On the plateau lying between Ewa and Waialua, on the island of Oahu, and about a mile off, and mauka of the Kaukonahua bridge, is the historical place called Kukaniloko. This was the ancient birthplace of the Oahu kings and rulers. It was incumbent1 on all women of the royal line to retire to this place when about to give birth to a child, on pain of forfeiting2 the rank, privileges, and prerogatives3 of her expected offspring, should that event happen in a less sacred place.
The stones were still standing5 some years ago, and perhaps are yet undisturbed, where the royal accouchements took place. In ancient times this locality was taboo6 ground, for here the high priest of the island had his headquarters. Himself descended7 from the chief families, and being, in many instances, an uncle or younger brother of the reigning8 king, or connected by marriage with those of the royal line, and being also at the head of a numerous, well organized, and powerful priesthood, his influence was hardly second to that of the king, and in some matters his authority was paramount9. [140]
A few miles mauka of Kukaniloko, toward the Waimea Mountains, is Helemano, where the last of the cannibal chiefs from the South Seas finally settled when driven from the plains of Mokuleia and Waialua by the inhabitants of those districts; for the people had been exasperated10 by the frequent requisitions on the kamaainas (original inhabitants) by the stranger chiefs to furnish material for their cannibal feasts.
To the east of Helemano, and about the same distance from Kukaniloko, is Oahunui (Greater Oahu), another historical place. This was the residence of the kings of the island. Tradition has it that previous to the advent11 of the cannibal strangers the place was known by another name.
When the Lo Aikanaka, as the last of the man-eating chiefs are called, were constrained12 to take up their residence in upper Helemano, a district just outside of the boundaries of those reserved for the royal and priestly residences, a young man called Oahunui was king. An elder sister named Kilikiliula, who had been as a mother to him, was supposed to share equally with him the royal power and prerogative4. This sister was married to a chief named Lehuanui, of the priestly line, but one not otherwise directly connected with royalty13, and was the mother of three children; the two eldest14 being boys and the youngest a girl. They all lived together in the royal enclosure, but in separate houses, according to ancient custom.
Now, the Lo Aikanaka, on establishing themselves in upper Helemano, had at first behaved very well. They had been circumspect15 and prudent16 in their intercourse17 [141]with the royal retainers, and had visited the young King to render their homage18 with every appearance of humility19.
Oahunui was quite captivated by the plausible20, suave21 manners of the ingratiating southern chief and those of his immediate22 retainers, and he invited them to a feast.
This civility was reciprocated23, and the King dined with the strangers. Here it was strongly suspected that the dish of honor placed before the King was human flesh, served under the guise24 of pork.
The King found the dish very much to his liking25, and intimated to the Lo Aikanaka chief that his aipuu-puu (chief cook or steward) understood the preparation and cooking of pork better than the royal cook did.
The Lo Aikanaka took the hint, and the young King became a very frequent guest at the Southerner’s board—or rather, mat table. Some excuse or other would be given to invite the royal guest, such as a challenge to the King to a game of konane (a game like checkers); or a contest of skill in the different athletic26 and warlike sports would be arranged, and Oahunui would be asked to be the judge, or simply invited to view them. As a matter of course, it would be expected that the King would remain after the sports and partake of food when on friendly visits of this nature. Thus with one excuse or another he spent a great deal of his time with his new subjects and friends.
To supply the particular dainty craved27 by the royal visitor, the Lo Aikanaka had to send out warriors28 to the passes leading to Waianae from Lihue and Kalena, and also to the lonely pathway leading up to Kalakini, [142]on the Waimea side, there to lie in ambush30 for any lone29 traveller, or belated person after la-i, aaho, or ferns. Such a one would fall an easy prey31 to the Lo Aikanaka stalwarts, skilful32 in the art of the lua (to kill by breaking the bones).
This went on for some time, until the unaccountable disappearance33 of so many people began to be connected with the frequent entertainments by the southern chief. Oahunui’s subjects began to hint that their young King had acquired the taste for human flesh at these feasts, and that it was to gratify his unnatural34 appetite for the horrid35 dish that he paid his frequent visits to those who were his inferiors, contrary to all royal precedent36.
The people’s disapproval37 of the intimacy38 of Oahunui with his new friends was expressed more and more openly, and the murmurs39 of discontent grew loud and deep. His chiefs and high priest became alarmed, and begged him to discontinue his visits, or they would not be answerable for the consequences. The King was thereby40 forced to heed41 their admonitions and promised to keep away from Lo’s, and did so for quite a while.
Now, all the male members of the royal family ate their meals with the King when he was at home. This included, among others, Lehuanui, his sister’s husband, and their two sons—healthy, chubby42 little lads of about eight and six years of age. One day after breakfast, as the roar of the surf at Waialua could be distinctly heard, the King remarked that the fish of Ukoa pond at Waialua must be pressing on to the makaha (floodgates) and he would like some aholehole. [143]
This observation really meant a command to his brother-in-law to go and get the fish, as he was the highest chief present except his two royal nephews, too small to assume such duties.
Lehuanui, Kilikiliula’s husband, accordingly went to Waialua with a few of his own family retainers and a number of those belonging to the King. They found the fish packed thick at the makaha, and were soon busily engaged in scooping43 out, cleaning, and salting them. It was quite late at night when Lehuanui, fatigued44 with the labors45 of the day, lay down to rest. He had been asleep but a short time when he seemed to see his two sons standing by his head. The eldest spoke46 to him: “Why do you sleep, my father? While you are down here we are being eaten by your brother-in-law, the King. We were cooked and eaten up, and our skulls47 are now hanging in a net from a branch of the lehua-tree you are called after, and the rest of our bones are tied in a bundle and buried under the tree by the big root running to the setting sun.”
