Magic, Myths, and Me

This Hawaiian fairytale is a spin-off of Rapunzel, reimagined in an island setting. I am only posting parts of my stories for now because I plan on publishing a collection of these. I am sprinkling in Hawaiian verbiage to enhance the setting. The mythical and magical aspects are based upon Hawaiian gods, cultural practices, and names. Hina is a goddess associated with the moon, but Hina can also mean “fall.” Hea means “to call.” I thought this was a good name for my protagonist because she eventually needs to fall or come down from her hut when she finds her courage. When she plays her music, she casts her magic drawing people to her.  

Enjoy!

Hinahea

“Bring me an ipu of the wai,” the kahuna said.

  The couple agreed and went to fetch the water. The kahuna took the wai and poured it over her sickened tree. In just a few days the tree was revived and produced an abundance of noni fruit. When the couple returned, the kahuna told the wife to pick a fruit and eat it. She did as she was told and immediately felt her belly warm. Seven weeks later, the couple realized the wife was pregnant. She went back to thank the kahuna, but she was not there. Before she left a sudden surge of hunger compelled her to take another noni fruit. She ran home to eat it, and her belly warmed again. After that she craved nothing but the noni fruit from the kahuna’s tree.

One night the wife awoke from a nightmare and felt that the only way to calm herself was to have more noni fruit. This time she was too tired to walk there herself, so she begged her husband to get her a noni fruit. In fact, the wife looked as if she might die without it. The husband agreed and went into the night. He crept past the sleeping kahuna and found the tree. There was only one more noni fruit left. Has my wife eaten all this noni? he wondered. He reached out to pick the last fruit when the kahuna startled him.

“Why have you been stealing my noni?” the kahuna demanded.

“My wife needs this fruit desperately,” the husband explained. “The fruit from your tree is the only mea ʻai her body craves.”

  “You may have my very last noni—but you must make a sacrifice for it.”

  The husband did not hesitate, “yes—anything.”

Pleased with his answer, the kahuna handed him the last noni. The husband ran home and gave his wife the last fruit. She took it and ate it quickly. The next day she went into labor and gave birth to a healthy baby wahine. At once the couple could tell that their baby was special. Her hair was the color of the noni seed, and her skin had an unusual glow.

“We shall call her Hinahea,” the husband said.

#

            After one year, Hinahea’s hair had grown five feet long and her mother would brush it every day in awe. Their hut was filled with laughter and love, but the parents were worried to show Hinahea to the makaʻāinana. The couple finally decided to hold a lūʻau for Hinahea’s one year birthday and invited all their friends and ʻohana. All the party goers brought their favorite foods and Hinahea was embraced by all. She smiled and giggled, instantly capturing the hearts of all her aunties and uncles. Her mana was so strong that even the grumpiest kūpuna couldn’t help but to smile back at her. After the lūʻau everyone left and Hinahea was tucked into bed. She fell fast asleep and so did her parents.

#

            The next day the wife awoke and went to pick up Hinahea to get her ready for the day, but she was not in her bed. The wife awoke her husband and the two of them began searching the whole hut. They went to all the neighboring huts, but no one knew or heard anything in the night. Hinahea was nowhere to be found. The parent’s hearts were broken, and every year after her disappearance, they planted a baby noni tree. They would then go to the edge of the moana with a ho’okupu of ti leaf lei for Hinahea to ask the gods to protect her, wherever she was.  

#

            Fifteen years later Hinahea paced within her tiny hut located on top of a tall narrow rock formation within the valley.

            “Hinahea!” a wahine shouted. “Hinahea let down your hair for E Makuahine!”

            “I thought you were never coming back!” Hinahea responded. She then took her hair that was braided and threw it down. Her hair was now a hundred feet long. E Makuahine tugged on the hair a bit and then climbed to the top. She hopped into the hut and took off a bulky sack.

            “What have you brought me?” Hinahea asked.

            “I went to dangerous places to get these,” E Makuahine said. Then she started taking out fruits, some foreign shiny things, and a ti leaf lei.

            Hinahea put the ti leaf lei on and smiled from the warmth it gave her.

            “What is this?” Hinahea asked while picking up a shiny container.

            “That is called a tea kettle,” E Makuahine said. “Let me show you how to make tea.”

            She showed Hinahea how to brew tea and also showed her how to use a knife to cut fruits. One last item she brought to Hinahea was an ukulele. She knew this would keep Hinahea occupied and that it did. Hinahea picked up the ukulele, stared inside its hollow body, then turned it around in her hands. Her fingers brushed past the strings, and she heard a sound. She was so enchanted by it that she started plucking the strings. She was unaware that E Makuahine had taken a foot of her hair then climbed back down to the ground.

#

            One week had gone by and Hinahea cherished her ukulele. She could create her own songs, and she even started to sing along with her strumming. That is until a large manu flew inside her hut, knocked down the ukulele, and broke the strings. Hinahea cried in anger and grabbed the manu. She asked it why it had broken her ukulele.

            “I am sorry to cause you such trouble,” the manu said.

            “What am I to do now?” Hinahea asked.

            “You can always fix the strings using your hair,” the manu said then he flew down to Hinahea’s braided hair.

            “If this doesn’t work, I might just use your feathers to make me a new lei,” Hinahea joked.

            She cut off a foot of her hair with the knife and she restrung the ukulele with it. Once finished, she tightened and tuned it realizing it sounded even better than before. What Hinahea didn’t know was that her hair was magic. By stringing her ukulele with it she unknowingly broke the enchantment that had hidden her from the world. 

            She sang her favorite tune and strummed along. The sound travelled and made its way to an injured European explorer and not too far away, an ailing sixteen-year-old kāne. Both men had been healed instantly. Feeling better they both felt compelled to search the valley to find the source of the beautiful melody. The European explorer arrived first. He stared up at the top of the rock formation noticing a hut.

            “Hello! Is anyone there?” the man yelled.