Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1881-09-24
rnr rErr1toY ANn rAaAyisN.
Judge Fornander's Account of Some Haw-
allan Legends, Closely Resembling
Old Testament History.

In the first volume Of Judge Fornander's
elaborate work on The ToiynesiaR Race,
he has given some old Hawaiian legends
which closely resemble the Old Testament
history. How shall we account for such
condolences
Take, for instance, the Hawaiian account
of the Creation. The Kane, ku, and
Lono: or Sunlight, Substance and Sound.
These constituted n trind named ku-tdu-
d.kohi or, the Fundamental Supreme
| Unity. In worship tho reverence
due was expressed by such epithets
as Ri.ka-po-iod, Oi.e, Most Excellent,
etc. "Thesc gods existed from eternity, |
/ from and before chaos, or rs tho Hawaiian |
term expresses it, mai-kd.po.moi,' from
the time, of night, darkness, chaos. by an
act of their will these gods dissipated or
broke into pieces the existing, surrounding,
all.contnining 20, night, or chaos. BY
this act light entered into space. They
then created the heavens, three in number,
ms place for themselves to dwell in; and
the Garth to be their foot-stool, he-keehnd.
honua.a Kane. Next they created the sun,
moon, stars, and host of angels, or
Spirits KIM dkud--to minister to them.
Last of all they created man as tho model,
. or In the llkeUtNs Ol MUTT luz VI
the first man was made OF red earth-tepo
uio, or aioed-and the spittlo of the gods
trai-nao. His head was made of n whiiish
clay pololo-which was brought from the
four ends of the world by Lono. When
tho earth.image of Kane was ready, the
three gods breathed into its nose, and
called on it to rise, and it became living
being. Afterwards the first woman was
created from one of the ribs-idlo puhdka
of the nau while asleep, and these two
were the progeutors of all mankind. They
are called in the chants and in various
legends by large number Of different
names; but the most common for the man
was KuB,uhonud, and for the woman Ne
oi0kuhoaua," or Latohonuo, )-p. 62.
, "Of the creation of animals these chants
are SILENT but from tue pure tradition it
may be inferred that the earth at the time
of its creation or emergence from the
watery chaos was stocked with vegetable
t and animal life. The animals specially
mentioned in the tradition as having been
: created by bane, were hogs, Puon, dogs,
lilo, lizards or reptiles, mao Up. 76.)
Another legend of the series, that of
: IFeia. ahi-ioRi, states that after Kane had
destroyed the world by fire, on account OF
the wickedness of the people then living,
he organized 1t as it now is, and created
the first man and the first woman, with
4 the assistance of Ku and Lono, nearly in
the same manner as narrated III the former
D legend of kuDluhon,id. In this legend
the man is called IVela-dhi.ldni, aud the
o woman is called O,oe."-p. SO. OF the
" primevnl home, the original ancestral seal
= of mankind, Hawaiian traditions speak il
o highest praise. at had number o
n names of various meanings, though thu
Is most generally occurring, and said to b.
II tho oldest, was acknowledgements, "Kalana
with the life. giving dew" 1t was situated
in large country, or continent, varousl.
y called in the legends Kahiki honra-kee
ct Kahiki.ku, Kapa-kapa- IA. a.Kane, Molo
al lani. Among other names for the primar.
is homestead or paradise, are Pdii-uh, 6 tn
IN blue mountain" Acknowledgment o. Han.
I'd the land in the heart of Kane," 1,na.,cn,
e. akua.a-R Kane, "the land of the divin
I'd water of Kane" The tradition says Q
a Plli.uii, that it was sacred, tabued land
Oh that man must be righteous to attain it
ed if faulty or sinful he will not get there
ig he looks behind he will not get there
ly he prefers his family, he will not enter int
"a hV'Wt. p. - aUloHk otuST a0oii
nd ments of the Polynesian Paradise, til
he acknowledgements, there grew tho VI,
it's kopu.a. Kane, "the breadfruit tabued fc
rst Kane" and the Ohia hemoieie, ''the sacre
ma apple-tree." The priests of the olden tin
he are said to have held that tho tabued frui
st, of these trees were in some manner col
ed nected with the trouble and death Of Al
he nnhonua and LaioAonua, the first una
or and the first woman. Hence in the ance'
st, chants he is called Kane-ioo.uii, Rumu.u
les 6uiu-ipo, "tbe fallen chief" he who f
lo, on account of the tree" or names of sim
st, lar iuport.-p. 20.
me According to those legends Of Km''
d. honua and IPeid.ahi.ioni, "nt the tin
when the gods created the stars, they al
created u multitude of angels, or spirit
Nc, KIM okua, who were not created Iii
'on men, but made from tho spittlc of Il
49,, gods, kuhaio, to be their servants
as, messengers. These spirits, or number
.s, them, disobeyed and revo!tcd, because thu
"a were denied the a,ca, which means til
IA they were not permitted to DO worshppe
d a,co being sacriicial offering and sign
s,v worship. These evil spirits did not preva
~ however, but were conquered by kas
-; and thrust down into uttermost darkne,
NJ, iiaio-ica-i.ko-po. The chief Of these spiri
, :, was called by some k0naloa, by othe
III Miu, the ruler of Po, AkNa inc, Xupu IL
a.. "the evil spirit" Other legends, howov'
~! state that the veritable and primordial 10
..' of tho Hawaiian inferno was called "
~" aua. The Inferno itself bore namber
names snch as Po-pou-ole, Io-kua.ki,
Ie-kni.kini, Pv-pgpa- Polo. M
per Miln, according to these other legends W
ND a chief Of superior wickedness ON ear
oe who was thrust down into 70, but W
ny, was really both inferior and lasterior
bly, .nanua. This Inferno, this 10 with ma
ped names, ono Of which remarkably enou
J, is was Ke-J,o-f,sa.ahi, 1.-THE pit Of ire" W
hat not an entirely dark place. There "
do light Of some kind and there was fire. 7
'ws legends farther tell us that when kal
iosr ku. and Lono, were creating tho first m
lies from the earth, kaaaioc also was presc
lily and in imitation of Kane, attempted
pd- make another man ont Of the Garth. VIII
Is his clay model was ready, he called 10 il
pa become alive, but no life came to it. rh