Читать книгу The Story of Hawaii (Illustrated Edition) - Fowke Gerard - Страница 16

A mile from the Cooke residence is a peculiar structure, said to be the only one of its kind in the entire Hawaiian group. Native tradition has it that "a long time ago" a rain wizard who was angered by the people of this district sent such rains that everything was on the point of being washed out to sea. Another wizard told the people to make a heiau (temple, or sacred building) with many small compartments which were to be left uncovered in order that the raindrops, each of which was as large as a man's head, could be caught and held in them, and burned. The rain would cease when the first wizard learned that he was being circumvented.

PLATE 38 a, Heiaus A and B, on Molokai Island, looking west

PLATE 38 b, Heiau A, on Molokai Island, looking north

PLATE 38 c, Heiaus A and B, on Molokai Island, looking south

PLATE 39 a, Heiau A, on Molokai Island, looking south

PLATE 39 b, Platform in Heiau A, looking southeast

PLATE 39 c, Paved way in Heiau A, looking southwest

PLATE 40 a, Paved way in Heiau A, looking north

PLATE 40 b, Fireplace in Heiau A

PLATE 41 a, Heiau B, on Molokai Island, looking northwest

PLATE 41 b, Heiau B, showing stone-paved interior, looking northeast

PLATE 42 a, The "Rain Heiau," Molokai Island, looking west

PLATE 42 b, The "Rain Heiau," looking south

PLATE 43 a, The "Rain Heiau," looking north

PLATE 43 b, The "Rain Heiau," looking southwest

PLATE 44 a, The "Sacrifice Stones" on Molokai Island; looking southwest

PLATE 44 b, The "Sacrifice Stones," looking west

PLATE 45 a, The "Sacrifice Stones," looking northwest

PLATE 45 b, The "Sacrifice Stones," looking south

As it now remains, this heiau consists of flat stones placed on edge to make an inclosure 30½ by 20½ feet across the center, the length of the walls being 27½ feet on the north, 31½ feet on the south, 19 feet on the east, and 23½ feet on the west. At the middle is a minor inclosure, similarly formed, 5 feet 8 inches by 3 feet 8 inches, longest north and south. This is a kind of "altar" or "praying place." From it a narrow passage, 12 to 18 inches wide, extends to the middle of each side. In each of the four divisions thus formed other stones were placed to form box-like spaces of diverse shapes and dimensions from 9 by 15 to 20 by 28 and 15 by 45 inches. All the stones were set on the surface, braced against one another; no excavation was made to hold them. They have been somewhat displaced so that the exact number of the boxes can not now be ascertained, but there are somewhere between 110 and 120 of them.

Partial views are shown in plates 42 and 43.