]
[Footnote 3: The phrase _nalo no hoi na wahi huna_, which means literally
"conceal the secret parts," has a significance akin to the Hebrew rendering
"to cover his nakedness," and probably refers to the duty of a favorite to
see that no enemy after death does insult to his patron's body. So the
bodies of ancient chiefs are sewed into a kind of bag of fine woven coconut
work, preserving the shape of the head and bust, or embalmed and wrapped in
many folds of native cloth and hidden away in natural tombs, the secret of
whose entrance is intrusted to only one or two followers, whose
superstitious dread prevents their revealing the secret, even when offered
large bribes. These bodies, if worshiped, may be repossessed by the spirit
and act as supernatural guardians of the house. See page 494, where the
Kauai chief sets out on his wedding embassy with "the embalmed bodies of
his ancestors." Compare, for the service itself, Waka's wish that the Kauai
chief might be the one to hide her bones, the prayer of Aiwohikupua's seer
that his master might, in return for his lifelong service, "bury his
bones"--"_e kalua keai mau iwi_," and his request of Laieikawai, that she
would "leave this trust to your descendants unto the last generation.
Pages:
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350