LEGENDS AND MYTHS OF HAWAII - 21 Polynesian Legends

In this volume you will find 21 legends and myths of Hawaii retold by none other than His Majesty King Kalakaua (1836 – 1891), the last King of Hawaii. Herein you will find the legends of:

• Hina, the Helen of Hawaii.
• The Royal Hunchback.
• The Triple Marriage of Laa-mai-kahiki.
• The Apotheosis of Pele.
• Hua, King of Hana.
• The Iron Knife.
• The Sacred Spear-Point.
• Kelea, the Surf-Rider of Maui.
• Umi, the Peasant Prince of Hawaii.
• Lono and Kaikilani.
• The Adventures of Iwikauikaua.
• The Prophecies of Keaulumoku.
• The Cannibals of Halemanu.
• Kaiana, the Last of the Hawaiian Knights.
• Kaala, the Flower of Lanai.
• The Destruction of the Temples.
• The Tomb of Puupehe.
• The Story of Laieikawai.
• Lohiau, the Lover of a Goddess.
• Kahavari, Chief of Puna.
• Kahalaopuna, the Princess of Manoa.

The legends in this volume are from a group of sun kissed islands lying almost midway between Asia and America. These Islands were unknown to the Western world until Captain James Cook discovered them on his third journey to the Pacific in January 1778. Here he discovered a cluster of volcanic craters and coral-reefs, where the mountains are mantled in perpetual green and look down upon valleys of eternal spring.

Here, for two-thirds of the year trade-winds, sweeping down from the northwest coast of America are softened in their passage southward. They dally with the stately cocoas and spreading palms, and mingle their cooling breath with the ever-living fragrance of fruit and frangipani blossom. These islands greet the eye of the approaching mariner like a shadowy paradise, suddenly lifted from the blue depths they soar above the Pacific Ocean inviting him to drop anchor by this enchanted shore.