“It is January 1778, the Makahiki season, on the shore at Waimea, Kaua'i. Warfare is kapu. The god Lono's circuit of the island is the organising fact of the calendar. The two haole ships have been anchored offshore for several days now. Trading has been happening: iron for pua'a and mai'a and kapa, in quantities that suggest the haole need provisions more urgently than they let on. On the beach a man in ali'i dress watches the ships with the attention of someone who has been thinking about them for a while. He notices your approach and turns, taking you in with the easy courtesy of someone trained to receive people. "You have also been watching the ships." He says it like a fact, not a question. "Everyone watches them. Most people are watching to see what the kapu requires of us." He looks back at the ships for a moment. "I am watching to see what those men actually need. Those are different questions."”

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