The Punahou Spring

There formerly lived on the Kaala Mountains a chief by the name of Kahaakea. He had two children, a boy and a girl, twins, whose mother had died at their birth. The brother was called Kauawaahila (Waahila Rain), and the girl Kauakiowao (Mountain Mist). Kahaakea was very tenderly attached to his motherless children, and after a while took to himself a wife, thinking thus to provide his children with a mother's care and love. This wife was called Hawea and had a boy by her former husband. This boy was deformed and ugly, while the twins were very beautiful. The stepmother was jealous of their beauty, and resented the universal admiration expressed for them, while no one noticed her boy except with looks of aversion. She was very considerate toward the twins when their father was present, but hated and detested them most violently. When they were about ten years old their father had occasion to go to Hawaii, and had to remain away a long time. He felt perfectly safe in leaving his children with his wife, as she had always feigned great love for them, and had successfully concealed from him her real feelings in regard to them. But as soon as he was fairly away she commenced a series of petty persecutions of the poor children.

むかし、カアラの山々にカハアケアという名の首長が住んでいた。首長には二人の子、男の子と女の子の双子があったが、その母は二人を産んだときに死んでいた。兄はカウアワアヒラ(ワアヒラの雨)、妹はカウアキオワオ(山の霧)と呼ばれた。カハアケアは母のない子どもたちをたいそうかわいがっていたが、しばらくして妻を迎えた。そうすれば子どもたちに母の世話と愛情を与えられると思ったのである。この妻はハウェアといい、前の夫とのあいだにできた男の子が一人あった。この子は体が歪んで醜く、双子のほうはたいそう美しかった。継母は二人の美しさを妬み、誰もが二人をほめそやすのに、自分の子には嫌悪のまなざししか向けられないことを恨んだ。父が居合わせるときには双子にたいそう気を配ってみせたが、内心では激しく二人を憎み、嫌っていた。二人が十歳ほどになったころ、父はハワイ島へ行く用ができ、長いあいだ留守にしなければならなくなった。妻はいつも子どもたちを大いに愛しているふりをして、本当の気持ちをうまく隠していたので、父は子どもを妻に預けていくことにまるで不安を覚えなかった。けれども父がすっかり去ってしまうやいなや、妻は哀れな子どもたちを陰湿にいじめはじめた。

It seems the mother of the children had been "uhae ia" at her death. That is, certain prayers, invocations, fasting, and humiliation had been performed by certain relatives of the deceased, and quantities of prepared awa, black, unblemished pig, red fish, and all the customary food of the gods, had been prepared and offered with the object of strengthening the spirit of the departed and of attracting it strongly, as well as giving it a sort of power and control over mundane affairs and events. So when Hawea began to persecute her stepchildren, the spirit of their own mother would assist and protect them.

どうやら子どもたちの母は、死に際して「ウハエ・イア」されていたらしい。すなわち、死者のある親族たちによって、定められた祈りと呼ばわりと断食と身を低くする行いが営まれ、こしらえたアヴァ、黒くて傷のない豚、赤い魚、そのほか神々に供える習わしのものがすべて整えられて捧げられていたのである。それは去った者の霊を強め、強く引き寄せ、またこの世の事どもに対するある種の力と支配を与えるためであった。だからハウェアが継子たちをいじめはじめると、その実の母の霊が二人を助け、守ってくれた。

The persecutions of the stepmother at last became unendurable to the twins. She not only deprived them of food, clothing, and water, but subjected them besides to all sorts of indignities and humiliations. Driven to desperation, they fled to Konahuanui, the mountain peak above the Pali of Nuuanu; but were soon discovered and driven away from there by the cruel Hawea. They then went to the head of Manoa Valley. The stepmother was not at all pleased at their getting out of the way of her daily persecutions, and searched for them everywhere. She finally tracked them by the constant appearance of rainbows at the head of Manoa Valley, those unfailing attendants of rain and mist. The children were again driven away and told to return to Kaala, where they would be constantly under her eye; but they ran and hid themselves in a small cave on the side of the hill of Kukaoo, whose top is crowned by the temple of the Menehunes. Here they lived some time and cultivated a patch of sweet potatoes, their food at this time being grasshoppers and greens. The greens were the leaves and the tender shoots of the popolo, aheahea, pakai, laulele and potato vines, cooked by rolling hot stones around and among them in a covered gourd. This is called the puholoholo.