Then they seemed to fade away, and Lehuanui started up, shivering with fear. He hardly knew whether he had been dreaming or had actually seen an apparition48 of his little sons. He had no doubt they were dead, and as he remembered all the talk and innuendoes49 about the King’s supposed reasons for visiting the strangers and the enforced cessation of those visits at the urgent request of the high priest and the chiefs, he came to the conclusion that the King had expressed a desire for fish in his presence only to send him out of the way. He reasoned that [144]no doubt the King had noticed the chubby forms and rounded limbs of the little lads, and being debarred a chance of partaking surreptitiously of human flesh, had compelled his servants to kill, cook, and serve up his own nephews. In satisfying his depraved appetite, he had also got rid of two who might become formidable rivals; for it was quite within the possibilities that the priests and chiefs in the near future, should he be suspected of a desire for a further indulgence in cannibal diet, might depose50 him, and proclaim either one of the young nephews his successor.
The father was so troubled that he aroused his immediate body servant, and the two left Waialua for home shortly after midnight. They arrived at the royal enclosure at dawn, and went first to the lehua-tree spoken of by the apparition of the child, and on looking up amid the branches, sure enough there dangled51 two little skulls in a large-meshed fishing-net. Lehuanui then stooped down and scraped away the leaves and loose dirt from the root indicated, and out rolled a bundle of tapa, which on being opened was found to contain the bones of two children. The father reached up for the net containing the skulls, and putting the bundle of tapa in it, tied the net around his neck. The servant stood by, a silent and grieved spectator of a scene whose meaning he fully52 understood.
The father procured53 a stone adze and went to the King’s sleeping-house, the servant still following. Here every one but an old woman tending the kukui-nut candle was asleep. Oahunui was stretched out on [145]a pile of soft mats covered with his paiula, the royal red kapa of old. The cruel wretch54 had eaten to excess of the hateful dish he craved, and having accompanied it with copious55 draughts56 of awa juice, was in a heavy, drunken sleep.
Lehuanui stood over him, adze in hand, and called, “O King, where are my children?” The stupefied King only stirred uneasily, and would not, or could not, awake. Lehuanui called him three times, and the sight of the drunken brute57, gorged58 with his flesh and blood, so enraged59 the father that he struck at Oahunui’s neck with his stone adze, and severed60 the head from the body at one blow.
The father and husband then strode to his own sleeping-house, where his wife lay asleep with their youngest child in her arms. He aroused her and asked for his boys. The mother could only weep, without answering. He upbraided61 her for her devotion to her brother, and for having tamely surrendered her children to satisfy the appetite of the inhuman62 monster. He reminded her that she had equal power with her brother, and that the latter was very unpopular, and had she chosen to resist his demands and called on the retainers to defend her children, the King would have been killed and her children saved.
He then informed her that, as she had given up his children to be killed for her brother, he had killed him in retaliation63, and, saying, “You have preferred your brother to me and mine, so you will see no more of me and mine,” he tore the sleeping child from her arms and turned to leave the house. [146]
The poor wife and mother followed, and, flinging herself on her husband, attempted to detain him by clinging to his knees; but the father, crazed by his loss and the thought of her greater affection for a cruel, inhuman brother than for her own children, struck at her with all his might, exclaiming, “Well, then, follow your brother,” and rushed away, followed by all his retainers.
Kilikiliula fell on the side of the stream opposite to where the lehua-tree stood, and is said to have turned to stone. The stone is pointed64 out to this day, balanced on the hillside of the ravine formed by the stream, and is one of the objects for the Hawaiian sightseer.
The headless body of Oahunui lay where he was killed, abandoned by every one. The story runs that in process of time it also turned to stone, as a witness to the anger of the gods and their detestation of his horrible crime. All the servants who had in any way been concerned, in obedience65 to royal mandate66, in killing67 and cooking the young princes were, at the death of Kilikiliula, likewise turned to stone, just as they were, in the various positions of crouching68, kneeling, or sitting. All the rest of the royal retainers, with the lesser69 chiefs and guards, fled in fear and disgust from the place, and thus the once sacred royal home of the Oahuan chiefs was abandoned and deserted70.
The great god Kane’s curse, it is believed, still hangs over the desolate71 spot, in proof of which it is asserted that, although all this happened hundreds of years ago, no one has ever lived there since.
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1
incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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forfeiting
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的现在分词 ) | |
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prerogatives
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| n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 )；特权；大主教法庭；总督委任组成的法庭 | |
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prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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6
taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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paramount
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| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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13
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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circumspect
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| adj.慎重的，谨慎的 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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17
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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18
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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19
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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20
plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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21
suave
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| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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22
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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23
reciprocated
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| v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动 | |
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24
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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25
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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26
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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27
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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28
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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29
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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30
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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31
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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32
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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33
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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34
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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35
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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36
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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38
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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39
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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40
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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41
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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42
chubby
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| adj.丰满的，圆胖的 | |
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43
scooping
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| n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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44
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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45
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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46
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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47
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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48
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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49
innuendoes
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| n.影射的话( innuendo的名词复数 )；讽刺的话；含沙射影；暗讽 | |
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50
depose
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| vt.免职；宣誓作证 | |
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51
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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52
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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53
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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54
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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55
copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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56
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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57
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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58
gorged
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| v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的过去式和过去分词 )；作呕 | |
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59
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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60
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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61
upbraided
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| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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63
retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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64
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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65
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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66
mandate
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| n.托管地；命令，指示 | |
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67
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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68
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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69
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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70
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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71
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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