An Account of Fishing. 



THERE were gods of fishing from the very beginning of fishing to this clay; 

 from the earliest fisherman to those of the present time they still serve them 

 for the success of their vocation. Here are the names of the gods of fishing: 

 Kuula was the husband; Hina was the wife, and Aiai the son. Alea in Hana, Maui, 

 was the place of residence. During the time Kahoalii was reigning as king of Hana, 

 Maui, with his i:)lace of residence on the hill of Kauiki, and his fishers being the Kuula 

 family, Kahoalii one day sent his attendants to bring [him] some fish. This was the 

 king's customary practice till he became angered at the fishermen. 



When the attendants went before Kuula and Hina they (the latter) gave them 

 fish which was a kahala.' They told the attendants in a straightforward manner as 

 follows: "You two go back and tell the king to rip open the fish, salt the meat, roast 

 the bone in the underground oven, and when cooked eat it, because it is a swollen^ time." 



Bring, O Kama, 

 The fish of victory. 

 Here is Hana, 

 A swollen land. 



These were the words of the fishermen to the attendants of Kahoalii. When 

 they came into the presence of the King, Kahoalii, they spoke with falsehood and de- 

 ceit. This is what the attendants said: "Your fishermen said to salt your flesh, and 

 roast your head and bones in the oven." 



When the king heard these deceitful words of his attendants, he was enraged 

 and ordered that the fisherfolks die, who were Kuula and Hina. The peo])le went by 

 order of the king to destroy Kuula's house by fire. However, Kuula and Hina had 

 supernatural powers, and heard of their [own] demise by the king. They therefore 

 prepared three small gourd calabashes, to be exjiloded in the fire, in order that they 

 might not be killed. 



Kuula, Hina and Aiai were in the house when it was set on fire and the exits 

 closed. Kuula therefore said to the son: "Say, you must live, and we two will die. 

 If the smoke from the fire settles down towards the mountain, there is where you will 

 go for a dwelling place, while we two will go and dwell in the sea." 



At the time the fire was burning and enveloping the outside of the house the 

 smoke leaned towards the mountain. Aiai went and lived in a cave at a different 

 location, while the parents went through the smoke which settled down on the sea and 

 dwelt in the ocean. The three unrij^e gourds were the things whicn exploded in the 

 fire, by which the king thought the Kuulas had died in the fire, because of the 

 explosions of these things. 



'Kciliala, amber-fish (Seriota purpunisccns). "A time of famine. 



(172) 



