The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai Part 39

One day, as the princess sought to ease the love she bore to Kekalukaluokewa, she climbed Kaiwiopele with her attendants, and sat there with her face turned toward Kauwiki, facing Kahalaoaka, and as the clouds rested there right above Honokalahi then the heart of the princess was benumbed with love for her lover; then she chanted a little song, as follows:

Like a gathering cloud love settles upon me, Thick darkness wraps my heart.

A stranger perhaps at the door of the house, My eyes dance.

It may be they weep, alas!

I shall be weeping for you.

As flies the sea spray of Hanualele, Right over the heights of Honokalani.

My high one! So it is I feel.

After this song she wept, and seeing her weep, her attendants wept with her.

They sat there until evening, then they returned to the house; her parents and her attendants commanded her to eat, but she had no appet.i.te for food because of her love.

It was the same with Kekalukaluokewa, for when Hinaikamalama left Kekalukaluokewa that night, when Laielohelohe came, the chief was not happy, but he endured it for some days after their separation.

And on the day when Hinaikamalama went up on Kaiwiopele, that same night, he went to Hinaikamalama without Laielohelohe's knowledge, for she was asleep.

While Hinaikamalama lay awake, sleepless for love, entered Kekalukaluokewa, without the knowledge of anyone in the chief's house.

When Kekalukaluokewa came, he went right to the place where the princess slept, took the woman by the head and wakened her.

Then Hinaikamalama's heart leaped with the hope it was her lover; now when she seized him it was in truth the one she had hoped for. Then she called out to the attendants to light the lamps, and at dawn Kekalukaluokewa returned to his true wife, Laielohelohe. After that, Kekalukaluokewa went to Hinaikamalama every night without being seen; ten whole days pa.s.sed that the two did evil together without the wife knowing it; for in order to carry out her husband's desire Laielohelohe's senses were darkened by the effects of _awa_.

One day one of the native-born women of the place felt pity for Laielohelohe, therefore the woman went to visit the princess.

While Kekalukaluokewa was in the fiber-combing house with the men, the woman visited with Laielohelohe, and she said mysteriously, "How is your husband? Does he not struggle and groan sometimes for the woman?"

Said Laielohelohe, "No; all is well with us."

Said the woman again, "It may be he is deceiving you."

"Perhaps so," answered Laielohelohe, "but so far as I see we are living very happily."

Then the woman told her plainly, "Where are you? Our garden patch is right on the edge of the road; my husband gets up to dig in our garden.

As he was digging, Kekalukaluokewa came along from Haneoo; my husband thought at once he had been with Hinaikamalama; my husband returned and told me, but I was not sure. On the next night, at moonrise, I got up with my husband, and we went to fish for red fish in the sea at Haneoo; as we came to the edge of the gulch, we saw some one appear above the rise we had just left; then we turned aside and hid; it was Kekalukaluokewa coming; then we followed his footsteps until we came close to Hinaikamalama's house; here Kekalukaluokewa entered. After we had fished and returned to the place where we met him first, we met him going back, and we did not speak to him nor he to us; that is all, and this day Hinaikamalama's own guard told me--my husband's sister she is--ten days the chiefs have been together; that is my secret; and therefore my husband and I took pity on you and I came to tell you."

CHAPTER x.x.xIV

And at the woman's words, the princess's mind was moved; not at once did she show her rage; but she waited but to make sure. She said to the woman, "No wonder my husband forces me to drink _awa_ so that when I am asleep under the influence of the _awa_, he can go; but to-night I will follow him."

That night Kekalukaluokewa again gave her the _awa_, then she obeyed him, but after she had drunk it all, she went outside the house immediately and threw it up; and afterwards her husband did not know of his wife's guile, and she returned to the house, and Laielohelohe lay down and pretended to sleep.

When Kekalukaluokewa thought that his wife was fast asleep under the effects of the _awa_, then he started to make his usual visit to Hinaikamalama.

When Laielohelohe saw that he had left her, she arose and followed Kekalukaluokewa without being seen.

Thus following, lo! she found her husband with Hinaikamalama.

Then Laielohelohe said to Kekalukaluokewa, when she came to Hinaikamalama's house where they were sleeping, "My husband, you have deceived me; no wonder you compelled me to drink _awa_, you had something to do; now I have found you two, I tell you it is not right to endure this any longer. We had best return to Kauai; we must go at once."

