Читать книгу Incredible Hawaii - Terence Barrow - Страница 2

Incredible as it might seem, Hawaii is like a gigantic raft, drifting slowly with the centuries. According to the latest theory, the vast Pacific plate on which Hawaii sits glides over the earth’s semi-fluid under-crust, and as this plate passes over a hot lava vent, new islands are formed. The upper end of this giant plate moves under Japan and other parts of Asia, causing recurrent earthquakes.

Early Hawaiian dogs did not bark. If they whined or made singing sounds, like the “barkless” dogs of New Guinea, it was probably because they were not the Hawaiians’ best friends, but were used chiefly as food.

Who would want to have his tongue tattooed? That happened to Hawaiians, especially at a time of mourning. Aristocrats were tattooed to add to their beauty, and dots were sometimes put on the inner eyelids of noble captives.

Feathers, not to be taken lightly, were symbolic of Hawaiian aristocracy. The yellow cloak of Kamehameha I contained 450,000 feathers from 80,000 contributing feathered friends.

Hawaii’s Gibraltar is a majestic volcanic cone overlooking Waikiki. It is called Diamond Head, and it was once thought that its calcite crystals, sparkling in the sun, were a fabulous fortune in gems. Nonetheless, it is a symbolic stone of great value today.

Many famous literary characters found Hawaii charming as well as incredible. Twain, Dana,

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Cover design by Ray Lanterman