Research source

He loved his brother-in-law, and asked, "How did you come to this place?" Puna told him all the story

Date of account: Published 1915
Source: Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian
Reference: Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian · selected passage 87
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

He loved his brother-in-law, and asked, "How did you come to this place?" Puna told him all the story. Then Hinole told him his wife was a goddess. "When you return and come near to the place, go very easily and softly, and you will see her in her real nature, as a mo-o, or dragon; but she knows all that you are doing and what we are saying. Now listen to a parable. Your first wife, Haumea, is the first born of all the other women. Think of the time when she was angry with you. She had been sporting with you and then she said in a tired way, 'I want the water.' You asked, 'What water do you want?' She said, 'The water from Poliahu of Mauna Kea.' You took a water-jar and made a hole so that the water always leaked out, and then you went to the pit of Pele. That woman Pele was very old and blear-eyed, so that she could not see you well, and you returned to Haumea. She was that wife of yours. If you escape this mo-o wife she will seek my life.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This material belongs to a folklore tradition. Story type, collector, community, transmission and literary editing matter when comparing it with other sources.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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