Hawaiian Historical Legends. William D. Westervelt

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СКАЧАТЬ and the natural environment. Interpretations of the world were poetic and not scientific.

      All things were seen as having an inner essence, called mana, which was the vital force of an object. This mana was protected by taboos (kapu in Hawaiian), which were a collection of prohibitions that protected the part of a person or thing which gave power and effectiveness. Kapu was inconvenient, and dangerous if infringed. Many a slave or commoner died for letting his shadow fall across a seated chief—mana had been interfered with and a kapu broken! Such was the law of old Hawaii. No police force was necessary.

      Once discovered by Captain James Cook for the Western world, the Hawaiian islands became a convenient refreshment place for exploring expeditions, whalers, sandalwood traders and the like. A half-century of such contacts passed before the arrival of the missionaries who introduced the semblance of Western society and social order. Before the arrival of the missionaries, various drifters, beachcombers, and adventurers, both good and bad, imposed themselves on the Hawaiians. Everybody who came wanted something of the Hawaiian people, whether it was wood, water, pigs, potatoes, women, or sandalwood. It says much for Hawaiian patience that more ships were not taken and more heads broken by clubs.

      Dr. Westervelt uses the old forms of Hawaiian spelling. There are no hamzas to mark the glottal closures or macrons to indicate a vowel lengthened in pronunciation. But in the interest of preserving this unusual collection intact, it was decided to let the book stand exactly as it was first published.

      It is, however, necessary to draw attention to the two controversial issues raised by Dr. Westervelt that have been since resolved. The first is the question of a pre-Cook Spanish discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, and the second is the charge that Captain Cook was an immoral man and a desecrater of temples.

      The truth is, no scholar has succeeded in establishing any historical evidence for a Spanish discovery prior to that of Captain Cook. As for the character of Cook, he was a singularly chaste man who declined all offers of women. This unusual behavior for a sailor was even remarked on by the men who sailed with him and who best knew his habits. As for the allegation that Cook desecrated a Hawaiian temple, the structure concerned was in decay and the wooden fences around it were taken by Cook's men after the Hawaiians had given their permission and received payment for the wood. The Hawaiians probably intended that only the fence be removed, but the sailors assigned to the job had little respect for images of gods and took them too. It was a shocking act to which Cook was not a part, and when the Hawaiians asked for the return of one particular figure it was given to them.

      The story, "The Ivory of Oahu," also calls for some explanation. It would help the uninformed reader to know that a special type of necklace of old Hawaii was made from the tooth of a sperm whale carved into a hook-like form, then suspended with yards of finely plaited human hair looped many times and passed through a hole drilled in the tooth. This ornament is called a lei-niho-palaoa, which means a lei or necklace with a whale tooth. Such necklaces were worn only by persons of high rank. The hair used to make them was probably from the head of an important person, such as an immediate ancestor, and they were precious and kapu. (The head was the most sacred part of the body; the mere touching of a chief's head was a death warrant to a commoner.)

      Dr. Westervelt came to Hawaii in 1889 for two years of missionary work. After a brief return to the United States mainland, he came back to the islands in 1905 where he lived until his death in 1939. He married a Miss Caroline D. Castle of a pioneer missionary family and settled down to an active life of preaching, writing, and helping others in his adopted society. The Westervelt home at Waikiki was for decades a democratic gathering place for those interested in art, music, or literature. Regardless of race, creed, or rank, all were welcome.

      Dr. Westervelt did as much as anyone to popularize Hawaiian legends and historical tales. On the dedication page he refers to Hawaiian Historical Legends as his sixth book; it is certainly one of his most charming collections of stories. First published in 1923, this book went through several editions in the 1920s, but until now it has not been readily available for several decades.

      Terence Barrow, Ph.D.

      PREFACE

      FROM mist to sunshine—from fabled gods to a constitution and legislature as a Territory of the United States—this is the outline of the stories told in the present volume. This outline is thoroughly Hawaiian in the method of presentation. The old people rehearsed stories depending upon stories told before. They cared very little for dates. This is a book of stories related to each other.

      Veiled by the fogs of imagination are many interesting facts concerning kings and chiefs which have been passed over untouched—such as the voyages of the vikings of the Pacific, who left names and legends around the islands. For instance, Hilo, in the island of Hawaii, is named after Whiro, a noted viking who sailed through many island groups with his brother, Punga, after whom the district of Puna is named. Ka-kuhi-hewa, ruler of Oahu, was the King Arthur of the Hawaiians, with a band of noted chiefs around his poi-bowl. Umi was a remarkable king of the island Hawaii. Many individual incidents of these persons are yet to be related.

      The Hawaiian language papers since 1835, Fornander's Polynesian Researches, and many of the old Hawaiians have been of great assistance in searching for these "fragments of Hawaiian history," now set forth in this book.

      W. D. W.

      PRONUNCIATION

      In reading Hawaiian words do not end a syllable with a consonant, and pronounce all vowels as if they were Italian or French.

       a = a in father.

       e = e in they.

       i = i in pin.

       o = o in hold.

       u = oo in spoon.

      This is a fairly good rule for the pronunciation of all Polynesian words.

      I

       MAUI THE POLYNESIAN

      AMONG the really ancient ancestors of the Hawaiian chiefs, Maui is one of the most interesting. His name is found in different places in the high chief genealogy. He belonged to the mist land of time. He was one of the Polynesian demi-gods. He was possessed of supernatural power and made use of all manner of enchantments. In New Zealand antiquity he was said to have aided other gods in the creation of man.

      Nevertheless he was very human. He lived in thatched houses, had wives and children, and was scolded by the women for not properly supporting his family. Yet he continually worked for the good of men. His mischievous pranks would make him another Mercury living in any age before the beginning of the Christian era.

      When Maui was born his mother, not caring for him, cut off a lock of her hair, tied it around him and cast him into the sea. In this way the name came to him, Maui-Tiki-Tiki, "Maui formed in the topknot."

      The waters bore him safely. Jellyfish enwrapped him and mothered him. The god of the seas protected him. He was carried to the god's house and hung up in the roof that he might feel the warm air of the fire and be cherished into life.

      When he was old enough he came to his relations while they were at home, dancing and making merry. Little Maui crept in and sat down behind his brothers. His mother called the children and found a strange child, who soon proved that he was her son. Some of the brothers were jealous, but the eldest addressed the others as follows:

      "Never mind; let him be our dear brother. In the days of peace remember the proverb, 'When you are on friendly terms, settle your disputes in a СКАЧАТЬ