Lanai

“ Nearly every house has what is called a lanai. It is a large apartment, roofed, floored, open on three sides, with a door or a draped archway opening into the drawing-room. Frequently the roof is formed by the thick interlacing boughs of the hou tree, impervious to the sun and even to the rain, except in violent storms. Vines are trained about the sides—the stephanotis or some one of the countless fragrant and blossoming trailers which abound in the islands. ”

“ There was a leafy tapestry hanging two feet below the roof on the three sides thereof, and from the floor of the inclosure rose a sort of trellis of woven rushes that hedged us in to the waist. There was a wicker-gate, and an open space between the leafy stalactite and stalagmite barricade for ventilation and view, and everywhere there was a kind of semi-twilight that seemed crammed full of dreams and delicious indolence,—and this is the Hawaiian Lanai! ”

“ Wait and watch till you see a small cloud the size of a man’s hand arise, white as snow, over the island of Lanai. That cloud will enlarge as it makes its way across the channel against the wind until it rests on the mountain peaks of Molokai back of Mapulehu Valley. Then a rainbow will span the valley from side to side, whereby you will know that I am there, and that your time of revenge has come. Go now, and remember that you are the only man who ever ventured into the sacred precincts of the great Kauhuhu and returned alive. ”

“ King Kalakaua and Robert Louis Stevenson. (7) Kealakekua Bay—Captain Cook Monument at +.
At table, on a broad lanai, morning, noon and night, can be observed the life of the port, the movement of ships to and from the storied harbors of all the world. One cannot rave too earnestly over this lanai existence, in the ideal climate of Hawaii. Jack, at work, must needs sit with back resolute against the distracting windows that set him dreaming of the future of the Snark.
We are accorded the perfect entertainment of freedom to come and go at our own sweet will, which is the way of the land. ”

“ After a delightful visit spent at Lahaina, late one afternoon, we bade adieu to Maui, and steering between Lanai and Molokai, by daylight the following morning we had passed Diamond Point, and let run our anchor at a great depth of water, a mile or more outside the Oahu reef, the frigate's draught being too large to allow her to enter within the smooth and well-protected arms of the port.
We were in Honolulu—the Ismir of Polynesia—a little thriving city of nearly eight thousand people, and its situation one of the prettiest in the world. ”

“ His god shows him a secret cave to hide in. Each night the spirits run about trying to find him, but every time he tricks them until they get so overworked that all die except Pahulu and a few others. Finally his parents, seeing his light still burning, send a double canoe to fetch him home with honor. This is how Lanai was cleared of spirits. ”

“ Here we lived as if in a dream, reveling in the beauty of land and sea, of trees and flowers, enjoying the hospitality for which the Islands are famous, and exploring as far as we could some of the enchanting spots of this heaven on earth.
We were pleased with our little house, with its wide veranda, or lanai, as it is called there, which we made comfortable and pretty with long wicker chairs and Chinese lanterns. Mangoes falling with a thump to the ground outside, and lizards and all sorts of harmless creatures crawling or flying about the house, helped to carry out the tropical effect. ”

“ Looking upward, far above us (in reality beneath us) floated the cloud-battle of Ukiukiu and Naulu. And higher up the slope of the seeming abyss, above the cloud-battle, in the air and sky, hung the islands of Lanai and Molokai. Across the crater, to the south-east, still apparently looking upward, we saw ascending, first, the turquoise sea, then the white surf-line of the shore of Hawaii ”

“ There were malignant beings on Lanai who hurt people, hogs, fowls; blighted cocoanuts, bananas, and taro patches, and were a common sorrow to the inhabitants. Worst among these tormentors was the gnome Mooaleo, who, in the guise of a big mole, burrowed under houses and caused them to settle, with a thump. The prince caught this fellow within a circle he had drawn on the earth, for the witchery of the spear was so strong that the effect of drawing that line was felt to the centre of the globe. ”

