Page:Legends of gods and ghosts (Hawaiian mythology).djvu/310

 is that of the Hog-god, Kamapuaa. It is a great tale, and Kamapuaa was rather a glorious ruffian and capable of sur-prising transformations.

"Many of the Hawaiians [he writes] of to-day believe in the continual presence of the aumakuas, the spirits of the dead. In time past the aumakuas were a powerful reality. An ancester, a father or a grandfather, a makua, died. Sometimes he went to Po, the underworld, or to Milu, the shadowland, or to Lani, the Hawaiian heaven, and sometimes he remained to be a torment or a blessing to his past friends."

We could do well with more light thrown on these places, pleasant or unpleasant, and on the ideas of the Polynesians concerning the life after death. It seems that it would be well within Mr. Westervelt's power and knowledge to give us this further light, and we may hope that some day he will do so.—Times, London, Sept. 23, 1915

Honolulu is fast becoming a favorite tourist land, and particularly since the tremendous popularity of a recent Hawaiian volcano play, a good many people have taken to humming pensively the native farewell song and discoursing wistfully of the Eden-like qualities of the islands. In view of this increasing interest, W. D. Westervelt's book of the legends of Honolulu is especially timely, although such a work always has value. During his residence in Honolulu this writer has collected and translated from the Hawaiian all the available legends of the region, retelling them with singular success.

To mention but an instance, every one of them has a tale relating the creation of man. This haunting similarity is one of the fascinations of legend study. Mr. Westervelt has made a noteworthy contribution to that branch of literature.—Bellman, Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 25, 1915.

These legends will prove of unusual interest to the general reader and especially to the scholar, thinker, and poet. They describe vividly and strongly the triumphs and the wanderings of the people of Hawaii. The legends of old Honolulu proper have been compiled from stories told by old Hawaiians still living; others, furnished by the pioneer American missionaries, who began their work on the islands early in the last century. The writer has lived among this remnant of a great race for many years, and through his sympathy and