Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth From Hawaii

How jagged stand the rocks of Kaupo,

That once held the house of the shiftless!

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3Ihi-lani, literally, the splendor of heaven; said to be a god of lightning, also the name of a hill. ↑

4Ihi-awaawa, said to be the name of a god of lightning, as well as the name of a hill. ↑

5Huki-huki, literally, to pull, to haul with a succession of jerks. The action here figured is eminently descriptive of the manner of advance of a lava-flow. It is not with the uniform movement of a body of water. It shoots out a tongue of molten stuff here and there; and as this cools, or is for cause arrested, a similar process takes place at some other point. This movement bears a striking resemblance to the action of a body of skirmishers advancing under fire. Its progress is by fits and starts. ↑

6Pua’a-kanu. In spite of the fact that this is claimed by Hawaiians to be a place-name, I must see in it an allusion to a swine, devoted to sacrifice, connoting Lohiau himself. ↑

7Oa, a poetical contraction for loa, long. ↑

8Haele. By a figure of speech—metonymy—the word haele, meaning to travel, is used to signify a fellow traveler, the companion, of course, is Hiiaka herself. ↑

9Ku-mauna, a rain-god of great local fame and power; now represented by a monolithic bowlder about thirty feet high, partly overgrown with ferns and moss, situated in the lower edge of the forest-belt, that lies to the south and Kau of Mauna-loa, deserves more than passing mention. The region in which this rock is situated is declared by vulcanologists to have been one vast caldera and must have been the scene of tremendous disturbances.

Up to the present time the Hawaiians have continued to hold Ku-mauna in great reverence mingled with fear. The following modern instance isnot only a true story, and interesting, but also furnishes an illustration of the attitude of mind of the Hawaiian people generally,—or many of them—towards their old gods.

During a period of severe drought in the district of Kau, Hawaii, a gentleman named S——, while hunting in the neighborhood of the rock that bears the name Ku-mauna, took occasion to go out of his way and visit the rock. Standing before the rocky mass and calling it by name, he used towards it insulting and taunting epithets, professing to hold it responsible for the drought that was distressing the land. He concluded his tirade by discharging his rifle point blank against the face of the rock, resulting in the detachment of a considerable fragment.

The vaqueros in the employ of Mr. S.——, who were assisting in the hunt, horrified at the sacreligious act, at once put spurs to their horses and made off, predicting the direst consequences from the rash act of Mr. S——.

Now for the denouement: Within about ten days of this occurrence, the valley, on one side of which Mr. S—— had his residence, was visited by a violent rain-storm—such as would in popular speech be termed a cloud-burst. There was a mighty freshet, the waters of which reached so high as to flood his garden and threaten the safety of his house, which he saved only by the most strenuous exertions. The land which had been his garden was almost entirely washed away and in its place was deposited a pell-mell of stones.

Needless to say, that, by the natives, this incident was and is regarded to this day as conclusive evidence of the divine power of Ku-mauna and of his wrath at the audacious person who insulted him. Special significance is attached to the fact that as part of Ku-mauna’s reprisal the place that had been a garden was turned into a field of rocks. The only wonder is that Mr. S—— got off with so light a punishment. ↑

10Kani-a-hiku, a place-name—that of a village in the remote valley of Wai-manu—here used, apparently, for its meaning. To analyze its meaning, Kani = a sound, a voice, probably a bird-song; Hiku, a celebrated kupua, the mother of the famous mythical hero Mawi. It is said that when the wind, locally known as the Kapae, but more commonly named the Ho’olua—the same as our trade-wind—blew gently from the ocean, the listening ears of Kani-a-hiku heard, in the distance, the sound of hula drums and other rude instruments mingling with the voices of men chanting the songs of the hula. This seems to be the kani referred to. ↑

11Wahine ai lehua, Pele. Who else would it be? ↑

12Unu kupukupu (also written, it is said, haunu kupukupu), a hummock or natural rock-pile, such as would be selected by fishermen, with the addition, perhaps, of a few stones, as an altar on which to lay their offering and before which to utter their prayers. Kupukupu indicates the efficacy of such an altar as a luck-bringer. ↑

