The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-11

a
. walls the scarlet hibiscus twines and the Pom
ciana regia flames upward to the sky. But in his
garden grows only the ti-tree beloved of all Ea-
waiian gods-and used by the Kahunas in all their
mystic rites
The Kahuna is the witch doctor of the old Ha-
waiian faith. His gifts are manifold and number
few He practices his strange of sorcery now
against the Christian and the civil law He is still
respected feared implicitly believed in, jealousy hid
den by Hawaiian educated to broader faith and
even these will smile and tell you quietly that Ka-
hunaism is dead. The hack driver who brings you a
trusfu stranger from the steamer and offers himself
as guide philosopher and friend will promise to take
you to see a Kahuna or bring one to see you
will not offer and charge you for?
But neither he nor you pass the wall of sacred
which the native builds about this doctor seer sage
witch and prophet of his race and the dngy respect
bowl of water and read your future in two leaves
at the bottom OF it is no more Kahuna than Chris
tian-and perhaps not quite much.
am come here with little bundle of the ava
KahaisauEi viii tell me. He knows ali the secrets
of heaven and earth. He walks with the gods in
dreams. All time belongs to him-the then. the now
the afterward. Looking in the ava cup he reads the
discovers treachery and foretels death He strike
the death fire from the sandal wood, and brew its
hearts to flame divorce the passions from the reason
cIre love jealousy infdelity and disease He can
recall the absent change the heart lay the
Besides my little bundle of ava root have brought
live chicken tied neatly by the legs Poor innocent
fowl Saved from the butcher and the festal board
to be prayed to death by Kahaleauh and served up
OF 20 .
beat softly on Kahaleaukl's door. I know it will
be opened to me for brought passport signed by
hand that opens all Hawaiian doors. heard soft
musical jabber within 1 said as had been told TO
say: $780,, ,,.
the letter to Kahaieauki,'
bv the door While waited with my hand against
M tall g b r She G @ ao o l9
slender gracious supple shape She walked with the
mans youth she had the beautee damnee du diabie
which belongs to the youth OF woman in every land
EIarf foot aU6la a he
their smooth surface polished copper bronze
and her sweet virginia. breast; her hair hung single
splendid inky braid nearly to her knees and her
lovely, liquid, calm asleep in deep sweet stupid
peace.
letter and went, silent and smiling adoraby, she
Presently another door opened on the porch
and another brown hand older but as supple beckoned
The room was very long very low darkened by
drawn blinds, lighted by the sunlight streaming into
the lauai beyond The lauai the wide porch either
sweetiy cool where the Hawaiian sits eats sleeps,
and has his being while home l see, in passing,
the nervous shadow of tall Kahili shaken by the
draught from the door upon the wall; the gleam of
polished calabashes ranged on shelves along the wall;
the glow of yellow les made from the priceless single
yellow feather that beneath the dark wing of
huge o gourds, barbaric sp5ars and ancient drums.
weapons and ornaments of sharks teeth and human
surf boards shaped coffin lids which the fathers
of Kahaleauk Travelled. secure in ship, from isle
to isle over smooth or troubled seas, to charm, to
prophesy, to heal and to destroy.
1 merely recognize their outlines as pass I have
such municipalities relics of the picturesque
Hawaiian barbarism in other Hawaiian homes. My
eyes are the lauai and Kahaleauki.
He sits wild impressive savage figure cross
legged upon the floor He wears malo of white
lnen-a breech clout, mere strip OF cloth wound
about the loins. square Of tapa, dyed dull red, is
shoulder and knotted under the left breast On his
head scarlet cloth is folded likewise but from the
other side with the knot above the right temple and
the point falling the left cheek. His face is fine
IIac briiIant compene: his firm straight nose
set close to the face ending in fattened point with
nostris curving upward to the cheek looks like an
anchor cut on a bronze mask; his lips are full, firm.
his teeth pure bc %ne OF T Ters re
but the thick mop of black upon his head is only
p1S fsr between He must be very old His face and
his hands are wrinkled; but his beautiful nearly
Before him the floor lay mat of tapa folded
in square, set forth with leaves OF the IT, punches
Of herbs bits of sugar strips of bark, pieces
of sandal wood, knots Of ava root and straw two
t5e cocoanut with blunt lips which pour
little cup containing spotted seeds, smooth round
polished wood that looks like koa and at one
corner of the tapa a small, smooth round black
had been told to look for this stone. When placed
thus Of the mat it lifts the tapu from
about before him. But woe to MN VINO seeks
lift the spell laid by the gods when the speaking
stone is not upon the mat
Aloha" say, pausing at the door 9cs bic ,r,,;o.
eyes on mine and, by my faith as a sinner err and
Chicken firmly with sense of near live human
companonship which is by no manner of means ap-
there when under the spell of those eyes, I creep
nearer and nearer to the Kahuna and SINK upon the
floor before his mat with poor doomed fowl in
one hand, my little bundle of the ava root in the
other. ,
Kabaleauki does not speak. He raps the floor
nth one hand and a brown boy comes out into the
lanai and drops beside the floor He will in
erpret for me- he explains smiling in the security of
bic IA r,Iiarity with the compelling He tells
that from the sandal wood upon the tapa mat Kaha-
eaki strikes death fire that will travel hundreds of
miles to kill and with the two pieces of sandal bark
one c1+ from the and from the left side of
the tree he brews drink and lotion that if taken
and aDplied within days Will prove antidote
From the other banks he brews potions to cure or to
destroy: from the manu-rnele the striped red and
yellow cane and few of the little spotted milo seeds
he works love charm: with the pili-mai. the white
sugar cane and a drink brewed from the laukalu
leaves he brings back wandering love. The smooth
and nolshed stick IS the Kauwila the Kahunas stick
q wand which tossed upward from his hand toward
souS. ~ 5o-r,, ,,,,o, hin, fa1lr