Tales of the Mermaids of Waiahuakua “Na Kama Kai” By Kohana Au Copyright © 2011 by Kohana Au/Tapestry Entertainment First Edition – May 2011 Table of Contents ISBN 978-1-77067-566-7 (Paperback) 978-1-77067-567-4 (eBook) “Na Kama Kai” ...... viii
“The First Rock” ...... x All rights reserved . “The First Rock” ...... xi No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without A distant place lying in quietness for Ku, for Lono, for Kane and Kanaloa ...... 2 permission in writing from the publisher . “The Beginnings”...... 3
Photographs by Michael L . Huffman, Watercolors by Ric Madden, “Ku, Lono, Kanaloa and Kane”...... 7 Oils on canvas by Linda Rowell Stevens, Fantasy Mermaids by Yuehui Tang “Namakaokaha’i”...... 8
Published by: “Hanalei Moonbow” ...... 9
THOSE OF THE SEA...... 10
“Islands”...... 11
Suite 300 – 852 Fort Street “Gifts from Lono and Kanaloa”...... 14 Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 1H8 “Keli’ikuhonua”...... 15
www .friesenpress com. “Waiahuakua Mermaid” ...... 16 Distributed to the trade by The Ingram Book Company “The Night of the New Moon”...... 18 “Moholani and Kulilo”...... 47
“Ko’iko’i honihon’i”...... 19 “Wicked Sirens of the Sea” ...... 49
“Te’Hora”...... 21 “Drama Dance” (Hula-o-lapa)...... 51
“Waiahuakua, the cave of the waterfall”...... 23 “Hula-o-lapa” ...... 52
“Te’Hora and the Butterfly”...... 24 “The Princess and the Rainbow”...... 54
“Edge of the Land” ...... 26 “Rainbow” ...... 55
“Edge of the Land”...... 27 Pali-uli Rainbow ...... 56
“Nualolo Kai”...... 28 “A second cock crowed”...... 57
“Ward of Kanaloa”...... 30 “Laie the Beautiful”...... 58
“Kanaloa”...... 31 “Four Fragrances”...... 60
“The Water of Kane”...... 33 “Five Maile Sisters” ...... 63
“The Water of Kane”...... 34 “He came to his canoe ...... 65
“Bather”...... 37 “Fragrant Hala Blossom”(Kahalaomapuana)...... 66.
“Niele and Mikeale”...... 39 “Kahalaomapuana”...... 67
“Niele” ...... 40 “Fragrant Hala Blossom” (Kahalaomapuana)...... 68 “Humuhumunukunuku a pua’a”...... 42 “Woman in the Falls” ...... 69. “Nani Wahine Kai” ...... 43 “Forest of Pali-uli” ...... 71 “The Divine Mo’o Moholani”...... 45 “Pal-iuli” ...... 73 “The Divine Mo’o – Moholani” ...... 46 “Kealakahiki”...... 75 “Aloha” ...... 108
“Northward”...... 76 Key to Hawaiian Pronunciation...... 109
“The Country under the Sea” Hawaiian Alphabet ...... 109 (Lalo-hana)...... 79 “Mermaid in the Waterfall”...... 110 “Hinaaikamalama” ...... 80 Acknowledgements...... 111 “Statue of the King”...... 82 “Kananaka” ...... 113 “Hina”...... 83 “Full Moon” ...... 116 “…shining on the sea it was called “ana”...... 85 Kohana Au – Author...... 117 “Land surrounded by the great oceans”...... 87 “Big Island Mermaid” ...... 118 Hina on the Moon...... 89 “Marquesas Mermaid” ...... 119 “Hina on the Moon” ...... 92
“The Goddess Pele” ...... 94
“The Goddess Pele”...... 95
“Lava”...... 97
“Hi’iaka, Hopoe and Pele”...... 99
“Hi’iaka and Hopoe”...... 100
“She-Who-Shapes-The-Sacred-Land”...... 101
Aloha (Forever Love) ...... 103
The o’o of the forest ...... 107 Tales of the Mermaids of Waiahuakua
The Raging storm had blown us far off course
when a huge wave knocked us down
somewhere at sea I know not where.
All were lost, save me.
I am alive today only by the grace
of those who rescued me.
I tell you their story, dear friends,
as it was told to me, as it has been told
for many generations
by “Those of the Sea.”
Kohana Au
“Na Kama Kai”
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“The First Rock”
Pardon me, noble chiefs and lineages,
For now the searching place is far and difficult;
The old plantations once scattered on the roads
Have quite disappeared and gone with them their generation,
But although they lie in very thick bush,
Search will be made at any rate,
For Touiafutuna, the first Rock,
Where our origin began.
Though these are only traditions and fables,
‘Tis here the inquirers get their facts.
xi Kohana Au
“The Beginnings”
“The First Rock”
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“The Beginnings”
“Here I am on the day,
On the peak of night,
The spaces of air.
The blue sky I will make, a heaven,
A heaven for Ku, for Lono,
A heaven for me, Kane.
Three heavens, a heaven.
Behold the heavens!
There is the heaven,
The great heaven,
Here I am in heaven,
The heaven is mine.”
Ever so long before the memories of mankind, the great gods, Kane, Kanaloa, Ku, and Lono came forth out of the night and created the Earth . The sea, however, had always been .
The great God of Creation Kane told the others, “I shall make a chief to rule over this earth . Let us together provide for all of his needs .”
A distant place lying in quietness for Ku, for Lono, for Kane and Kanaloa .
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Kanaloa, god of the forever endless seas, said “I will fill the waters with liv- Candlenut torches, to light the chief’s way. ing things, creatures of the sea for the chief’s use and delight .” Sandalwood to make a fragrance to rest around the chief’s heart.
Born was the coral, Lono, god of growing things, said “I will make food plants to grow; food Born was the starfish, for the chief with flowers to beautify and please him.”
Born was the conch shell;
Born was the fish, Green blades came sprouting:
Born was the porpoise, Coconut, breadfruit, sweet potato, sugar cane,
Born was the shark in the oceans there swimming. Taro, banana, arrowroot, yam.
Colorful and fragrant blossoms came sprouting:
Ku, god of forests, said “I shall make trees to grow; trees to provide wood for the chief .” Kiele, lehua, ie’ie, maile, iini, tiere, ginger, orchid, Hibiscus, hala, plumeria.
Thick grew the forests: Kane said, “I will fill the earth with living things, land creatures for the chief’s dominion and use.”
The koa and candlenut;
Thick grew the forests: Born was the caterpillar, the parent;
Hau, wiliwili and sandlewood. Out came the child, a butterfly and flew.
Koa for paddles, Born was the egg, the parent:
Hau for lashings, Out came its child, the bird and flew.
Soft wiliwili for outrigger floats; Land birds were born, birds that fly in a flock,
Woods for the chief’s canoe, swift as an arrow. Shutting out the sun.
