Laieikawai

“ At the time when Waka took away her supernatural protection from Laieikawai, Aiwohikupua's sisters took counsel as to what they had better do; and they agreed upon what they should say to Laieikawai.
Kahalaomapuana came to Laieikawai, and she said: "We became your bodyguard while Waka still protected you; now she has removed her guardianship and left you. Therefore, as we agreed in former days, 'Adversity to one is adversity to all;' now that you are in trouble, we will share your trouble. As we will not forsake you, so do not you forsake us until our death ”

“ When Kahalaomapuana was carried away, the hearts of the sisters sang for joy, for they thought to win fortune thereafter.
And their sister went into the presence of Laieikawai.
When they had come to the house, the attendant opened the door; then, Kahalaomapuana was terrified to see Laieikawai resting on the wings of birds as was her custom; two scarlet iiwi birds were perched on the shoulders of the princess and shook the dew from red lehua blossoms upon her head. ”

“ While the people were gathering for surfing, Hauailiki undid his garment, got his surf board, of the kind made out of a thick piece of wili-wili wood, went directly to the place where Laieikawai's party sat, and stood there for some minutes; then it was that the sisters of Aiwohikupua took a liking to Hauailiki.
Said Mailehaiwale to Laieikawai, "If we had not been set apart by our parents, I would take Hauailiki for my husband."
Said Laieikawai, "I like him, too; but I, too, have been set apart by my grandmother, so that my liking is useless."
"We are all alike," said Mailehaiwale. ”

“ When she recited the charge given her by Kaonohiokala, Laieikawai said to her companions, "O comrades, as Kahalaomapuana tells me the message of your brother and my husband, a strange foreboding weighs upon me, and I am amazed; I supposed him to be a man, a mighty god that! When I think of seeing him, however I may desire it, I am ready to die with fear before he has even come to us."
Her companions answered, "He is no god; he is a man like us, yet in his nature and appearance godlike. ”

“ If they pay no attention to you, and prepare to ride in on their last wave, as they ride you must seize hold of Laieikawai's feet while Kekalukaluokewa rides in alone. When you have the woman, carry her far out to sea; look over to the coast where Kumukahi [64] swims in the billows, then this is the place for surfing; then pray in my name and I will send a wave over you; this is the wave you want; it is yours."
While they were talking Waka covered the land with a mist. Then the thunder pealed and there was Laieikawai on the crest of the wave. This was Waka's work. ”

“ Molokai of this person whom he longed after.
Then the paddler said to Laieikawai and her companion, "Where are you! live here in the house; everything within is yours, not a single thing is withholden from you in the house; inside and outside [10] you two are masters of this place."
When the canoe man had spoken thus, Laieikawai said, "Our host, shall you be gone long? for it looks from your charge as if you were to be away for good."
Said the host, "O daughter, not so; I shall not forsake you; but I must look for a mate to paddle you both to Lanai." ”

“ He approached the place where Laieikawai and her sisters were sitting.
The seer was greatly disturbed at seeing Laieikawai, and when he had reached the spot, he asked Laieikawai and her companions, "Why do you sit here? Why do you not go surfing with the natives of the place?"
The princess answered, "We can not go; it is better to watch the others."
The seer asked again, "What are you doing here?"
"We are sitting here, waiting for a canoe to carry us to Maui, Molokai,
Oahu, and to Kauai, then we shall set sail," so they answered. ”

“ That night Halaaniani deceived Laieikawai, saying, "Ever since we have lived up here, my delight in surf riding has never ceased; at noon the longing seizes me; it is the same every day; so I propose to-morrow we go down to Keaau surf riding, and return here." ”

“ Lo! on that day, the rainbow pathway was let down from Nuumealani and Kaonohiokala and Laieikawai mounted upon that way, and she laid her last commands upon her sisters, the seer, and Laielohelohe; these were her words:
"My companions and our father the prophet, my sister born with me in the womb and your husband, I return according to our agreement! leave you and return to that place where you will not soon come to see me; therefore, live in peace, for each alike has prospered, not one of you lacks fortune. But Kaonohiokala will visit you to look after your welfare." ”

“ Said Aiwohikupua, "Hauailiki, I wish you would go to Hawaii; if you get Laieikawai, you are a lucky fellow, and I will send men with you and a double canoe; and should you lose in this journey then your lands become mine, and if you return with Laieikawai then all my lands are yours." ”

