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
The day on which Kaialea arrived was one of the kapu days, when no
canoes were allowed to be seen at sea, so when the people came and
seized his canoe, Kaialea, took it for granted that it was because of
his great crime in breaking the kapu, and he immediately remembered his
mother’s as well as his brothers’ orders about not remaining too long
on Hawaii, so he wondered how he was to fulfill their wish, for his
canoe had been confiscated, which left him without means of getting
back to Kauai. He also thought of the needs of the people at home and
of their disappointment about his not coming back in the time allowed
him.
After the canoe was taken over by the officers, Kaialea and his
paddlers went along with some of the people of the place. While they
were at the homes of the people who befriended them they heard that the
food had been kapued by the order of Kila. This was not the name by
which he was known in Waipio, however. On the next day some men were
sent by Kila to come for Kaialea and take him to the king’s strong
house. When Kaialea arrived in the presence of the king, he thought he
recognized Kila, which made him think of death, because he reasoned
within him: “I am going to be killed because we brought him here and
deserted him.” But on being told that this person’s name was Lena he
was greatly relieved.
While he was being held in the presence of the king, he was asked:
“Where did you come from and what is your business here?” Kaialea
replied: “I am from Kauai, and because of the famine brought about by
the drought I was sent to come to Hawaii and get us some food. This is
the only reason that has brought me here. I did not know that the canoe
was to be confiscated.” Then Kila, otherwise known as Lena, asked:
“Didn’t you come to this place some time ago?” Kaialea thought he would
not tell the truth in answering this question for fear if he should
answer that he had come to Hawaii before, he would be killed, because
of the boy whom they had kidnapped and killed; so he decided to answer
the question in the negative, saying: “I have not been to Hawaii before
this.”
Before they thought of placing Kaialea in confinement, Kila had a talk
with one of his friends and instructed him in the following manner:
“When Kaialea is brought here I will proceed to question him, and in
case he does not answer my questions properly then I will turn him over
to you and you must then make a further examination of him.” So when
Kaialea denied ever coming to Hawaii before this, Kila told his friend:
“Say, you must attend to this fellow and question him further on this.”
The friend after looking at Kaialea asked him: “Didn’t you come to
Hawaii before this? Didn’t you take a boy from Waipio with you on that
occasion?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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