Legends of the Wailuku Part 1

Legends of Wailuku.

by Charlotte Hapai.

THE WAILUKU.

Fed from the great watershed of Hawaii far up the densely wooded flanks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea--often snow-capped in winter--the Wailuku River roars through the very center of Hilo, princ.i.p.al town of the Island of Hawaii.

There are many vague stories as to why the Wailuku River was so named.

In the Hawaiian tongue Wailuku means literally "destroying water."

In olden times before there were bridges and other safeguards the river wrought considerable damage to property and during the rainy season it took its toll of human lives. Legends connected with the Wailuku tend to confirm the belief that it was named for its violent habits.

Long ago, so one legend goes, the much dreaded Kuna (dragon) blocked the gorge below Rainbow Falls with intent to back the waters up and drown the G.o.ddess Hina, who dwelt in the great cave for which the falls form a curtain. How her son, the demi-G.o.d Maui, came to the rescue, saved his mother, and finally hunted Kuna from his lair up the river and slew him, is told in the legend, "The Last of Kuna."

When Paoa, a very powerful G.o.d from Tahiti, came to visit Hawaii he built a gra.s.s hut and made his home on the long, low rock--now known as Maui's canoe--in the Wailuku near its mouth.

Local G.o.ds viewed this selection of a homesite as foolhardy, but Paoa was unaware of the sudden and rapid rise the river made when heavy rains and cloud-bursts loosed their torrents high upon the slopes of Mauna Kea. Hina, G.o.ddess of the river, warned the visitor of his danger and told him how the angry waters would sweep everything before them. In the legend, "The Coming of Paoa," you will find his answer.

In those days there must have been much more water in the river than there is today, for a certain amount is now diverted above Rainbow Falls for water power.

In spite of the decreased volume the river is still very violent and treacherous. At high water big boulders are clumsily rolled down stream and when the river is unusually high even trees are torn from the banks and carried out to sea.

So the Wailuku still lives up to its name, Destroying Water.

HOW HILO WAS NAMED.

King Kamehameha the Great was a very famous warrior. His chief ambition, which he lived to realize, was to become sole ruler of all the Hawaiian Islands. Naturally he had numerous enemies, and he never remained long in one place for fear some of them might learn of his whereabouts and attack him.

One time, when he was encamped near the mouth of the Wailuku, he planned a quiet visit to what is now known as Reed's Island, where lived a particular friend of his. As this friend was a powerful chief, Kamehameha felt safe in going to him without his usual warrior bodyguard.

Before leaving camp he called his servants to him and told them to stand watch over his canoe, that it might not be stolen or carried away by the tide. This they promised faithfully to do.

As time pa.s.sed and the king did not return or send word to his servants they grew uneasy about him. Perhaps he might have been ambushed, they reasoned; or more likely fallen into one of the caverns formed by ancient lava flows and which are often treacherously concealed by a thin, brittle crust that a man of Kamehameha's bulk might easily break through. Much as they feared for the king's safety, the servants dared not leave the canoe unguarded. They were in a quandary indeed.

"I know what we can do!" cried one of the men. "We can make a rope of ti leaves and tie the canoe so it cannot drift away."

"Make a rope," queried another, "how can we do that?"

"Simple enough," answered the first speaker. "I'll show you. Take the ti leaves and fasten them together. First you make two chains of leaves--like this--and then twist each one. When you place them together they will naturally twine about each other and you have a very strong rope. Such twisting is called hilo."

"I've never seen it done," admitted his fellow sentry, "but it looks very simple."

"And so it is," went on the resourceful one, as he rapidly twisted the ti leaves into serviceable ropes. "Now," he concluded, "these are plenty long enough. Let us make the canoe fast to the beach."

And taking their ropes to the canoe they tied it securely to that point of land--known to the old Hawaiians as Kaipaaloa--near the mouth of the river where the lighthouse stands today. Then they set out in search of the king.

Only a short way up the river they met Kamehameha returning unharmed.

Ignoring the spirit of their intent in absenting themselves from their post of duty, the king demanded:

"But where is my canoe? What have you done with my canoe? You promised to guard it. By now it may have drifted out to sea or been stolen!"

"We tied it with ti ropes," answered the servant who had woven them.

"Ti ropes!" roared his majesty. "Why, no one here knows how to make ropes like that. The only place they do know is at Waipio. How did you learn?"

"I came to you from there," the man answered.

"Oh, and that is where you learned. Well and good. Hereafter this place shall be called Hilo."

And so it has been. The town at the mouth of the Wailuku has since that day been known by the Hawaiian word meaning "to twist."

MAUI CONQUERS THE SUN.

Hina, the G.o.ddess who in the long ago made her home in the great cave beneath Rainbow Falls, was especially gifted in the art of tapa making. So wonderfully artistic and fine were the tapas of Hina that people journeyed from all parts of the Island to view them and to covet. Even across the mighty shoulders of Mauna Loa from Kona and Kailua and down the rugged Hamakua Coast from Waipio they came, and from the other islands as well.

It was hard, laboring over the tapa every day, and especially hunting for the olona which Hina sometimes used. But she used also the bark of the mamake and wauke trees, which were more plentiful and very good for tapa.

Interested though he was in the manufacture and decoration of this beautiful paper-cloth, Hina's son, the demi-G.o.d Maui, held aloof from the work. In the making of tapa man's hand was tabu, yet he could not forbear an occasional suggestion when his mother created mystic designs for decoration of her work.

After the tapa was made it had to be placed for the Sun to dry, but by the time Hina would reach the drying frames, the Sun was far up in the sky. All too soon long shadows would creep across the stream below Rainbow Falls, warning her that night approached and that it was time to take in her tapa.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Drawn by Will Herwig. Paradise Eng.

As Maui Reached the Eastern Rim the Sun Was Disappearing.]

Quite often the dyes with which the designs were painted on the tapa were not entirely dry when the tapa was taken in, and many fine pieces were smeared and ruined. Days were short in the narrow walled-in river gorge and the Sun shone directly on the tapa for only a few hours, pa.s.sing then beyond the high western wall, and gloom would settle about the cave, growing deeper with oncoming night.

It grieved Maui to see his mother's tapa so often spoiled, so he besought the Sun to go more slowly. For one or two days he did moderate his pace and Hina rejoiced in the lovely tapas she was able to make. But soon the heedless Sun hurried past again as fast as ever, entirely forgetting his promise to Maui.

So Maui determined to exact a lasting agreement with the Sun, and set out in his canoe for Maui, the Island which bears his name and on which is situated Haleakala, today the greatest extinct crater in the world and in olden time the Home of the Sun. Maui hoped to catch him there.

As Maui reached the eastern rim of Haleakala the Sun was just disappearing over the other side; but Maui knew he would return in the morning, so he prepared to spend the night in waiting.

As the Sun returned to his home next morning Maui caught him by his rays, which the Sun used as legs, and, wielding the magic club which he always carried on his many expeditions, broke several of them. Thus crippled, the Sun was forced to stay for parley, though crying out in alarm that he must be let go, as there was no time to waste. Day must be carried westward. But Maui hung on and reminded the Sun of his promises.

After much argument they agreed to compromise; so the Sun promised to go slowly six months in the year and then, for the remaining six months, to hurry as fast as before.

Maui was content with this arrangement and sure also that the Sun would not again forget, for he had crippled him considerably. It would take some time, he thought, for the Sun's broken rays to mend.