Origin of Fire. 117 



where the immigrants first landed, and with eruptions every few years that nightly 

 brightened Hawaii and the nearer islands for weeks and even months, it is strange 

 that the legends of the origin of fire trace it, not to the redoiibtable Pele, goddess of 

 the volcano, but to the humble water-hen {alac of the natives) who alone knew how 

 to make fire and long refused to impart the secret to human beings. At last one day 

 the inevitable happened and a man came upon one of these birds who had been warm- 

 ing itself by its maniifaAured fire. As usual, the bird refused to tell whence came 

 the comfortable blaze, so the human featherless biped seized the plumed one and press- 

 ing a still glowing brand from the fire against the forehead of the bird held it there 

 until in its agony the poor wretch gave up its secret in fragmentary shrieks, and as an 

 irrefragable proof of the truth of the legend the forehead of the bird is still red. 



The flint and steel of our ancestors were not more efficient than the simple 

 fire-sticks. No flint was found on the Hawaiian group, nor metallic iron, but the com- 

 pact clinkstone and the hard iron oxide or hjematite are claimed to have been used by 

 the natives; never so popular as the aulima and aunaki. The application of fire to 

 light rather than to heat will be discussed later with the torches, candles and lamps; 

 but the clear burning embers in the fireplace gave a dim but sufficient light that did 

 not hinder sleep, but showed the indistinct figures moving from their lair to the door 

 or returning without disturbance to their rest ; and when the fire-tender put new fuel 

 on the embers the temporary flash disclosed a scene to be remembered. 



That I might be sure of the names given to the house parts in olden times I 

 printed a list, which I give below, of words and their definitions as given b}' Andrews'" in 

 his dictionary, to be submitted in whole or in part to various old Hawaiians met in the 

 circuit of Hawaii ; but the results were not encouraging and but little new was added 

 to the list. Such as it is I offer it here as a convenience to anj^ i-eader who needs 

 such a vocabulary. 



VOCABULARY OF TERMS USED IN HOUSEBUILDING. 



Aaa. A humble dwelling; also an uninhabited house (an egg shell). 



Aaho. Same as aho. 



Aha. To stretch the cord by which the first posts of a house were located. 



Aho. Small, straight sticks used in thatching. Aaho seems a corruption. 



Aina (hale). A house for eating; he hale aina oia kekahi. 



Ako. To thatch ; ua akoia ka hale. 



Aualo (halau). A shed for storing canoes or other bulky articles; front of house. 



*-A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language, by Lorrin Andrews. Honolulu, 1865. 



[301J 



