File:Sandwich island notes (1854) (14581669280).jpg

Identifier: sandwichislandno01bate (find matches)
Title: Sandwich island notes
Year: 1854 (1850s)
Authors: Bates, George Washington
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Publisher: New York, Harper
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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loa is a small lake, called by the na-tives Loko Nomilu. The lake itself is a great natural curi-osity ; but it derives a profound interest from its mythologicalassociations. It is three hundred yards long by two hundredwide, and has a submarine union with the ocean. On threesides it is surrounded with lofty and abrupt hills. Traditionsays that its excavation was the work of Pele, when in searchof fresh water. But when the goddess had dug down to a cer-tain depth, the water from the sea rushed in and spoiled herwork. At this she became huhu (angry), and immediatelytook her departure to the great volcano on the island of Ha-waii, where she has ever since remained. Such is one of the mythological legends which the Hawaii-ans at this day relate of this terrific deity of volcanic fire. Itis nothing marvelous that, like other pagan nations, theyshould select from the numerous family of gods a chief deity,whom they might invest with supreme attributes. The Jupi- K 218 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES.
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LOKO NOMILU. ter of Pagan Rome was invested with every power and pre-rogative which conveyed an ideal of the Supreme. In thesame light he was regarded by the Greeks.* Modern Brah-mism invests Brahm with a spirit of omnipotence and omni-presence. For ages past the Gymnosophists of India havecherished and inculcated the same creed. If the polishedGreeks and Romans, and the philosophic Asiatics, fell into thebelief that Jove and Brahm were at once omnipotent and om-nipresent, material and immaterial, in their mysterious nature, * Zevc earlv aldrjpt 7j£V£ te yrjZevc Se ovpavoc,TtEvg ra iravra. From che Greek o/^Eschylus. Jupiter is the air;Jupiter is the earth;Jupiter is the heaven;All is Jupiter. COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY. 219 it affords no cause for surprise that a people like the Hawaii-ans should have ascribed to Pele such extraordinary perform-ances, much less is it surprising that this generation, havingjust emerged from a paganism the blackest and most debas-ing the world has ever se

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