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man spoke, walked about, kneeled and praised his creators . They named him Ke-li’i-ku- honua (made from the earth .) They gave him a delightful garden in which to live, this was called, “Great Hawaii of the green back and mottled seas .” The gods were pleased . The sea crept up to the land, That is all except Namakaokaha’i . With the help of her sisters; Hi’iaka, goddess of Lightning, Crept backward, crept forward, and Pele goddess of Volcanoes; and secretly Kanaloa, Namaka stole away a piece of the rich, red earth that Kane used to make the chief . She mixed it with the sands of the oceans taken Producing the family of crawlers: from the very bottom of the endless seas . With their combined strengths and powers of sea, lightning and volcano, Namakaokaha’i, Hi’iaka, and Pele brought forth life into the figure they The rough-backed turtles, had formed, the ruler of the sea…and, maybe, someday she would also rule the land .
The sleek-skinned geckos,
Mud-dwellers and track-leavers.
All these things the gods did and it was so .
Once all was ready and the earth and seas had been filled with those things a chief would need, Kane said, “It is now the time to go forth and find what is needed to make a chief.”
Quickly, to the North, South, East and West went the gods and the search began . On the side of a hill near the sea, they found a mound of rich, red earth that shown brightly in the sunrise . They took this to Kane to make the chief, the one who would rule the earth .
“Ku, Lono, Kanaloa and Kane”
Now Namakaokaha’i , a sea goddess, was not at all pleased that a chief should live on the land . She felt that the one who ruled should be of the sea . Yet no matter how she pleaded, Kane would not change his mind .
So it was from the red earth that the great Kane formed the figure of a man and breathed life into it . “I have shaped this dirt,” said Kane . “Live, live!” responded Ku and Lono . The
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“Namakaokaha’i”
“Hanalei Moonbow”
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THOSE OF THE SEA
“Na Kama Kai”
In time, men multiplied .
In time, men came from afar .
Born were the fair-haired,
Born were the broad-chested .
Born were the big eaters .
Born were the song chanters .
Born were the family men,
Born were the war leaders .
Born were the chiefs of long life .
Ever increasing in number,
Men spread abroad .
Those of the land were here now… “Islands”
So were “Those of the Sea.”
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The period of the gods (po) is now over and the birth of the Great Gods and mankind ushers in the new era of light (ao .)
A land found in the ocean,
Thrown up out of the sea,
From the very depths of Kanaloa,
The white coral in watery caves
That caught on the hook of the great fisherman,
The great fisherman of Kaapaahu,
The great fisherman, Kapuhe’euanu’u…
Things born in the dark are of the night, Things born from and sprung up in the day are of the light. Gifts from Lono and Kanaloa
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“Gifts from Lono and Kanaloa”
Pali, daughter of the goddesses Hi’iaka, Namakaokaha’i and Pele, lived near the long since black and cold crater Wa-ia-le-ale . So far her life was simple and joyous . Yet she longed for real companionship . Though she had many friends in the creatures of the land and seas, none could match her intellect and compassion for all things living .
Often she would see the man; the chief, that Kane had created, walking, fishing, and talking to Ke-aka- huli-lani (The shadow from the heavens.) Many times she emptied his nets and entangled his fishing lines, snaring them on the rocks and coral, always in hopes that he would see and acknowledge her . She wanted so much for him to speak with her about the land, the sea, and other things .
The man only cursed her . He thought malevolent demons ensnared his nets and lines . He never be- lieved his eyes when he saw her, even though many times he had . “Keli’ikuhonua”
Pali so much desired to be able to talk with the man . With the expectation to cure her solitude, she went to her mothers and Kanaloa for help . Having seen Pali’s loneliness, Kanaloa asked Lono if he would cause a plant to grow that might lessen her sadness .
On the first night of the new moon, Lono came to Pali and brought her to a secret cave. There, he showed her his gift; enchanted flowers that he had caused to grow; flowers that only grow in the cave of the waterfall beneath the black and cold, crater, Waialeale; flowers that only bloom on the nights of the new moons; sacred golden flowers that would allow Pali to walk on the land and speak with the man.
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“The Night of the New Moon”
“Waiahuakua Mermaid”
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Pali’s strong body and tail propelled her through the water. As she followed the Butterfly towards the forbidden coast, she was soon at the mouth of a large cave . Pali, cautiously and quietly followed the Butterfly into the cave.
“The Night of the The sea became cold as it mixed with the springs of Waialeale . As they moved further into the grotto, Pali could hear the sound of falling water and see the golden flowers on the rock ahead, just as she had seen them with Lono . The sun was setting . It was the night of the new moon .
As she carefully began to pick the flowers, now in full bloom, Pali felt as though as she was being New Moon” watched . She fashioned leis from these enchanted blossoms exactly as Lono had instructed . When she placed the leis around her neck and about her head, a very different feeling came upon her . Suddenly, she was standing…gone were her long silvery tail and fins. In their place was a pair of strong legs and It was not long before Kane learned of what Namakaokaha’i, Hi’iaka, and Pele had done . He had seen sturdy feet . She was standing, and there before her, also stood the man! the creature they created from the stolen red earth in which he made the chief, the man . Although his anger was great, it was softened by her beauty and her love for all things living . As he watched her, the great god Kane knew that this too was good . So he let her be .
He gave to her a gift. “That she may always find Waiahuakua and the Sacred Pools of the Gods, I shall cause a Butterfly to be, whose wings shine gold, to lead her safely on the nights of the new moon.”
Pali’s happiness was great . With the blessings from Lono and Kane, she at last would be able to walk and talk with the man . All of her friends, those from both the land and sea, knew of her delight . Keaka- hulilani (The shadow from the heavens,) soon also heard of this and told the chief, the man .
Anxiously, Pali waited for the eve of the new moon and the appearance of the Butterfly that would lead her to the flowers. On the afternoon of the new moon, as promised by the great god Kane, the Butterfly appeared .
It flew all around her, alighting upon her head and out-stretched hands. With its wings shining bright gold in the setting sun, she knew it was the time .
“Ko’iko’i honihon’i”
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“Te’Hora”
“Grant us love, O Kaulanaula (Sacred One Above)
Here is the sacred gift,
A gift given by the voice, a chant of affection from us to
you, O Laka. “Te’Hora” O Laka, inspire us.”
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Te’Hora, daughter of Pali, was much like her mother, inquisitive, always learning, yearning, and forever wanting to know more about everything .
She was quite small when she first saw the Butterfly. It came often and would always seek out her mother, whose excitement and happiness could not be contained . Te’Hora wondered why it made her mother so happy . She also noticed that on the nights it appeared, her mother would be gone until sunrise .
Many times Te’Hora watched the comings and goings of the Butterfly. She too, like her mother, began to anticipate its arrivals. On a night of the new moon, Te’Hora watched as the Butterfly led her mother away from Hanalei, towards the forbidden coast, beneath the black and cold crater Waialeale .
As the sun came up from out of its resting place in the ocean, Pali dove into the water, once again her legs and feet, changed back into her long, silvery tail and fins.
Te’Hora was there, watching, waiting for her mother . Te’Hora asked Pali many questions . Most of them, Pali would not answer . Instead she told her daughter of the gifts she had been given from Lono and Kane . Pali explained to her daughter that with these gifts she was able to learn about all those things of the land .
Pali knew that Te’Hora would long to know about these things . So she decided that the time had come that she shared her gifts with her daughter. On the coming night of the new moon, when the Butterfly came again, it would lead Te’Hora along the forbidden coast to Waiahuakua, the cave of the waterfall, beneath the black and cold crater Waialeale .
