The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-01
STILL HEATHER IN HAWAII.
Account Of the Weird DeitiGS, Folk
Lore and SupeTStitiOnS.
Still Some Idols in Eonolulu-The
Special Powers for Good and Evil
That They Exercise - Many With
parnarl.ahla Hfstories
From the Pittsburg Dispatch.

Remarkable Histories.
From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
spent the greater part of a week
searching for the neglected little gods of
Hawaii, who heed not the tumult of revo-
11tion. and whose reign over the supersti-
rious has not been disturbed by the provi-
sfonal goverument-those strange deities
who stLl counsel and protect the children
of these Islands by whispers and omens,
which are given when the shadows on the
mountains grow long at eventide.
These persistent gods, who refuse to
abandon their thrones, are indeed, a band
If Gloomy. hideous visaged deities. Sui
len and immovable, they continue TO dwell
in the hearts of many old natives as in
the DAYS of yore, when they were revered
bv tho untold tribes of men who formerly
peopled this paradise of the Pacific.
What homage must have been paid them
through the long ages of their power, ex-
tending from the times of Polynesian mr.
grafton from the original Aryan home of
the human race to the period when the
zenith Hash of European civilization first
crossed the threshold of the primitive re-
Beion which created them.
MANY GODS STILL POWERFUL.
Though the old gods are silent, and
though none are so humble as to give
them ma lie recognition, they are by no
means CurLailed of their power MANY
have been destroyed some dwell under
fine cuise of freaks in the public museum,
Inn many have been hidden from their
enemies by their loving followers. and
mus have they escaped Punishment from
the land OF their birth
Their humble guises and skulking hab-
lis have not disgraced them, however, in
the eyes of believers, who say that god
nav change his form without altering his
value Did not our god Odin- dwell in a
fsberman's hut and patch his boat, and
,yasuot the Son of Man born in manger?
The traditions and fears, the awful rev
erences of ages, running through a ma
TONS habits and history, cannot be
swept aside in a few generations. Hence
there is a niche in many hanaka hearts
for the gods of their tathers-a reverence
for that strange past when every chief
tain owned his own war god and Obeyed
his own gods commandments.
There is a visible remnant of supersti-
ton which stiu awes the faithful. and
PRAYERS 10 half forgotten deities are often
muttared in fear and silence, even by
some of the queer souls who are to all
outward appearances followers of Chris
cauitv. Ky mental processes peculiar to
themselves such persons appOrtion to each
GOD his own territory and give Jehovah a
general supervision over the universe and
It's tutclar deities.
NOT so NUMEROUS AND BOLD.
OF course the island gods for whom I
searched are no longer so numerous or
bold as in the past, when they peOpled
the mountains and valleys, the vaulC of
heaven and the seas without fear that
their rapid propagation would overtax
the couutry's power to afford them sub
sistcnce. They had not heard of the dan
ger of over population as outlined by the
ingenious Nautilus, so they continued to
multiply and replenish the land as suited
their pleasure. A favorite method of the
rock gods was to touch one another and
thereby cause little rock gods to spring
from nOthlngness. But in spite of their
fertility the Hawaiian gods have de-
creased faster than the Hawaiian people
themselves, who are rapidly vanishing
from the stage of history.
1t Is said there are not to exceed fifty
gods in Honolulu. They are closely
guarded and reverently worshipped by
their owners who explain that the many
gods of the past have gone to the country
il would be an impossible task to take a
census OF the rural deities of these islands
who are said to be in hiding in the back
ground.
The preservation of even the rural
gods-lasJ and cowardly remains of their
species is due to the zeal of few faith
tul natives. who have secreted them from
the clutch OF aggressive bands of maraud-
ing missionaries, who have largely in
creased The death rate of the gods of old.
Inc ancient gods whose lives are still
spared continue to commune with the
faithful, VINO read their thoughts in the
language Of symbols. The wrath of
the mountain and the elf of the valley
Iye here. as wood nymphs and innumer-
a0e ndlads live in the mythology of
Greek
The wood nymphs of Hawaii are called
hlm AEua, ana it is considered wise to
gam the favor of even these little elves.
Inc gods and demi-gods are still believed
10 cast spells over the evil and to bless
lne good, out their chief usefulness is in
the realm of prophesy. They can unerr-
lu2lV tOreteH the death of citizen. es-
ltc.4ly It the citizens veins contain royal
uIJ9J. Many natives still believe that
tue hahuuas and old sorCerers-Apo, Leo,
AuiIl ana Fahluhlus- queer lot of be-
4gN. supposed to be half doctors, half
EIIeaUs prayed Commander Wiltse of the
j'osJon, TO death because he was nos
IlItuuly TO Queen Llliuokalani.
luese hldeous old kahunas are believed
" nave the power Of sending familiar
spAlJs on errands. In a case where a pa
'IeNJ mas been bewitched, if the xuhuna
-C1Ieu professionally at a fixed fee) pas
9eS9tS more powerful incantations or has
oonu Oh more potent demons than the
"osg.e sorcerers, he canicompel the evil
SplIIys not only 10 tell by whom they were
Ss", 10 the patient, bat even TO return
aUu destroy their own kahuna.
THE DEATH OF LIKELIKE.
A striking incident, illustrative of the
to"e' OF the ancient faith, was seen in
auo case OF the late Princess Likelike,
rrae-AJer OF kapaakca, and mother of
i.,.''ss9 halulani, who died on Feb. 3
one had not been seriously ILL., but
u ava low from the great volcano
ali.auea, IN Hawaii which occurred a few
JAYS before her death, was to her mind
sL sign that chieftess was required by
s '' GODDESS Pele, that heartless old diety
f-es-ed to the children of nature in
~ ages OF volcanic terrors. So firm was
fiN'llNe S conviction that the wrath of
I,,yus Fele mac. to be appeased by her
I.la'N mat she lost heart aud never raj |
,,'.I Inc night before her death there
as halo around the moon, and when
sr 80" II she abandoned all hope and
speedily died.
w a. rev Years ago Likihiku heard that he
,i 5S oelhg prayed to death by an enemy
49, 49,, ny a sorcerer-a deadly method of