The Story of Laieikawai.

CHARACTERS.

Laieikawai, the heroine, called also Ka wahine o ka liula, “the lady of the twilight,” daughter of a chief of Oahu.

Laielohelohe, twin-sister of Laieikawai.

Waka, their grandmother, a powerful sorceress.

Kapukaihaoa, a priest of Kukaniloko, Oahu.

Hulumaniani, a prophet of Kauai.

Aiwohikupua, a chief of Wailua, Kauai, of kupua or supernatural birth, and from a foreign country.

Moanalihaikawaokele, Aiwohikupua’s father and

Laukieleula, his mother, both mysterious beings, and inhabitants of the Moon.

Kaonohiokala, brother of Aiwohikupua, and a demi-god living in the Sun.

Maile-haiwale, sisters of Aiwohikupua. Maile-kaluhea, Maile-laulii, Maile-pakaha, and Kahalaomapuana the youngest,

Kekalukaluokewa, king of Kauai after Kauakahialii.

Hauailiki, a petty chief of Mana, Kauai.

Halaaniani, a petty chief of Puna, Hawaii, and

Malio, his sister, a sorceress.

Hinaikamalama, a chiefess of Hana, Maui.

Poliahu, a goddess of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

Kihanuilulumoku, a gigantic moo, or lizard god.

THE STORY OF LAIEIKAWAI.

A SUPERNATURAL FOLK-LORE LEGEND OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

Prefatory.

Early in the spring of 1885 a party of six or eight ladies and gentlemen—the writer being of the number—made a carriage circuit of the island of Oahu. Ample preparations for the little journey had been made by the governor of the island, and the marshal of the kingdom acted in the double capacity of guide and escort. A score of attending natives accompanied the party on horseback, and a delightful week or more was consumed in skirting the breezy beaches of Koolau, in dalliance at Waialua, in visiting historic points of interest, and in completing a journey of something less than one hundred miles.

Starting from Honolulu, the empty carriages were carefully lowered down the steep, ragged and narrow Pali road leading to the valleys below, and the first evening found us at rest by the beautiful shores of Kaneohe. Entering the district of Koolauloa the next day, and approaching the coast over a broad stretch of grassy meadow but slightly above the level of the ocean, our party was suddenly brought to a halt beside a pool of clear water, nearly round, and perhaps a hundred feet in diameter. The surface of the pool was ten or twelve feet below the level of the surrounding plain, and its even banks of solid rock dropped almost perpendicularly into water of unknown depth. The volume of the pool is affected neither by rain nor drought, and the native belief is that it is fed by springs at the bottom, and has a subterranean drainage to the ocean, some two or three miles distant.

This, we learned, was the celebrated pond of Waiapuka, around which so many strange legends have been woven. All of them speak of a cavern somewhere beyond the walls of the pool, and to be reached only by diving into the water and finding the narrow passage leading up into it.

While listening to fragments of the story of Laieikawai and of other legends connected with the mysterious cavern, and seriously doubting the existence of the secret chamber so prominently referred to in the early folk-lore of Oahu, an old native, who had joined the party at Kaneohe, quietly and without a word dismounted, divested himself of his upper garments and plunged into the pool. Swimming to the northern wall, he clung for a moment to a slight projection, and then disappeared. It was suggested for the first time that he was in search of the cavern of Laieikawai, and all eyes were turned toward the point where he was last seen above the water.

Three or four minutes elapsed, and fears for his safety began to be exchanged, when the salutation of “aloha!” greeted us from the opposite wall, and the next moment a pair of black eyes were seen glistening through a small opening into the cavern, not before observed, about four feet above the surface of the water.

The swimmer then returned to the pool by the passage through which he had left it, and we were compelled to admit that the cavern of Laieikawai was a reality, however wild and visionary may have been the stories connected with it. Not a single person present, including the governor, had ever before seen the passage to the cavern attempted, and the natives were overjoyed at what they had witnessed.

To the many questions with which he was pressed the old man returned but brief answers on his return, and when importuned to explain the method of his entrance to the cavern, that the secret might not be lost, he pointed significantly to the sea, and declared that there would be found the bodies of those who sought to solve the mystery of the passage and failed.

This rediscovery of the entrance to the cavern of Laieikawai created a renewed interest in the legends associated with it, and thenceforth during our journey many of the old stories were rehearsed. The most interesting related to Laieikawai. It is a recklessly fanciful recital, and gives expression to the extravagant conceits of the early Hawaiian bards. Following is presented a condensation of the legend of Laieikawai, as more elaborately told by Haleole.—Editor.

I.

The father of Laieikawai was Kahauokapaka, chief of the two Koolau districts, comprising the entire windward side of the island of Oahu, and her mother’s name was Malaekahana. Soon after their marriage he made a vow that if her children should prove to be girls they were to be put to death, at least until a son should be born to them.

In accordance with this savage vow the first four of Malaekahana’s children, all being daughters, were slain without mercy. When her time again drew near, by the advice of a priest she sent her husband to the coast to bring her some ohua palemo, a small fish of which she was exceedingly fond.

In his absence she was delivered of twin girls, who were named Laieikawai and Laielohelohe. They were surpassingly beautiful children, and, desirous of saving their lives, the mother consigned the first-named to the care of Waka, the child’s grandmother, and the other to Kapukaihaoa, a priest of discretion and sanctity.

On the return of the husband he was told that the expected child came into the world without life. He knew that a birth in his house had occurred during his absence, for he had heard two distinct claps of thunder.

Waka took her foster-child to the cavern which opens into the pond of Waiapuka, and which can be entered only by diving. Laielohelohe was taken by her priestly protector to the sacred enclosure of Kukaniloko, on the western side of the island, and there tenderly cared for.

The moment Waka entered the cavern of Waiapuka with Laieikawai a rainbow appeared over the place, and was constantly visible so long as the child remained there. Even when the sun was obscured by clouds the rainbow could be seen.

At length the rainbow was observed by the great prophet Hulumaniani on the distant island of Kauai. For twenty days in succession he saw it, and knew its significance. He secured a canoe and fifteen men from Poloula, the chief of Wailua, provided himself with a black pig, white fowl and red fish for sacrifice, and, when the star Sirius rose, set sail for Oahu.