“Waiahuakua, the cave of the waterfall”
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“Edge of the Land”
“Te’Hora and the Butterfly”
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Ma-ui and TeHora swam side by side to the mouth of the cave and to the beach at Nualolo Kai . As they emerged from the surf, he took her by the hand and brought her up from the shore to his house at the “Edge of the Land” edge of the land . It was there he kissed her and together they went inside .
Waiahuakua, was as it has always been, beneath the black and cold crater, Waialeale. The flowers just began to open as Te’Hora silently swam up and onto the rock . Illuminated by the ocean of stars shining through the hole in the cavern through which flowed the fresh water springs of Waialeale, Te’Hora made the leis exactly as her mother told her Lono had instructed .
She stood, shivering, clothed only in the wreaths of enchanted golden blossoms she had fashioned, in the silence of the grotto . The only sound was that of the waterfall . When a voice cried out, “Welcome O’ Princess of the Sea, Te’Hora! Please come off from that rock and walk with me . I am Ma-ui . My father Kanaloa sent me to fetch you and show you the land . I am to be your protector and teacher .”
Te’Hora trembled from both her excitement and fear. “Come first to me, Ma-ui, ward of Kanaloa. Swim with me to the mouth of the cavern and we shall walk together on the beach and you can show me the land .”
“Although I can swim very well,” replied Ma-ui, “I cannot swim in this cave for it is ever protected by Ka- moho-ali’i, The King of the Sharks .”
“Do not worry” said Te’Hora . “While you are in the sea I will be your protector and command Ka-moho- ali’i and his sharks not to bite and devour you .”
“Edge of the Land” As the dark shadow of the great shark passed beside the rock and away to the open sea, Ma-ui slipped into the water to meet Te’Hora .
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“Ward of Kanaloa”
“Nualolo Kai”
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“Ward of Kanaloa”
When Maui was born, the last of five sons,
his mother thought that she would have no food for him . So she took him down to the shore of the sea .
There, she cut off all of her hair, tied it around him, and gave him to the waves .
But Maui was not drowned in the sea .
First of all, came the Jellyfish. It folded him in its softness and kept him warm while they floated on.
They drifted until the God of the Sea, Kanaloa, found the child and took charge of him .
Kanaloa brought him to his house and warmed and cherished him . Little Maui grew up in the land where dwelled of the great God of the Sea .
“Kanaloa”
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“The Water of Kane”
“The Water of Kane”
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One question I put to you: Where is the Water of Kane?
“The Water of Kane” Yonder on the mountain peak,
On the ridges steep, A query, a question, I put to you: In the valleys deep,
Where rivers sweep:
Where is the Water of Kane? There is the Water of Kane.
At the Eastern Gate This question I ask of you: Where, pray, is the Water of Kane? Where the Sun comes in at Haehae;
There is the Water of Kane. Yonder at Sea, on the Ocean,
In the drifting rain, A question I ask of you: Where is the Water of Kane? In the heavenly bow,
In the piled up mist-wraith,
Out there with the floating Sun, In the blood-red rainfall,
Where cloud forms rest on Ocean’s breast, In the ghost pale cloud forms;
Uplifting their forms at Nohoa, There is the Water of Kane.
This side of the base of Lehua; One question I put to you: Where is the Water of Kane? There is the Water of Kane.
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Up on high is the Water of Kane,
In the heavenly blue,
In the black-piled cloud,
In the black-mottled sacred cloud of the gods;
There is the Water of Kane.
One question I ask of you: Where flows the Water of Kane?
Deep in the ground, in the gushing spring.
In the ducts of Kane and Loa,
A well spring of water to quaff,
A water of magic power –
The water of Life! (wai-ola)
Life! O give us this Life! “Bather”
The palm-tree shall grow
The coral shall spread,
But Man shall cease .
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“Niele and Mikeale”
Niele was the impetuous, contemptuous, cantankerous child of Te’Hora . Much like her great grand- mother Pele, she was known throughout the seas for her malicious schemes and endless tantrums that would always bring trouble for which she would try to place the blame on someone other than herself . Always she would swim away if, heaven forbid, anyone ever tried to point a finger in her direction.
Niele was somewhat like her mother, because for a long time she desired to know about the land . Since she was constantly sleuthing about and was most wonderful at taking just a small piece of information and turning that information into her own notion, she decided to follow her mother on a night of the new moon when Te’Hora would be gone until sunrise .
“Niele and Niele was a strong swimmer. After all she was of the sea. On the eve of the night of the Butterfly’s arrival, she was already far out beyond the surf so that she would not be seen, yet close enough to anticipate and follow her mother’s route . Waiting, following, she could see in the distance the mouth of a large cave along the forbidden coast of Na Pali . Niele swam quickly and quietly ahead . Either with intuition or with Divine help, she entered the grotto of Waihuakua and the Sacred Pools of the Gods, Mikeale” far in advance of her mother .
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In the solitude of the grotto, she vainly admired her new legs and used them to leap from the rock onto the land . In her excitement she had disturbed and awakened Kamoho- ali’i, The Great King of the Sharks .
Niele was now loose upon the land . Quickly she wandered about, staying in one place only just long enough to think she had learned everything there was to know . In her travels, she came upon a man .
Mikeale was an intelligent, quiet man who found comfort and solace in nature and those things the gods had made . He was most ingenious, industrious, often magical, and had the talent and gifts of singing, chanting and making music . Niele immediately fell in love with Mikeale . However her love was not like others . For if she ever knew why she loved…she then would love no more .
Mikeale saw the good in Niele . For yes there was some . Sadly, he fell in love with that good and gave unto her his heart . Along the river, under the lehua trees they lay down together . Under an ocean of stars, beneath the eyes of the gods, they made their promises to one another and became man and wife .
Niele would not keep her promises . Even though they had a beautiful daughter, Niele soon left her husband and their child Keiki o ka ‘aina .
“You are too old,” said Niele . “It is the man’s job to raise and care for the child .” She said this because she did not want to be bothered with the duties of motherhood . She would rather preen herself beside the falls in the lagoon and scheme on the next one whom she could use who might believe her lies and “Niele” elevate her status .
Cautiously she swam deeper into the cave and could hear the waterfall and see the rocks before her . She had overheard many things as a child, especially every last self-benefiting detail. Niele swam di- It was difficult for Mikeale to rear the child alone. Not only did he have to care for their daughter and rectly to the rock where the golden flowers were just beginning to bloom. Hastily, as is her nature, she provide for her needs, but Niele would not leave them entirely alone . He had to deal with her whims placed the leis of flowers about her head and around her neck in exactly the manner her mother and and notions . Somehow Mikeale persevered . He loved his daughter and knew that Keiki o ka ‘aina was Lono had never once instructed . Niele was transformed from her sea-like appearance into that more a blessing and gift from the gods . He also believed that Niele was a test that the gods had challenged suitable for the land, gone were her tail and fins, in their place a pair of strong legs and sturdy feet. him with . It was not easy…yet he knew that he would prevail . Although Niele had come with nothing, she took everything leaving only Keiki o ka ‘aina .