“ We slept again, and woke to a sense of silence broken only by the unceasing monody of the reef; slept and woke yet again in the waning light, for the moon had sunk to the ragged rim of an old crater, and seemed to have a large piece bitten out of her glorious disc. Then we broke camp by the shore,—for the air was a trifle chilly,—and withdrew into the seclusion of the Commodore's Lanai, where we threw ourselves into hammocks and swung until daybreak.
In those days we fed on lotus-flowers. Jack-ashore lives for the hour only, and the very air of such a latitude breathes enchantment. ”

“ Somewhere on the coast there is an old battlefield where countless human bones still whiten; and on the rocky coast to the south can be seen in shallow water the ruins of miles of ancient fish ponds equaled nowhere in the group. To the northwest Oahu disturbs the horizon, cloud-capped and shimmering in the blue; while Haleakala bulks ten thousand feet in air on Maui to the east.
This ranch home is buried in flowers, and my unbelief in begonias a dozen feet high underwent rude check. A fairy forest of these surrounds the guest cottage, casting a rosy shadow on window and lanai. ”

“ A conference of all the Elders laboring in that mission was called to meet on the island of Lanai. It required five dollars each to pay our fare from our field of labor to the place of conference. In starting from Helo and traveling by land to Upolu, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles, we would visit about ten branches of the Church. At each of these we held meetings and reminded the Saints that we were on our way to conference, and that we required so much money to pay our passage across the channel to Lanai. Money among the natives was scarce and difficult to get. ”

“ They came across on the ‘Mona,’ and we thought they’d dock here—but they got off at Lanai instead.”
212
“By heck!” exclaimed the mechanic in amazement. “What will modern girls take up next?”
“Can you tell us what that island is like?” asked Dot.
“Well, it’s not like Oahu,” he replied. “Not a place that tourists visit much. No hotels and stores—or cities. Mostly pineapple plantations there—not many white people, except some of the owners.... But I’ll get you a map, and show you just where to land if you want to go to the agent’s office first. He can tell you all about it.” ”

“ Disheartened at the declaration, Kaululaau was about to leave the heiau to embark for Lanai, when Waolani, after some hesitation, stayed his departure, and, entering the inner temple, soon returned with a small roll of kapa in his hand. Slowly uncording and removing many folds of cloth, an ivory spear-point a span in length was finally brought to view. Holding it before the prince, he said:
“Take this. It will serve you in any way you may require. Its powers are greater than those of any god inhabiting the earth. ”

“ In a large double canoe, painted red, and at its masthead flying the pennon of an aha-alii, Iwikauikaua, with a score or more of attendants, set sail from Kohala in quest of adventure. Passing Maui, he spent some time in visiting the small island of Lanai, where he was entertained in a princely manner by the leading chiefs. Proceeding thence to Molokai, he remained a week or more in the neighborhood of Kalaupapa, and then sailed for Oahu. ”

“ One of the interesting localities of tradition, famed in Hawaiian song and story of ancient days, is situate at the southwestern point of the island of Lanai, and known as the Kupapau o Puupehe, or Tomb of Puupehe. At the point indicated, on the leeward coast of the island, may be seen a huge block of red lava about eighty feet high and some sixty feet in diameter, standing out in the sea, and detached from the mainland some fifty fathoms, around which centres the following legend. ”

“ Until the final conquest of the group by Kamehameha I. at the close of the last century, the five principal islands of the archipelago—Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Molokai—were each governed, as a rule, by one or more independent chiefs. The smaller islands of Lanai and Kahoolawe were usually subject to Maui, while Niihau always shared the political fate of Kauai. ”

“ Here at the Beach life is so gay there is hardly chance to sleep and work, what with arrivals of transports and the ensuing frivolities in the hotel lanai, varied by swimming and surf-boarding under sun and moon. One fine day we essayed to ride the breakers in a Canadian canoe, and capsized in a wild smoker exactly as we had been warned. I stayed under water such a time that Jack, alarmed, came hunting for me ”

“ Among the many who brought offerings of flowers was the beautiful Kaala, “the sweet-scented flower of Lanai,” as she was called. She was a girl of fifteen, and in grace and beauty had no peer on the island. She was the daughter of Oponui, a chief of one of the lower grades, and her admirers were counted by the hundreds. Of the many who sought her as a wife was Mailou, [413] “the bone-breaker.” He was a huge, muscular savage, capable of crushing almost any ordinary man in an angry embrace ”