継母のいじめは、とうとう双子には耐えられないものになった。継母は二人から食べ物も着物も水も取り上げたばかりか、ありとあらゆる辱めと屈辱を与えた。追いつめられた二人は、ヌウアヌのパリの上にそびえる峰コナフアヌイへ逃げた。けれどもまもなく見つかり、むごいハウェアに追い立てられた。二人は次にマノア谷の奥へ行った。継母は、二人が日ごとのいじめの手から逃れたことがまったく気に入らず、あちこち探しまわった。そしてとうとう、マノア谷の奥にたえず虹が立つのを頼りに二人を突きとめた。虹は雨と霧につきものの、決して欠けることのないお供だからである。子どもたちはまた追い立てられ、いつも自分の目の届くカアラへ帰れと言われた。けれども二人は駆けて、クカオオの丘の中腹の小さな洞穴に隠れた。その丘の頂はメネフネたちの神殿に飾られている。二人はここにしばらく住んで、さつまいもの畑を作った。このころの食べ物は蝗と青菜だった。青菜とは、ポポロ、アヘアヘア、パカイ、ラウレレ、さつまいもの蔓の葉や柔らかい芽で、蓋をした瓢箪のなかに熱した石を転がして入れ、そのあいだで煮たものである。これをプホロホロという。

When their potato tubers were fit to be eaten, the brother (Waahila Rain) made a double imu (oven), having a kapu, or sacred side, for his food and a noa, or free side, for his sister. The little cave that was their dwelling was also divided in two, a sacred and a free part, respectively, for brother and sister. The cave can still be seen, and the wall of stone dividing it in two was still intact a few years ago, as also was the double imu. In olden times it was tabooed to females to appear at any eating-place of the males.

いもが食べられるようになると、兄(ワアヒラの雨)は二重のイム(蒸し焼きの窯)を作り、自分の食べ物のためのカプ、すなわち聖なる側と、妹のためのノア、すなわち自由な側を設けた。二人の住まいである小さな洞穴もまた二つに分けられ、それぞれ兄のための聖なる部分と妹のための自由な部分になった。この洞穴は今も見ることができ、二つに分ける石の壁は数年前までそのまま残っていた。二重のイムも同じである。むかしは、女が男の食事の場に現れることは禁忌であった。

When their crops were fairly ripe, the stepmother found them again, and drove them away from their cave, she appropriating the fruit of their labors. The children fled to the rocky hills just back of Punahou, where they found two small caves, which the brother and sister occupied, respectively, as dwellings. The rolling plains and small ravines of the surrounding country, and of what was later known as the Punahou pasture, were not then covered with manienie grass, but with the indigenous shrubs and bushes, tall limas, aheaheas, popolo, etc., making close thickets, with here and there open spaces covered with manienie-akiaki, the valuable medicinal grass of the olden times. These shrubs and bushes either bore edible fruit or flowers, or the leaves and tender shoots made nourishing and satisfying food when cooked in the way previously described. The poor children lived on these and grasshoppers, and sometimes wild fowl.

作物がすっかり実ったころ、継母はまた二人を見つけ出し、洞穴から追い立てて、その働きの実りを我がものにした。子どもたちはプナホウのすぐ裏手の岩の丘へ逃げ、そこで二つの小さな洞穴を見つけて、兄と妹がそれぞれ住まいとした。まわりの土地のなだらかな平地や小さな谷、のちにプナホウの牧場として知られるようになった一帯は、当時はマニエニエの草ではなく、土地本来の灌木や低木、背の高いリマ、アヘアヘア、ポポロなどに覆われていて、びっしりと茂みを作り、ところどころに開けた場所があって、いにしえの貴重な薬草であるマニエニエ・アキアキが生えていた。これらの灌木や低木は、食べられる実か花をつけるか、あるいはさきに述べたやり方で煮れば葉や柔らかい芽が滋養のある満ち足りた食べ物になった。哀れな子どもたちはこれと蝗、それにときおりの野鳥で命をつないだ。

One day the sister, Kauakiowao, told her brother that she wanted to bathe, and complained of their having taken up their residence in a place where no water could be found. Her brother hushed her complaint by telling her that it was a safe place, and one where their stepmother would not be likely to look for them, but he would try to get her some water. In his trips around the neighborhood for fruit and greens he had noticed a large rain-water pond to the east of the hill on which they dwelt. This pond was called Kanawai. Here he sometimes came to snare wild ducks. He also had met and knew the Kakea water god, a moo, who had charge of and controlled all the water sources of Manoa and Makiki Valleys. This god was one of the ancestors of the children on the mother's side, and was on the best of terms with Waahila rain. The boy paid him a visit, and asked him to assist him to open a watercourse from the pond of Kanawai to a place he indicated in front of and below the caves inhabited by himself and his sister. The old water god not only consented to help his young relative, but promised to divide the water supply of the neighboring Wailele spring, and let it run into the watercourse that the boy would make, thus insuring its permanence.

ある日、妹のカウアキオワオは兄に、水浴びがしたいと言い、水の見つからない場所に住みついたことを嘆いた。兄は、ここは安全な場所で、継母が探しに来そうにないところなのだと言って妹の嘆きをなだめ、けれども水を手に入れてやろうと言った。実のところ兄は、木の実や青菜を求めて近辺を歩き回るうちに、二人の住む丘の東手に大きな雨水の池があるのに気づいていた。この池はカナワイといった。兄はここへときおり野鴨をわなにかけに来ていた。また、マノア谷とマキキ谷の水の源をすべて司り、治めているカケアの水の神、モオ(蜥蜴の神)にも会って知り合いになっていた。この神は母方の子どもたちの先祖の一人で、ワアヒラの雨とはたいそう仲がよかった。少年はこの神を訪ね、カナワイの池から、自分と妹の住む洞穴の前の下手にあたる場所まで、水の道を開くのを助けてくれと頼んだ。年老いた水の神は若い縁者を助けることを承知したばかりか、近くのワイレレの泉の水を分けて、少年の作る水の道へ流し込み、水が絶えないようにしてやろうと約束した。

