A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

In J. S. Emerson’s selected account, Hiku grows up with his mother Hina in a cave near Hualalai’s summit, apart from human settlements. When he finally descends, his living arrow Pua Ne guides him toward Holualoa and lands beside the princess Kawelu. The hidden arrow answers his call, revealing itself, and Kawelu becomes attached to him. She keeps him from returning home, eventually confining him in the house; he escapes through the roof. Grieving afterward, she stops eating and dies. Her relatives bring Hiku back, and he resolves to recover her spirit from Milu’s realm. The tale therefore joins a supernatural rescue with the conflict and abandonment that precede it.

Friends prepare a long rope of kowali vines, while Hiku takes a coconut shell split into two fitting halves. He disguises himself with a corpse-like smell and is lowered on a swing into the cavern of the dead. Milu and the gathered shades accept him as another dead person. Kawelu recognizes him and joins the swing, with Milu’s permission. A signal prompts the friends above to pull them upward. When she realizes what is happening and attempts to leave, Hiku traps her within the coconut shell. Back at Holualoa he restores her spirit to her body. She revives without remembering the underworld encounter and immediately asks why he left her. The closing reunion is successful, but the narrative expressly describes the spirit’s resistance; it is not a freely granted release by Milu.

Speaking guiding arrowDescent among the deadCorpse disguiseCoconut-shell spirit captureRestoration of Kawelu
01

Origins & earliest records

Emerson’s chapter V, pp. 43–48, in Hawaiian Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1907); a separate location appendix follows.

02

Records & interpretation

The complete published tale supplies the speaking arrow, descent apparatus, disguise, captured spirit and restoration. The appendix distinguishes its offshore entrance from the Waipio entrance in another account.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Hawaiian Folk Tales, V: Hiku and Kawelu; Location of the Lua o Milu

    J. S. Emerson; location appendix includes material contributed by W. D. Alexander · 1907

    pp. 43–50; complete rescue and following location discussion. Ellis and Dibble passages are quoted through this edition, not independently collated.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textThrum 1907, Emerson’s Hiku and Kawelu, pp. 43–50Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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