13Pu’u-lena, a wind felt at Kilauea that blew from Puna. The word lena, yellow, suggests the sulphurous fumes that must have added to it their taint at such time as the wind passed over the volcanic pit. ↑

14Ku-hala-kai, a plentiful fall of rain. ↑

15Ku-hulu-ku, a chilling of the atmosphere. ↑

16Pu’uku-akahi, Pu’uku-alua, names applied to hills on one or the other side of the fire-pit, whence seem to come those sonorous puffing or blowing sounds that accompany the surging of the fires. ↑

17Kua-loi. This is probably shortened from the full form Kua-loiloi. The reference is to a law, or custom, which forbade any one to approach Pele from behind, or to stand behind her. He kua loiloi ko Pele, the meaning of which is, Pele has a fastidious back. ↑

18Ka-hoa-lii, literally, companion of kings; the shark-god, a relation of Pele, who occupied a section of the plateau on the northwestern side of the caldera, a place so sacred that the smoke and flames of the volcano were not permitted to trespass there. ↑

19Maiau pololei, land shells found on trees, generally called pupu-kanioi. ↑

20Kanaka loloa, Ku-pulupulu, one of the gods of the canoe-makers; here spoken of as a tall man in contradistinction, perhaps, to the dwarfish Kini-akua, who were his followers. ↑

21Kuli-pe’e-nui, a deity, or an idealization, of a lava flow. The feature that seems to be emphasized is the stumbling, crawling, motion, which as seen in a flow, may be compared to the awkward, ataxic movement of one whose knees are dislocated and leg-bones broken. ↑

22Pi’i-kea, the god of the roaches, who is described as given to making certain tapping motions with his head which, I believe, are practiced by the roach at the present time. ↑

23Mahao’o, an epithet applied to a dog that shows a patch of yellow hairs on each side of his face. It has somewhat the force of our expression, breathing out flames. ↑

24Ama wa’a. The commotion in Kilauea is here compared to the upsetting of the canoe’s outrigger (ama). When an outriggered canoe capsizes the outrigger, ama, as a rule, lifts out of the water. ↑

25Wa’a. The reference seems to be to the masses of solid lava that, not infrequently may be seen to break off from the wall of the fire-pit and float away on the surface of the molten lake, even as an iceberg floats in the ocean. ↑

26Na’ena’e, said of an object that looks small from a distance. The use of the particle emphatic o, placed before this word, implies that it performs the office of a proper name, here a place-name. Such a use of the particle emphatic before a noun not a proper name indicates that the word is used as an abstract term. ↑

27Lama kau oni’oni’o. When two strings of kukui nuts are bound together to form one torch, the light given by it is said to be of varying colors. The word oni’oni’o alludes to this fact. ↑

28Kukulu a awa, said of those in the rear of the company that came against Lohiau. I cannot learn that this is a military term. ↑

29Kai-a-ka-hulu-manu, literally, the sea of the bird feathers. Some claim this as being the same as the Kai-a-ka-hinali’i; others, and I think rightly, claim that it was a distinct flood that occurred at a later period and that destroyed all birds and flying things. ↑

30Opiopi. The waves of the sea in the season of Makali’i are compared to the wrinkles in a mat, the contrast with those of the Kai-a-ka-hulu-manu, and the kai a ka pohaku. ↑

31Noho, a seat, or to sit. Here used for the people there living. ↑

32Kua o ka makani (literally, at the back of the wind). Koolau, the windward side of an island, was its kua, back. The whole line contains an ingenious reference to the manner of fire-lighting. When the smouldering spark from the fire-sticks has been received on a bunch of dry grass, it is waved to and fro to make it ignite. To the old-fashioned Hawaiian familiar with this manner of fire-making this figure is full of meaning. ↑

33Ulu o ka La, the figure of the Sun as it touched the horizon, or its glare. ↑

34Akua, literally, a god. This is a generic term and includes beings that we would call heroes, as well as devils and demons. ↑