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All of this did not go unnoticed . Kanaola went to speak with Pali, the Queen of the Sea . When Pali learned of the disgrace that Niele had brought upon her subjects, she begged Kanaola to punish Niele . So he turned her into something more befitting her true character and nature and he named it humu- humu-nuku-nuku-a-pua-a, a small grunting fish with a snout like a pig. Niele was now always swimming away and hiding from Ka-mo-ho- ali’i, the great King of the Sharks who wished to eat her because she once wakened him from his gentle sleep .
“Humuhumunukunuku a pua’a” “Nani Wahine Kai”
For Mikeale and Keiki o ka ‘aina, Pali promised that she would send the kindest, gentlest and most beautiful of her subjects to Mikeale until he found the one who would gladly be his wife and mother to Keiki o ka ‘aina .
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“The Divine Mo’o Moholani”
Moholani, the most beautiful and gracious of four sisters, bore the birth mark of the mo’o upon her right shoulder . The mark would come forth whenever she was angered or oppressed, taking over the human form and transforming her into that what she really was…the Divine Mo’o .
Of all of her sisters, Moholani was the only one to have a husband, with whom she was deeply in love “The Divine and with whom she had a son . Because of this her sisters were so jealous that they conspired with wicked sirens of the sea to invoke their powers of passion and lure the husband away to the very bot- tom of the endless ocean .
Moholani was beside herself with grief and worry upon finding her beloved husband missing. Entirely Mo’o overcome with the spirit of the mo’o she confronted each of her sisters, begging them to tell her what had happened and where could she find him.
The three sisters viciously turned her away saying, “Perhaps you are not good enough for him and he Moholani” has found a woman more suitable to his needs .” Moholani, in her body of the mo’o, slinked away crying . In search of her lost husband she walked the land and swam the seas . She swam until she came to Hanalei and there she could see Kulilo, one of the seas, granddaughter of Pali, out swimming in the surf and sunning on the rocks . Swimming up to Kulilo, pleading, Moholani, the Divine Mo’o and guardian spirit to those of the sea, asked of Kulilo, “My child of the oceans…have you seen my husband for he is now gone from me!”
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“The Divine Mo’o – Moholani” “Moholani and Kulilo”
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Gently picking up and holding Moholani, Kulilo replied, “O Divine Mo’o, you have been deceived by your Lightning-Flashing-in-the-Heavens now called upon the ungracious and evil sisters . On their knees be- sisters…your husband has been taken by my wicked cousins to the very bottom of the endless seas, fore him they confess their involvement in the evil scheme . With his power he immediately turns them a place where neither you nor I can go . We must call upon the aumaka (guardian spirits) of your son, into the crooked, spare leaf, wili-wili trees that grow down upon the beach . Lightning-Flashing-in-the-Heavens (Ka-u-i-la-nui-ma-ke-ha-i-ka-lani,) and ask for their assistance .”
Moholani, joyously reunited with her husband, blessed her son and thanked the guardian spirits . Happy Together they chanted their prayers: (me-le) and content she once again assumes the form and body that she prefers to be… for as long as the mo’o sleeps .
“O great mo’o, he who shakes the island,
O great owl who hunts by night,
O great hawk who hunts by day,
O great shark who is always hunting…
Please, give strength to the son,
Lightning-flashing-in-the-Heavens,
Aid him in his search for the
Lost husband and father.
Amama.”
With the strength of his au-ma-ku-a and lightning body, the son of Moho-lani glanced in a flash over the land and seas . Locating his father, he whisks him away from the embraces of the wicked sirens and took him to his mother’s side . As punishment for the abduction Lightning-Flashing-in-the-Heavens, tore the sirens into little pieces and scatters them across the oceans, the torn bodies turn into the fish we now know as mackerel .
“Wicked Sirens of the Sea”
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“Drama Dance” (Hula-o-lapa)
Let us dance the lore of the sea currents and cloud-forms.
How they meet, move and separate.
Let us dance how the stars and waves appear,
“Drama and the course of the wind as it froths the waters.
Let us dance to the motions of the leaves and blossoms
Dance” swaying in a particular wind.
Let us move like dancing trees, swimming fish and shifting clouds.
Let us dance as filtered light, in the sea,
in the forests and the shadows that it casts.
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Let us dance was we were told by Ali’iwahineokamalo (The shadow on the moon.)
Let us dance the way of Ku and Hina.
Let us dance the way to tell the stories we were taught by Laa- maikahiki, Maluaka, Kilinoe and Paliula.
Let us dance on the land and in the sea for all life and love.
Blow the conch…Play the kaeke drum, blow the flute, begin the kilu. Come perform the Hula…let us dance. “The Princess and the Rainbow”
“Hula-o-lapa”
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“The Princess and the Rainbow”
Aiwohi (Ai-wohi-ku-pua) had five sisters that were all younger than he. They were all named after the Mai-le vine that grows in the forests. The first was named Mai-le-hai-wale. The second was named Maile-ka-luhea. The third was named Maile-ka-uli’i. The fourth was named Mailepa-kaha. The fifth and smallest was named Kahalaomapuana . Each sister had the power to give herself the fragrance of the vine whose name she bore. Now his five sisters gathered around him as Aiwohi spoke to them. “What I tell you now is a secret and none else but you, my sisters, may be told about it”
“O’ tell us our brother,” the five sisters implored.
“I sailed to another island,” he told them . “I sailed there because it was told to me by a wise old sage that a certain maiden, who is the most beautiful in all the islands, lives there . See where the rainbow arches! Laieikawai the Beautiful (Lady in the water) is there . Then the sage said to me .”
“The maiden you look for is near Waialeale, the place appointed by the gods for her to dwell in . The rainbow stays always over there where she is!” “Rainbow”
“I sailed to the place beneath the rainbow and climbed up the falls and cliffs through thickets and for- ests and up the side of a high mountain . I saw where she lives . She, who is named Laie the Beautiful . But, when I saw her dwelling, I knew that I alone could not win her, for her house was a wonder; it was thatched all over with the golden feathers of the o-o bird . So I went back to my canoe and sailed away from the island .”
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“What would you like for us to do for you, our brother?” asked his sisters . When they reached the island they climbed the falls and cliffs and went through the forests and thickets of tangled bush, and up the side of a high mountain .
“I came back so that I might bring you with me . To Waialeale and the land of Paliuli where Laie dwells, to help me win her for my wife .” A cock crowed . Aiwohi said, “We are nearly there now . A second cock crowed . Aiwohi said, “We are there now . These are her woman-guardian’s cocks crowing .” No farther did he go with them .
The five sisters said to one another. “Here is Paliuli, now let us try to win Laie the Beautiful for our brother!”
Pali-uli Rainbow “A second cock crowed”
The sisters said, “At dawn, let us go to your canoe and make the journey to that island .” They were very happy that he had asked them to help him . So at dawn, when all was ready for sailing, Aiwohi took his sisters ad set off for the island on which is the land of Paliuli, the place of the rainbow, where Laie the Beautiful resides .
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“Four Fragrances”
“Laie the Beautiful”
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Mai-le-hai-wale heard what was spoken . She went back to her sisters and brother, who said, “If the first-born has failed, the others, no doubt will be worthless.” It was then that the second sister, Maile-ka- luhea came to him . She begged her brother to let her try to win the Princess for him .
