justified and sanctioned the social order as it then existed. Narrative as found in Malo We are informed (by historical tradition) that two men named Paʻao and Makua-kaumana, with a company of others, voyaged hither, observing the stars as a compass; and that Paʻao remained in Kohala, while Makua-Kaumana returned to Tahiti. Paʻao arrived at Hawaiʻi during the reign of Lono-ka-wai, the king of Hawaiʻi. He (Lono-ka-wai) was the sixteenth in that line of kings, succeeding Kapawa. Paʻao continued to live in Kohala until the kings of Hawaiʻi became degraded and corrupted (hewa); then he sailed away to Tahiti to fetch a king from thence. Pili (Kaʻaiea) was that king and he became one in Hawaiʻi's line of kings (papa aliʻi). –David Malo, Hawaiian Antiquities, 1951 edition, p. 6. Narrative in greater detail The main outlines of the story follow. Many details vary from version to version. In one version told by British missionary William Ellis in 1826 Paao was a Caucasian chief. Paao is said to have been a priest and a master navigator. He lived on a distant island called Kahiki in the oldest versions, and identified as either Tahiti or Samoa by believers in the historicity of the narrative. His older brother, Lonopele, was the chief priest in some versions of the story, or the ruler of the island in others. Lonopele accused Paao's son of removing some kapu fish from the royal fishpond, or with stealing fruit. Paao was angry at his brother's persecution and in his anger, he killed his own son and ripped open the corpse's stomach, showing that there were no remnants of kapu fish or of fruit, in another version these partially digested foods were found. Paao brooded over his misfortunes and decided to migrate to a distant land, far from his brother. He readied three large canoes for the voyage. He placed a kapu over the boats; no one was to touch the canoes without his permission. One evening, Paao discovered his nephew, the son of Lonopele, touching one of the sacred canoes. Paao killed his nephew and buried him in the sand under one of the canoes, which was elevated on blocks. Flies buzzed around the decomposing corpse, so the canoe was named Ka-nalo-a-muia, "the buzzing of flies." Paao hurriedly assembled his retainers, launched the voyaging canoes, and departed. He left in such a hurry that one of his followers,