7 januari 2017
HIKU AND KAWELU
_J. S. Emerson_
Not far from the summit of Hualalai, on the
island of Hawaii, in the cave on the southern side of the ridge, lived Hina and
her son, the _kupua_, or demigod, Hiku. All his life long as a child and a youth,
Hiku had lived alone with his mother on this mountain summit, and had never once
been permitted to descend to the plains below to see the abodes of men and to
learn of their ways. From time to time, his quick ear had caught the sound of
the distant _hula_ (drum) and the voices of the gay merrymakers. Often had he
wished to see the fair forms of those who danced and sang in those far-off
cocoanut groves. But his mother, more experienced in the ways of the world, had
never given her consent. Now, at length, he felt that he was a man, and as the
sounds of mirth arose on his ears, again he asked his mother to let him go for
himself and mingle with the people on the shore. His mother, seeing that his
mind was made up to go, reluctantly gave her consent and warned him not to stay
too long, but to return in good time. So, taking in his hand his faithful
arrow, _Pua Ne_, which he always carried, he started off.
This arrow was a sort of talisman, possessed of
marvellous powers, among which were the ability to answer his call and by its
flight to direct his journey.
Thus he descended over the rough clinker lava
and through the groves of koa that cover the southwestern flank of the
mountain, until, nearing its base, he stood on a distant hill; and consulting
his arrow, he shot it far into the air, watching its bird-like flight until it
struck on a distant hill above Kailua. To this hill he rapidly directed his steps,
and, picking up his arrow in due time, he again shot it into the air. The
second flight landed the arrow near the coast of Holualoa, some six or eight
miles south of Kailua. It struck on a barren waste of _pahoehoe_, or lava rock,
beside the waterhole of _Waikalai_, known also as the _Wai a Hiku_ (Water of
Hiku), where to this day all the people of that vicinity go to get their water
for man and beast.
Here he quenched his thirst, and nearing the
village of Holualoa, again shot the arrow, which, instinct with life, entered
the courtyard of the _alii_ or chief, of Kona, and from among the women who
were there singled out the fair princess Kawelu, and landed at her feet. Seeing
the noble bearing 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 replied, "_Ne!_"
thus revealing its hiding-place.
This exploit with the arrow and the remarkable
grace and personal beauty of the young man quite won the heart of the princess,
and she was soon possessed by a strong passion for him, and determined to make
him her husband.
With her wily arts she detained him for several
days at her home, and when at last he was about to start for the mountain, she
shut him up in the house and thus detained him by force. But the words of his
mother, warning him not to remain too long, came to his mind, and he determined
to break away from his prison. So he climbed up to the roof, and removing a
portion of the thatch, made his escape.
When his flight was discovered by Kawelu, the
infatuated girl was distracted with grief. Refusing to be comforted, she tasted
no food, and ere many days had passed was quite dead. Messengers were dispatched
who brought back the unhappy Hiku, author of all this sorrow. Bitterly he wept
over the corpse of his beloved, but it was now too late; the spirit had
departed to the nether world, ruled over by Milu. And now, stung by the
reproaches of her kindred and friends for his desertion, and urged on by his
real love for the fair one, he resolved to attempt the perilous descent into
the nether world and, if possible, to bring her spirit back.
With the assistance of her friends, he
collected from the mountain slope a great quantity of the _kowali_, or
convolvulus vine. He also prepared a hollow cocoanut shell, splitting it into
two closely fitting parts. Then anointing himself with a mixture of rancid
cocoanut and kukui oil, which gave him a very strong corpse-like odor, he
started with his companions in the well-loaded canoes for a point in the sea where
the sky comes down to meet the water.
Arrived at the spot, he directed his comrades
to lower him into the abyss called by the Hawaiians the _Lua o Milu_. Taking
with him his cocoanut-shell and seating himself astride of the cross-stick of
the swing, or kowali, he was quickly lowered down by the long rope of kowali
vines held by his friends in the canoe above.
Soon he entered the great cavern where the
shades of the departed 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 emits!" "He must have been long
dead." He had rather overdone the matter of the rancid oil. Even Milu
himself, as he sat on the bank watching the crowd, was completely deceived by the
stratagem, for otherwise he never would have permitted this bold descent of a
living man into his gloomy abode.
The Hawaiian swing, it should be remarked,
unlike ours, has but one rope supporting the cross-stick on which the person is
seated. Hiku and his swing attracted considerable attention from the
lookers-on. One shade in particular watched him most intently; it was his
sweetheart, Kawelu. A mutual recognition took place, and with the permission of
Milu she darted up to him and swung with him on the kowali. But even she had to
avert her face on account of his corpse-like odor. As they were enjoying
together this favorite Hawaiian pastime of _lele kowali_, by a preconcerted
signal the friends above were informed of the success of his ruse and were now
rapidly drawing them up. At first she was too much absorbed in the sport to
notice this. When at length her attention was aroused by seeing the great
distance of those beneath her, like a butterfly she was about to flit away,
when the crafty Hiku, who was ever on the alert, clapped the cocoanut-shells
together, imprisoning her within them, and was then quickly drawn up to the
canoes above.
With their precious burden, they returned to
the shores of Holualoa, where Hiku landed and at once repaired to the house
where still lay the body of his beloved. Kneeling by its side, he made a hole
in the great toe of the left foot, into which with great difficulty he forced the
reluctant spirit, and in spite of its desperate struggles he tied up the wound
so that it could not escape from the cold, clammy flesh in which it was now
imprisoned. Then he began to _lomilomi_, or rub and chafe the foot, working the
spirit further and further up the limb. Gradually, as the heart was reached,
the blood began once more to flow through the body, the chest began gently to
heave with the breath of life, and soon the spirit gazed out through the eyes.
Kawelu was now restored to consciousness, and seeing her beloved Hiku bending tenderly
over her, she opened her lips and said: "How could you be so cruel as to
leave me?"
All remembrance of the Lua o Milu and of her
meeting him there had disappeared, and she took up the thread of consciousness
just where she had left it a few days before at death. Great joy filled the
hearts of the people of Holualoa as they welcomed back to their midst the fair Kawelu
and the hero, Hiku, from whom she was no more to be separated.
Terima kasih telah mengunjungi blog @athia00 ikuti terus cerita lainnya..
No comments:
Post a Comment