“Four Fragrances” She, the second one, went to the house, and stood at the door . The Princess wakened, feeling that new fragrance . “O Waka, O my grandmother,” she cried out .
“The Prayer to the goddess Laka has power… “Why do you break my sleep again in the middle of the night?” The maile of Laka stands foremost,
The goddess inspires her pupil, “O grandmother, here is a fragrance, a fragrance stranger than the one before, a fragrance that goes to my heart .” As the maile scatters its fragrance.”
Mailehaiwale, the eldest, was the first of the five sisters to go to the house that was thatched all over “It is Mailekaluhea . She has come to try to win you for her brother .” with the feathers of the o-o bird . She went up to the Princess’ home . It was night then, and all within the house were asleep . “I will not open the door to her; I will not wed her brother, I will live alone in Paliuli, the Princess shouted .
A sweet delicious fragrance came to Laie in her sleep . Startled, she awoke and cried out, “O Waka, O my grandmother!’ Mailekaluhea went back to her brother . “I have failed to come to the Princess,” she apologized . “Two of us have failed . But three yet remain to you .”
“Why do you waken me in the middle of the night?” he grandmother said . “And I,” said the third sister . “Will go to the house and attempt to win the Princess for you, my brother .”
“Oh a fragrance has come in the night, a strange fragrance, a cool fragrance, a scent that goes to my heart . I will open the door to what is out there .” Off to the house that was thatched with the feathers of the o-o bird Mailelauli’I went . She stood outside the door, and her alluring fragrance went within the house . Again, the Princess awakened . “O Waka, O my grandmother,” she said . “The fragrance is from a girl named Mailehaiwale,” said her grandmother . “She has come to get you as a wife for her brother Aiwohi .” “Why do you awaken me?” said her grandmother .
“I will not marry him; I shall live in Paliuli alone exclaimed the Princess . “Now there is a scent, a fragrance from a strange forest; here is a fragrance that lies around my heart ”.
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“It is only Mai-le-hau-li’i come to try to win you for her brother,” Waka said . Then Ai-wohi said, “Stay then with your sisters . All of you have been useless to me, and now you may go wherever you wish . But I will not bring you back with me .”
“I will not wed him, but will live alone here in Pali-uli .”
Mai-le-lau-li’i went back to her brother . She was sorrowful because she was not able to win the Prin- cess . Ai-wohi was angry with his sisters now; he spoke to them harshly . Then, without waiting for her brother’s permission, the fourth sister, Mai-le-pa-kaha, went and stood at the door of Laie’s house .
“What is this?” said the Princess when she awakened . “This is a strange fragrance, a pleasant fra- grance, a fragrance that I would like to keep about my heart .”
“It is Mai-le-pa-kaha come to try to win you for her brother,” said the grandmother .
“I will not wed him; she may go away,” said the Princess .
When Mai-le-pa-kaha went back to him, her brother said;”Ye have been useless to me; ye have brought refusals on me that have shamed me . Stay in the jungle here, for I will not bring you back with me .
The four sisters began to cry and lament . But the youngest, Ka-hala-o-ma-pu-ana said, “Had we known that you were bringing us only to leave us in this place we never should have come with you . Now, you go away from us without even giving me, the youngest sister, the chance of winning Laie the Beautiful for you . I might have won her for you, my brother .
“Four refusals are enough without having a fifth one,” replied the unworthy Prince. “But as for you, my youngest sister, you shall come back with me .”
“I will not go,” said the littlest of the sisters . “I will not go with you unless we all go back to our own land together .”
“Five Maile Sisters”
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Ai-wohi departed, going down the side of the mountain to his canoe, and leaving his sisters there in Why will you leave us forsaken the forest . In this desolation?
He left them although Ka-hala-o-ma-pu-ana, the littlest of his sisters, lifted up her voice and sang You were the one who came first – to him: You opened the way for us,
“Our brother and our lord, And we followed after you.
Highest and closest! We are your little sisters.
Where are you, oh, where? Then forsake your anger,
You and we, here and there… The wrath, the loveless heart,
You, the wayfarer, Give a kiss to your little one!
We, the followers Fare you well!
Along the cliffs, swimming around the steeps, clinging to the roots. Ai-wohi (Ai-wohi-ku-pua) would not turn back for her singing . He went down the mountain . He came to his canoe, and he sailed back across the water . No longer are we beloved.
Do you no longer love us,
The comrades who followed you over the Ocean;
Comrades who followed you inland,
Far through the jungle?
Oh, turn back!
Oh, turn back and have pity!
Listen to my pleading, “He came to his canoe, and he sailed back across the water .” Me, the littlest of your sisters!
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“Fragrant Hala Blossom” “Kahalaomapuana” (Kahalaomapuana)
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Fragrant Hala Blossom then took the leaf and learned to play it. That night as she sat by the fire with her sisters, she blew upon the flute, making very merry sounds. She played, and the Princess in her house that was covered with the feathers of the o-o bird, heard the music . She called to her attendant, and bade her to go and find out who was playing this new and different music. The attendant went out. When she returned she informed the Princess, “I went to where the fires were lighted, and I saw girls “Fragrant Hala around the fires…five girls, each as beautiful and as lovely as any girl I have ever seen. I watched them without being seen myself . One of the girls, the littlest, made the music, playing upon an instrument of leaf with her mouth .” Blossom” (Kahalaomapuana)
The five Maile sisters, abandoned by their brother, lived in the forest around Pali-uli, eating berries, foraging for whatever else they could find that would sustain them and living in hollow trees. At night, they would light fires and sir around them, singing to each other. All day, one or another would watch for any sight of the Princess, but none of them ever saw her come out of her house .
One day, her elder sister said to Fragrant Hala Blossom (Ka-hala-o-ma-pua-na,) “All of us have tried to come to the Princess, to see and to speak with her, except for you, our youngest sister . It is for you now to think of some way of coming to her, so that we may have her protection…we who are forsaken in this wilderness .”
That very day as Fragrant Hala Blossom searched for food along the beach, she heard a most won- drous sound coming from behind the waterfall that emptied into the lagoon . As she peered through the falls, she could see what looked like a lovely woman playing upon a flute (ohe) made of the wide leaf of the ti plant . Enthralled by this music, the youngest sister stepped through the falls . As she wiped the water from her eyes, the woman had disappeared, only a ripple remained on the surface of the water in the place where she once was . There, on the rock, was the leaf from which the woman had used to make the soothing sounds . “Woman in the Falls”
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The Princess then commanded: “Go and bring the littlest girl to me, and she may amuse me by playing come from the flute. She then said, “Let us two be friends; you shall live here in my house and make on that instrument .” music for me .”
So the attendant went again to the place where the fires were lighted, and this time, showed herself to The littlest of the Maile sisters answered: “I am happy that you should ask me to play to you . But I have the girls . “I have come to take the smallest girl to visit the Princess .” sisters, and they have already been forsaken once before, and I cannot forsake them .”
Fragrant Hala Blossom stood up and went along with the servant; she took with her the ti leaf trumpet, and she said goodbye to her sisters, leaving them by the fires.
