Research source

The most noted kilos, seers and prophets of the temple were ordered to apply their arts, and a kaula, inspired…

Date of account: Published 1888
Source: The Legends and Myths of Hawaii: The fables and folk-lore of a strange people
Reference: The Legends and Myths of Hawaii: The fables and folk-lore of a strange people · selected passage 40
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

The most noted kilos, seers and prophets of the temple were ordered to apply their arts, and a kaula, inspired by incantation, was questioned from within the anu of the inner sanctuary

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

The most noted kilos, seers and prophets of the temple were ordered to apply their arts, and a kaula, inspired by incantation, was questioned from within the anu of the inner sanctuary. The clouds were noted, the flights of birds observed, and the dreams of drugged priests interpreted, but nothing satisfactory was developed. Prayers were offered to the gods, sacrifices were laid upon the altar, and the vitals of freshly-slain pigs and fowls were carefully examined; but the only information obtained was that the Kiha-pu had been stolen by the chief of a band of demi-demons, or human beings controlled by evil spirits; that it was no longer on the island of Hawaii, but somewhere on the ocean beyond the eight Hawaiian seas; that it would one day be recovered by a being without hands and wearing neither mantle nor maro, but not until a cocoa-tree, planted in the next full of the moon, should yield its first fruit, to be eaten by the king.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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