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 — John Shaqi
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
As soon as the brothers of Namakaokahai left the ship, Aukelenuiaiku
took up his wooden box and threw it into the sea, for he knew that his
brothers and the ship would be destroyed by Namakaokahai. As the box
struck the water, Aukelenuiaiku jumped in after it and taking hold of
it he swam away from the ship. While Aukelenuiaiku was swimming the
nephew called out after him, but Aukelenuiaiku replied: “You cannot
follow me, you had better remain where you are.” While he was speaking
to his nephew, Namakaokahai arrived at the seashore, took hold of her
war [73] pau and turned it to her rear, then she next took up her
kahili and shook it in the air. No sooner than this was done, the ship
together with the brothers of Aukelenuiaiku were turned into ashes.
When Aukelenuiaiku looked behind him after swimming for some distance,
he saw that the ship had disappeared, so he turned and swam with his
box toward land.
In the above events we have seen how the words spoken by the lizard, in
the bottom of the pit have come true. And in the coming conflict we
will see how Aukelenuiaiku and his god fought their battle, and how
Namakaokahai became the wife of Aukelenuiaiku.
When Aukelenuiaiku reached the shore, he dragged his box up and left it
on the sand. He then crawled under an ekoko [74] tree and slept, for he
was completely used up by his efforts to reach the shore. While
Aukelenuiaiku was sleeping, Moela arrived, the dog who had the watching
of all the land, and when he smelled the blood of the stranger he began
to bark. While the dog was barking, Namakaokahai came out of the house
and called out to her four bird brothers. When they came before her,
she said: “You must go in search of this thing that the dog is barking
at; it is possible that one of the men from the ship has come ashore. I
cannot make out what the dog is barking at.” The brothers replied:
“Send your two maid servants.” At this the queen was satisfied; so she
called for her two maid servants, Upoho and Haapuainanea. When they
came in the presence of the queen, she said to them: “I want you to go
in search of the thing the dog is barking at. If you two should find
it, kill it.”
When they left to make their search, Lonoikoualii, the god of
Aukelenuiaiku, said to him: “Here comes our death, they are coming in
search of you, therefore you must get up.” Aukelenuiaiku then woke up
and put on his war dress of ashes. As soon as this was done,
Lonoikoualii began to direct him what to do in the following words:
“When the two women arrive, who are very comely, although they will be
in the form of a lizard and a rat, Upoho being the rat and Haapuainanea
the lizard, you must greet them in the following manner: ‘My greetings
to you, Upoho; and my greetings to you, Haapuainanea.’ That will shame
them, because you have been able to discover their names; then you will
be saved.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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