Reaching that island, he landed at Waianae, and, guided by the rainbow, in due time arrived at the pool of Waiapuka. Waka had just dived into the cave, and he noticed ripples on the water. During the day Waka started to leave the cavern, but caught a glimpse of the prophet sitting on the bank, and quickly returned, again ruffling the water.

The prophet remained by the pool all night, and in the morning saw a rainbow over Kukaniloko. Traveling in that direction, he ascended Mount Kaala, when he saw the rainbow over the island of Molokai. Finding a canoe bound thither, he took passage and landed at Haleolono, near the western shore.

In a dream Waka had been directed by Kapukaihaoa to remove Laieikawai to some securer place, and had accordingly taken her to Malelewaa, a secluded spot on the north side of Molokai.

Following the rainbow, the prophet arrived in the evening at Waikolu, just below Malelewaa; but that night Waka was again advised in a dream to remove at once to the island of Hawaii and dwell with her ward at Paliuli. They departed at dawn, and at Keawanui met a man getting his canoe ready to sail to Lanai, and engaged passage; but before they could embark Laieikawai accidentally removed the veil which Waka compelled her to wear, and the man was amazed at her beauty.

Instead of starting for Lanai, he invited Waka and her ward to remain at his house until he could secure the services of another rower, and then started around the island, proclaiming to every group of people the great beauty of Laieikawai.

A great crowd had assembled at Kalaupapa to witness a boxing-match, and there the man extolled the beauty of the girl in the presence of the head chief and the prophet in search of her. Not doubting that the girl described was the one he was in quest of, the prophet proceeded to Kawela and saw the rainbow over Hawanui. That night he arrived at Kaamola, the land adjoining, and went to rest, for he had journeyed far and was weary.

Meanwhile Waka, again warned in a dream, obtained a canoe and sailed across the channel to Lanai, landing at Maunalei. Three days of fog and rain followed, and on the fourth the prophet saw the rainbow over Maunalei. It did not remain there, however. Ten days later he discerned something peculiar on the high peak of Haleakala, on the island of Maui. He proceeded thither, but found nothing there but fog and rain.

He next journeyed to Kauwiki, a hill near Hana, and there erected a small heiau, or temple, for the worship of his patron deity. After the dedication, seeing nothing on Hawaii, and receiving no inspiration, he remained for some time at Kauwiki.

At length, in the early days of the seventh month of the year, he saw faintly with the rising of the sun a rainbow on the windward side of Hawaii. At sunset on the third day of the next month he entered his heiau and prayed fervently, and there appeared before him the wraiths of Waka and Laieikawai. His patron god then informed him that the persons whose shadows he had seen were living in the forest of Puna, in a house thatched with the yellow feathers of the oo.

With this information the prophet set sail for Mahukona, on the island of Hawaii. There he prayed in the temple of Pahauna, and was directed to Waipio, where he offered sacrifices in the famous heiau of Paakalana. He proceeded thence to Kaiwilahilahi, near Laupahoehoe, where he remained for some years, unable to obtain any further information of the persons of whom he was in search.

II.

It was during the sojourn of Hulumaniani, the prophet, at Kaiwilahilahi, that Kauakahialii, king of Kauai, with his queen, Kailikelauokekoa, returned from a wedding tour of the group. A great assemblage of chiefs and commoners had met to welcome them home with music, dancing and other festivities.

In relating his adventures the king referred to a meeting with the mysterious princess of Paliuli, whose beauty, he declared, was something more than human. The meeting occurred at Keaau, in Puna. The kahu of the king first met the princess and her companion, and, when requested by him to favor his royal master with a visit, the princess informed him that she might possibly comply with his request the night following. “If I come,” she said, “I will give you warning.”

“Now, listen and heed,” she continued. “If you hear the voice of the ao I am not in its notes, and when you hear the caw of the alala I am not in its voice. When the notes of the elepaio are heard I am getting ready to descend. When you hear the song of the apapane I shall have come out of my house. Listen, then, and if you hear the iiwipolena singing I am outside of your house. Come forth and meet me.”

And so it came to pass. In the kihi, or first watch of the evening, resounded the cry of the ao, in the second watch the caw of the alala, at midnight the chirruping of the elepaio, in the pili of the morning the song of the apapane, and at daybreak the voice of the iiwipolena. Then a shadow fell on the door, “and we were enveloped,” said the king, “in a thick fog, and when it cleared away the princess was seen in her glorious beauty, borne on the wings of birds.” The name of the divine being, he said, was Laieikawai.

Among the chiefs who listened to this story of the king was Aiwohikupua, chief of Wailua, who was of foreign birth. He had made a vow that he would not marry a Hawaiian woman, and, expressing the opinion that the princess described by the king was a daughter of other lands, he resolved to make her his wife.

To this end he sought out the late kahu of the king and made him his confidant and chief officer. They talked of little else than Laieikawai. He had a vision of her in a dream, and drank awa successively for many days, in the hope of inspiring a repetition of the vision. He chanted a mele in praise of the unknown princess, renewed his resolution to possess her, and then prepared to go to Hawaii in search of her.

He fitted out two double canoes, with sixteen rowers and two steersmen, and, when the augurs and soothsayers declared the omens favorable, on the rising of Sirius he set sail for Hawaii. On his way thither he stopped at many places, and at length arrived in the harbor of Haneoo, in the district of Hana, Maui.

A number of surf-riders were amusing themselves on the beach, among them Hinaikamalama, the famous chiefess of Hana. Aiwohikupua was smitten with her charms, and accepted her invitation to join the bathing party in their sports. In turn she became enamored of him, and invited him to visit her house and play konane—a game resembling draughts—with her.

When about to begin the game she asked him what he was willing to wager on his success, and he pointed to one of his double canoes. She declined the condition, and proposed, instead, that they should stake their persons. To this he agreed, and, playing, lost the game. To avoid paying the forfeit he declared that he had made a vow to give himself in love to no woman until after he had made the circuit of the island of Hawaii, and admonished her to remain faithful to him while he was absent.

The chief and his party left Haneoo, and the next day arrived at Kauhola, in the district of Kohala, Hawaii, where a boxing-match was in progress. Aiwohikupua was challenged to a contest by Ihuanu, the champion of Kohala. The challenge was accepted, and in the struggle Ihuanu was killed.

