About a hundred years before,
during the reign of one of the first kings, there lived a great
warrior, whose name was Rono. This chief was very popular, but he was
very jealous. In a moment of anger he killed his wife, of whom he was
passionately fond. The regret and grief that resulted from this act
drove him out of his senses; he wandered disconsolately about the
island, fought and quarrelled with every one that came near him. At
last, in a fit of despair, he embarked in a large canoe, and, after
promising to return at the expiration of twelve hundred moons, with a
white face and on a floating island, he put out to sea, and was never
heard of more.
This tradition, it appears, had been piously handed down from family
to family. The natives of Hawai--who are not more extravagant in the
matter of idols than some nations who boast a larger amount of
civilization, but who do not destroy them so often--enrolled Rono
amongst the list of their divinities. An image of him was set up,
sacrifices were instituted in his honor. Every year the day of his
departure was kept sacred, and devoted to religious ceremonies. The
twelfth hundred moon had just set, when a large boat appeared in the
bay, and a man came ashore. The high priest of the temple, Raou, and
his daughter, On La, priestess of Rono, solemnly declared that the man
in question was Rono himself, who had returned at the precise time
named, and in the manner he promised.
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