Phoenix weekly herald., 1898-09-29
HAWAIIAN BLACK ART.
Natives OF Cur KeW Possessions
are Very SHperstilious.
Their Relief in ti.4 -'Auaana' PEG
pie Supposed TO be Prayed TO
D'ai!,-Tiie 0ufbn'st Of Volca-
Dees Aseribed to Angry Geds.

il noes Ascribed to Angry Geds.
The inha bitants of the Hawaiian is
ands aret all superstitfous. from tn
late occupant of the throne to the hum
blest inhabitant in the remote region
of the desolate island of NIolokai, tn
home of the outcast lepers.
The late King Kalakau was a super
= | stitOds person. His end was undoubt
. edly FASTENED by the knowledge tha
, previous to his departure from Honolu
u. III several kahunas or witch doctors
RI were engaged in the cheerful occupa
ton of praying him to death,'' under
subsidy from the adherents of the ex
[ Queen Liliukolani who wished to place
} her on the throne of Kamahamehas
Another fact contributed towards the
king's death-namely: that just pre-
VIouS to his departure for San Francis
&C. where he died a few weeks later.
there appeared in the harbor of Honolu
III school of small red fish called by
the natives 'tkai uluulu,'' which as they
aver. have heralded the death of ali
the members of the royal family from
! time immemOrial. Whether these
| deaths occurred by mere chance or
| whether the members of the royal fam
| lily We're so accommodating as to shut
| lie of the mortal coil in order to per-
! petuate a time-hOnored belief I leave
others to decide; but it is a we'll known
! fact that the deaths of King LunaliIo,
| Princess Likiliki, Queen Emma. Prin-
cess Ruth and the late King Kalakua
have all followed the arrival of these
t1pv harbingerS of Woe
The HaWaii9nS are the most ina o.
| NATIVE as well as superstitious of peo-
pie and when a native once becomes
convinced that his death has been de-
creed by the gods there is small chance
of saving his life, and he usually dies
of fear within an incredibly short time
after the decree has gone forth that
he must die.
The husband of the eX-Queen, JOHN
Dominis, was an American gentleman
of more than ordinary intelligence and
education, and therefore. took small /
stock in the native superstitions. Short /
~ before his death, when he was but I
slightly indisposed. invitations for |
grand bail at the palace were issued.
The following day the Queen was in
Formed that school of red fish had en-
fared the harbOr Frantic with terror
she caused the invita- tons to be with
drawn, although the Prince Consort
vas no worse than usual. That night
he died. No power on earth could
change the belief of the natives that
the *kaia uluulu'' were the harbingers
of death and they cling to the supersti-
ton with persistency not to be Grad
icated
The superstition that the natives
hold most dear is that of the "anaana"
which means that the kahunas have
the power of removing their enemies
by praying them to death. A man may
have an enemy removed by paying the
kahuna a certain sum of money pro-
pOrtionate to his means or by entering
his service for a stipulated period
When the victim is informed that he is
being prayed to death he engages the
services of kahuna of higher rank,
which is settled by age, and by paying
4 larger sum of money has the ban :
But if the services of a ka-
lUna of higher rank are not to be had
he victim lies down and proceeds to
lie gracefully.
\ peculiarly interesting eXemp1ifica- |
ion of the power of the '+anaana" /
.ame under my observation on the is 5
and of Hawaii. Two laborers on su- :
.ar plantation became enamored of the
.ame dainty "waihina'' pretty half Y
asst girl, Who smiled on I<iha, the i
landsomer of the two love sick swains Y
zilai. the rival, determined that the '
Wedding should never take place and i
le engaged the services of the Oldest /
-ahuna in the district to remove his O
ppOnent Kiha was informed that the
,ods had decreed his death and the L
hreats and entreaties of the manager '
f the plantation were unavailing: the '
ash of the OyerSeer failed to arouse Fl
n him the slightest protest and the t
u IL
rith better profit have been thrown
D the dogs. As a last resort the big "
anaka was placed in a wagon and n
AIKEN to town to his mothers house. il
there he lay for week. surrounded II
Y his weeping family and friends. At Il
OOn on the tenth day. after the fatal h
pell began to work, he took his ANU q
t from his neck and gave it to his e,
lother. bade farewell to his family
nd friends. consigned his soul to the "
DDS of his forefathers and gracefully fl
ave up the ghost. A week later the IL
ctorious T[ilai led the pretty half
lSt girl to the altar. 3
Like all primitive people the Hawa- be
ans attribute the various phenomena w
nature to superna tura1 agencies. bl
id the periodical activity of the vol 81
mo Kilauea is supposed to be due to tll
e Outburst of wrath of the goddess OF
3Ie- VINO dWeliS IN the nerV caVornS as
the ''hOuse of everlasting fire" She re
the veStal virgin who keeps agIOw
e fires by her breath and is so beau fl
III in face and form that no man can in
ok upon her and live. When her ang th
is aroused, she sends forth hot lava on
III stones to destroy all who refuse ag
do her homage. From time immem of
fal it has been the custom to appease in
T wrath by libations and propitia- MT
~ offerings, which were thrown into me
e crater and placed on the affairs glt
ith great ceremony. tn.
In 1882 the village of Hilo on the va
and of Hawaii was threatened with wi
tai destruction by a flow of lava We
)m the crater of Mauna Loa, twenty ma
lies distant The lava was slowly Al
prOac ching the town, and when with an
half a mile a public recognition of S
e power of the goddess Pele took Ri
ace The Princess Ruth. sister of
e two previous kings, Kamehameha eri
. and V. was eDtreated to come from rllf
)nOlulu and apTease the fury of the WI
rrible Pele. She chartered steam fla
in all haste and went to Hilo, where res
e caused an altar to be erected, after on
e fashion of tie oIden times. and the
ere publicly made supplication to be
lie. after which she placed offerings 20.
front of the advancing lava. The au,
eryentiOn of the Princess was time an,
for the lava, which had practically the