They next landed at Paauhau, in Hamakua, to witness another boxing-match. The local champion was Haunaka. He was invited to a contest with Aiwohikupua, but, learning something of the prowess of the chief, he declined the conflict. They then sailed for Laupahoehoe, where the prophet Hulumaniani was still residing.

That evening the prophet was watching the clouds for omens, and discerned in them that a chief’s double canoe was approaching, bearing nineteen men. The next morning he saw a mist on the sea, and prepared his black pig, white fowl and bunch of awa. Then followed peals of thunder, and Aiwohikupua’s canoes came in sight, with the puloulou insignia of a chief; whereupon the prophet offered sacrifices, and prayed for the chief and himself.

Landing, the chief and prophet embraced, and spent the night together, but Aiwohikupua did not disclose the real object of his voyage. They then sailed for Makahanaloa, from which place could be seen the rainbow over Paliuli. They landed at Keaau, where the people were surf-bathing.

In the evening Aiwohikupua left his men with the canoes, taking with him only his confidant, the kahu, carrying a rich feather mantle as a present to the lady of Paliuli. After a long and wearisome journey through the thick jungle they heard the crowing of a cock, and soon after came to a clearing, at the farther end of which was the house of Laieikawai, all covered with the choice yellow feathers of the oo.

Aiwohikupua was amazed and humiliated. Said he: “I brought my royal feather cloak as a present to her, and behold! it is not equal to the thatch of her house!” Then turning to his kahu, he said: “I will stay here no longer. Let us return.”

In spite of the remonstrances of his companion, Aiwohikupua returned to Keaau without seeing Laieikawai, and sailed at once for Kauai. They did not stop to visit the prophet at Laulapahoehoe. When off the coast of Hamakua they saw a woman of extraordinary beauty reclining on a cliff by the shore. She was graceful in every movement, and wore a snow-white mantle.

They landed and made her acquaintance. Her name was Poliahu, of Mauna Kea. As usual, the chief began to talk to her at once of love. In reply she asked him if he had not sworn by the names of his gods not to marry a woman born on the Hawaiian group, and whether he had not engaged himself to Hinaikamalama, of Hana. She informed him that, like himself, she too was of kupua descent and possessed supernatural powers. She promised to marry him, however, so soon as he could be released from his oath and would return to claim her. She accompanied them as far as Kohala, where she exchanged mantles with the chief in pledge of their betrothal, and then took her departure.

Crossing the channel to Maui, the chief put into the harbor of Haneoo, but did not land. Hinaikamalama hailed him from the shore, and demanded the fulfilment of his promise; but he beguiled her by declaring that he had not yet completed the circuit of Hawaii, having sailed only along the windward side of it, and that bad news from home compelled his immediate return to Kauai.

She believed him and was pacified. In the middle of the Oahu channel he enjoined secrecy on his crew, and then hastened to Kauai, fully determined to return to Hawaii and secure an audience with the princess of Paliuli.

Reaching home, he informed his five sisters of what he had seen at Paliuli, and they agreed to accompany him to Hawaii and assist him in his suit with the beautiful Laieikawai.

The next day Aiwohikupua selected a fresh crew of fourteen rowers and two pilots, who, with his sisters and confidential counselor, made a party of twenty-three in all, and set sail for Hawaii. They were detained a month at Honuaula, Maui, by stormy weather, but finally reached Kaelehuluhulu, in the district of Kona, Hawaii. Poliahu saw their canoes there, and was disappointed when they left for Hilo.

They arrived at Keaau, in Puna, about the middle of the day, and Aiwohikupua made his arrangements and started inland at once with his five sisters and trusted kahu. At midnight the party reached Paliuli.

The chief stationed his eldest sister, Maile-haiwale, at the door of Laieikawai. She sent forth the delicate fragrance of the plant of her name, which awoke Laieikawai.

“Waka! Waka!” exclaimed the princess.

“Here!” answered Waka. “What wakes you in the night?”

“A fragrance, a strange, cool fragrance, which goes to my heart,” returned the girl.

“It is not a strange fragrance,” said Waka. “It is certainly Maile-haiwale, the sweet-scented sister of Aiwohikupua, who has come to ask you to be his wife.”

“Pshaw! I will not marry him,” was the petulant response of Laieikawai.

Aiwohikupua heard her refusal, and was so thoroughly disheartened that he proposed to abandon his sisters and return to Keaau, but his trusty kahu intervened and advised another trial. So the next in age, Maile-kaluhea, took a position by the door. Her fragrance was different and more penetrating; but nearly the same exchange of words as before occurred within the house.

The chief again proposed to leave, but the kahu insisted on trying the powers of Maile-laulii; but no better success followed.

“Try again,” said the counselor, “and if they all fail I myself will undertake to persuade her.”

So Maile-pakaha was sent to the door, but with no better result, and, speaking loudly enough to be heard without, Laieikawai said: “Whoever may come, I will not consent to marry Aiwohikupua.”

Hearing this, and regarding any further attempt as useless, Aiwohikupua ordered his sisters to remain behind in the woods as a punishment for their failure, and started on his return to the coast. The youngest sister, whose powers had not been tried, called after him and touched his heart. He offered to take her and leave the rest behind, but she would not consent to abandon her sisters. One of them chanted a mele to soften his heart, but he remained obdurate.

He proceeded to the coast, the sisters following as best they could, and when they saw him and his attendants seated in the canoes and ready for departure, Maile-kaluhea chanted a touching mele; but he heeded it not and put out to sea.

The sisters traveled by land and met Aiwohikupua as he was about to go ashore at Punahoa, but he avoided them by again setting sail. They then traveled overland to Honolii, where their brother had stopped for supplies. They watched during the night, and when Aiwohikupua was about to embark in the morning his sisters drew near, and Kahalaomapuana chanted a pathetic song, and with so great effect that her brother invited her into his canoe, placed her on his knee and wept over her.

Ordering his rowers to pull out to sea with his youngest sister, whom he still held in his embrace, she begged him to return for the others, and when he refused she chanted a farewell song, leaped overboard and swam ashore.

