622 HAWAIIAN ROMANCE OF LAIEIKAWAI (ETH. ANN. 33 
whom the chief sprang, but it may simply be a way of saying ‘I am a very high 
chief.” Kamahele is a term applied to a favorite and petted child, as, in later 
religious apostrophe, to Christ himself. ; 
CHAPTER VI 
“The puloulow is said to have been introduced by Paao some five hundred 
years ago, together with the ceremonial taboo of which it is the symbol. Since 
for a person of low rank to approach a sacred place or person was death to the 
intruder, it was necessary to guard against accidental offences by the use 
of a sign. The puloulow consisted of a ball-shaped bundle of white bark cloth 
attached to the end of a staff. This symbol is to be seen represented upon the 
Hawaiian coat of arms; and Kalakaua’s puloulou, a gilded wooden ball on 
the end of a long staff, is preserved in the Bishop Museum. 
* Long life was the Polynesian idea of divine blessing. Of Kualii the chanter 
boasts that he ‘lived to be carried to battle in a net.” The word is kaikoko, 
“to carry on the back in a net,” as in the case of old and feeble persons. Poly- 
nesian dialects contain a full vocabulary of age terms from infancy to old age. 
*® Chickens were a valuable part of a chief’s wealth, since from their feathers 
were formed the beautiful fly brushes, kahili, used to wave over chiefs of rank 
and carried in ceremonial processions. The entrance to the rock cave is still 
shown, at the mouth of Kaliuwaa valley, where Kamapuaa’s grandmother 
shut up her chickens at night, and it was for robbing his uncle’s henroost ‘that 
this rascally pig-god was chased away from Oahu. This reference is therefore 
one of many indications that the Laieikawai tale belongs with those of the 
ancient demigods. 
“Mr. Meheula suggested to me this translation of the idiomatic allusions 
to the canoe and the coral reef. 
CHapter VIII 
“A peculiarly close fsmily relation between brother and sister is reflected in 
Polynesian tales, as in those of Celtic, Finnish, and Scandinavian countries. 
Each serves as messenger or go-between for the other in matters of love or 
revenge, and guards the other’s safety by magic arts. Such a condition repre- 
sents a society in which the family group is closely bound together. For such 
illustrations compare the Fornander stories of Halemano, Hinaikamalama, 
Kalanimanuia, Nihoalaki, Kaulanapokii, Pamano. The character of accom- 
plished sorceress belongs especially to the helpful sister, a woman of 
the Malio or Kahalaomapuana type, whose art depends upon a life 
of solitary virginity. She knows spells, she can see what is going on at 
a distance, and she can restore the dead to life. In the older stories 
she generally appears in bird form. In more human tales she wins her 
brother’s wishes by strategy. This is particularly true of the characters in this 
story, who win their way by wit rather than magic. In this respect the 
youngest sister of Aiwohikupua should be compared with her prototype, Kaula- 
napokii, who weaves spells over plants and brings her slain brothers back to life. 
Kahalaomapuana never performs any such tasks, but she is pictured as invin- 
cible in persuasion; she never fails in sagacity, and is always right and always 
successful. She is, in fact, the most attractive character in the story. It is 
rather odd, since modern folk belief is firmly convinced of the power of love 
spells, that none appear in the recorded stories. All is accomplished by 
strategy. 