Waahila Rain then went to the pond of Kanawai and dived under, the water god causing a passage to open underground to the spot indicated, and swam through the water underground till he came out at the place now known as the Punahou Spring. The force of the rushing waters as they burst through the ground soon sufficed to make a small basin, which the boy proceeded to bank and wall up, leaving a narrow outlet for the surplus waters. With the invisible help of the old water god, he immediately set to work to excavate a good-sized pond for his sister to swim in, and when she awoke from a noonday nap, she was astonished to behold a lovely sheet of water where, in the morning, was only dry land. Her brother was swimming and splashing about in it, and gayly called to his sister to come and try her bathing-place.

そこでワアヒラの雨はカナワイの池へ行って水に潜った。水の神が地の下に、指し示された場所までの通り道を開いてくれたので、少年は地下の水のなかを泳いでいき、今プナホウの泉として知られている場所に出た。水が地を破ってほとばしる勢いは、たちまち小さな水たまりを作るのに十分で、少年はそれに土手を築いて石を積み、あふれた水のために細い出口を残した。年老いた水の神の目に見えぬ助けを得て、少年はただちに、妹が泳げるだけの大きな池を掘りはじめた。そして妹が昼寝から目覚めると、朝には乾いた地面でしかなかったところに美しい水面が広がっているのを見て驚いた。兄はそこで泳ぎ、水しぶきを上げながら、来て水浴びの場を試してごらんと陽気に妹を呼んだ。

Kauawaahila afterward made some kalo patches, and people, attracted by the water and consequent fertility of the place, came and settled about, voluntarily offering themselves as vassals to the twins. More and more kalo patches were excavated, and the place became a thriving settlement. The spring became known as Ka Punahou (the new spring), and gave its name to the surrounding place.

カウアワアヒラはのちにカロ(里芋)の田をいくつか作った。すると水と、それによる土地の豊かさに引かれて人々が来て住みつき、自ら進んで双子の家来となった。カロの田はますます掘られ、その場所は栄える集落になった。泉はカ・プナホウ(新しい泉)として知られるようになり、その名がまわりの土地の名にもなった。

About this time Kahaakea returned, and hearing of the persecutions to which his beloved children had been subjected, killed Hawea and then himself. Rocky Hill, the home of the children, was called after him, and is known by that name to the present day. Hawea has ever since then been a synonyme in the Hawaiian mind for a cruel stepmother.

このころカハアケアが帰ってきて、愛する子どもたちが受けたいじめのことを聞くと、ハウェアを殺し、それから自らも命を絶った。子どもたちの住んだ岩の丘は彼にちなんで名づけられ、今日もその名で知られている。ハウェアはそれ以来、ハワイの人の心のなかで、むごい継母と同じ意味の言葉になっている。

The Mountain Mist and Waahila Rain afterward returned to the home of their infancy, Kaala, where they would stay a while, occasionally visiting Konahuanui and upper Manoa Valley, and may be met with in these places at the present day.

山の霧とワアヒラの雨はのちに、幼いころの住まいであるカアラへ戻り、そこにしばらくとどまっては、ときおりコナフアヌイやマノア谷の奥を訪れた。今日でもこれらの場所で二人に出会うことがある。

They also occasionally visited Punahou, which was under their especial care and protection; but when the land and spring passed into the hands of foreigners, who did not pay homage to the twins, and who allowed the springs to be defiled by the washing of unclean articles and by the bathing of unclean persons, the twins indignantly left the place, and retired to the head of Manoa Valley.

二人はまた、とりわけ心にかけて守っていたプナホウをときおり訪れた。けれどもその土地と泉が、双子に敬意を払わぬ異国の人々の手に渡り、汚れたものを洗い、汚れた者が浴びるままに泉が汚されるようになると、二人は憤ってその場を去り、マノア谷の奥に退いてしまった。

They sometimes pass swiftly over their old home on their way to Kaala, or Konahuanui, and on such occasions will sometimes linger sorrowfully for a few minutes about Rocky Hill. The rain-water pond of Kanawai is now always dry, as the shrubs and bushes which supplied the food of the twins favored of the gods have disappeared. Old natives say that there is now no inducement for the gentle rain of the Uakiowao and Uawaahila to visit those bare hills and plains, as they would find no food there.

二人は今でもときおり、カアラやコナフアヌイへ向かう道すがら、古いすみかの上を速やかに過ぎていく。そんなときには、岩の丘のあたりで悲しげに数分のあいだたたずむこともある。カナワイの雨水の池は今ではいつも涸れている。神々に愛されたこの双子の食べ物であった灌木や低木が消えてしまったからである。土地の年寄りたちは、ウアキオワオとウアワアヒラの穏やかな雨が、あの裸の丘や平地を訪れるいわれはもう何もない、そこには食べ物が見つからないのだから、と言う。