Horror in Paradise (40 page)

When he caught her she turned to him and said, “Let me live! I am not human, but a spirit, and in this enclosure is my dwelling.” He answered, “I have thought for some time that you were a spirit; no human being could have so outrun me.”

She then said, “Let us be friends. In yonder house live my parents and relatives. Go to them and ask for a hog, rolls of kapa, some fine mats, and a feather cloak. Describe me to them, and tell them that I give all those things to you. The feather cloak is not finished; it is now only a fathom and a half square, and was intended to be two fathoms. There are in the house enough feathers and netting to finish it. Tell them to finish it for you.” The spirit then disappeared.

Eleio entered the puoa, climbed onto the platform, and saw the dead body of the girl. She was in every way as beautiful as the spirit, and had apparently been dead but a short time. He left the puoa and hurried to the house pointed out as the home of her parents, and he saw a woman wailing, whom he recognized, from her resemblance, as the mother of the girl.

He saluted her with an aloha. “I am a stranger here,” said he, “but I had a traveling companion who guided me to yonder puoa and then disappeared.” At these words the woman ceased her wailing and called to her husband, to whom she repeated what the stranger had said.

“Does this house belong to you?” asked Eleio.

“It does,” they answered.

“Then,” said Eleio, “my message is to you.” He repeated to them the message of the young girl, and they willingly agreed to give up all the things which their loved daughter had herself thus given away. But when they spoke of killing the hog and making a feast for him, he said, “Wait a little, and let me ask if all these people round about me are your friends?”

They answered, “They are our relatives—the uncles, aunts, and cousins of the spirit who seems to have chosen you either as husband or as brother.”

“Will they do your bidding in everything?” he asked.

The parents answered that they could be relied on. He directed them to build a large arbor, to be entirely covered with ferns, ginger, maile, ieie—sweet and odorous foliage of the islands. An altar was to be erected at one end of the arbor and appropriately decorated. The order was willingly carried out, men, women, and children working with a will, so that in a couple of hours the whole structure was finished. He then directed the hog to be cooked, also red and white fish, red, white, and black cocks, and varieties of banana called lele and maoli to be placed on the altar. He directed all women and children to enter their houses and assist with their prayers, all pigs, chickens, and dogs to be hidden in dark houses to keep them quiet, and that strict silence be kept. The men at work were asked to remember the gods, and to invoke their assistance for Eleio.

He then started for Hana, pulled up a couple of bushes of awa of Kaeleku, famous for its medicinal virtue, and was back again before the hog was cooked. The awa was prepared, and when everything was ready for the feast he offered all to the gods and prayed for their assistance in what he was about to perform.

The spirit of the girl had been lingering near him all the time, seeming to be attracted to him, but of course invisible to everyone else. When he had finished his invocation he turned and caught the spirit, and holding his breath and invoking the gods he hurried to the puoa, followed by the parents, who now began to understand that he was about to attempt the kapuku, or restoration of the dead to life. Arrived at the puoa, he placed the spirit against the insteps of the girl and pressed it firmly in, meanwhile continuing his invocation. The spirit entered its former body kindly enough until it came to the knees, when it refused to go farther, fearing pollution, but Eleio by the strength of his prayers induced it to go farther, and farther, the father, mother, and male relatives assisting with their prayers, and at length the spirit was persuaded to take entire possession of the body, and the girl came to life again.

She was submitted to the usual ceremonies of purification by the priest, after which she was led to the prepared arbor, where there was a happy reunion. They feasted on the food prepared for the gods, whose guests they were, enjoying the material essence of the food after its spiritual essence had been accepted by the gods.

After the feast the feather cloak, the rolls of fine kapa, and the beautiful mats were brought and displayed to Eleio; and the father said to him, “Take as wife the woman you have restored, and remain here with us; you shall be our son, sharing equally in the love we have for her.”

But Eleio, thinking of his chief, said, “No, I accept her as a charge; but, for wife, she is worthy to be one for a higher in rank. If you will trust her to my care, I will take her to my master; for her beauty and her charms make her worthy to be his wife and our queen.”

“She is yours to do with as you will,” said the father. “It is as if you had created her; for without you where would she be now? We ask only this, that you will always remember that you have parents and relatives here, and a home whenever you may wish it.”

Eleio then requested that the feather cloak be finished for him before he returned to the chief. All who could work feathers set about it at once, including the girl herself, whose name, Eleio now learned, was Kanikani-aula. When it was finished he set out on his return, accompanied by the girl and taking the feather cloak and the awa that remained after a portion had been used during his incantations. They traveled slowly, according to the strength of Kanikani-aula, who now, in the body, could not equal the speed she had possessed as a spirit.

Arriving at Launi-upoko, Eleio turned to her and said, “You wait here, hidden in the bushes, while I go on alone. If by sundown I do not return, I shall be dead. You know the road by which we came; return then to your people. But if all goes well I shall be back in a little while.”

He then went on, and when he reached Makila, on the confines of Lahaina, he saw a number of people heating an imu, or ground oven. On perceiving him they seized and started to bind him, saying it was the order of the chief that he should be roasted alive; but he ordered them away with the request, “Let me die at the feet of my master,” and went on.

When at last he stood before Kakaalaneo, the chief said to him, “How is this? Why are you not cooked alive as I ordered? How came you to pass my guards?”

The runner answered, “It was the wish of the slave to die, if die he must, at the feet of his master; but if so, it would be an irreparable loss to you, my master; for I have that with me which will add to your fame, now, and to posterity.”

“And what is that?” asked the king.

Eleio unrolled his bundle, and displayed to the astonished chief the glories of the feather cloak, a garment unknown till then. Needless to say, he was pardoned and restored to favor, the awa he had brought from Hana being reserved for the chief’s special use in his offerings to the gods that evening.

