22 chapters
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22 chapters
HELPS TO PRONUNCIATION
HELPS TO PRONUNCIATION
There are three simple rules which practically control Hawaiian pronunciation: (1) Give each vowel the German sound. (2) Pronounce each vowel. (3) Never allow a consonant to close a syllable. Interchangeable consonants are many. The following are the most common: h=s; l=r; k=t; n=ng; v=w....
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PREFACE
PREFACE
Maui is a demi god whose name should probably be pronounced Ma-u-i, i. e. , Ma-oo-e. The meaning of the word is by no means clear. It may mean "to live," "to subsist." It may refer to beauty and strength, or it may have the idea of "the left hand" or "turning aside." The word is recognized as belonging to remote Polynesian antiquity. MacDonald, a writer of the New Hebrides Islands, gives the derivation of the name Maui primarily from the Arabic word "Mohyi," which means "causing to live" or "lif
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MAUI'S HOME
MAUI'S HOME
"Akalana was the man; Hina-a-ke-ahi was the wife; Maui First was born; Then Maui-waena; Maui Kiikii was born; Then Maui of the malo." —Queen Liliuokalani's Family Chant. Four brothers, each bearing the name of Maui, belong to Hawaiian legend. They accomplished little as a family, except on special occasions when the youngest of the household awakened his brothers by some unexpected trick which drew them into unwonted action. The legends of Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, New Zealand and the Hervey group
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MAUI THE FISHERMAN
MAUI THE FISHERMAN
"Oh the great fish hook of Maui! Manai-i-ka-lani 'Made fast to the heavens'—its name; An earth-twisted cord ties the hook. Engulfed from the lofty Kauiki. Its bait the red billed Alae, The bird made sacred to Hina. It sinks far down to Hawaii, Struggling and painfully dying. Caught is the land under the water, Floated up, up to the surface, But Hina hid a wing of the bird And broke the land under the water. Below, was the bait snatched away And eaten at once by the fishes, The Ulua of the deep m
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MAUI LIFTING THE SKY.
MAUI LIFTING THE SKY.
Maui's home was for a long time enveloped by darkness. The heavens had fallen down, or, rather, had not been separated from the earth. According to some legends, the skies pressed so closely and so heavily upon the earth that when the plants began to grow, all the leaves were necessarily flat. According to other legends, the plants had to push up the clouds a little, and thus caused the leaves to flatten out into larger surface, so that they could better drive the skies back and hold them in pla
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MAUI SNARING THE SUN.
MAUI SNARING THE SUN.
"Maui became restless and fought the sun With a noose that he laid. And winter won the sun, And summer was won by Maui." —Queen Liliuokalani's family chant. A very unique legend is found among the widely-scattered Polynesians. The story of Maui's "Snaring the Sun" was told among the Maoris of New Zealand, the Kanakas of the Hervey and Society Islands, and the ancient natives of Hawaii. The Samoans tell the same story without mentioning the name of Maui. They say that the snare was cast by a chil
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MAUI FINDING FIRE.
MAUI FINDING FIRE.
"Grant, oh grant me thy hidden fire, O Banyan Tree. Perform an incantation, Utter a prayer To the Banyan Tree. Kindle a fire in the dust Of the Banyan Tree." —Translation of ancient Polynesian chant. Among students of mythology certain characters in the legends of the various nations are known as "culture heroes." Mankind has from time to time learned exceedingly useful lessons and has also usually ascribed the new knowledge to some noted person in the national mythology. These mythical benefact
23 minute read
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MAUI THE SKILLFUL.
MAUI THE SKILLFUL.
According to the New Zealand legends there were six Mauis—the Hawaiians counted four. They were a band of brothers. The older five were known as "the forgetful Mauis." The tricky and quick-witted youngest member of the family was called Maui te atamai—"Maui the skillful." He was curiously accounted for in the New Zealand under-world. When he went down through the long cave to his ancestor's home to find fire, he was soon talked about. "Perhaps this is the man about whom so much is said in the up
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MAUI AND TUNA.
MAUI AND TUNA.
When Maui returned from the voyages in which he discovered or "fished up" from the ocean depths new islands, he gave deep thought to the things he had found. As the islands appeared to come out of the water he saw they were inhabited. There were houses and stages for drying and preserving food. He was greeted by barking dogs. Fires were burning, food cooking and people working. He evidently had gone so far away from home that a strange people was found. The legend which speaks of the death of hi
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MAUI AND HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW.
MAUI AND HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW.
The "Stories of Maui's Brother-in-Law," and of "Maui seeking Immortality," are not found in Hawaiian mythology. We depend upon Sir George Grey and John White for the New Zealand myths in which both of these legends occur. Maui's sister Hina-uri married Ira-waru, who was willing to work with his skillful brother-in-law. They hunted in the forests and speared birds. They fished and farmed together. They passed through many experiences similar to those Maui's own brothers had suffered before the br
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MAUI'S KITE FLYING.
MAUI'S KITE FLYING.
Maui the demi-god was sometimes the Hercules of Polynesia. His exploits were fully as marvelous as those of the hero of classic mythology. He snared the sun. He pulled up islands from the ocean depths. He lifted the sky into its present position and smoothed its arched surface with his stone adze. These stories belong to all Polynesia. There are numerous less important local myths, some of them peculiar to New Zealand, some to the Society Islands and some to the Hawaiian group. One of the old na
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THE OAHU LEGENDS OF MAUI.
THE OAHU LEGENDS OF MAUI.