The sisters then decided to return to Paliuli, scarcely knowing where else to go on the island of Hawaii, where they were strangers. Arriving there, they found shelter in a clump of hala trees near the house of Laieikawai, the doors of which were kept continually closed. Failing to attract the attention of the inmates, the sisters concluded to keep a fire burning at night and to sing by turns—Maile-haiwale the first night, Maile-kaluhea the second, and so on for four nights; but no notice was taken of them.

On the fifth night it was the turn of the youngest sister to sing. She lighted the fire, made a musical instrument of a ti leaf and played upon it. She did this in the evening and morning watches for two nights. Laieikawai had never heard the instrument before, and it delighted her. So she sent her kahu, a hunchback, to first spy out the musician, and then bring before her the person who was capable of making such music.

Following the kahu, Kahalaomapuana found Laieikawai resting on the wings of birds, with two iiwipolenas perched upon her shoulders. She was kindly received, played before her, and told her of her sisters. Touched by the recital, Laieikawai ordered a house to be built for them, and formally adopted them as her companions and guards. They were fed by birds and lived as in an enchanted bower.

On the return to Kauai of Aiwohikupua from his second voyage he had a great feast prepared, and all the guests were made drunk on awa. Under the influence of the liquor Aiwohikupua divulged the secret of his mission to Hawaii, and told all about his unsuccessful efforts in seeking to secure an interview with the princess of Paliuli.

Hauailiki, a handsome young chief of Mana, rose to his feet and boasted that he could achieve without difficulty what Aiwohikupua had failed to accomplish; whereupon the latter offered to furnish him with a canoe and men to sail it if he would undertake to make good his boast, and each made a wager of his lands on the result.

Hauailiki set sail for Hawaii the next day, and on his arrival at Keaau was greatly admired for his manly beauty. The following morning a dense fog enveloped the place, and when it cleared away he saw seven women sitting by the seaside, one of whom was Laieikawai.

To attract her attention Hauailiki for four successive days appeared before her in the surf, performing many difficult feats of swimming and diving, but she gave him no heed. On the fifth day he exhibited his skill in surf-swimming, and won applause from all but Laieikawai. He then showed himself as a surf-swimmer without a board. His skill was then recognized by Laieikawai, and she beckoned him to approach, and threw around his neck a lei lehua, or garland of lehua blossoms. Immediately the fog settled down, and when it cleared Laieikawai and her party had left for Paliuli.

Hauailiki and his guide determined to follow the party at once, and, traveling all night, they reached Paliuli in the morning. Approaching the house, they were met by Maile-haiwale, the first sentinel, who ordered them to retire. But they passed her by force, as they did the second, third and fourth guards, until they met Kahalaomapuana near the door of the house, resting on the wings of birds. She ordered them back, threatening that the birds should pick their bones, and they returned in haste to Keaau.

Undecided what course to pursue, Hauailiki dreamed of meeting Laieikawai several nights in succession, and at last resolved to visit Paliuli again and without an attendant. Reaching the spot, he approached the house by a back path without encountering the sentinels, and found Kahalaomapuana asleep at the door. He pushed aside the feather curtain, entered the room, and found Laieikawai asleep, resting on the wings of birds. He awoke her, and she ordered him away. He pleaded with her and told her of his dreams, but she insisted upon his departure. Kahalaomapuana then came to the assistance of her mistress, and drove the importunate suitor back to Keaau.

Abandoning the undertaking as hopeless, Hauailiki returned to Kauai. Arriving at Wailua, he was welcomed by a large gathering of chiefs, and when he had told his story Aiwohikupua generously forgave him his wager.

Rejoiced to learn that his sisters had become the attendants of Laieikawai, Aiwohikupua resolved to revisit Paliuli. He assembled a fleet of twenty double and thirty single canoes, forty peleleus for his attendants, and a triple canoe for himself and counselor, and set sail for Hawaii.

Waka knew of the arrival of the fleet at Keaau, and admonished Laieikawai not to visit the coast. The sisters were put on guard, and Kahalaomapuana summoned to their defence their terrible patron god Kihanuilulumoku, a moo, or gigantic lizard.

The night following these preparations Aiwohikupua and his guide made their appearance at Paliuli. Five tabu sticks, covered with white kapa, had been set at intervals beyond the house; but the invaders disregarded them and pushed on, until they encountered Maile-haiwale, the first sentinel. She ordered them to retire, and sent a bird to summon the rest of her sisters. The youngest came, borne on the wings of birds, and drove her brother back, telling him that they were no longer sisters of his.

Aiwohikupua returned to Keaau, resolved to secure by force what he had been unable to effect by strategy. He therefore sent up to Paliuli a detachment of ten warriors, but they were promptly slain by the lizard god. After waiting for two days he sent another detachment of twenty warriors, with a competent officer, and all of them shared the same fate. He next sent forty men, and still other forties, until eight forties in all had perished.

He next despatched his two swift messengers to inquire about the fate of his warriors. They met a bird-catcher above Olaa, who told them of the moo and his dreadful work. Presently they heard the roaring of the wind and the crash of falling trees, and the monster appeared in the path before them. They reassumed their bird forms, however, and escaped by flying.

Aiwohikupua then summoned Kalahumoku, the man-eating dog from Kahiki, to kill the moo and bring to him Laieikawai; and with the dog he sent his two bird messengers, to bring him early tidings of the result.

As the two monsters met, a column of fog rose and drifted toward the sea. This warned Aiwohikupua that the dog had been defeated. Late in the day the animal returned, badly wounded and with ears and tail missing, and the whole party set sail for Kauai.

Arriving home, Aiwohikupua thought of his engagement with the beautiful Poliahu, and began to perform certain expiatory rites to relieve himself of the oath he had taken not to marry a woman of the Hawaiian Islands. He then sent his two bird messengers to Poliahu, to inform her that he was preparing to fulfil his engagement.

By mistake the birds flew to Hana. They inquired for the betrothed of the Kauai chief, and were directed to Hinaikamalama. They informed her that three months were to be spent in preparation, and that in the fourth month, in the night of kulu, Aiwohikupua would come to claim his bride. These were the words they had been instructed to speak to Poliahu, but by mistake they were told to another, who joyously replied: “He remembers, then, the game of konane which we played together.”

