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A
CHAPTER ?
CEREMONIAL DEDICATION
OF A TEMPLE
Page 59
On the 23d day of the moon of Welehu, the image of Lono makua, the Makahiki god, was decorated.*
(Footnote)
* This idol was
like a round pole, twelve feet long and three or four inches in diameter,
with a head carved at one end.
A cross-stick
was fastened to its neck, at right angles to the pole, and about six feet
long, to which were attached feather wreaths, and an imitation of a sea-bird,
the kaupu was perched ujwn (?) it.
A long white
kapa like a sail was fastened at the top to the cross-piece, and left loose
at the bottom.
A short idol
was also made, called the aktia paani (god of sport), and nutkawahine
because it was set up at the boxing-matches and other games.
Purification.
- The next night fires were lighted on the shore all around the island,
and the people all went to bathe in the sea, warming themselves at the
fires.
This was a rite
of purification, after which they all put on new malos and paus.
Tabu Days. - The
next morning the festival began, and for four days no work, no fishing,
no bathing, no pounding of kapa, no beating of drums or blowing
of conchs was permitted.
Land and sky
and sea were tabu to Lono, and only feasting and games were allowed.
The high-priest
was blindfolded, and remained in seclusion for five days.
Page 60
Games. - As evening
came on, the people assembled from the surrounding country to see the boxing-matches,
etc., under the immediate patronage of the sport god.
For the next
two days, all kinds of games were carried on, such as boxing, wrestling,
sliding down hill, throwing the maika, foot-races, etc., attended
with general gambling and revelry.
On the fifth
day, called Lono, the bandage was taken off the high-priest's eyes, and
canoes were
allowed to go
a-fishing for that day.
The tabu
was then put on again until the long idol returned, i.e., for about twenty
days.
Page 61
The next day
the long idol was stripped of its ornaments, which were packed up and deposited
in the temple for use another year, and a white canoe, called "Lono's canoe
to return to Kahiki in," was sent out to sea, after which all restrictions
on fishing and farming were taken off, noa Tea makahiki.
PRIVATE WORSHIP
...
Page 63
Canoe-building.
- The building of a canoe was a very serious business, almost equal to
bringing down an idol for the heiau.
The whole operation
had to be superintended by a kahuna kalaiwaa.
The choice of
the tree was of the utmost importance.
The kahuna paid
great attention to the actions of birds, particularly of the little elepaio
and used to pass a night in the heiau, in order to receive directions
from his aumakuas through dreams.
Before the tree
was cut down, offerings were made of a hog, red fish, cocoanuts, and awa,
and prayers were addressed to Ku-pulupulu and other gods.
The gods were
again invoked before the canoe was dragged down to the shore.
After it was
finished and ready for launching, a final sacrifice was offered, called
the lolo and an aha
was recited by
the priest, standing with the owner at the bow of the canoe.
In this prayer
the names of Tahiti, Vavau, Upolu, and other islands of the South Pacific
are mentioned.
If the silence
was broken by any noise or by any one's coming, it was a fatal omen, foreboding
death
and disaster,
but if not, the canoe was safe.
SORCERY AND DIVINATION
...
Page 78
Nana-Uli. - The nana-uli or soothsayers predicted not only changes in the weather, but also future events, such as the death of chiefs, wars, etc., from appearances in the sky, tidal waves, the arrival of shoals of certain kinds of fish, etc.
Page 79
...
CHAPTER XIII
ARTS AND MANUFACTURES
The arts and manufactures of the ancient Hawaiians were similar to those of the other Polynesian tribes, and particularly to those of the Society Islands.
Tools. - When
we consider that they were destitute of metals and of the cereal grains,
as well as of cotton, flax, and wool, we must admit that the Hawaiians
made as much progress as could well have been expected of them.
Their cutting
tools were made of stone, or sharks' teeth, or bamboo.
Their axes were
chiefly made of a hard, compact kind of lava, found on the summits of Mauna
Kea and Haleakala.
The art of making
them was handed down from father to son.
Page 82
Canoes. - In the mechanical arts the Hawaiians accomplished some creditable work, considering the tools at their command.
Their canoes were
not built up of planks, as in Fiji, but each one was hollowed out of a
single tree. Strips of hard wood, however, were sewed on the upper edge
of the canoe on each side, closing over the top at both stem and stern.
Their model was
finer than that of the Tahitian canoes, and they were faster sailers.
As in other Polynesian
groups, the canoes were steadied by an outrigger, ama, a slender
Iog of light wood parallel to the canoe and fastened to it by curved cross-pieces,
iako.
They also had
large double canoes, sometimes from fifty to a hundred feet long, with
a raised platform or pola in the middle, for passengers of rank.
The ancient sails
were made of mats, triangular in shape, and broad at the top.
Their skill in
navigation has been referred to in Chapter III.
In the management
of canoes in the surf they were unsurpassed.
Page 86
...
CHAPTER XIV
CUSTOMS AND AMUSEMENTS
Page 88
Games. - The ancient
Hawaiians had a great variety of games, both for children and adults.
The makahiki
festival in the latter part of the month of Welehu was devoted
to sports and general gambling.
In fact, most
of these games were resorted to chiefly for the purpose of betting, to
which they were excessively addicted.
Both men and
women of all ranks were eager to stake every article they possessed on
the success of their favorite players, and the games seldom ended without
fierce brawls between the different parties.
Page 89
Holua. - Another
popular sport was the holua, which consisted in sliding down hill
on a long narrow sledge called a papa holua.
The runners were
from twelve to fourteen feet long and three inches deep, made of hard red
wood, highly polished, and curving upward at the forward end.
They were set
about four inches apart, and fastened together by ten or more cross-pieces,
on which
two long, tough
sticks were fastened and connected by wicker-work.
Page 90
A smooth track
was made down the side of a steep hill, extending to a great distance over
the adjoining plain, and covered with dry pili grass.
The player, grasping
the sledge about the middle with his right hand, ran a few yards to the
starting-place, and then threw himself with all his strength upon it, and
shot head-foremost down the hill.
Sometimes they
were carried half a mile before stopping.
Surf-Swimming.
- The most popular of all their pastimes with all ranks and ages was surf-swimming
or hee nalu, still practiced.
In this sport
the players use a light board made of the wood of the koa tree or
sometimes of the wiliwili (Erythrina), about eight feet long and
eighteen inches broad, stained black and highly polished.
With this they
swim out to sea, diving under the rollers which they meet, until they reach
the outer line of breakers; then, lying flat on their boards, they balance
themselves upon the forward slope of the highest breaker, and ride them
with the speed of a race-horse toward the shore.
Other ancient sports were the lele kawa, or leaping from a precipice into the deep water below ; lele kowali, or swinging on a long rope suspended from a lofty cocoanut tree ; koheoheo, or the children's game of jumping the rope ; and flying kites, etc.
Page 91
Music - the Ukeke.
- The ancient Hawaiian instruments of music were very few and simple.
The ukeke was
a strip of flexible wood or bamboo, mounted with two or three strings of
olona or of cocoanut fiber, which are said to have been tuned to the
intervals of a second or fourth, and may be regarded as a primitive guitar.
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