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 which, although overwhelmed, checked the flow and caused a
great mass of cinders and ashes to be thrown out until a large hill
with a hollow crater was built up, covering many acres of ground.

Soon the lava found another vent and then another obstruction and a
second and then a third hill were formed nearer the sea. These hills or
extinct craters bear the names Halai, Opeapea and Puu Honu. They are
not far from the Wailuku river, famous for its picturesque waterfalls
and also for the legends which are told along its banks. Here Maui had
his lands overlooking the steep bluffs. Here in a cave under the
Rainbow Falls was the home of Hina, the mother of Maui, according to
the Hawaiian stories. Other parts of the Pacific sometimes make Hina
Maui’s wife, and sometimes a goddess from whom he descended. In the
South Sea legends Hina was thought to have married the moon. Her home
was in the skies, where she wove beautiful tapa cloths (the clouds),
which were bright and glistening, so that when she rolled them up
flashes of light (cloud lightning) could be seen on the earth. She laid
heavy stones on the corners of these tapas, but sometimes the stones
rolled off and made the thunder. Hina of the Rainbow Falls was a famous
tapa maker whose tapa was the cause of Maui’s conflict with the sun.

Hina had several daughters, four of whose names are given: Hina Ke
Ahi, Hina Ke Kai, Hina Mahuia, and Hina Kuluua. Each name marked the
peculiar "mana" or divine gift which Hina, the mother, had bestowed
upon her daughters.

Hina Ke Ahi meant the Hina who had control of fire. This name is
sometimes given to Hina the mother. Hina Ke Kai was the daughter who
had power over the sea. She was said to have been in a canoe with her
brother Maui when he fished up Cocoanut Island, his line breaking
before he could pull it up to the mainland and make it fast. Hina
Kuluua was the mistress over the forces of rain. The winds and the
storms were supposed to obey her will. Hina Mahuia is peculiarly a name
connected with the legends of the other island groups of the Pacific.
Mahuia or Mafuie was a god or goddess of fire all through Polynesia.

The legend of the Hilo hills pertains especially to Hina Ke Ahi and
Hina Kuluua. Hina the mother gave the hill Halai to Hina Ke Ahi and the
hill Puu Honu to Hina Kuluua for their families and dependents.

The hills were of rich soil and there was much rain. Therefore, for
a long time, the two daughters had plenty of food for themselves and
their people, but at last the days were like fire and the sky had no
rain in it. The taro planted on the hillsides died. The bananas and
sugar cane and sweet potatoes withered and the fruit on the trees was
blasted. The people were faint because of hunger, and the shadow of
death was over the land. Hina Ke Ahi pitied her suffering friends and
determined to provide food for them. Slowly her people labored at her
command. Over they went to the banks of the river course, which was
only the bed of an ancient lava stream, over which no water was
flowing; the famished laborers toiled, gathering and carrying back
whatever wood they could find, then up the mountain side to the great
koa and ohia forests, gathering their burdens of fuel according to the
wishes of their chiefess.

Their sorcerers planted charms along the way and uttered
incantations to ward off the danger of failure. The priests offered
sacrifices and prayers for the safe and successful return of the
burden-bearers. After many days the great quantity of wood desired by
the goddess was piled up by the side of the Halai Hill.

Then came the days of digging out the hill and making a great imu or
cooking oven and preparing it with stones and wood. Large quantities of
wood were thrown into the place. Stones best fitted for retaining heat
were gathered and the fires kindled. When the stones were hot, Hina Ke
Ahi directed the people to arrange the imu in its proper order for
cooking the materials for a great feast. A place was made for sweet
potatoes, another for taro, another for pigs and another for dogs. All
the form of preparing the food for cooking was passed through, but no
real food was laid on the stones. Then Hina told them to make a place
in the imu for a human sacrifice. Probably out of every imu of the long
ago a small part of the food was offered to the gods, and there may
have been a special place in the imu for that part of the food to be
cooked. At any rate Hina had this oven so built that the people
understood that a remarkable sacrifice would be offered in it to the
gods, who for some reason had sent the famine upon the people.