On the return of the bird messengers the blunder was discovered, and they were banished from the court. Then the koae, or tropic bird, was sent to Poliahu with the same message with which the others had been entrusted.

Aiwohikupua, relieved of his oath, waited until the 24th day of the third month, and then set sail in great state, with forty double and eighty single canoes, and twenty peleleus. On the 11th day of the fourth month he arrived at Kawaihae, and despatched the koae to inform Poliahu, who named Waiulaula as the place for the marriage.

To give brilliancy to the ceremony Aiwohikupua dressed his petty chiefs, male and female, in feather cloaks, and many of his female attendants in fine mats. He wore the white mantle given to him by Poliahu, and a red feather helmet. His rowers were clad in fine red kapas. On the platform of the chief’s double canoe was raised an anu, covered with yellow cloaks, and above it stood the tabu puloulou. Around this canoe were ten others, carrying musicians skilled in playing the hula drum and other instruments.

On the day of kulu the three great mountains were covered with snow, which was the sign promised by Poliahu. On the arrival of Aiwohikupua and his party at Waiulaula they were met by Poliahu, Lilinoe, Waiau and Kahoupokane, the three latter being mountain goddesses. The men suffered from cold but on being apprised of the fact Poliahu and her friends removed their snow mantles, causing the snow on the mountains to retire to its usual limits.

Aiwohikupua and Poliahu were then made man and wife. Feasting and music followed, and the happy pair returned together to Kauai, making their residence above Honopuwai.

In revenge for their dismissal the banished bird messengers informed Hinaikamalama of the marriage of her betrothed. Angered at his perfidy, she persuaded her parents to make a visit with her to Kauai.

There was a gathering of chiefs at Mana, Kauai, to celebrate the nuptials of Hauailiki and Makaweli. The night was spent in games, dancing and other pastimes. A game of kilu was in progress. At midnight Hinaikamalama entered the kilu shed and sat down among the circle of players. Observing her, Hauailiki requested the mea ume (drawer) to tell Aiwohikupua to stop the hula kaeke and take part in the game of kilu, in order to enable him to make her his prize. Accordingly, when Hauailiki won at the game, the mea ume went around the circle and threw the maile wreath over him. The wreath was then removed and placed over the shoulders of Hinaikamalama. She rose to her feet and requested permission to speak. She asked in whose honor the festival was being given, and, on being informed of the occasion, requested Hauailiki to delay the fulfilment of the ume, and then proceeded to tell her story of the faithlessness of Aiwohikupua.

The story created a great sensation, and the conduct of Aiwohikupua was universally condemned. Poliahu was enraged and returned to Mauna Kea, and the chief agreed to fulfil his engagement with Hinaikamalama. The night of their marriage Poliahu sent the chill of her snow mantle upon her rival, and she was benumbed with cold. Her teeth chattered, and it was with difficulty that she could be kept from freezing.

A second time, when she and Aiwohikupua came together, an intense chill came over her. She was frightened, and inquired the cause. The chief answered: “The cold is sent by your rival. Betake you at once to a fire, that you may not perish.”

The next day at noon they met, as had been previously arranged. Poliahu put on her sun mantle, and a scorching heat almost consumed her rival. Again they met, but were unable to remain together, and Hinaikamalama unceremoniously left Kauai, without even touching noses with Aiwohikupua.

Before she left for Maui, however, a kilu game was arranged at Puuapapai, and Hauailiki, still mindful of his success at Mana, endeavored to secure the fruits of his victory. But Hinaikamalama refused to yield, unless the victor would come to Hana in proper state and formally make her his wife.

During the game Poliahu and her companions appeared in glittering robes of snow and chilled the assemblage, and the next morning they returned to Mauna Kea, while Hinaikamalama set sail for Hana.

III.

The king and queen of Kauai both dying a short time after the events just before recorded, they left the sovereignty of the island to their son, Kekalukaluokewa. They also left in his charge a magical bamboo (ohe) called Kanikawi, and enjoined upon him a promise to seek out and marry Laieikawai, of whom many reports had reached Kauai.

The new king ordered an immense fleet of canoes for his trip to Hawaii, and sailed in the month of Mahoemua, or August. At Makahanaloa he saw the rainbow over Keaau, and sailed thither. Waka foresaw his coming and advised Laieikawai to marry him and become the queen of a whole island.

After waiting four days Laieikawai and her kahu, the hunchback, went down to Keaau, and watched the king and his two favorite companions sporting in the surf. They knew the king by his not carrying his own surf-board when he landed. She returned to Paliuli and informed Waka that she would accept him for a husband.

Waka then arranged that Kekalukaluokewa should go at sunrise the next morning and play in the surf alone; that a dense fog should settle down, under cover of which Laieikawai would join him in the surf; that when the fog raised the two would be seen by all riding in together on the same roller, and then they were to touch noses. A fog would again envelop them, and then birds would bear the pair to Paliuli. She was forbidden to speak to any one after leaving the house.

Now, it appears that Halaaniani, a young man of Puna, noted for his debaucheries, had often seen Laieikawai at Keaau, and ardently longed to possess her. Learning that she was about to marry the king of Kauai, he implored his sister, Malio, to exert her magical powers in his behalf. She consented, and by her direction they both went to sleep, and when they awoke related to each other their dreams. She dreamed that she saw a bird building a nest and leaving it in the possession of another, which was a sure omen in favor of Halaaniani. Malio declared that her magic powers would prevail over those of Waka, and gave her brother minute instructions, which he strictly observed, as will appear.

They went to the beach and saw Kekalukaluokewa swimming alone in the surf. Soon the fog of Waka settled down on the land. A clap of thunder was heard as Laieikawai reached the surf. A second peal resounded, invoked by Malio. The fog lifted, and three persons instead of two were seen in the surf. This was noted with surprise on shore.

When the first roller came the king said, “Let us go ashore,” and he rode in on the breaker with Laieikawai, while Halaaniani remained behind. At that moment the king and his companion touched noses. Three times they rode in on the waves, while Halaaniani, as directed by his sister, remained outside among the rollers.

The fourth time Laieikawai asked the king why he desired to repeat the sport so often. “Because,” said he, “I am not used to the short surf; I prefer to ride on the long rollers.” The fifth was to be the last time for the Kauai king and his promised bride.

