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natives, whom they persuaded to go with them, were in perpetual alarm, lest Pele should come forth in her anger and consume them. On the borders of the crater they passed the night recounting her wonderful achievements, and those of her attendant deities. The conical craters,' they said, were their houses, where they frequently amused themselves by playing at konane; the roaring of the furnaces, and the crackling of the flames, were the kani of their hura, the music of their dance; and the red flaming surge was the surf wherein they played, sportively swimming on the rolling wave.' They repeated with minuteness of detail, and consistency of parts, several traditions of the prowess and marvellous doings of Pele; and although no one affirmed that he saw the goddess in her volcanic abode, yet no one doubted she was there, armed with all the attributes, with which their imaginations had invested her.

To show the power of this superstition over the minds of the people, we quote the following account of a singular interview between the travellers and Oani, a priestess of Pele. Mr Ellis had been preaching to a congregation assembled for the purpose, and when he had closed and was about departing,

'An old woman, who, during the discourse, sat near the speaker, and had listened very attentively, all at once exclaimed, "Powerful are the gods of Hawaii, and great is Pele, the goddess of Hawaii; she shall save Maaro," (the sick chief who was present.) Another began to cantilate a song in praise of Pele, to which the people generally listened, though some began to laugh. We supposed they were intoxicated, and therefore took no notice of them. But on our leaving the house, some of our people told us they were not ona i ka ruma, (drunk with the rum,) but inspired by the akua, goddess of the volcano; or that one of them was Pele herself in the form of one of her priestesses. On hearing this, Mr Ellis turned back into the house, and when the song was ended, immediately entered into conversation with the principal one, by asking her, if she had attended to the discourse, that had been delivered there. She answered that she had listened, and understood it. Mr Ellis then asked, if she thought Jehovah was good, and those happy, who made him their God. She answered, "He is your good God, (or best God,) and it is right that you should worship him; but Pele is my god, and the great god of Hawaii. Kirauea is the place of her abode. Ohiaotelani, (the northern peak of the volcano,) is one corner of her house. From the land beyond the sky, in former times, she came." She then went on with a song which she had thus began, giving a long account of

the deeds and honors of Pele. This she pronounced in such a rapid and vociferous manner, accompanied by such violent gestures, that only here and there a word could be understood. Indeed, towards the close, she seemed to lose all command of herself. When she had finished, Mr Ellis told her she was mistaken in supposing any supernatural being resided in the volcano; that Pele was a creature of their own invention, and existed only in the imaginations of her kahu, or devotees; adding, that volcanoes, and all their accompanying phenomena, were under the powerful control of Jehovah, who, though uncreated himself, was the Creator and supporter of heaven and earth, and every thing she beheld. She replied, that it was not so. She did not dispute that Jehovah was a God, but that he was not the only God. Pele was a god, and dwelt in her, and through her would heal the sick chief then present. She wished him restored, and therefore came to visit him.' pp. 176, 177.

Again,

Assuming a haughty air, she said, "I am Pele, I shall never die. And those who follow me, when they die, if part of their bones be taken to Kirauea, will live with me in the bright fires there." Mr Ellis said," Are you Pele?" She replied, "Yes;" and was proceeding to state her powers &c. when Makoa, who had till now stood silent, interrupted her, and said, "It is true, you are Pele, or some of Pele's party. And it is you that have destroyed the king's land, devoured his people, and spoiled the fishing grounds. Ever since you came to the island, you have been busied in mischief. You spoiled the greater part of the island, shook it to pieces, or cursed it with barrenness by inundating it with lava. You never did it any good. And if I were the king, I would either throw you all into the sea, or banish you from the islands. Hawaii would be quiet, if you were away."

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This was rather unexpected, and seemed to surprise several of the company. However, the pretended Pele said, " Formerly we did overflow some of the land; but it was only the land of those who were rebels, or were very wicked people. Now we abide quietly in Kirauea." She then added, "It cannot be said, that in these days we destroy the king's people." She then mentioned the names of several chiefs, and asked, "Who destroyed these? Not Pele, but the rum of the foreigners, whose God you are so fond of. Their diseases and their rum have destroyed more of the king's men, than all the volcanoes on the island." Mr Ellis told her he was very sorry that their intercourse with foreigners should have introduced among them diseases, to which

they were strangers before, and that he hoped they would also receive the advantages of Christian instruction and civilization, which the benevolent in those countries, by which they had been injured, were now so anxious to impart.' pp. 178, 179.

One more extract shall suffice. It exhibits strong traits of character, and presents a strange contrast to others already alluded to, which might be dwelt upon much more at large. The scene here described would be creditable to the human heart in any state of society; it is the voice of nature calling up her better feelings, and breathing soft tones, that have power to melt the hardened soul even of a savage. Nature is everywhere true to herself, and her original impulses; the only mystery is, that, with such unchanging firmness in some of her characteristics, she should in others be so willing a slave to habit and the force of circumstances.