Human sacrifices were frequently offered by the Hawaiians even after
the days of the coming of Captain Cook. A dead body was supposed to be
acceptable to the gods when a chief’s house was built, when a chief’s
new canoe was to be made or when temple walls were to be erected or
victories celebrated. The bodies of the people belonged to the will of
the chief. Therefore it was in quiet despair that the workmen obeyed
Hina Ke Ahi and prepared the place for sacrifice. It might mean their
own holocaust as an offering to the gods. At last Hina Ke Ahi bade the
laborers cease their work and stand by the side of the oven ready to
cover it with the dirt which had been thrown out and piled up by the
side. The people stood by, not knowing upon whom, the blow might fall.

But Hina Ke Ahi was "Hina the kind," and although she stood before
them robed in royal majesty and power, still her face was full of pity
and love. Her voice melted the hearts of her retainers as she bade them
carefully follow her directions.

"O my people. Where are you? Will you obey and do as I command? This
imu is my imu. I shall lie down on its bed of burning stones. I shall
sleep under its cover. But deeply cover ine or I may perish. Quickly
throw the dirt over in), body. Fear not the fire. Watch for three days.
A woman will stand by the imu. Obey her will."

Hina Ke Ahi was very beautiful, and her eyes flashed light like fire
as she stepped into the great pit and lay down on the burning stones. A
great smoke arose and gathered over the imu. The men toiled rapidly,
placing the imu mats over their chiefess and throwing the dirt back
into the oven until it was all thoroughly covered and the smoke was
quenched.

Then they waited for the strange, mysterious thing which must follow the sacrifice of this divine chiefess.

Halai hill trembled and earthquakes shook the land round about. The
great heat of the fire in the imu withered the little life which was
still left from the famine. Meanwhile Hina Ke Ahi was carrying out her
plan for securing aid for her people. She could not be injured by the
heat for she was a goddess of fire. The waves of heat raged around her
as she sank down through the stones of the imu into the underground
paths which belonged to the spirit world. The legend says that Hina
made her appearance in the form of a gushing stream of water which
would always supply the want of her adherents. The second day passed.
Hina was still journeying underground, but this time she came to the
surface as a pool named Moe Waa (canoe sleep) much nearer the sea. The
third day came and Hina caused a great spring of sweet water to burst
forth from the sea shore in the very path of the ocean surf. This
received the name Auauwai. Here Hina washed away all traces of her
journey through the depths. This was the last of the series of
earthquakes and the appearance of new water springs. The people waited,
feeling that some more wonderful event must follow the remarkable
experiences of the three days. Soon a woman stood by the imu, who
commanded the laborers to dig away the dirt and remove the mats. When
this was done, the hungry people found a very great abundance of food,
enough to supply their want until the food plants should have time to
ripen and the days of the famine should be over.

The joy of the people was great when they knew that their chiefess
had escaped death and would still dwell among them in comfort. Many
were the songs sung and stories told about the great famine and the
success of the goddess of fire.

The second sister, Hina Kuluua, the goddess of rain, was always very
jealous of her beautiful sister Hina Ke Ahi, and many times sent rain
to put out fires which her sister tried to kindle. Hina Ke Ahi could
not stand the rain and so fled with her people to a home by the seaside.

Hina Kuluua (or Hina Kuliua as she was sometimes known among the
Hawaiians) could control rain and storms, but for some reason failed to
provide a food supply for her people, and the famine wrought havoc
among them. She thought of the stories told and songs sung about her
sister and wished for the same honor for herself. She commanded her
people to make a great imu for her in the hill Pun Honu. She knew that
a strange power belonged to her and yet, blinded by jealousy, forgot
that rain and fire could not work together. She planned to furnish a
great supply of food for her people in the same way in which her sister
had worked.

The oven was dug. Stones and wood were collected and the same
ghostly array of potatoes, taro, pig and dog prepared as had been done
before by her sister.

The kahunas or priests knew’that Hina Kuluua was going out of her
province in trying to do as her sister had done, but there was no use
in attempting to change her plans. jealousy is self-willed and
obstinate and no amount of reasoning from her dependents could have any
influence over her.

