Tag Archives: Kepelino

On Kepelino’s “Traditions of Hawaii,” 1870.

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Ka Moolelo Hawaii.

O Kuokoa Newspaper; Aloha oe:—

Please carry before all of the experts this bit of the “Moolelo Hawaii” which I saw from the selections of John Zibilina Kahoalii. All of the the classes of the Chiefly Histories have been laid out properly from top to bottom, with  the lineages of each class.

Class 1. Ihu Hai [? Iku Hai] is the name of the class.
Ihu Nua [? Iku Nuu] is the second name.
Both names describe this one class; the line of this Class is shown by its Lineage.

Class 2. Ihu Laa [? Iku Laa] is the name, with its Lineage.

Class 3. Ihu Lani [? Iku Lani] is the name, with its Lineage.

Class 4. The Alii Laa is the name of that Class, the lowest Class, according to just what I think. Continue reading →

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Description of the Nene by Kepelino, 1863.

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THE STORY

—OF—

The Birds of Hawaii nei

NUMBER 5.

Nene Bird.

The Nene is a bird from the high uplands, and it is a big bird; it resembles a Turkey [Pelehu] and it is that height, its legs are long, and its toes are flat, its neck is nicely slim, its head is small, its eyes are like the eyes of a Chicken [Moa], its beak is short, it has a fine loud voice, and its call sounds like, “unele, unele, unele.”

It is said in the old Hawaiian stories, that the Nene and the Fly [Nalo] were deprived of their wealth, and that is why the Nene cries in that manner, “unele, unele” [“without, without”] and the Nalo chose its place to live as Kapalapilau [“Rotting dab of excreta”], and that is still what they do.

The Nene does not eat Rats [Iole] and other things like the Hawk [Io], and the Owl [Pueo], it only eats leaves of vegetation and flowers of grasses. Continue reading →