“ Said his sister, "She is no other than Waka's grandchild, Laieikawai, whom the grandmother has given to the great chief of Kauai; to-morrow is the marriage. Therefore, as you desire, go home, and in the dark of evening return, and we will sleep here on the mountain; that is the time for us to determine whether you lose or win." ”

“ This was the last time that Laieikawai's party came to Keaau while Hauailiki was there; after Hauailiki's return to Kauai, then Laieikawai came again to Keaau.
After Laieikawai's party were gone to the uplands of Paliuli, Hauailiki left off surf riding and joined his guide, the chief counsellor of Aiwohikupua. Said he, "I think she is the only one who is impregnable; what, Aiwohikupua said is true. There is no luck in my beauty or my skill in surf riding; only one way is left, for us to foot it to Paliuli to-night." ”

“ At the man's words, the chief answered, "I will wait before believing that a sign for Laieikawai; for the rainbow is common in rainy weather; so, my proposal is, let us anchor the canoes and wait until the rain has cleared, then if the rainbow remains when there is no rain, it must be a sign for Laieikawai." The chief's proposal was the same as Aiwohikupua's. ”

“ CHAPTER XXXI After the marriage of Laieikawai and Kaonohiokala, when his sisters and the seer and Kekalukaluokewa and his wife were well established, after all this had been set in order, they returned to the country in the heavens called Kahakaekaea and dwelt in the taboo house on the borders of Tahiti.
And when she became wife under the marriage bond, all power was given her as a god except that to see hidden things and those obscure deeds which were done at a distance; only her husband had this power. ”

“ Then the seer said, "My daughters, the time is come when my prophecy is fulfilled as I declared it to you."
The daughters answered, "This is what we have been whispering about, for first you told us these things while Kahalaomapuana had not yet returned, and since her return she has told us the same thing again."
Said Laieikawai, "I tremble and am astonished, and how can my fear be stilled?"
"Fear not; be not astonished; we shall prosper and become mighty ones among the islands round about; none shall be above us ”

“ In romance, life in the open—in the forests or on the sea—has taken possession of the imagination. In the myths heroes climb the heavens, dwelling half in the air; again they are amphibian like their great lizard ancestors. In the Laieikawai, as in so many stories, note how much of the action takes place on or in the sea—canoeing, swimming, or surfing. In less humanized tales the realization is much more fantastic. ”

“ Even before Aiwohikupua heard from Kauakahialii about Laieikawai he had made a vow before his food companions, his sisters, and before all the men of rank in his household: "Where are you, O chiefs, O my sisters, all my food companions! From this day until my last I will take no woman of all these islands to be my wife, even from Kauai unto Hawaii, no matter how beautiful she is reported to be, nor will I get into mischief with a woman, not with anyone at all. For I have been ill-treated by women from my youth up. ”

“ Kauakahialii, the high chief of Kauai, now about to die, cedes the succession to his favorite chief, Kekalukaluokewa, and bids him seek out the beauty of Paliuli for a bride. He is acceptable to both the girl and her grandmother—to the first for his good looks, to the second for his rank and power. But before the marriage can be consummated a wily rascal of Puna, through the arts of his wise sister Malio, abducts Laieikawai while she and her lover are out surfing, by his superior dexterity wins her affection, and makes off with her to Paliuli. ”

“ ITS MYTHICAL CHARACTER These mythical tales of the gods are reflected in Haleole's romance of Laieikawai. Localized upon Hawaii, it is nevertheless familiar with regions of the heavens. Paliuli, the home of Laieikawai, and Pihanakalani, home of the flute-playing high chief of Kauai, are evidently earthly paradises. [1] Ask a native where either of these places is to be found and he will say, smiling, "In the heavens." The long lists of local place names express the Polynesian interest in local journeyings. The legend of Waiopuka is a modern or at least adapted legend. ”

“ Touching at Waimea, he saw the well-known rainbow over Kaiopae, a half-hour’s journey north of Kawaihae, and followed it to Moolau, and then to Puakea, in Kohala, where he finally met and conversed with Laieikawai.
He procured a double canoe for the party, and they sailed together to Laie, Oahu, where he learned the history of Laieikawai. That night his guardian deity informed him in a dream that she was the person he had been seeking for so long, and directed him to take the party to Haena, Kauai. ”

