native sources, as literal a rendition as possible has been observed
by the translators for the better insight it gives of Hawaiian thought
and character.



MOKE MANU'S ACCOUNT


The Menehunes were supposed to have been a wonderful people, small of
stature and of great activity. They were always united in doing any
service required of them. It was their rule that any work undertaken
must be completed in one night, otherwise it would be left unfinished,
as they did not labor twice on the same work; hence the origin of
the saying: "_He po hookahi, a ao ua pau_,"--in one night, and by
dawn it is finished.

There is no reliable history of the Menehunes. No one knows whence
they came, though tradition says they were the original people of the
Hawaiian Islands. They are thought to have been supernatural beings,
governed by some one higher in rank than themselves, whom they
recognized as having power and authority over them, that assigned
them to the mountains and hills where they lived permanently. They
were said to be the only inhabitants of the islands up to the time
of Papa and Wakea, and were invisible to every one but their own
descendants, or those connected with them in some way. Many persons
could hear the noise and hum of their voices, but the gift of seeing
them with the naked eye was denied to those not akin to them. They
were always willing to do the bidding of their descendants, and their
supernatural powers enabled them to perform some wonderful works.