“ And, like the Dioscuri, the divine Hawaiian twins sometimes appeared together to their worshippers as helpers in time of need. Thus, in a season of dearth, when people were dying of hunger, a poor fisher lad in the island of Lanai set up a tiny hut on the sea-shore, and there day by day he offered a little from the scanty store of fish which his family had caught ”

“ Most of the action of the story takes place on the four largest islands—on Oahu, where the twins are born; on Maui, the home of Hina, where the prophet builds the temple to his god; on Hawaii, where lies the fabled land of Paliuli and where the surf rolls in at Keaau; and on Kauai, whence the chiefs set forth to woo and where the last action of the story takes place. These, with Molokai and Lanai, which lie off Maui "like one long island," virtually constitute the group. ”

“ It is about ninety miles long by seventy miles wide. North of it is Maui, next in size but much smaller, and then to the northwest come Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. West of Maui lie Lanai and several smaller islands, including one upon which is located a leper settlement, which, fortunately, is gradually dying out. ”

“ Waahia proceeded very leisurely to Kauai. The annual feast of Lono was approaching, and as she desired to arrive there during [199] the festival, which would not be for some days, she spent the intervening time in visiting many sacred spots and noted temples on Maui, Oahu, Molokai and Lanai. Perhaps to commune with the honored dead, she made a pilgrimage to the sacred valley of Iao, on the island of Maui, where were buried many of the distinguished kings and chiefs of the group. ”

“ Rounding the capes of Kau and sailing nearly northward, Kaikilani first stopped at Lahaina; but a week spent there convinced her that Lono was not on the island of Maui. The moi treated her with great respect and kindness, and offered to assist in the search for her husband on the other islands; but she declined his services, and next visited Lanai. Causing a thorough search to be made of that island, and despatching a party to the windy wastes of Kahoolawe, the queen proceeded to Molokai, to [328] assure herself that Lono had not returned to Kalaupapa, and then set sail for Oahu. ”

“ Temples of refuge, called puhonuas, were maintained on Hawaii, and possibly on Lanai and Oahu in the remote past; but concerning the latter there is some doubt. One of the puhonuas on Hawaii was at Honaunau, near the sacred burial-place of Hale-o-Keawe, and the other at Waipio, connected with the great heiau of Paa-kalani. Their gates were always open, and priests guarded their entrances. Any one who entered their enclosures for protection, whether chief or slave, whether escaping criminal or warrior in retreat, was safe from molestation, even though the king pursued. ”

“ There are six large islands—Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, and Lanai. There are many small outlying islets, most of which are not inhabited. Wireless telegraph stations connect the principal islands; an ocean cable ties the Territory to San Francisco; and steamship lines carry on commerce with British, Japanese, and American ports. Even the railway-builder has not forgotten Hawaii, for there are not far from two hundred miles of railroad, about half of281 which carry the products of the sugar and coffee plantations to the near-by ports. ”

“ The Lanai Players and the Footlight Players are notable among these. Talent is recruited from both amateur and professional material, even some of the older and most exclusive kamaainas taking enthusiastic part now and again in the excellent plays that are produced. Musical instruction and entertainments are kept at high standard in Honolulu. It is hardly necessary to mention that there are the best of moving picture houses throughout the islands.
In these latter days of the South Seas proper, one’s heart is wrung by the decadence of the natives through the ills of white civilization ”

“ He nooses the sun and so wins summer. He conquers (?) Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, and Oahu. From him descends "the only high chief of the island."
H. CHANTS RELATING THE ORIGIN OF THE GROUP A. KAHAKUIKAMOANA This famous priest chants the history of "the row of islands from Nuumea; the group of islands from the entrance to Kahiki." First Hawaii is born, "out of darkness," then Maui, then Molokai "of royal lineage." Lanai is a foster child, Kahoolawe a foundling, of whose afterbirth is formed the rock island Molokini. Oahu and Kauai have the same mother but different fathers. ”