A Half Flower by Mira Kanehl

Author:Mira Kanehl [Kanehl, Mirà]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783947722112
Publisher: Mira Kanehl

22

In Prayer

“Wikiwiki,” the kahuna said, and laughed.

Mayme, tired from her uphill run, took a deep breath and hurried up the remaining slope. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Let’s talk story.” The kahuna’s tone was gentle, and the sun gleamed in his messy white hair, which produced a silver aura around his head.

“‘Ae,” she said, her chest heaving. “What did you mean by my pride being in the way?”

The kahuna stared into his bowl, swirled it, and drank from it.

Mayme fiddled with the grass before her. The dew still clung to it, and the cool wetness seeped through her skirt.

Tsa, she’d forgotten a rule of conduct.

As more birds woke, their songs became louder. One flew over the clearing, picked something up, and dove into the forest.

Her gaze unfocused beyond the old man.

The kahuna gave her a pinched smile. “I forgive your niele because they tore you from your mother’s bosom too soon, I would like to speak about a proverb.”

“‘Ae,” Mayme said.

“Pa`a ka waha, nana ka maka, ho`olohe ka pepeiao, hana ka lima.”

Keep the mouth shut, watch with your eyes, listen with your ears, and work with your hands.

“Pride steals mana, hides your faults. You want to learn? Study. Use your senses. Don’t let arrogance close your doors.” His rough-skinned palm warmed her knee.

“‘Ae, master.” Mayme smiled and mimicked his pose. Thirty years ago, a meeting like this was unthinkable, for kahuna’s never passed knowledge of this kind to kanakas. Seeing the decline of all that was precious to them, they shared.

“I’m there to remind you of tradition, but you live haole. Behave, then I can take you to the others.” His hand left a cool spot where it had been, and Mayme shuddered. He drank from his bowl. “The kahuna ‘ana’ana are moving again.”

“Expected.”

“‘Ae, eight years of Ka’ahumanu have changed the scene.”

It was the traditional sense of politeness not to ask for money, the same way it was impolite to pose direct questions. The ban on the kapu system had squeezed the chiefs and kahunas from the city like a pineapple for juice—and left behind open flesh, and flies swirled above it. It was everyone for themselves now.

He took another gulp from his bowl and finished it. Since the new government had outlawed awa, it was difficult to get. And expensive.

Mayme handed him a pouch weighed with coins.

The air was thick with fresh streams that wound the dense green mountain and the grasshoppers chanted in the woodlands, oblivious.

“Protect yourself. Be aware of your higher self—focus on your Aumakua, the parent of your other selves, the guidance you can rely on. Always listen to it, especially when its voice is quiet in the noise. Love it. You will be tested.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.