The ordinary incantations were observed, and Hina Kulutia gave the
same directions as those her sister had given. The imu was to be well
heated. The make-believe food was to be put in and a place left for her
body. It was the goddess of rain making ready to lie down on a bed
prepared for the goddess of fire. When all was ready, she lay down on
the heated stones and the oven mats were thrown over her and the
ghostly provisions. Then the covering of dirt was thrown back upon the
mats and heated stones, filling the pit which had been dug. The goddess
of rain was left to prepare a feast for her people as the goddess of
fire had done for herfollowers.

Some of the legends have introduced the demi-god Maui into this
story. The natives say that Maui came to "burn" or "cook the rain" and
that he made the oven very hot, but that the goddess of rain escaped
and hung over the hill in the form of a cloud. At least this is what
the people saw-not a cloud of smoke over the imu, but a rain cloud.
They waited and watched for such evidences of underground labor as
attended the passage of Hina Ke Ahi through the earth from the hill to
the sea, but the only strange appearance was the dark rain cloud. They
waited three days and looked for their chiefess to come in the form of
a woman. They waited another day and still another and no signs or
wonders were rnanifest. Meanwhile Maui, changing himself into a white
bird, flew up into the sky to catch the ghost of the goddess of rain
which had escaped from the burning oven. Having caught this spirit, he
rolled it in some kapa cloth which lie kept for food to be placed in an
oven and carried it to a place in the forest on the mountain side where
again the attempt was made to "burn the rain," but a great drop escaped
and sped upward into the sky. Again Maui can ht the ghost of the
goddess and carried it to a pali or precipice below the great volcano
Kilauea, where he again tried to destroy it in the heat of a great lava
oven, but this time the spirit escaped and found a safe refuge among
kukui trees on the mountain side, from which she sometimes rises in
clouds which the natives say are the sure sign of rain.

Whether this Maui legend has any real connection with the two Hinas
and the famine we do not surely know. The legend ordinarily told among
the Hawaiians says that after five days had passed the retainers
decided on their own responsibility to open the imu. No woman had
appeared to give them directions. Nothing but a mysterious rain cloud
over the hill. In doubt and fear, the dirt was thrown off and the mats
removed. Nothing was found but the ashes of Hina Kuluua. There was no
food for her followers and the goddess had lost all power of appearing
as a chiefess. Her bitter and thoughtless jealousy brought destruction
upon herself and her people. The ghosts of Hina Ke Ahi and Hina Kuluua
sometimes draw near to the old hills in the form of the fire of flowing
lava or clouds of rain while the old men and women tell the story of
the Hinas, the sisters of Maui, who were laid upon the burning stones
of the imus of a famine.

MAUI’S HOME

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 make this youngest Maui "the discoverer of
fire" or "the ensnarer of the sun" or "the fisherman who pulls up
islands" or "the man endowed with magic," or "Maui with spirit power."
The legends vary somewhat, of course, but not as much as might be
expected when the thousands of miles between various groups of islands
are taken into consideration.

Maui was one of the Polynesian demi-gods. His parents belonged to
the family of supernatural beings. He himself was possessed of
supernatural powers and was supposed to make use of all manner of
enchantments. In New Zealand antiquity a Maui was said to have assisted
other gods in the creation of man. Nevertheless Maui was very human. He
lived in thatched houses, had wives and children, and was scolded by
the women for not properly supporting his household.

The time of his sojourn among men is very indefinite. In Hawaiian
genealogies Maui and his brothers were placed among the descendants of
Ulu and "the sons of Kii," and Maui was one of the ancestors of
Kamehameha, the first king of the united Hawaiian Islands. This would
place him in the seventh or eighth century of the Christian Era. But it
is more probable that Maui belongs to the mist-land of time. His
mischievous pranks with the various gods would make him another Mercury
living in any age from the creation to the beginning of the Christian
era.

The Hervey Island legends state that Maui’s father was "the
supporter of the heavens" and his mother "the guardian of the road to
the invisible world."

In the Hawaiian chant, Akalana was the name of his father. In other
groups this was the name by which his mother was known. Kanaloa, the
god, is sometimes known as the father of Maui. In Hawaii Hina was his
mother. Elsewhere Ina, or Hina, was the grandmother, from whom he
secured fire.