Her husband saw that the princess was right; they arose and returned to Honokalani and next day the canoes were hastily prepared to fulfill Laielohelohe's demand, thinking to sail that night; but they did not, for Kekalukaluokewa pretended to be ill, and they postponed going that night. The next day he did the same thing again, so Laielohelohe gave up her love for her husband and returned to Kauai with her canoe, without thinking again of Kekalukaluokewa.

The next day after Laielohelohe reached Kauai after leaving her husband, Kaonohiokala arrived again from Kahakaekaea, and met with Laielohelohe.

Four months pa.s.sed of their amorous meetings; this long absence of Kaonohiokala's seemed strange to Laieikawai, he had been away four months; and as Laieikawai wondered at the long absence, Kaonohiokala returned.

Laieikawai asked, "Why were you gone four months? You have not done so before."

Said Kaonohiokala, "Laielohelohe has had trouble with her husband; Kekalukaluokewa has taken a stranger to wife, and this is why I was so long away."

Then Laieikawai said to her husband, "Get your wife and bring her up here and let us live together."

Therefore, Kaonohiokala left Laieikawai and went away, as Laieikawai thought, to carry out her command. Not so!

On this journey Kaonohiokala stayed away a year; now Laieikawai did not think her husband's long stay strange, she laid it to Laielohelohe's troubles with Kekalukaluokewa.

Then she longed to see how it was with her sister, so Laieikawai went to her father-in-law and asked, "How can I see how it is with my sister, for I have heard from my husband and high one that Laielohelohe is having trouble with Kekalukaluokewa, and so I have sent Kaonohiokala to fetch the woman and return hither; but he has not come back, and it is a year since he went, so give me power to see to that distant place to know how it is with my relatives."

Then said Moa.n.a.lihaikawaokele, her father-in-law, "Go home and look for your mother-in-law; if she is asleep, then go into the taboo temple; if you see a gourd plaited with straw and feathers mounted on the edge of the cover, that is the gourd. Do not be afraid of the great birds that stand on either side of the gourd, they are not real birds, only wooden birds; they are plaited with straw and inwrought with feathers. And when you come to where the gourd is standing take off the cover, then put your head into the mouth of the gourd and call out the name of the gourd, 'Laukapalili, Trembling Leaf, give me wisdom.' Then you shall see your sister and all that is happening below. Only when you call do not call in a loud voice; it might resound; your mother-in-law, Laukieleula, might hear, the one who guards the gourd of wisdom."

Laukieleula was wont to watch the gourd of wisdom, at night, and by day she slept.

Very early next morning, at the time when the sun's warmth began to spread over the earth, she went to spy out Laukieleula; she was just asleep.

When she saw she was asleep Laieikawai did as Moa.n.a.lihaikawaokele had directed, and she went as he had instructed her.

When she came to the gourd, the one called "the gourd of wisdom," she lifted the cover from the gourd and bent her head to the mouth of the gourd, and she called the name of the gourd, then she began to see all that was happening at a distance.

At noon Laieikawai's eyes glanced downward, lo! Kaonohiokala sinned with Laielohelohe.

Then Laieikawai went and told Moa.n.a.lihaikawaokele about it, saying, "I have employed the power you gave me, but while I was looking my high lord sinned; he did evil with my sister; for the first time I understand why his business takes him so long down below."

Then Moa.n.a.lihaikawaokele's wrath was kindled, and Laukieleula heard it also, and her parents-in-law went to the gourd--lo! they plainly saw the sin committed as Laieikawai had said.

That day they all came together, Laieikawai and her parents-in-law, to see what to do about Kaonohiokala, and they came to their decision.

Then the pathway was let down from Kahakaekaea and dropped before Kaonohiokala; then Kaonohiokala's heart beat with fear, because the road dropped before him; not for long was Kaonohiokala left to wonder.

Then the air was darkened and it was filled with the cry of wailing spirits and the voice of lamentation--"The divine one has fallen! The divine one has fallen!!" And when the darkness was over, lo!

Moa.n.a.lihaikawaokele and Laukieleula and Laieikawai sat above the rainbow pathway.

And Moa.n.a.lihaikawaokele said to Kaonohiokala, "You have sinned, O Kaonohiokala, for you have defiled yourself and, therefore, you shall no longer have a place to dwell within Kahakaekaea, and the penalty you shall pay, to become a fearsome thing on the highway and at the doors of houses, and your name is Lapu, Vanity, and for your food you shall eat moths; and thus shall you live and your posterity."

Then was the pathway taken from him through his father's supernatural might. Then they returned to Kahakaekaea.