'This is a story from an book from Hawaii. I wanted to share some of their breathtaking stories and legends of their beautiful islands
Here is one of my favorite one's by Hawaiian Antiquities and Folklore by Fornander.
Old Maka lay on her mats between waking and sleeping. Had she heard a call? "O Grandmother, come and get me!"
The old woman opened her eyes. Beside her bed stood a young woman, tall and very lovely. Maka gazed at her in wonder. "I have never seen you before, beautiful girl, " she said as last. "What do you want?"
"O Grandmother, come and get me," the young woman begged again. "I lie on the trash pile beside the gardens. I lie among dry cane stalks and kale leaves. Come quickly before I die!" There were tears in the girls eyes. Old Maka tried to speak to her again but she was gone.
The old woman roused herself and sat up on her mats. A dream? Yes, it
Gray mist of early morning filled the world. Yet somehow the old woman found the pathe and followed it up to the gardens. The trash pile! Where was the trash pile? Through her tears she saw a rainbow in the mist. She wiped away her tears so that she could see more clearly. And now she saw the rainbow, small and very bright , hanging above the trash pile. She stooped closer, There, among dry stalks of sugar cane and kale leaves, a tiny baby lay.
Old Maka took the baby in her arms. She wrapped it in her kapa and held it close against her breast for warmth. As she stumbled home her eyes again were full of tears for this child deserted on a trash pile.
When she reached the house the sun had risen and the mist was gone. In the clear warm light old Maka and her husband looked long at the baby
a beautiful little girl.
"A little chiefess," Maka told her husband, "for over her I saw a rainbow,small but very bright."
"It is the sign of a chiefess," her husband said. "It does not matter who she is. We shall care for the little one."
And so they did. They fed and cared for her and kept her always with them, safe in their upland home. The little girl played with birds and lizards, she swam in the mountain pool, she made lei of lehua blossoms and danced and sang. But she was always alone except for the old
couple.
"A chiefess must not mix with common folk," they said and so
Nohea, their beautiful girl, never saw young people. she never saw a girl of her own age, nor a young man..
She grew to womanhood and became the lovely woman of Maka's dream.
"What now?"the old woman asked her husband. "The time has come for her to marry. Where shall we find a husband for our young chiefess?"
The gods who guarded Nohea had their plan. One night the young woman dreamed. In her dream she saw a man - tall, straight, handsome and wearing a cape of feathers and a feather covering on his head.
In his hand was a great stick. Nohea had never seen a warrior. She did not recognize the feather garments nor the war club but she listened to the young man's words.
"You must go on a strange journey," he said to her, "a strange , hard journey." Then he was gone.
Nohea woke and thought about her dream. "A strange journey." She did not understand but the forest was in her mind. She seemed to see herself in the cool of the forest. She seemed to see herself pushing her way through tangled growth, resting beside a spring and climbing lehua trees to gather blossoms. Nohea thought much that day but she did
nothing.
That night she dreamed again. Again the stranger came wearing feather garments. But tonight he did not seem a stranger - rather an old friend.
Again he spoke to her.
"Make ready for a journey, O Nehea," he said. "YOu must start at once." The dream ended and the girl awoke.
She sprang up from her mats. I must start at once! she told herself, for the words of the young man were ringing in her ears.
She put on her pa'u and shoulder cape but did not stop for food. She went out into the chill of early morning. The thought of the forest was strong in her, again, and she followed the trail that led to it.
For days Nohea wandered in the forest just as her thoughts had pictured. Sometimes she pushed her way through tangled undergrowth.
She stumbled over hidden logs, vines caught her feet and her kapa was wet with dew. Sometimes she wandered in a sunny, open grove of lehua. She gathered blossoms and made lei for her neck and hair. She slept beside a spring.
In her sleep the man came to her. He called and beckoned to her. In the day she didn not see him but sometimes she saw a rainbow which seemed to wave her on ward and she followed .
She was not afraid, for she felt her friend was guiding her.
One day she heard loud sounds. Something was crashing through the underbrush, some animal or person. Frightened, Nohea climbed a tree.
A moment later a man came from among the ferns and stood looking at
her. "Come down, beautiful girl. " he said. His voice was friendly but
Nohea was still afraid.
Then the man threw himself down before her. He threw himself down as a man does before his chief. Nohea did not know that custom but she understood that this man would not hurt her. "Come down, " he begged again."O Heavenly One, let me lead you to my master, chief of Kohala.
He has seen you in his dreams and he waits for your coming. Let me lead you to him."
Was this the answer to her dream? Was it this chief who had spoken to her? Slowly Nohea climbed down and followed the man who led her out of the forest and along a trail.
At last they come to a group of houses. In the shady young men were busy with some game. The one who led Nohea bowed before the tallest man. "I have found her, O Heavenly One," he said.
The young man turned toward Nohea. His face lighted with great joy as he came to her.
"You have come, O woman of my dreamssss," he said. "But your eyes are full of tears. Why do you weep?"
"I dreamed of someone," she whispered.
"What was he like? Was he like me?"
"Yes, his voice was yours, and his eyes, but he was different . He wore a long cape of feathers. He wore feathers on his head and held a great stick in his hand."
The man turned to his servant. "Bring my feather cape and helmet, "he commanded. "Bring my war club." He put them on.
"Behold your warrior!"
Nohea smiled. "My warrior indeed!" she said. " I know you now. It was you who came to me in dreams. Let me send for my old people, the grandparends who cared for me. But for them I should not be alive."
On the day that the chief of Kohala and Nohea were married a great
Old Maka listened to the thunder and watched the rainbows joyfully, then turned to her husband with shinning eyes. "The gods are glad," she said. "They send storm and rainbows to celebrate the marriage of the chiefess whom we love."
I hope you all Enjoyed the story of and wonder legend of Hawaii..
Wendy