The Hervey Island legends say that four mighty ones lived in the old
world from which their ancestors came. This old world bore the name
Ava-iki, which is the same as Hawa-ii, or Hawaii. The four gods were
Mauike, Ra, Ru, and Bua-Taranga.

It is interesting to trace the connection of these four names with
Polynesian mythology. Mauike is the same as the demi-god of New
Zealand, Mafuike. On other islands the name is spelled Mauika, Mafuika,
Mafuia, Mafuie, and Mahuika. Ra, the sun god of Egypt, is the same as
Ra in New Zealand and La (sun) in Hawaii. Ru, the supporter of the
heavens, is probably the Ku of Hawaii, and the Tu of New Zealand and
other islands, one of the greatest of the gods worshiped by the ancient
Hawaiians. The fourth mighty one from Ava-ika was a woman, Bua-taranga,
who guarded the path to the underworld. Talanga in Samoa, and Akalana
in Hawaii were the same as Taranga. Pua-kalana (the Kalana flower)
would probably be the same in Hawaiian as Bua-taranga in the language
of the Society Islands.

Ru, the supporter of the Heavens, married Buataranga, the guardian
of the lower world. Their one child was Maui. The legends of Raro-Toaga
state that Maui’s father and mother were the children of Tangaroa
(Kanaloa in Hawaiian), the great god worshiped throughout Polynesia.
There were three Maui brothers and one sister, Ina-ika (Ina, the fish).

The New Zealand legends relate the incidents of the babyhood of Maui.

Maui was prematurely born, and his mother, not, caring to be
troubled with him, cut off a lock of her hair, tied it around him and
cast him into the sea. In this way the name came to him,
Maui-Tiki-Tiki, or "Maui formed in the topknot." The waters bore him
safely. The jelly fish enwrapped and mothered him. The god of the seas
cared for and protected him. He was carried to the god’s house and hung
up in the roof that he inight feel the warm air of the fire, and be
cherished into life. When he was old enough, he came to his relations
while they were all gathered in the great House of Assembly, dancing
and making merry. Little Maui crept in and sat down behind his
brothers. Soon his mother called the children and found a strange
child, who proved that he was her son, and was taken in as one of the
family. Some of the brothers were jealous, but the eldest addressed the
others as follows:

"Never mind; let him be our dear brother. In the days of peace
remember the proverb, ‘When you are on friendly terms, settle your
disputes in a friendly way; when you are at war, you must redress your
injuries by violence.’ It is better for us, brothers, to be kind to
other people. These are the ways by which men gain influence-by
laboring for abundance of food to feed others, by collecting property
to give to others, and by similar means by which you promote the good
of others."

Thus, according to the New Zealand story related by Sir George Grey, Maui was received in his home.

Maui’s home was placed by some of the Hawaiian myths at Kauiki, a
foothill of the great extinct crater Haleakala, on the Island of Maui.
It was here he lived when the sky was raised to its present position.
Here was located the famous fort around which many battles were fought
during the years immediately preceding the coming of Captain Cook. This
fort was held by warriors of the Island of Hawaii a number of years. It
was from this home that Maui was supposed to have journeyed when he
climbed Mt. Haleakala to ensnare the sun.

And yet most of the Hawaiian legends place Maui’s home by the rugged
black lava beds of the Wailuku river near Hilo on the island Hawaii.
Here he lived when he found the way to make fire by rubbing sticks
together, and when he killed Kuna, the great eel, and performed other
feats of valor. He was supposed to cultivate the land on the north side
of the river. His mother, usually known as Hina, had her home in a lava
cave under the beautiful Rainbow Falls, one of the fine scenic
attractions of Hilo. An ancient demigod, wishing to destroy this home,
threw a great mass of lava across the stream below the falls. The
rising water was fast filling the cave.

Hina called loudly to her powerful son Maui. He came quickly and
found that a large and strong ridge of lava lay across the stream. One
end rested against a small hill. Maui struck the rock on the other side
of the hill and thus broke a new pathway for the river. The water
swiftly flowed away and the cave remained as the home of the Maui
family.

