposition was matured,
in the following way:
Upon coming to him, one of the brothers said: “Say, Kila, we believe it
best that we all go and bring back the bones of our father for you to
remove them to Tahiti.” Upon hearing the request of his brothers, which
he thought quite proper, he immediately consented to the proposition.
He was, however, actuated to readily accede to this request because he
had on another occasion already talked with his mother and aunt on the
matter. When the brothers heard that he was willing to carry out their
request, they proceeded to get the canoe ready for their journey to
Haena for the purpose, as has been said, of removing the bones of their
father to their home before the same were to be taken by Kila to
Tahiti.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account