ed to have been the first king
of the island. When he died, he descended into the nether world and
there founded a kingdom. His successor on the throne of Hawaii, by name
Miru or Milu, also descended into the underworld at death, and shared
the government of the infernal realm with his predecessor Akea. Their
land is a place of darkness, their food, lizards and butterflies. But
there are streams of water of which they drink, and wide-spreading trees
under which they recline.[158] Milu is described as the Hawaiian Pluto,
the lord of the lower world to whose dominions departed spirits go. His
abode was in the west, hence the ghosts of such as died on the eastern
shore of an island always had to cross to the western shore before they
could set out for their final place of rest in the spirit land. Some
said that Milu had his dwelling under the ocean, and that he was the
prince of wicked spirits.[159] However, according to some accounts, the
two ancient kings, Milu and Akea, ruled over separate regions in the
spirit land, which were tabooed to each other, so that nobody could pass
from the one to the other. Akea or Wakea dwelt in the upper region, and
there the souls of chiefs dwelt with him; whereas Milu occupied the
muddy lower region, and there the souls of common folk abode with him.
In the upper region all was peaceful and orderly, and there persons who
had faithfully complied with the precepts of religion in life were
received after death. On the other hand the lower region, ruled over by
Milu, was noisy and disorderly; evil spirits played their pranks there,
and the souls of the dead subsisted on lizards and butterflies.[160]
When persons recovered from a death-like swoon, it was supposed that
their souls had gone to the underworld and been sent back to earth by
Milu. The best account of the spirit land was given by one who had spent
eight days in it, and on returning to life reported to his family what
he had seen. According to his observations, the spirit land is flat and
fruitful, it is tolerably well lighted, and everything grows there
spontaneously, so that, contrary to some reports, the palace of Milu is
a really delightful place. Milu himself is not married to any one
particular wife; but from time to time he chooses for his consorts the
most beautiful of the female ghosts when they arrive in deadland, and
the women thus honoured are naturally taboo for the male ghosts. All
souls live there in exactly the same st