This is how the youngest of the sisters came before the house that was thatched all over with the feath- ers of the o-o bird, the house that had not welcomed either her sisters or her brother . The door was open for her, and she looked inside . There she saw the Princess, Laie the Beautiful . She was resting upon the wings of birds . Two scarlet i’iwi birds were perched upon the shoulders of the Princess; they shook the dew from the red lehua blossoms wreathed about her head . The sight was so marvelous to her that little Fragrant Hala Blossom fell to the ground with her heart all shaken .
The attendant then raised her up . But the girl said, “Please permit me to return to my sisters, for the nature of your mistress is so breathtaking that I am made to tremble with fear before her .” The attendant replied: “Have no fear . Go to the Princess as she has commanded you .”
The Princess, who overheard their low voices, now called to her attendant to bring Fragrant Hala Blos- som to her . The littlest girl came inside the house and stood before Laie the Beautiful .
Looking at what the girl held in her hand, Laie said, “ Is this the instrument that I heard sounded?”
“Yes Princess,” said the girl, “and, the instrument is mine .”
“Then,” said Laie . “Play upon it so that I may hear the joyous songs again .” Fragrant Hala Blossom put the flute to her lips and played upon it. Laie was very delighted with the music that she made. The Princess had never heard an instrument of that kind sounded before, and she had Fragrant Hala Blos- “Forest of Pali-uli” som play again and again for her . She tried to pay on it herself, but was not able to make any sound
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Laie asked her how she had come to be at that place with her sisters, so the youngest girl told her of how they had been brought there by their brother, and all that had happened . She told her too, the names of her four sisters . The Princess knew that these were the girls who had come to the door of her house, and whose fragrances had awakened her from her sleep . Since their brother was now gone from the place, she thought she might let the girls stay for the sake of the cheerful music that the littlest of them made . She would have a house built for them and give the girls her protection . It was with great joy and happiness that the youngest of the Maile sisters went back to where her sisters were seated around the fires.
She told them that the Princess had commanded them to all appear before her . They too, rejoiced . They all left the hollow trees where they had been living the lives of the forsaken, and went to the house of Laie the Beautiful (Ka-wa-hin-e-o-ka-li-ula; the Lady of the Mist .)
O Paliuli, hidden land of Kane,
Land in Kalanai Hauola
In Kahiki-ku, in Kapakapaua of Kane,
Land with springs of water, fat and moist,
Land greatly enjoyed by the gods.
“Pal-iuli”
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“Northward”
“Kealakahiki”
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Moikeha, Kamahualele,
Maweke whose family (ohana) spawned the: “Northward” Paumakua of Oahu, The Kuhiailani of Hawaii,
In time, those of the sea multiplied, The Puna of Kauai,
In time, those of the sea explored, The Hua of Maui,
In time they lived in other oceans, The Kamauaua of Molokai,
In other bays and new lagoons, All thank the gods for this new life and land .
Ever increasing in number,
Those of the sea spread abroad .
Soon they found Kealakahiki (The way to Tahiti),
Filled with those of the land .
Always longing for home,
They led the people northward;
Ulu and Nanula, the sons of Ki’ii,
Twelfth in succession from Wakea and Papa .
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“The Country under the Sea” (Lalo-hana)
“The Long ago there was a king who ruled the land. He sent his fisherman out to catch deep sea fish for him. Without knowing, the fishermen let down their lines and fishhooks at a place where, before this, very strange things had happened .
In a while, after they were let down, the hooks were taken off the lines. The fishermen were perplexed Country by this, for they knew that no fish had touched their bait. They rowed back to the beach and went before the King and told him what had happened . “There was no quiver on our lines,” they said . “Just as there would have been had fish touched our bait, and the hooks were cut off as if a knife had done it!”
The King had heard before about unusual things happening at the place where his fisherman had been. under the When they showed him the lines with the hooks cut-off, he summoned a wise man (Kahuna) who could Sea” tell him how these things could be .
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Upon learning of what happened to the fishermen’s lines. The Kahuna said to the King. “Your fishermen let their lines down over Lalo-hana, a country that is at the bottom of the sea, just beneath the place where they rested their canoes . “Those of the Sea” reside there with a beautiful woman who lives in a house of red and white coral .” Hina (Hina-aika-malama) is her name .”
When the King heard of this beautiful undersea woman (wa-hin-e-i-me-han-i,) he decided that he must see her and have her for his wife . The Kahuna explained to him how she might be brought out from the sea . The King was to have a great many statues made…images of a man (ki’i,) each to be as large as the King, in his likeness, with pearl-shell eyes and dark hair, dressed in a bright maro (loincloth) about them . Some of the images were to be brought out to sea, and some of them were to be left on the beach and along a path that went up to the Kings house; one of them was to be left standing just outside the door .
The Kahuna went with the fisherman who had placed some of the images in their canoes. When they came to that part of the sea that the Country of Lalohana was under, the wise Kahuna told the men to let down one of the statues . Down, down, down the image went, with a rope around it . It came to rest on the bottom of the sea, next to the house built of red and white coral where the undersea woman lived . Then, another statue was let down . But this image was not lowered as far as the bottom of the sea; it was held about the height of a house, above the very bottom . Then another image was let down and held above that, then another and another until they reached the surface . All held by ropes, one above another . The other statues were left standing in the canoes that went in a line, back to the beach . Finally, once all the statues were in their places, the loud sound of a conch could be heard across the land and in the waters .
“Hinaaikamalama”
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“Statue of the King”
Hina, the beautiful Woman of Lalohana, heard the sound of the conch, came out of her house and saw the image of a man of dark color, with dark hair and eyes of pearl shell, standing before her . She was most pleased and intrigued for she had never seen the likeness of a man, having always been raised in Lalohana, by her guardians . She went up to the statue and touched it . As she did so, she saw the image just above her; and she went up and she touched this image as well . All the way to the top of the sea there were images; and she went upwards, onwards, touching them all . “Hina”
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When she came to the surface of the sea she saw the canoes, each with a statue standing within . Everyone seemed to be more attractive than the others; so she swam on and on, gazing at each with great delight and touching first this one then that one.
It was in this fashion that the undersea woman came to the beach . There, in a line on the beach, were the other images; and she went on, touching and gazing upon each of them . She went through a grove of coconut (niu) palms and soon came to the house of the King . Standing outside the house was a very tall statue with large pearl shell eyes, dressed in a maro of red . Hina; the woman of the sea, went up to that image. The wreath of sea flowers that she had in her hair was at this point withered from the sun; the woman of Lalohana was now weary and laid down beside the statue of the King and fell fast asleep .
When she awoke, it was not the image, but the King himself who was beside her . She saw him move his hands and she was frightened from those movements he made and from the sounds that were all around her after having been for so long in the quiet of the ocean. Her wreath of sea flowers was now all shriveled up in the sunlight . The King embraced her gently and kissed the undersea woman Hina, and led her into his house .
So it was that the woman of Lalohana, the country under the sea, came to the land and lived there as the wife of the King . After a while, when Hina had learned to speak with him, she told the King about all the precious things she had in her house in Lalohana . She asked of him to send a diver to go and get these things and bring them to her . They were stored in a calabash (Ki-papa-lau-ulu; coconut gourd) in- side the house and she warned the King that the diver who brought it up was not to open the calabash .
