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
After Umi had pulled up the awa bush, he went to one side of the house
where the old men were in, and cut up the awa into small pieces; then
he proceeded to the place where the awa container was kept and brought
it and placed it by his side; he then took some of the awa that was
already prepared and put it into the cup. Umi then went over to the umu
and uncovered an umu that was alongside of the one he had just covered,
which contained a pig well cooked, which he took out and brought to the
eating place, where the old men were already seated. The pig was well
done. When Umi was uncovering the umu, Nunu said to Kakohe: “How
quickly the pig has been cooked; the umu was only covered but a short
time ago!”
After the pig was served, Umi brought the awa and poured it into two
cups, in the presence of the two, and then handed the cups to the old
men, who then took the awa and drank it down. After this they partook
of the pig. Shortly after finishing their meal the effects of the awa
began to come over them and they both laid down where they sat,
completely overcome. In falling over, one fell near the sleeping place,
while the other fell against the side of the house. Umi then picked up
the one that was lying against the side of the house and took him to
the sleeping place; then he pulled the other one over so that he, too,
laid on the sleeping place.
While they slept Umi went on up to meet Kaoleioku in the fields, on the
mountain side, where all the men were engaged in cultivating food. When
Umi arrived, Kaoleioku said to him: “Have the old men arrived?” Umi
replied: “Yes, they have arrived, and I have carried out your orders
and have prepared everything for their comfort. They are both overcome
with awa, and when I left they were sound asleep.” When Kaoleioku heard
this report from Umi he said to him: “Let us remain with your men, and
in the afternoon we will return. The order of our return shall be as
follows: I will go on down ahead, the men will then come after me,
while you come on behind the procession.” This was agreeable to Umi.
The reason why Kaoleioku arranged the procession in this order was to
allow him a chance to meet the old men first and thus give him time to
answer any questions that they may put to him relating to Umi, for he
wished to make a very favorable report of his ward, and also to keep
the old men from making a mistake in their choice of which was Umi,
whereas he, Kaoleioku, was well acquainted with them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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