“ I kekahi la ae ma ka puka ana a ka la, uhi ana ke awa a me ka noe ma Keaau a puni, a i ka mao ana'e, aia hoi ehiku mau wahine e noho ana ma ke awa pae o Keaau, a hookahi oi oia poe. Akahi wale no a iho na kaikuahine o Aiwohikupua ma keia hele ana o Laieikawai, e like me kana olelo hoopomaikai.
Ia Laieikawai ma e noho ana ma kela kakahiaka, ku ae la o Hauailiki a holoholo ae la imua o lakou la, e hoika ana ia ia iho ma kona ano kanaka ui, me ka manao e maliuia mai e ke Alii wahine o Paliuli. A heaha la o Hauailiki ia Laieikawai? "he opala paha." ”

“ They departed and came to a place just above Keaau; then Halaaniani began to make trouble for Laieikawai, saying, "You go ahead to the coast and I will go up and see your sister-in-law, Malio, and return. And if you wait for me until day follows night, and night again that day, and, again the day succeeds the night, then you will know that I am dead; then marry another husband." ”

“ Said Kahalaomapuana, "I have come to get my brother and lord to be the husband to the princess of broad Hawaii, to Laieikawai, our royal friend, the one who protects us."
She related all that her brother had done, and their friend.
Said Moanalihaikawaokele, "The consent is not mine to give, your mother is the only one to grant it, the one who has charge of the chief; she lives there in the taboo place prohibited to me. When your mother is unclean, she returns to me, and when her days of uncleanness are over, then she leaves me, she goes back to the chief. ”

“ When the mist clears, then all shall see you riding on the wave with Kekalukaluokewa; that is the time to give a kiss to the Kauai youth. So when you go out of the house, speak no word to anyone, man or woman, until you have given a kiss to Kekalukaluokewa, then you may speak to the others. After the surf riding, then I will send the birds and a mist over the land; that is the time for you to return with your husband to your house, become one flesh according to your wish."
When all this had been told Laieikawai, she returned to the chief-house with her nurse. ”

“ Waka falls dead, and Aiwohikupua is dispossessed of his landed rights. Next, he rewards her friends with positions of influence, and leaving the ruling power to his wife's twin sister and her husband, returns with Laieikawai to his old home in the heavens.
In the final chapters the Sun-god himself, who is called "The eyeball-of-the-sun," proves unfaithful. He falls captive to the charms of the twin sister, sends his clever youngest sister, whose foresight he fears, to rule in the heavens, and himself goes down to earth on some pretext in pursuit of the unwilling Laielohelohe. ”

“ Ia ia i komo aku ai a ku ma kahi a ke Alii e moe ana, lalau aku la oia i ke poo o ke Alii, a hooluilui ae la. Ia manawa, puoho mai la o Laieikawai mai ka hiamoe ana, aia hoi e ku ana o Hauailiki ma kona poo, a he mea pono ole ia i ko ke Alii wahine manao.
Alaila, olelo malu mai la o Laieikawai, ia Hauailiki, "E hoi oe ano i keia manawa, no ka mea, ua waihoia ka make a me ke ola i ko'u mau kiai; a nolaila, ke minamina nei wau ia oe; e ku oe a hele, mai kali." ”

“ I ka manawa nae a Laieikawai i hoike ai i kona mau maka mai kona hunaia ana e kona kupunawahine, luliluli ae la ke poo o ke kupunawahine, aole a hoike kana moopuna ia ia iho, no ka mea, e lilo auanei ka nani o kana moopuna i mea pakuwa wale.
I ka manawa nae a Laieikawai i wehe ae ai i kona mau maka, ike aku la ka mea waa i ka oi kelakela o ko Laieikawai helehelena mamua o na kaikamahine kaukaualii o Molokai a puni, a me Lanai. Aia hoi, ua hookuiia mai ka mea waa e kona iini nui no kana mea e ike nei. ”

“ At Aiwohikupua's words all the sisters bowed their heads and wailed.
When Aiwohikupua and his companion started to go, Kahalaomapuana, the youngest sister, called out, "O you two there! Wait! Had we known in Kauai that you were bringing us to leave us in this place, we would never have come. It is only fair that I, too, should have had a chance to win Laieikawai, and had I failed then you would have a right to leave me; we are all together, the guilty with the guiltless ”