The King sent the best of his divers to go down to the country under the sea and bring up the calabash that held the woman’s precious things . The diver went down, following the rope which held the image . He found the house built of red and white coral, went inside the house and took the calabash that was there . He brought is back up, as told, without opening it and gave it to the new wife of the King, the “…shining on the sea it was called “ana” woman from under the sea, Hina .
After some days past, she opened the calabash . Contained within it were the moon and the stars . The moon immediately flew up to the heavens and there it shone clear and bright. When it shone in the Upon seeing ana on the sea, the woman from Lalohana was frightened . “My guardians will come heavens is was called “kena .” But it also shone down upon the sea as well, and shining on the sea it searching for me,” she said . The next day, when she awakened from a dream, she told her husband was called “ana ”. the King, “My guardians, with the help of my sister Namakaokaha’i, will bring a great flood of waters upon this land as they come looking for me. The ocean shall lift them up so that they can find me here.”
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When the King heard this he replied, “We will go far from where the ocean is and seek refuge on the tops of the mountains .”
The King, with the woman from Lalohana, and all his people, went to the mountains . As they climbed they could see the ocean rising and lifting up . Hina’s guardians were there and the water carried them up so that they could go searching for their ward .
“A sea! A sea!
Forth bursts the sea,
Bursts forth over Kanaloa ,
The sea rises to the hills…”
Over the land and up to the mountains the ocean went lifting “Those of the Sea” along with it . The King and all his people quickly climbed to the tops of the mountains; to the tops of the mountains so went the ocean, bearing the searching guardians . Now all of the King’s people climbed to the tops of the trees that were on the very tops of the mountains which made the ridge known as the long lizard back of Kane (Kua-mo’o-loa-a-kane .) Then the ocean, having covered the tops of the mountains, could go no further and withdrew from the land, drawing back the guardians. It was in this way that the great flood (Ka-hina-li’i) came to the land .
After the waters of the ocean had receded and gone back to their own place, the King; with Hina, and all his people went to the place where their homes had been . All had been washed away; there was now only mud and sand where their houses and fields once were. Soon the sun dried up the puddles and wetness in the ground: growth came again; they rebuilt their homes and cultivated their fields. The “Land surrounded by the great oceans” King: with Hina (Hina-aika-ma-lama; Hina in the Moon, the goddess Pele,) the woman from Lalohana; and his people, lived once again in a land surrounded by the great oceans .
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Hina on the Moon
Hina grew old and weary,
Hina-tu-tu-ha’a (Hina the cloth beater,)
beating out tapas to make clothes for her family .
Stumbling in the dark, carrying her gourd full of water . “Hina on No one is in her house to help her . Her son is gone sailing from island to island robbing the people there . the Moon” Her daughter is gone…living with the wild ones of the forest . Her husband, ill tempered, scolding,
always striving to make her do more work .
Tired was Hina… and she longed to find a place to rest.
The Rainbow had pity and made for her an arching path on which she could climb .
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But her husband sprang up and caught
But that path took her close to the Sun hold of her foot with his out-stretched hand .
whose rays, tortured, burnt and shriveled her .
Falling backward, he twisted and broke it as he fell .
Unable to go any further, she slipped backwards…down the Rainbow’s arch .
Now lamed and filled with pain,
Back to the house she hated and despised . Hina went on following the stars to the Moon
and her place to rest for a long, long, while .
Once the Sun had gone down and his rays were no longer bearing down upon her, Alone with her calabash of precious things…
Hina’s strength returned .
alone with her tapa board and mallet,
She looked up to the sky and saw the Moon . she beats out the fine fleecy clouds that float across the night .sky
She gathered up all of her precious things and placed them into her calabash . Hina-aika-ma-lama rests now…forever on the Moon .
This she took and left her house,
following the path made for her by the Moon’s Rainbow .
“I am going to the Moon, to a place where I can rest myself in peace .”
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“The Goddess Pele”
“Hina on the Moon”
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“The Goddess Pele”
“The woman Pele comes from Kahiki,
From the land of Polapola,
From the ascending mist of Kane, from the clouds that move in the sky,
From the pointed clouds born at Kahiki .
The woman Pele was restless for Hawaii .
‘Fashion the canoe Honua-ia-kea,
As a canoe, O Kamohoali’i, for venturing to the island .”
The canoe for Pele-of-the-sacred earth to sail in .
From the straight course the heavenly one turned
And went around the island, and the multitude of the gods stepped ashore .
“The Goddess Pele” ‘Who behind at the stern of the canoe?’
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“The household of Pele and her company,
Those who bail, those who work the paddles,
On the canoe were Ku and Lono .’
It came to the land, rested there,
The island rose before them, Hi’iaka stepped ashore seeking for increase of divinity,
Went and came to the house of Pele .
The gods of Kahiki burst into lightning flame with roar and tumult,
Lightning flames gushed forth,
Burst forth with a roar .”
The blaze trembles bursts out above,
Below the spade rattles in the cleft .
“What god is this digging?”
“It is I, Pele, digging a pit on Ni’ihau, on Kauai,
On Maui, on Molokai, on Lanai, on Oahu, on Hawaii… “Lava”
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“Hi’iaka, Hopoe and Pele”
Riding upon the island of clouds that move in the sky (Kuaihelani,) Hi’iaka, the goddess of lightning and supreme patroness of the hula, looks down on the land and people created by the gods . She stops to rest where the groves of lehua show their scarlet blossoms . Enchanted with these trees, she gathers the blossoms and weaves them into wreaths . There, beside the sea, her eyes come upon the lovely girl Ho-po-e, dancing a hula along the beach . Hopoe, seeing Hi’iaka, dances for her . Impressed and captured by her gracefulness and skill, Hi’iaka is taken by this performer and decides to adopt Hopoe “Hi’iaka, as a sister and her favorite . These two became friends: they danced for each other, and they played together . For a gift and token of their friendship, the goddess Hi’iaka plants and gives to Hopoe, her symbol; the upland forests of red and white blossoming lehua trees . Never had Hi’iaka, the little sister of the dread goddess Pele, known a friend that was as dear and as lovely as Hopoe . Hopoe, the tree Hopoe spirit, whose life was in that grove of lehua trees . Pele, the fiery volcano goddess, who had looked after her sister Hi’iaka since the time of her birth and carried her underneath her arm from Kahiki to Hawaii, sometimes appears as a fair woman with long black hair, a back as straight as a cliff, and with breasts rounded like the moon . She can also be extremely vengeful and full of wrath, and was most jealous of the friendship between her sister and Hopoe . So jealous was she that in her anger she changed the beautiful Hopoe into a rock, balanced like and Pele” a dancing figure, just as she was caught by the flow of lava sent forth by Pele to consume her.
Although Hi’iaka loved her sister and was most loyal, she became so hurt and enraged at what Pele had done that she hurled bolts of lightning down upon her . If not for her digging spade, which she used to deflect the lightning bolts, Pele would have succumbed to her sister Hi’iaka’s revenge.