As soon as the two started for the shore Halaaniani seized Laieikawai by the feet and held her back, so that the surf-board slipped from her grasp, and Kekalukaluokewa was borne to the shore without her. She complained of the loss of her surf-board, and it was restored to her.

Halaaniani persuaded her to swim farther out to sea with him, telling her not to look back, as he would let her know when they reached his surf. After swimming for some time she remonstrated, but he induced her to continue on with him. At last he told her to look back.

“Why,” said she, in amazement, “the land is out of sight, and Kumukahi, the sea-god, has come to stir the waves!”

“This is the surf of which I told you,” he replied; “we will wait and go in on the third roller. Do not in any case let go of your surf-board.”

Then he prayed to his patron deity, and the breakers began to rise. As the third came thundering on, he exclaimed, “Pae kaua!” and, mounting the roller, they started for the shore. Laieikawai was in the overhanging arch of the wave, and, looking up, saw Halaaniani poised with great skill on the crest. At that moment she began to yield to the seductive fascination of Halaaniani.

As they came in, Waka supposed her companion to be Kekalukaluokewa, and she sent down the birds in the fog; and when it cleared away Laieikawai and Halaaniani were occupants of the feather-house at Paliuli, where their union was consummated.

Waka wondered why her granddaughter did not come to her that night or the next day, as had been promised, and the day following she went to the house to learn if anything serious had happened. Laieikawai and her husband were sleeping soundly. Waka was enraged, for the man was not the one she had selected.

Waking her granddaughter and pointing to the man, she exclaimed, “Who is this?”

“Kekalukaluokewa,” was the answer.

“No,” returned Waka; “this is Halaaniani, the brother of Malio!”

Angered at the deception, Waka declared that she would deprive Laieikawai of her powers and privileges, and desired never to behold her face again.

Abandoning Laieikawai, Waka resolved to assume the charge of her twin-sister, Laielohelohe, and wed her to the king of Kauai. She had been left, it will be remembered, with the priest of Kukaniloko, on the island of Oahu. To this end Waka had a new house erected, and, borrowing a double canoe from Kekalukaluokewa, sailed at once for Oahu.

Arriving at Kukaniloko, she offered a pig as a propitiation, and explained her errand to Kapukaihaoa, who approved her plans and delivered Laielohelohe into her charge.

After an absence of thirty-three days Waka returned to Keaau with the sister of Laieikawai. At her command the fog gathered, and they were secretly borne by birds to their new house at Paliuli. Within three days she had a consultation with Kekalukaluokewa in relation to his marriage with Laielohelohe. She directed him to build a large kilu shed, and there assemble the people of the district, that the ceremony might be celebrated with becoming pomp.

Meanwhile, Halaaniani had seen Laielohelohe, and determined to secure her for himself. With this object he persuaded Laieikawai to go down to Keaau with him for a few days of sea-bathing, leaving her faithful attendants behind. Arriving there, he told her that he was about to visit his sister, Malio, and if he did not return in two days she might consider him dead.

On the twelfth day the five sisters went down to Keaau and joined their mistress in wailing over her husband, whom she believed to be dead. Soon after they all had dreams of Halaaniani with another woman, and concluded to cease their mourning and return to Paliuli.

Halaaniani visited his sister and induced her to assist him in his designs concerning Laielohelohe. She advised him to watch her for four days, and report his observations. He did so, and reported that her chief occupation was stringing lehua flowers; and he climbed a tree to observe her, while his sister sounded the pulai, or ti-leaf trumpet, five times, and again five times; but Laielohelohe did not take the slightest notice of it.

The next morning they went there again, and he climbed a tree with a mass of lehua blossoms, and threw them down before her, while his sister played the hano, a sweet-toned wind instrument. This attracted the attention of Laielohelohe, and, without seeing the musician, she expressed her thanks.

The morning following they repeated these manœuvres three times. Then Laielohelohe spoke and said: “If the musician is a woman, let us touch noses.”

With this Malio showed herself, and proposed that she should touch noses with her brother first. This angered her, and she ordered both of them to leave.

Malio admitted her failure, but promised to resort to supernatural agencies, and win Laielohelohe for her brother on her wedding-day, as had been done with Laieikawai.

About this time Waka went down to communicate to Kekalukaluokewa her programme for the marriage ceremonies, fixed for the day following. He was to order the people and his court to assemble at the appointed place, and at noon was to retire to his own house. She would then cover the land with a thick mist, and the singing of birds would be heard; first the quack of the alae and the chirruping of ewaewaiki, on hearing which he would step without the house. Next he would hear the singing of the oo, which would indicate that she was about to send to him Laielohelohe. Then would be heard the notes of the iiwipolena, and his bride would be near him. Lastly, he would hear the singing of the ka’huli, and they would meet apart from the assemblage, when thunder would peal, the earth would quake, and the people would tremble. Then the two would be borne upward by birds, the mist would clear away, and they would be seen resting upon the birds in glory.

Laieikawai and the five sisters were anxious to witness the coming display, of which they had heard, and Kahalaomapuana engaged the moo god, Kihanuilulumoku, to convey them thither at the appointed time.

Malio assured her brother again that her power would prevail over the efforts of Waka, and the preliminaries of the ceremony began. At noon Kekalukaluokewa, dressed as became the occasion, entered his house, as had been arranged. He heard the singing of birds, came forth in the fog, and awaited the coming of his bride. A clap of thunder followed, when the fog lifted, and Laielohelohe and Halaaniani were seen rising in the air on the wings of birds. Laieikawai and her attendants witnessed the ascension, sitting on the tongue of the great moo.

Believing that he had again lost his bride, Kekalukaluokewa sought Waka, to chide her for the failure. “She is not his yet,” said Waka, “for she has obeyed my command not to speak to or touch noses with him”; and, to reassure the king, she offered to stake her life that all would yet be well.

As they approached the place of assembly Waka again enveloped it in fog, and immediately sent Kekalukaluokewa upward in the air on the wings of birds. When the fog cleared away, Kekalukaluokewa and Laielohelohe were beheld sitting together, upborne by birds, and the multitude shouted, “Hoao na ’lii! e!” (“the chiefs are married!”)

