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
When the old men heard this from Kaoleioku they became very sad and for
some time they bowed their heads down in shame, then they looked up and
said to Kaoleioku: “Nothing will ever cover this shame.” Kaoleioku
answered, saying: “Is he such a rich chief that I should make much of
him? He is a poor chief, and the most he can do for you is to serve you
two.” The old men then said: “We have no riches nor property to give
him in return for his service; the only great property in our keeping
is the whole of the island of Hawaii; let that be our present then to
the chief Umi.” Kaoleioku replied: “How can it be possible for Umi to
get the kingdom, for you two have seen for yourselves that the men are
not of sufficient number to go to battle? In case of war Hakau will
probably be victorious, for he has all the men at his command, and owns
the whole of Hawaii.” The old men replied: “Hakau is already defeated;
[156] he shall not live. On the day when the kapu for the gods is come,
that will be the day when he shall die. He shall not escape. We will
send the people to the mountain, leaving the king at home by himself,
his steward and us two. That will be all who will remain.”
At the close of the remarks made by Nunu and Kakohe, Kaoleioku felt
assured of the future of his ward, the chief Umi, and that Hawaii
indeed would be theirs without bruising the skin in battle.
The old men lived on with Kaoleioku for forty-five days, when they
decided to return to the bottom of the Waipio Valley. As they were
about ready to make their return, they said to Kaoleioku and Umi: “We
are going home this day and will spend the night along the road. We
will be five days on the way and on the sixth day we will arrive at
Waipio. You must, therefore, remain until the nights of Ole and Kaloa,
when you must come down, because there are three Oles and three Kaloas,
[157] giving you six days on the way. On the day of Kane you must
remain on the cliff overlooking Waipio until the next day, the day of
Lono, the day when the sacred ceremonies of placing new feathers on the
gods are observed; that will be the day when Hakau shall be killed.”
These arrangements were then accepted by them all as being final.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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