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“Hi’iaka and Hopoe”
“From the forest land at Papa-lau-ahi,
To the garlands heaped at Kua-o-ka-la,
The lehua trees are wilted
Scorched, burnt up-
Consumed are they by fire-
By the fire of the Woman of the Pit. “She-Who-Shapes-The-Sacred-Land”
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Aloha (Forever Love)
When Ha-le-ma-no knew for certain that his wife Ka-ma-la-la-wa-lu was gone he grew so ill that he was near death . His sister told him to learn to be a chanter of verses . If he had that art, he would be most likely to win his wife back to him .
On his way to learn this art he passed by a grove and saw the maile vine growing on the ohia tress . Aloha He was sitting down making wreaths of maile when he saw the top of the mountain Ha-le-a-ka-la, like a pointed cloud in the evening with other clouds drifting around it . When he looked at the mountain he thought of the place where he and his wife had traveled . As he was thinking of her, she, who had been wandering about the island, came near . Looking upon the mountain he was moved to chant (Forever these verses: “I was once thought a good deal of,
O’ my love. Love) My companion of the shady trees For we two once lived on the food
From the long-speared grass of the wilderness
Alas, O’ my love!
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Upon the high cliff was the home where we lived.
My love from the land of the Ka-u-mu-ku wind,
As it comes gliding over the ocean. Alas, my love of the lehua blossoms
As it covers the waves of Papa-wai, that were braided with the hala.
For it was the canoe that brought us here. For our love for one another was all that we had.
Alas, O my love!
The rain fell only at Lalewi
My love of the home where we were friendless, As it came creeping over the hala trees at Ke’e.
Our only friend being our love for one another, At the place where I was punished through love.
It is hooked, and it bites to the very inside of the bones.
Alas, O my love!
We once lived beside the falls of ‘Opaeka’a, in our own home.
My love from the leaping cliffs of Pi-i-kea,
For we suffered in the home that was not ours. From the waters of Wai-lu-ku
where the people were carried under,
For I had but one friend, myself. which we had to go through to get to the many cliffs of Hilo.
The streams of Lima-huli innumerable. Those solemn cliffs that are bare of people,
Peopled by you and me alone, my love,
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You, my own love!”
The friendless home where you and I lived.”
When she heard these verses she knew who the man was that chanted them . She bowed her head, and she chanted: After she had chanted this, she looked toward him, and saw that forgiveness was in his eyes . They stood up then joined each other . Then they went away together . “Alas, thou art my bosom companion
of the cold watery house of Hilo. “You will surely see Ha-i-li I am from Hilo, Ha-i-li where the blossoming lehua trees are
haunted by the birds, The o’o of the forest, whose sweet notes From the rain that pelts the leaves can be heard at eventide…” of the breadfruit trees of Malama.
Love is shown by the tears,
Love is the friend of my companion.
My companion of the thick forests of Pana-ewa where you and I
have trod, our only fellow traveler our love.
Alas, o my companion, my love!
My love of the cold, watery home of Hilo. The o’o of the forest
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Key to Hawaiian Pronunciation
Hawaiian Alphabet
A E H I K L M N O P U
A = A as in father
E = ey as in they
I = I as in machine
O = o in note
U = oo as in tool
“Aloha”
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank all of the great scholars who have gone before us who took down and have tran- scribed the verbal legends of this great culture . For without them, we would have nothing .
King David Kalakaua
Martha Beckworth
Abraham Fornander
Lorrin Andrews
Bruce Cartwright
Lyle Dickey
Sheldon Dibble
Joseph Emerson
Nathaniel Emerson
“Mermaid in the Waterfall”
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Oliver Emerson
Laura Green
H .W . Hensaw
Henry Judd
William Hyde Rice
Thomas G . Thrum
William D . Westervelt
E oni wale no oukou I ku’u pono ‘a’ ole pau .
(Endless is the good I have given to you to enjoy!)
“Kananaka”
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The legendary mermaid Kananaka is the subject of this song . The temptress mesmerizes the men who How beautiful is the moon are borne away (die) in the embrace of her love . It is an old song with at least a few variations . Of the lipoa seaweed of Kananaka Don’t forget to go Nani wale a ka mahina Borne on by the sea O ka lipoa o Kananaka Chorus: Poina `ole a e hele ana la Tra la la la, tra la la Hali hali hali o ke kai You have been smitten by the stone Hui: Of a man Ioe, ioe, ioe, ioe, la Who did this? Ua pa`a `oe i ka pohaku The ignition, the thrusting, A ke kanaka The swelling, the pushing, Na wai ka hana Of the stone A i ka `a `ana, a ika pahu `ana Of the man A i ka pehu `ana, a i ka push `ana The silvery gleam of the moon A i ka pohaku Relaxing in the night’s serenity A ke kanaka Causing the thigh bone to palpitate `O ka pa konane a ka mahina Borne on by the sea Ho`ola`ila`i ana i ka po la`i This is the story Konikoni ana i ka iwi hilo Of the lipoa seaweed of Kananaka Hali hali hali o ke kai Don’t forget to go Ha`ina mai ka puana la Borne on by the sea O ka lipoa o Kananaka Poina `ole a e hele ana la Hali hali hali o ke kai .
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Kohana Au – Author
Kohana Au has long been a writer associated with a number of projects throughout the Hawaiian Is- lands . As a student and lover of all that is Polynesia; from New Zealand to Hawaii, he shares his knowl- edge and understanding of these wonderful cultures .
This 1st edition of “Tales of the Mermaids of Waiahuakua -Those of the Sea” is a collection of Hawaiian creation and romantic legends with the interjection of the mermaid .
Since the time of the great voyages from Tahiti to Hawaii, the mermaid has been a part of the legend and lore .
There are many legends of Hawaiian Mermaids dating back as far as when the first voyagers from Kahiki ventured forth upon the waters of the Pacific to populate “Hawaii…the land of green-backed and mottled seas .”
The language of the Polynesian peoples is basically one language, the missionary translators who first assigned a written spelling for the different island groups, heard the words differently and represented these sounds that they heard with different letters . For instance the Hawaiian word for ‘woman’ is wa- hine (vah-hee-nee), the Tongan word for ‘woman’ is fahine (fah-hee-nee) . Much like the differences between American English and British English, there is understanding but differences in accents and idioms . So, the oral traditions of the Polynesian peoples, with minor differences, give a remarkably similar account of their history and beliefs .
There are Polynesians today, who can recite their lineage back to one common ancestor . In this book are some excerpts from those accounts . Please note that these predate the coming of the missionaries and were not influenced by Biblical record. “Full Moon”
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These legends include stories from Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, the Marquesas’ as well as the Maori of New Zealand .
“I know that you will enjoy this collection of authentic legends and tales and help keep alive the great history of Hawai’i, Tahiti, and all of Oceana and Polynesia . You will treasure these stories as they are so much a part of this truly amazing culture .”
“I wish to thank all of the artists and photographers who have provide their works and efforts for the many illustrations in this collection . Special thanks to Ric Madden for his exceptional watercolors and the original inspiration for this work .”
Dedicated to my daughters, Dawnielle and Arianne so they may always find Waiahuakua and the Sa- cred Pools of the Gods .
Aloha – Me ke aloha pau ole (with best wishes without end .) – Kohana Au
“Big Island Mermaid” “Marquesas Mermaid”
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