When Waka heard these acclamations she appeared before the congregation and denounced Laieikawai in the most opprobrious terms. The latter departed in shame and rage, and was carried by the moo, together with the five sisters, to Olaa, where she took up her residence.

Halaaniani’s misdemeanors finally brought him into great contempt, and he was despised and condemned by all. The Kauai king returned home with his bride, taking with him Waka. On their way they stopped at Oahu to take on board the priest Kapukaihaoa, who became the prime minister of Kauai.

IV.

The sisters of Aiwohikupua, chagrined at what had befallen their mistress, resolved to send Kahalaomapuana to Kealohilani, in a far-distant land, to bring their brother, Kaonohiokala, to marry Laieikawai, in order that she might triumph over Waka.

Accordingly, she started on her voyage, being carried by the gigantic moo god, Kihanuilulumoku. Meantime, Laieikawai and her train made a pleasure trip around Hawaii, first to Kau, then to Kona, and next to Kohala.

Becoming discouraged, the old prophet of Kauai had left Kaiwilahilahi, Hawaii, and started for his native island. Touching at Waimea, he saw the well-known rainbow over Kaiopae, a half-hour’s journey north of Kawaihae, and followed it to Moolau, and then to Puakea, in Kohala, where he finally met and conversed with Laieikawai.

He procured a double canoe for the party, and they sailed together to Laie, Oahu, where he learned the history of Laieikawai. That night his guardian deity informed him in a dream that she was the person he had been seeking for so long, and directed him to take the party to Haena, Kauai. In the morning he offered a pig and fowl before her, and obtained her consent for him to become her guardian. They then sailed for Kauai, and settled at Honopuwaiakua.

In one of his subsequent tours the prophet found, on arriving at Wailua, that all the virgin daughters of the petty chiefs and courtiers on Kauai had been collected there, in order that Aiwohikupua might select two new wives to take the places of Poliahu and Hinaikamalama.

The prophet spoke so contemptuously of the girls brought there for inspection, and boasted so loudly of the beauty and graces of his adopted daughter, that a quarrel arose and he was thrown into prison. He escaped during the night, however, and it was reported to the chief that he was dead. He had left a banana trunk wrapped in cloth, and it was offered on the altar of the heiau in the place of his body.

At the moment when the deception was discovered the prophet made his appearance on the platform of a double canoe at the mouth of the river, with Laieikawai and the five sisters on board. Then Laieikawai stepped upon the platform, surrounded with the insignia of a tabu chief, and the winds ceased, the sea rose, thunders reverberated, lightnings flashed, and the heiau and altar were shaken almost to ruins.

The assembled multitude shouted in admiration of the beauty of Laieikawai, and Aiwohikupua, after recovering from the shock of what he had witnessed, sent a herald to demand her in marriage. But the prophet proudly answered that she was not for such as he, and would marry no one of lower rank than the sovereign of an island. They then returned to Honopuwaiakua.

We will now return to Kahalaomapuana, who was sent to a far-distant land in search of her brother, in the hope of making him the husband of Laieikawai. For four months the great moo swam with her in his mouth, and they arrived at last at Kealohilani. But the guardian of the place was absent on a visit to the Moon, and they awaited his return for twenty days.

On his arrival he was greatly alarmed at the sight of the gigantic reptile, lying with his head in the house and his tail in the sea, and without a word flew to Nuumealani to consult Kaeloikamalama, the powerful kupua, who shut the door of the pea kapu of the Kukulu o Kahiki, where Kaonohiokala was concealed.

They returned together, the kupua armed with a laau palau a hundred paces long with which to slay the moo. Just as he was preparing to strike, the moo stirred his tail in the ocean and sent a tremendous breaker rolling inland, and they both started to retreat. At that moment the moo cast out Kahalaomapuana on the neck of her uncle, Kaeloikamalama. He asked her who she was and the object of her visit, which she explained, and also their relationship. Then both embraced her affectionately, for they were brothers of her mother.

In furtherance of the purposes of her visit, Kaeloikamalama took his niece with him on a ten days’ journey to the place of ascent, where he called upon Lanalananuiaimakua to let down the ladder. Before long a sort of spider’s web, branching through the air, descended. He then gave his niece full directions, as follows: “Here is your way to ascend until you see a single house standing in the Moon, in the land of Kahakaekaea, where dwells Moanalihaikawaokele, your father, an old man with long hair and bent head. If he is awake do not approach him, lest he see you first, and you die before you have a chance to speak. Wait until he is asleep on his back; then cautiously approach from the leeward, spring on his breast, grasp him tightly by the beard, and chant the mele in which I will instruct you.” Instructing her in the mele, he continued: “Explain to him the object of your visit, and all will be well.” She was about to begin the ascent when he imparted this final information: “In ascending, if fine rain falls and you are chilly, fear not; it is caused by your father. Climb on, and, should you smell fragrance, know that it is caused by your mother and that you are approaching the end of your journey. If the sunbeams pierce you and the heat beats upon your head, do not fear. Persevere, and you will enter the shelter of the Moon and be safe in Kahakaekaea.”

With these instructions she boldly began the ascent. Climbing upward without ceasing, toward evening she encountered fine rain and mist; early next morning she smelt the fragrance of the shrub kiele; at midday she suffered from the heat of the sun, and in the evening entered the cool shade of the Moon, in the land of Kahakaekaea.

Observing a large house standing alone, she proceeded to the lee side, and waited until the old man fell asleep on his back. She then grasped his beard and chanted the mele, as instructed by her uncle. He awoke, but she held him where lay his strength, and his struggles were vain. He asked her who she was, and about her relatives, and her answers were satisfactory. She then let go his beard and he took her on his knee and wailed over her.

He then inquired the object of her visit, and she related the whole story. He informed her that it was not within his power to grant her request, and that she must apply to her mother, who lived with her son, Kaonohiokala, in a sacred, inaccessible place, and only visited Kahakaekaea once every month.

By stratagem she obtained an interview with her mother, Laukieleula, and after great persuasion secured her assistance in advancing the purposes of her visit. The old woman then summoned the bird-god, Haluluikekihiokamalama, to take them up into the pea kapu of the Kukulu o Kahiki. The bird reached down a wing, upon which they both mounted and were carried to Awakea (noon), the god who opens the gate of the Sun, where dwelt Kaonohiokala (the eye-ball of the sun).

