By a plausible analogy, then, the
earthquake which rends the earth is attributed to the god who clothes
himself in the form of a lizard; still further, such a convulsion of
nature may have been used to figure the arrival of some warlike band who
peopled Hawaii, perhaps settling in this very Hilo region and forcing
their cult upon the older form of worship.
CHAPTER XVI
[Footnote 51: The _ieie_ vine and the sweet-scented fern are, like the
_maile_ vine, common in the Olaa forests, and are considered sacred
plants dedicated to ceremonial purposes.]
[Footnote 52: The fight between two _kupua_, one in lizard form, the
other in the form of a dog, occurs in Hawaiian story. Again, when
Wahanui goes to Tahiti he touches a land where men are gathering coral
for the food of the dead. This island takes the form of a dog to
frighten travelers, and is named Kanehunamoku.]
[Footnote 53: The season for the bird catcher, _kanaka kia manu_, lay
between March and May, when the _lehua_ flowers were in bloom in the
upland forest, where the birds of bright plumage congregated, especially
the honey eaters, with their long-curved bill, shaped like an insect's
proboscis.
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