CHAPTER III A ROYAL MARRIAGE

 IWA,” said Papaakahi, The Mighty¹, not long before his death and about two years prior to the events already narrated², “you have grown to be a woman. It is time for you to marry.”

 

“Yes, father,” Hiwa replied, “it is time for me to marry.”

 

“Traditions have come down to us from the beginning,” continued Papaakahi, “that beyond the great ocean are many and strange lands, kahiki, and men with white skins, who are wise and powerful as gods. There may be a man in these foreign lands worthy³ to marry you; but, if there is, he cannot come to you, neither can you go to him. Our god, Lono, dwells there, and [12] some time, ages hence perhaps, he will return and tell us of these things; but now we know nothing of them. There are only three men in the world we know about whose blood is fit to mate with yours. I am too old to marry you. Your uncle, Aa, shall not. There is no one else but your brother, Ii.”

 

“But, father,” pleaded Hiwa, “I do not love Ii.”

 

“That is a small matter,” said Papaakahi.

 

“But, father, I love Kaanaana, and he loves me. Why cannot I marry him?”

 

“He is not of the blood of Wakea, and Papa, my child, he is not descended⁴ from the gods.”

 

“Yet he is a mighty konohiki, father, a great noble, the greatest of your vassals⁵, and of all the men in the land his blood is next to our own. Besides, he is young and handsome and strong, first in the games and bravest in war, and his spearmen won the bloody⁶ battle that made you The Mighty.”

 

“Yes, Hiwa, he is all you say, and I love [13] him better than I love your drunken brother; but he is not of the blood of the gods. You must marry Ii.”

 

Then, because Papaakahi’s word was the law of the land, which not even Hiwa could question, and because she loathed⁷ marriage to her brother, and loved Kaanaana more than her own life, she went away by herself and wept bitterly. She spent many days in solitary⁹ places, weeping and longing¹⁰ to die.

 

Papaakahi cared little for his drunken son Ii, and loved Hiwa as the apple of his eye, and when he saw how she grieved, his heart was heavy; but his purpose remained fixed¹¹. So he went to her and spoke¹² gently and said, “If you marry Kaanaana it will bring civil war and your death.”

 

“Father, why civil war?”

 

“Because I am old and must soon be hidden in a cave, and your first-born son would come before any child of your brother’s as heir to the kingdom. You know our law; the child takes the rank of its mother, instead of the rank of its father, for all men know its mother and no man knows its father. [14] You yourself take divine rank from your mother, who was my sister.”

 

Hiwa shuddered¹³, and made no reply.

 

“Your brother,” continued Papaakahi, “spends his nights drinking awa, and his days in sleep. He will rule in name only. Your uncle will be the real moi. He hates Kaanaana, and, if you marry him and have an heir, he will raise the standard of revolt as soon as I am dead.”

 

“Then let spears settle it!” cried Hiwa, with flashing eyes. “I do not fear death, and I love Kaanaana. I will fight by his side, and we will slay¹⁴ Aa and his army, for the spearmen of Kohala will follow where Kaanaana leads, and he is greatest of the warriors¹⁵, and I am daughter of the gods.”

 

“Ae keike!” exclaimed the old man. “But I fear the great high-priest would prevail, and I will not have my people butchered and my kingdom destroyed and my daughter slain¹⁶. Yet I would reason with you rather than command. I married my sister because the ancient custom of our race put that duty upon me, she being the only woman of birth equal to mine; but we were [15] not lolo, fools, to be unhappy about it, for I loved other women, and she loved other men. You can be a good girl and marry your brother without being cold to your lover, can’t you, keike?”

 

But Hiwa refused to be comforted.

 

The next day Papaakahi went to her again and asked her, “My daughter, have you considered well?”

 

Hiwa’s eyes were hard and dry, as she answered: “I have no choice. Thy word is as the word of Ku.”

 

“It is well said!” exclaimed the old moi. “You are a good girl, wise and discreet¹⁷. Ii shall be your husband, and Kaanaana your lover. I have always loved you above all others, and next to you I love Kaanaana, and would choose him for your husband if he were of the blood of the gods.”

 

“Then, father,” Hiwa cried, “if you love him and love me, let me marry him! I loathe⁸ the custom of our race! I want one man as both husband and lover! I had rather be Kaanaana’s wife one hour and then die body and soul than to marry Ii and be goddess-queen forever!”

 

[16] “Hiwa, pau! It is not fitting that a daughter of the gods should marry a man of mortal blood. It has been done and, out of my great love for you, I might consent to it even now if I could not foresee war and death. Nothing could save you but Aa’s death. The gods, our ancestors, tell me to kill him. It is my unquestioned right, for I am moi, Lord of Life and Death; yet I cannot kill him—he is my only brother. Therefore, and that you may have a place to hide till he is dead, I will reveal to you the secret of the hidden crater¹⁸ and of the passage to it beneath the sea.”

 

Then Papaakahi told Hiwa of the crater in the mountain and how to find the passage to it, a secret which no other person living knew.

 

So Hiwa married Ii, and not many months afterwards Papaakahi’s bones were hidden in a cave. And so, too, when she fled for her life, she dived into the sea, and of all who watched her not one saw her rise again, and the whole nation believed that Ukanipo, the Shark-God, had taken her to himself.

 

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

4 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

5 vassals   

n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属

参考例句：

• He was indeed at this time having the Central Office cleared of all but his vassals. 的确，他这时正在对中央事务所进行全面清洗（他的亲信除外）。 来自辞典例句
• The lowly vassals suffering all humiliates in both physical and mental aspects. 地位低下的奴仆，他们在身体上和精神上受尽屈辱。 来自互联网

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 loathed   

v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• Baker loathed going to this red-haired young pup for supplies. 面包师傅不喜欢去这个红头发的自负的傻小子那里拿原料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self! 因此，他厌恶不幸的自我尤胜其它！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

8 loathe   

v.厌恶，嫌恶

参考例句：

• I loathe the smell of burning rubber.我厌恶燃着的橡胶散发的气味。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

9 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

10 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

15 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

16 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

17 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

18 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。