'We approached Kaimu. This was the birthplace of Mauae, and the residence of most of his relations. He was a young man belonging to the governor, who had been sent with the canoe, and since leaving Honuapo, had acted as our guide. He walked before us as we entered the village. The old people from the houses welcomed him as he passed along, and numbers of the young men and women came out to meet him, saluted him by touching noses, and wept for joy at his arrival. Some took off his hat, and crowned him with a garland of flowers; others hung round his neck wreaths of a sweet scented plant, resembling ivy, or necklaces composed of the nut of the fragrant pandanus. When we reached the house where his sister lived, she ran to meet him, threw her arms around his neck, and having affectionately embraced him, walked hand in hand with him through the village. Multitudes of young people and children followed, chanting his name, the names of his parents, the place and circumstances of his birth, and the most remarkable events in the history of his family, in a lively song, which he afterwards informed us, was composed at his birth.

Thus we passed along till we reached his father's house, where a general effusion of affection and joy presented itself, which it was impossible to witness without delight. A number of children, who ran on before, had announced his approach. His father, followed by his brothers and several other relations, came out and met him, and under the shade of a wide spreading kou tree, fell on his neck and wept aloud for some minutes, after which they took him by the hand, and led him through a neat little garden into the house. He seated himself on a mat on the

floor, while his brothers and sisters gathered round him. Some unloosed his sandals and rubbed his limbs; others clasped his hand, frequently saluting it by touching it with their noses; others brought him a calabash of water, or a lighted tobacco pipe. One of his sisters, in particular, seemed considerably affected. She clasped his hand, and sat for some time weeping by his side. At this we should have been surprised, had we not known it to be the usual manner among the South Sea islanders of expressing unusual joy or grief. In the present instance, it was the unrestrained expression of the feelings of nature. Indeed every one seemed at a loss how to manifest the sincere pleasure, which his unexpected arrival after several years absence had produced. On first reaching the house, we had thrown ourselves down on a mat, and remained silent spectators, not however without being considerably affected by the interesting scene.' pp. 155, 156.

Having accomplished the objects of their tour, the members of the deputation returned to their several posts. They recommended eight stations on the island of Hawaii, as suitable for the residence of Missionaries. Three of these have since been occupied, namely, Kairua, Kearakekua, Waiakea, the last of which is on the north eastern part of the island, and has a good harbor. Kuakini, the governor of Hawaii, known more commonly by the name of John Adams, is friendly to the Missionaries, has built a house for public worship at his capital, Kairua, and encourages their schools. Indeed, no opposition seems now to exist, on the part of the leading chiefs of the islands, and the ultimate and entire success of the Missionaries is not to be doubted.

A great obstacle to their first efforts, ignorance of the language, is conquered. They can now converse with the natives in their own tongue; they have formed the Hawaiian dialect into a written language; books are published suited to the primary instruction of the people, many of whom have learnt not only to read printed books, but to hold correspondence with each other and with the Missionaries in writing. This result alone, if nothing more had been done, would be an incalculable benefit to the Sandwich Islands, and a most important step towards the ultimate civilization of the inhabitants. But to this is to be added the moral and religious effects of the direct labors, and the example of the Missionaries.

In settling the orthography of the Hawaiian dialect, the alphabet was adopted, which had been recommended by Mr Picker

*

It

ing, in regard to the Indian languages of this country. answered the end proposed, and when applied to the Hawaiian, it was found to correspond very nearly with the system before pursued, in the dialects of the Society Islands, and New Zealand. We may here take occasion to remark, that five principal dialects of the Polynesian tongue have been discovered, namely, the Hawaiian; the Tahitian, which prevails at the Society Islands; the Marquesan; that of New Zealand; and the Tongatabuan, or that of the Friendly Islands. This is stated in the preface to the Tahitian Grammar, published at Tahiti in 1823, and drawn up by persons, some of whom have been more than twenty years engaged in the missionary service in the islands of the South Sea. It is supposed, that all the dialects of the smaller islands are closely allied to one or another of these. The demonstration is complete, that these five dialects are radically the same language, and hence the importance of adopting at the outset a uniform system of orthography. With such a system, the inhabitants of the different islands, although living several thousand miles asunder, will be able to read, almost without the labor of study, the books written in all the dialects. The importance of constructing a written language on such principles, as will render it intelligible to all the Polynesians, will be forcibly felt, if we look forward to the time, for such a time will come, when the joyful sun of civilization and Christianity shall shine on these wide spread regions; when culture shall have matured the mind and made it an intelligent, acting principle; when men shall inquire, reason, judge, and books be written on art, science, morals, religion, government; when education shall wake the soul to a new life of energy and thought; and when fancy shall weave her magic woof of taste and poetry, and scatter her soft influences in the circles of social life. Let this period arrive, for, we repeat, it will arrive, and the advantages of a written language, constructed after a uniform system of orthography, will be incalculable, not only in affording facilities for reading, but in preserving the dialects from a wider separation.

Seventeen letters of the English alphabet serve to express all the sounds of the Hawaiian tongue, and these are the five

* See Mr Pickering's Essay on a Uniform Orthography for the Indian Languages of North America, published in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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