Hello kohalanui,
I was able to trace the origin to the following story:
"Such a burial is recorded in an incident from the folktale of Tonga.
Tonga, after many adventures in the Underworld, returned to the upper
world, where he became a deep-sea fisherman. He had a cherished
daughter whom he named the Princess-who-plaited-beautiful-things. She
accompanied him on one of his expeditions and became seriously ill.
Tonga turned his canoe toward land, but a violent storm impeded him.
His daughter died and was buried at sea."
Source: Mangareva History
http://pvs-hawaii.org/Education/ed_manareva_history.htm
As for the procedure, it appears that there was not just one procedure
but several for sea burial:
"Hawaiian historian David Malo left written descriptions of the bodies
of ali'i being wrapped in banana, taro and paper mulberry leaves, then
buried in shallow graves in the shrine area of the men's eating house.
While a priest chanted, fire burned over the body for ten days. The
body was exhumed, and the flesh and soft parts were peeled away and
deposited in the sea."
Source: Sacred Burial Practices
http://www.coffeetimes.com/feb98.htm
"The fishermen sometimes wrapped their dead in red native cloth, and
threw them into the sea, to be devoured by the sharks. Under the
influence of a belief in the transmigration of souls, they supposed
the spirit of the departed would animate the shark by which the body
was devoured, and that the survivors would be spared by those
voracious monsters, in the event of their being overtaken by any
accident at sea."
Source: Sacred Burial Practices
http://www.coffeetimes.com/feb98.htm
I do recommend that you read both of the above articles for more
detailed information. If this answer is not what you were looking for,
please request an Answer Clarification, and I will do my best to
further assist you.
tisme-ga
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