darkness (_ilalo loa i ka po_). The chief of these spirits was called
by some Kanaloa, by others Milu, the ruler of Po; Akua ino; Kupu ino,
the evil spirit. Other legends, however, state that the veritable and
primordial lord of the Hawaiian inferno was called Manua. The inferno
itself bore a number of names, such as Po-pau-ole, Po-kua-kini,
Po-kini-kini, Po-papa-ia-owa, Po-ia-milu. Milu, according to those
other legends, was a chief of superior wickedness on earth who was
thrust down into Po, but who was really both inferior and posterior to
Manua. This inferno, this Po, with many names, one of which remarkably
enough was _Ke-po-lua-ahi_, the pit of fire, was not an entirely
dark place. There was light of some kind and there was fire. The
legends further tell us that when Kane, Ku, and Lono were creating
the first man from the earth, Kanaloa was present, and in imitation
of Kane, attempted to make another man out of the earth. When his
clay model was ready, he called to it to become alive, but no life
came to it. Then Kanaloa became very angry, and said to Kane, 'I
will take your man, and he shall die,' and so it happened. Hence the
first man got his other name _Kumu-uli_, which means a fallen chief,
_he 'lii kahuli_.... With the Hawaiians, Kanaloa is the personified
spirit of evil, the origin of death, the prince of Po, or chaos, and
yet a revolted, disobedient spirit, who was conquered and punished by
Kane. The introduction and worship of Kanaloa, as one of the great
gods in the Hawaiian group, can be traced back only to the time of
the immigration from the southern groups, some eight hundred years
ago. In the more ancient chants he is never mentioned in conjunction
with Kane, Ku, and Lono, and even in later Hawaiian mythology he never
took precedence of Kane. The Hawaiian legend states that the oldest
son of Kumuhonua, the first man, was called Laka, and that the next
was called Ahu, and that Laka was a bad man; he killed his brother Ahu.