Description

Kaneakama was as handsome a young fellow as you could have found on the eight islands; neither unknown to war nor unskilled in divination and the learning of the priests. But he had one vice—he was an inveterate gambler. And here he sat in his grass hut on the slopes of the Olukui, feeling as miserable as any wretch of to-day who had squandered his patrimony at Monte Carlo, for he had been playing maika the whole day long and luck had been against him at every throw. The devil, he thought, must have been in the smooth black stones; throw as he might, they would not go straight. Yes, they were certainly bewitched. And now he had nothing to call his own but one little pig—everything was lost. Why did he not stake the pig? you ask. Ah! Kaneakama had asked himself that question many a time that evening, but had each time repelled the very thought as a temptation. For he had dedicated this pig to his Aumakua, or tutelary divinity, and with all his faults he was too pious to break his vows to the gods. So, although happy thus far in the possession of a good conscience, he nursed his grief until the kind divinities sent their messenger, sleep—welcome to all men everywhere. And, as Kaneakama slept, he had a wonderful vision. The song of a bird broke upon his ear, then the sweet sounds transformed themselves into an aura of radial light and in the light he beheld the loveliest form he had ever seen. It was that of a young girl, but Kaneakama’s first impression was that it was some glorious bird, for he wanted to get up and throw a mat across the door lest she should fly away. Her black hair fell in a great shadow behind her like a pair of wings; no chief arrayed for battle had feather cloak so rich in orange and scarlet as that which clung to her perfect form from throat to shapely knee. Her eyes, too, even in the bright aura which encircled her, shone like stars in the night. Kaneakama gazed he knew not how long, and when he came to himself he was only conscious of having received a command from the goddess (for such indeed was his adorable visitant) to take his dedicated pig and stake it as he had done the rest. You see, the gods and goddesses of ancient Hawaii had rather backward ideas regarding the morality of gambling. However, Kaneakama is not to be blamed for this. He did as his divinity had told him, and now if the ill-luck of his former experience had been surprising, still more so was the turn of fortune which seemed to pour riches into his lap. He went home from that day’s maika-playing a rich man, but, remembering the source of his wealth, he determined to dedicate one-half of it to the service of the goddess, and to build a temple where she might dwell and receive his worship. This he did, and no sooner was the temple so far completed that it only lacked its central idol, than once more the vision of the Aumakua broke in upon his sleep. This time there was no doubt about the voice. It was as sweet to hear as the vision was to see. “Go to the king, O Kaneakama,” it said; “tell him that the akua wish to dwell in the temple made by man in the shadow of his court. Power shall be his if he will shelter them. Let him send warriors with their axes and knives to the top of Maunaloa. Out of the wood let them hew me an image, and this shall be my shrine in the heiau you have built, and you, O Kaneakama, shall be my high-priest, worshipper and lover of Kalaipahoa, terrible to mortals.” When Kaneakama awoke he hastened to obey the command, and the king was pleased to hear of the honours in store. Three hundred men were chosen; and these, carrying, besides their weapons, great folds of kapa (for the venom of the poison goddess was a thing to be dreaded), set out on their march. Kaneakama, commissioned by the king, went before them as a guide to the spot designated in his sleep. As they marched they recalled all they had heard of the poison goddess—how she had come from an unknown land to Molokai and had made her home on Maunaloa.

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en

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livre numérique

Date de sortie initiale

28 septembre 2025

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Auteur principal

Gertrude Atherton

Editeur principal

Library Of Alexandria

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EAN

9781613104347

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Littérature et Romans

Romans Feel Good

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