According to the King Kalakaua family legend, translated by Queen
Liliuokalani, Maui and his brothers also made this place their home.
Here he aroused the anger of two uncles, his mother’s brothers, who
were called "Tall Post" and "Short Post," because they guarded the
entrance to a cave in which the Maui family probably had its home.

"They fought hard with Maui, and were thrown, and red water flowed
freely from Maui’s forehead. This was the first shower by Maui."
Perhaps some family discipline followed this knocking down of door
posts, for it is said:

"They fetched the sacred Awa bush,
Then came the second shower by Maui;
The third shower was when the elbow of Awa was broken;
The fourth shower came with the sacred bamboo."

Maui’s mother, so says a New Zealand legend, had her home in the
under-world as well as with her children. Maui determined to find the
hidden dwelling place. His mother would meet the children in the
evening and lie down to sleep with them and then disappear with the
first appearance of dawn. Maui remained awake one night, and when all
were asleep, arose quietly and stopped up every crevice by which a ray
of light could enter. The morning came and the sun mounted up-far up in
the sky. At last his mother leaped up and tore away the things which
shut out the light.

"Oh, dear; oh, dear! She saw the sun high in the heavens; so she
hurried away, crying at the thought of having been so badly treated by
her own children."

Maui watched her as she pulled up a tuft of grass and disappeared in the earth, pulling the grass back to its place.

Thus Maui found the path to the under-world. Soon he transformed
himself into a pigeon and flew down, through the cave, until he saw a
party of people under a sacred tree, like those growing in the ancient
first Hawaii. He flew to the tree and threw down berries upon the
people. They threw back stones. At last he permitted a stone from his
father to strike him, and he fell to the ground. "They ran to catch him
but lo! the pigeon had turned into a man."

Then his father "took him to the water to be baptized" (possibly a
modern addition to the legend). Prayers were offered and ceremonies
passed through. But the prayers were incomplete and Maui’s father knew
that the gods would be angry and cause Maui’s death, and all because in
the hurried baptism a part of the prayers had been left unsaid. Then
Maui returned to the upper world and lived again with his brothers.

Maui commenced his mischievous life early, for Hervey Islanders say
that one day the children were playing a game dearly loved by
Polynesians- hide-and-seek. Here a sister enters into the game and
hides little Maui under a pile of dry sticks. His brothers could not
find him, and the sister told them where to look. The sticks were
carefully handled, but the child could not be found. He had shrunk
himself so small that he was like an insect under some sticks and
leaves. Thus early he began to use enchantments.

Maui’s home, at the best, was only a sorry affair. Gods and demigods
lived in caves and small grass houses. The thatch rapidly rotted and
required continual renewal. In a very short time the heavy rains beat
through the decaying roof. The home was without windows or doors, save
as low openings in the ends or sides allowed entrance to those willing
to crawl through. Off on one side would be the rude shelter, in the
shadow of which Hina pounded the bark of certain trees into wood pulp
and then into strips of thin, soft wood-paper, which bore the name of
"Tapa cloth." This cloth Hina prepared for the clothing of Maui and his
brothers. Tapa cloth was often treated to a coat of cocoa-nut, or
candle-nut oil, making it somewhat waterproof and also more durable.

Here Maui lived on edible roots and fruits and raw fish, knowing
little about cooked food, for the art of fire making was not yet known.
In later years Maui was supposed to live on the eastern end of the
island Maui, and also in another home on the large island Hawaii, on
which he discovered how to make fire by rubbing dry sticks together.
Maui was the Polynesian Mercury. As a little fellow he was endowed with
peculiar powers, permitting him to become invisible or to change his
human form into that of an animal. He was ready to take anything from
any one by craft or force. Nevertheless, like the thefts of Mercury,
his pranks usually benefited mankind.

It is a little curious that around the different homes of Maui,
there is so little record of temples and priests and altars. He lived
too far back for priestly customs. His story is the rude, mythical
survival of the days when of church and civil government there was none
and worship of the gods was practically unknown, but every man was a
law unto himself, and also to the other man, and quick retaliation
followed any injury received. From writings of Westervelt