[The Hawaiian tale of the naupaka flowers]
In the days of Pele'aihonua, there lived a gorgeous chiefess of Kaua'i named Naupaka. Naupaka lived her days in the mountainous regions of the island and decided to visit the ocean front.
As she played in the glistening clear waters, she met a fisherman named Kauihiwa. In that moment for them, time stood still; the wind blew silently; and the world was right; They instantly fell in love.
However, Naupaka was a chiefess and Kaui, a commoner. Their love was forbidden.
Still wishing to marry, she prayed to the gods and sought the advice of her Kahuna, priest. She pleaded and pleaded, but his answer never changed. Their love could not be.
In her sorrow, Naupaka took the flower that adorned her hair and admired it in her hands. With Kaui in front of her, she tore the flower in half, giving one half to Kaui and keeping the other.
With that, the two parted. In their sorrow they remained separated, but their love kept them together as they held fast to their halves of the flower.
And where they thought of one another, their half flowers took root and bloomed. Even now, the bushels only grow by the sea and in the mountains, and even then, only bloomed half flowers.
The flowers are commonly referred to, simply, as Naupaka. The half flowers that grew by the sea were named naupaka-kahakai for the place he met her, and the half flower that grew in the mountains were named naupaka-kauihiwa for the man she loved.
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Polynesian Legends
Short StoryStories, traditionally passed down through word of mouth, are documented and written down in this series. From the islands of Hawai'i to Aotearoa to Rapa Nui, and all in between, our stories are remembered and immortalized in writing. Polynesian Leg...