They found the place shut in by thunder-clouds. They called upon Awakea, who rose with intense heat and dispersed the clouds, disclosing to their view the prince asleep in the very centre of the Sun, where the air was white with heat. He awoke. His eyes were like lightning, and his body gleamed like molten lava.

Laukieleula called to him and said: “Your favorite sister is here.” He looked up, and then summoned the guardians of the shade to appear and stand before him. This they promptly did, and the heat of the sun was mitigated. His resting-place being thus shaded, he called his sister to him and wailed over her, for they had been separated for a long time. He inquired the object of her visit, and about their sisters, and brother Aiwohikupua, and was interested in all that related to them.

Through the advice of his mother he consented to descend and marry Laieikawai, and the signs of his coming, he explained, would be as follows: First, there would be a heavy rain and high surf before he started. Next, there would be strong wind for ten days, followed by thunder without rain; then he would be in Kahakaekaea. When it thundered again twice he would be at Nuumealani, and when it thundered thrice he would be in Kealohilani. There he would lay aside his tabu supernatural form and assume the human shape as a high chief. After this there would be many portents, such as thunder, lightning, rain, fog, rainbows, high seas and mist on the ocean, and in one month thereafter he would appear on the mountain ridge at dawn. When the sun rose a halo would surround him, and in the evening, when the full moon rose in the night of Mahealani, he would appear and marry Laieikawai. After this he would punish the enemies of his sisters and his bride. As a token he gave to his sister for Laieikawai a rainbow-robe.

Kahalaomapuana was a month in returning to Kealohilani, where she found the moo in waiting for her. He swam with her across the great waters to Hawaii, but, not finding their friends at Olaa, he hunted all through the islands, like a dog scenting for his master, until he found them at Honopuwaiakua, Kauai. The whole trip occupied eleven months and fourteen days.

Kahalaomapuana gave her friends a full history of her extraordinary journey, to the dismay of Laieikawai, who was awed at the thought of her intended husband. The prophet, who knew nothing of the mission of the sister until her return, had predicted the coming of Kaonohiokala a month before; and now he traveled around the island warning the people, and advising Aiwohikupua, in particular, to set up tabu flags all around his place and collect his family within the precinct; but he was repelled with insult. He gave the same advice to Kekalukaluokewa, who obeyed it in spite of the opposition of Waka.

Ten days after the return of Kahalaomapuana the portents began to appear in the order already named, and in due time Kaonohiokala appeared, surrounded by a halo. Shouts of acclamation and homage were heard throughout the island, and Laieikawai put on her rainbow robe.

In the evening, as the full moon rose, the prince descended from the mountain and came within the circle of the prophet, and they all prostrated themselves before him. He spoke graciously to them, and told Laieikawai that he had come to make good the promise made to her through his sister. Then all shouted, “Amana! ua noa, lele wale aku la!”

A rainbow appeared, and on it the prince and his bride were suddenly drawn upward to the moon. A few nights after, as the moon was directly overhead, a rainbow was let down like a ladder, on which they descended. Summoning the prophet, the prince directed him to travel around the island and make proclamation for all to assemble at the end of ten days at Pihanakalani. The five sisters, and afterwards the prophet, were taken up to dwell in the coolness of the moon.

One morning the assemblage at Pihanakalani saw the rainbow again let down from the moon, and standing upon it were the prince and his bride, the five sisters and the prophet.

Vengeance was executed upon Waka, who was killed by a thunderbolt, and upon Aiwohikupua, who was reduced to poverty and contempt. Laielohelohe and Kekalukaluokewa were retained in favor under Kahalaomapuana, who was designated as the regent of her brother, and the four other sisters were made the governesses of the rest of the islands of the group.

The affairs of state being thus summarily settled, Kaonohiokala again departed with his bride up the rainbow beyond the clouds, to dwell in the pea kapu o Kukulu o Kahiki, above the land called Kahakaekaea.

V.

Kaonohiokala made quarterly visits to his earthly dominions, to see that all went well with their rulers. Laielohelohe had grown more beautiful than her sister, and he became enamored of her.

To promote his designs he made Kahalaomapuana joint regent with Mokukelekahiki in Kealohilani, and appointed Kekalukaluokewa to the regency of the entire group. He then requested the regent to make a tour of the islands, leaving Laielohelohe at Pihanakalani. He next applied to her guardian, Kapukaihaoa, and gained his consent to aid in her seduction.

After Kaonohiokala had made two more trips to earth in furtherance of this intrigue, Laielohelohe resolved to seek her husband, and set sail, accordingly, for the windward islands. She found him at Honokalani, Maui, engaged in an amour with Hinaikamalama, the Hana chiefess who had abandoned Aiwohikupua. After unavailing efforts to reclaim him she returned to Kauai.

Kaonohiokala then renewed his visits, and at last remained a year with the deserted wife. The forsaken Laieikawai appealed to her father-in-law, who directed her to go to the tabu heiau when old Laukieleula was asleep, and consult the bowl of knowledge. It was a wooden bowl, covered with wicker-work, the edge of the lid being decorated with feathers, and with carved images of birds standing on the rim. She was to remove the lid, insert her face in the bowl, and call “Laukapalili!” to give her the knowledge she required.

She followed these directions and saw what her husband was doing on earth. His father and mother also looked, and observed for themselves the treachery of their son. Straightway the ladder was let down to the presence of Kaonohiokala. The sky was darkened and filled with uncanny forms, and ghastly voices wailed through the air, “Ua haule ka lani!”—“the heaven has fallen!”

Then the three were seen standing together upon the rainbow ladder, and Moanalihaikawaokele proceeded to pronounce judgment on Kaonohiokala. He was never to return to the upper world, and was doomed to become a lapu—a spectre or wandering ghost—and live on butterflies.

Kahalaomapuana took his place in the sun. Laieikawai, at her earnest request, was restored to earth to live with her sister, and the government of the group was entrusted to the prophet.

Laieikawai had her name changed to Ka wahine o ka liula—“the lady of the twilight”—under which title she was worshipped by certain families after her death.