Several Maui legends have been located on the island of Oahu. They were given by Mr. Kaaia to Mr. T. G. Thrum, the publisher of what is well known in the Hawaiian Islands as "Thrum's Annual." He has kindly furnished them for added interest to the present volume. The legends have a distinctly local flavor confined entirely to Oahu. It has seemed best to reserve them for a chapter by themselves although they are chiefly variations of stories already told....
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MAUI AND THE TWO GODS.
MAUI AND THE TWO GODS.
This history of Maui and his grandmother Hina begins with their arrival from foreign lands. They dwelt in Kane-ana (Kane's cave), Waianae, Oahu. This is an "ana," or cave, at Puu-o-hulu. Hina had wonderful skill in making all kinds of tapa according to the custom of the women of ancient Hawaii. Maui went to the Koolau side and rested at Kaha-luu, a diving place in Koolaupoko. In that place there is a noted hill called Ma-eli-eli. This is the story of that hill. Maui threw up a pile of dirt and c
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HOW THEY FOUND FIRE.
HOW THEY FOUND FIRE.
It was said that Maui and Hina had no fire. They were often cold and had no cooked food. Maui saw flames rising in a distant place and ran to see how they were made. When he came to that place the fire was out and some birds flew away. One of them was Ka-Alae-huapi, "the stingy Alae"—a small duck, the Hawaiian mud hen. Maui watched again and saw fire. When he went up the birds saw him coming and scattered the fire, carrying the ashes into the water; but he leaped and caught the little Alae. "Ah!
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MAUI CATCHING THE SUN.
MAUI CATCHING THE SUN.
Maui watched Hina making tapa. The wet tapa was spread on a long tapa board, and Hina began at one end to pound it into shape; pounding from one end to another. He noticed that sunset came by the time she had pounded to the middle of the board. The sun hurried so fast that she could only begin her work before the day was past. He went to the hill Hele-a-ka-la, which means "journey of the sun." He thought he would catch the sun and make it move slowly. He went up the hill and waited. When the sun
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UNITING THE ISLANDS.
UNITING THE ISLANDS.
Maui suggested to Hina that he had better try to draw the islands together, uniting them in one land. Hina told Maui to go and see Alae-nui-a-Hina, who would tell him what to do. The Alae told him they must go to Ponaha-ke-one (a fishing place outside of Pearl Harbor) and find Ka-uniho-kahi, "the one toothed," who held the land under the sea. Maui went back to Hina. She told him to ask his brothers to go fishing with him. They consented and pushed out into the sea. Soon Maui saw a bailing dish f
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MAUI AND PEA-PEA THE EIGHT-EYED.
MAUI AND PEA-PEA THE EIGHT-EYED.
Maui had been fishing and had caught a great fish upon which he was feasting. He looked inland and saw his wife, Kumu-lama, seized and carried away by Pea-pea-maka-walu, "Pea-pea the eight-eyed." This is a legend derived from the myths of many islands in which Lupe or Rupe (pigeon) changed himself into a bird and flew after his sister Hina who had been carried on the back of a shark to distant islands. Sometimes as a man and sometimes as a bird he prosecuted his search until Hina was found. Maui
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MAUI SEEKING IMMORTALITY.
MAUI SEEKING IMMORTALITY.
Climb up, climb up, To the highest surface of heaven, To all the sides of heaven. Climb then to thy ancestor, The sacred bird in the sky, To thy ancestor Rehua In the heavens. —New Zealand kite incantation. The story of Maui seeking immortality for the human race is one of the finest myths in the world. For pure imagination and pathos it is difficult to find any tale from Grecian or Latin literature to compare with it. In Greek and Roman fables gods suffered for other gods, and yet none were sur
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HINA OF HILO.
HINA OF HILO.
Hina is not an uncommon name in Hawaiian genealogies. It is usually accompanied by some adjective which explains or identifies the person to whom the name is given. In Hawaii the name Hina is feminine. This is also true throughout all Polynesia except in a few cases where Hina is reckoned as a man with supernatural attributes. Even in these cases it is apparent that the legend has been changed from its original form as it has been carried to small islands by comparatively ignorant people when mo
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HINA AND THE WAILUKU RIVER.
HINA AND THE WAILUKU RIVER.
There are two rivers of rushing, tumbling rapids and waterfalls in the Hawaiian Islands, both bearing the name of Wailuku. One is on the Island of Maui, flowing out of a deep gorge in the side of the extinct volcano Iao. Yosemite-like precipices surround this majestically-walled crater. The name Iao means "asking for clouds." The head of the crater-valley is almost always covered with great masses of heavy rain clouds. Out of the crater the massed waters rush in a swift-flowing stream of only fo
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GHOSTS OF THE HILO HILLS.
GHOSTS OF THE HILO HILLS.
The legends about Hina and her famous son Maui and her less widely known daughters are common property among the natives of the beautiful little city of Hilo. One of these legends of more than ordinary interest finds its location in the three small hills back of Hilo toward the mountains. These hills are small craters connected with some ancient lava flow of unusual violence. The eruption must have started far up on the slopes of Mauna Loa. As it sped down toward the sea it met some obstruction
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HINA, THE WOMAN IN THE MOON.
HINA, THE WOMAN IN THE MOON.
The Wailuku river has by its banks far up the mountain side some of the most ancient of the various interesting picture rocks of the Hawaiian Islands. The origin of the Hawaiian picture writing is a problem still unsolved, but the picture rocks of the Wailuku river are called "na kii o Maui," "the Maui pictures." Their antiquity is beyond question. The most prominent figure cut in these rocks is that of the crescent moon. The Hawaiian legends do not attempt any direct explanation of the meaning
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