|
Huntress’ Hula, or How
May Day
Came to Be
A Native ‘Legend’ © 2008 by Walter D. Reimer “Are there any children here? No? Then . . . “Come near, and hear me; I will tell you the truth. “It so happened, many years ago, that there was a young girl of the south islands, named Vairea-daughter-Teva. She was loved by her parents, yet looked not for love and marriage within her village, for Vairea-daughter-Teva was dedicated to the Goddess Lukinuki, She Who Loves Everyone. “Such women dedicated to the Goddess do not marry at the first blush of their womanhood, but offer themselves to men so that they may later please their husbands. “So it happened that the time for the Spring Festival drew near, and all the young women of the islands were to dance to celebrate the Spring and to induce the Gods of Spontoon to bring fertility to the land and the seas. “And the Gods grew angry at the close of the Festival, for one young woman was not at the Festival, nor did she dance. “And the Gods went to Lukinuki and said, ‘Where is the one dedicated to you? She has failed to dance.’ “’Though you did not know the step, she did dance,’ Lukinuki said, ‘and her dancing pleased me.’ “But the Gods grew angrier at Lukinuki’s words, for they had not seen Vairea dance, so it did not please them. And they called upon Illa’Ri, the Goddess of Evil and Mischief, to send forth Anko L’Terr, she who is the Demon Who Whispers Upon The Air, to spread the lie that Vairea did not dance, so the land and sea would remain infertile. “And so well did the Demon Anko L’Terr work that when Vairea returned to her village friends turned their faces away from her and the door of her family’s longhouse was shut to her. “Vairea asked through the door, ‘What has transpired? My mother and father, what has happened, that you close the door to your house to me?’ “And when they told her, Vairea called upon her Goddess, ‘Oh, Great Lukinuki, what must I do to avert my parents’ anger from me?’ “Lukinuki answered her, and said, ‘Dear child, you must seek out Illa’Ri, and dance in her presence that she may see that your dedication to me is no bar to your praise of the Gods. Then the Gods shall be pleased, and the lands and seas grow fertile.’ “Now did the Goddess Illa’Ri dwell within a cavern of darkness and fire, and there she would brood and plot to bring unhappiness to the world. And she had an army of demons to protect her. “So did Vairea adorn her headfur with cowrie shells and coral, and around her neck she placed the necklace her mother did give her as a token that she was no longer a little girl, and did adorn her fur with oil and with paint. She plaited a fresh skirt of the sweetest grasses and set forth for the entrance to Illa’Ri’s domain. “And at that entrance, and at each turning within the cavern, did Vairea have to surrender a part of her adornments. To one demon she surrendered the cowrie shells and coral that decorated her headfur, at another she surrendered her necklace, at a third she gave up her furpaint, until she stood before Illa’Ri clad in only the fur she was born in. “Now Illa’Ri was of an aspect dreadful and terrible; such was her power that fish leaped from the sea to dry land to escape her. And she frowned down upon Vairea and said, ‘Who is this, that troubles my rest?’ “’Great Illa’Ri,’ Vairea said, ‘I have come to dance for you, that your anger might be turned from me, and that you may make fair report to the Gods that truly I did dance for the Spring festival.’ “And Vairea began to dance the Huntress’ Hula, a dance of deep and cunning magic. Such is its power that few men can escape the nets a girl weaves for him when she dances (and it is true, few women can escape either if they be so inclined). “And Vairea danced from the setting of the Sun unto the rising of the Moon, and Illa’Ri did see her demons become entranced and she knew that this woman had power, and her dedication to the Gods was strong. “Illa’Ri said, ‘Vairea-daughter-Teva, you have truly danced, and shown that your dedication to Lukinuki and the Gods of Spontoon is great. Go now, and return to your home, and I shall render a fair report to the Gods.’ “And at each turning within the cavern Vairea was given back some portion of her raiment; her grass skirt, her furpaint, her necklace and the adornments of her headfur, and she bade the demons farewell with respect (for it always good to do such, lest a curse befall you). “Vairea returned to her home to find the door no longer barred against her, and she was happy. “And so, on the day that Vairea danced for Illa’Ri, the sons and daughters of Spontoon gather to celebrate. On a day that is not Spring nor Summer do the people gather to celebrate the memory of the working girl Vairea, and all those who work and labor.” end |