When the chief heard the whole story of the reason for the absence of Eleio he ordered the girl to be brought, that he might see her, and express gratitude for the wonderful garment. When she arrived he was so charmed with her appearance, with her manner and conversation, that he asked her to become his queen.

Hiku and Kawelu

NOT far from the summit of Hualalai, on the island of Hawaii, in a cave on the southern side of the ridge, lived Hina and her son Hiku, a kupua, or demigod. During the whole of his childhood and youth Hiku had lived alone with his mother on the summit of the mountain, and had never once been permitted to descend to the plains below to see the abodes of men or to learn their ways. From time to time his ear had caught the sound of the distant hula and the voices of the merrymakers, and he had often wished to see those who danced and sang in those far-off coconut groves. But his mother, experienced in the ways of the world, had always refused her consent. Now at length he felt that he was a man; and as the sounds of mirth arose to his ears again, he asked his mother that he might go and mingle with the people on the shore. His mother, seeing that his mind was made up, reluctantly gave her consent, warning him not to linger, but to return in good time. So, taking in his hand his faithful arrow, Pua-ne, which he always carried, off he started.

This arrow was possessed of supernatural powers, being able to answer his call, and by its flight to direct his steps.

He descended over the rough lava and through the groves of koa that cover the southwestern slopes of the mountain, until, nearing its base, he stood on a distant hill; and, consulting his arrow by shooting it far into the air, he watched its flight until it struck on a distant hill above Kailua. To this hill he directed his steps and picked up his arrow in due time, again shooting it into the air. The second flight landed the arrow near the coast of Holualoa, six or eight miles south of Kailua. It struck on a barren waste of lava beside the water hole of Wai-kalai, known also as the Wai-a-Hiku (Water of Hiku), used by the people to this day.

Here he quenched his thirst; and nearing the village of Holualoa he again shot the arrow, which entered the courtyard of the alii (chief) of Kona, and from the women it singled out the chiefess Kawelu, and landed at her feet. Seeing the noble air of Hiku as he approached to claim his arrow, she stealthily hid it, and challenged him to find it. Then Hiku called to the arrow, “Pua-ne! Pua-ne!” and the arrow answered, “Ne,” thus revealing its hiding place.

This incident of the arrow, and the grace and manliness of Hiku, won the heart of the young chiefess, and she was soon possessed by a strong passion for him, and determined to make him her husband. With her arts she detained him for several days at her home, and when he at last was determined to set out for the mountains she shut him up in the house and detained him by force. But the words of his mother came to his mind, and he sought means of breaking away from his prison. He climbed to the roof, and, removing a portion of the thatch, made his escape.

When his flight was discovered by Kawelu, she was distracted with grief; she refused to be comforted, refused all food, and before many days had passed, she died. Messengers were dispatched, who brought back the unhappy

Hiku, the cause of all the sorrow. He had loved her though he had fled, and now, when it was too late, he wept over her. The spirit had departed to the netherworld of Milu, but, stung by the reproaches of her kindred and friends, and urged by his real love for Kawelu, Hiku resolved to attempt the perilous descent into the netherworld, and if possible bring back her spirit to the world it had left.

With the assistance of his friends he collected from the mountains great lengths of kowali (convolvulus vine). He also prepared a coconut shell, splitting it into two closely fitting parts. Then, anointing himself with a mixture of rancid coconut oil and kukui (candle-nut) oil, which gave him a strong, corpselike odor, he started with his companions in canoes for the point on the sea where the sky hangs down to meet the water.

Arrived at the spot, he directed his comrades to lower him into the abyss called the Lua-o-Milu (Cave of Milu). Taking with him his coconut shell, and seating himself on the crossstick of the swing, he was quickly lowered down by the long rope of vines held by his friends in the canoe above.

Soon he entered the great cavern where the spirits of the dead were gathered together. As he came among them, their curiosity was aroused to learn who he was; and he heard many remarks such as, “Whew! what an odor this corpse has!” and “He must have been dead a long time!” Even Milu himself, as he sat on the bank watching the spirits, was deceived, or he would never have permitted the entry of the living man into the regions ruled by him.

Hiku and his swing, which was like the one with one rope only used in Hawaii, attracted considerable attention. One spirit in particular watched him most intently—the spirit of Kawelu. There was mutual recognition, and with the permission of Milu she darted up to him, and swung with him on the kowali. As they were enjoying together this favorite Hawaiian pastime, the friends above were informed of the success of the ruse by means of a preconcerted signal, and rapidly drew them upward. At first Kawelu was too much absorbed in the sport to notice this; but when at length her attention was aroused by seeing the great distance of those beneath her she was about to flit away like a butterfly. Hiku, however, quickly clapped the coconut shells together, imprisoning her within them, and both were soon drawn up to the canoes above.

They returned to the shores of Holualoa, where Hiku landed at once and hastened to the house where the body of Kawelu still lay. Kneeling by its side, he made an incision in the great toe of the left foot, and into this with great difficulty he forced the reluctant spirit, binding up the wound so that it could not escape from the cold and clammy flesh in which it was now imprisoned. Then he began to rub and chafe the foot, working the spirit farther and farther up the limb. Gradually, as the heart was reached, the blood began to flow through the body; the breast began gently to heave, and soon the eyes opened, and the spirit gazed out from them as if just awakened from sleep. Kawelu was restored to consciousness, and seeing the beloved Hiku bending tenderly over her, she said, “How could you be so cruel as to leave me?”

All remembrance of the Lua-o-Milu and what had taken place there had disappeared, and she took up the thread of consciousness just where she had left it a few days before. Great joy filled the hearts of the people of Holualoa as they welcomed back to their midst the loved Kawelu and the hero Hiku, who from that day was not separated from her.