Kauai

“ Why didn’t you sleep at Kauai instead of coming and sleep on the island of Halalii where the spirits live? You are as good as dead, there is no escape; your flesh, your bones, your bowels, your blood, your eyes, will all be eaten up. ”

“ Having thus more soil than the other islands, Kauai has also more grass; being older, not only are its valleys somewhat richer, but its mountains are also more picturesque than those of Maui and Hawaii, as also they are much lower. The roads are excellent for horsemen, and for the most part practicable for carriages, of which, however, there are none to be hired. ”

“ Humanity smells at the door.
Aye, indeed.
The imagery of this poem is peculiarly obscure and the meaning difficult of translation. The allusions are so local and special that their meaning does not carry to a distance.
Wai-aleale is the central mountain mass of Kauai, about 6,000 feet high. Its summit, a cold, fog-swept wilderness of swamp and lake beset with dwarfish growths of lehua, is used as the symbol of a woman, impulsively kind, yet in turn passionate and disdainful. ”

“ The battens that are laid down,
The grass that is folded.
He hale no;
He laau ke ku ana,
He aho ke moe ana,
He mauu ke pelu ana.
“What! Who has told you?” While he was expressing his wonder he was thrown in the oven by Kukaea. At this time, the chiefs and men of Kauai jumped in to help their king, but Kepakailiula, his friend and Kukaea fought so well and bravely [516] that great numbers were slain, forcing the Kauai people to flee to the mountains. ”

“ Escaping from Oahu after the defeat of the rebellious chiefs and death of Kaneoneo, Kaiana presented himself before the queen of Kauai, who was a distant relative, and Kaeo, who was of closer kinship, and related to them the story of Kahekili’s merciless operations on Oahu. He sought to create an active sympathy in favor of the unfortunate Oahuans, but Kaeo was too sagacious to place himself in hostility to his warlike brother, who had extended his sway over all the islands between Kauai and Hawaii. ”

“ We love Kauai. Let us live here, or die here, but do not let us go to the prison of Molokai. The sickness is not ours. We have not sinned. The men who preached the word of God and the word of Rum brought the sickness with the coolie slaves who work the stolen land. I have been a judge. I know the law and the justice, and I say to you it is unjust to steal a man’s land, to make that man sick with the Chinese sickness, and then to put that man in prison for life.”
“Life is short, and the days are filled with pain,” said Koolau. ”

“ The diversification is endless, from the lava shores of South Puna to the barking sands of Kauai. On every island break-neck mountain climbing abounds. One can shiver above timber-line on the snow-caps of Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa, swelter under the banyan at sleepy old Lahaina, swim in clear ocean water that effervesces like champagne on ten thousand beaches, or sleep under blankets every night in the upland pastures of the great cattle ranges and awaken each morning to the song of sky-larks and the crisp, snappy air of spring. ”

“ There is a legend of Kauai woven into the fairy-tale of the maiden of the mist—Laieikawai—and in this story Poliahu for a short time visits Kauai as the bride of one of the high chiefs who bore the name Aiwohikupua. The story of the betrothal and marriage suggests the cold of the snow-mantle and shows the inconstancy of human hearts. ”

“ And with them came the Chinese sickness—that which we suffer from and because of which they would imprison us on Molokai. We were born on Kauai. We have been to the other islands, some here and some there, to Oahu, to Maui, to Hawaii, to Honolulu. Yet always did we come back to Kauai. Why did we come back? There must be a reason. Because we love Kauai. We were born here. Here we have lived. And here shall we die—unless—unless—there be weak hearts amongst us. Such we do not want. They are fit for Molokai. And if there be such, let them not remain. Tomorrow the soldiers land on the shore. ”

“ It treats of an armed conflict between Kauahoa and his cousin Kawelo, a hero from Oahu, which took place on Kauai. Kauahoa was a retainer and soldier of Ai-kanaka, a king of Kauai. The period was in the reign of King Kakuhihewa, of Oahu. Kawelo invaded Kauai with an armed force and made a proposition to Kauahoa which involved treachery to Kauahoa’s liege-lord Ai-kanaka. Kauahoa’s answer to this proposition is given in verse 28; Hu’e a kaua, moe i ke awakea!—“Strike home, then sleep at midday!” The sleep at midday was the sleep of death. ”

“ At the same time there arrived a man from Kauai in search of a human body to offer as a sacrifice at the temple of Kahikihaunaka at Wailua, on Kauai, and having seen the corpse of Kaopele on the beach, he asks and obtains permission of the feudal lord (Konohiki) of Waialua to take it. Thus it happens that Kaopele is taken by canoe to the island of Kauai and placed, along with the corpse of another man, on the altar of the temple at Wailua. ”

“ These bodies, if worshiped, may be repossessed by the spirit and act as supernatural guardians of the house. See page 494, where the Kauai chief sets out on his wedding embassy with "the embalmed bodies of his ancestors." Compare, for the service itself, Waka's wish that the Kauai chief might be the one to hide her bones, the prayer of Aiwohikupua's seer that his master might, in return for his lifelong service, "bury his bones"—"e kalua keai mau iwi," and his request of Laieikawai, that she would "leave this trust to your descendants unto the last generation." ”

“ As the years came and went in their quiet home at Lihue, Lo-Lale lost none of his affection for Kelea. No wars distracted the group. Liloa, the son of Kiha and father of Umi, had become the peaceful sovereign of Hawaii; Kahakuma, the ancestor of some of the most distinguished families of the islands, held gentle and intelligent sway in Kauai; Kawao still ruled in Maui, and Piliwale in Oahu. ”

“ This man therefore on his return is made chief counsellor and favorite. But he becomes the queen's lover, and after an absence on Kauai, finds himself disgraced at court. Standing without the king's door, he chants a song recalling their wanderings together; the king relents, the informers are put to death, and he remains the first man in the kingdom until his death. Nor are there any further wars on Hawaii until the days of Keoua. ”

“ For a year or more continuous efforts to crush the power of Keoua were made by Kamehameha. Kaiana operated against him in Kau, and Keeaumoku in Hilo, but he stubbornly and successfully resisted. Availing himself of this condition of affairs, Kahekili, moi of Maui, assisted by Kaeo, king of Kauai, invaded Hawaii, probably for the purpose of creating a diversion in favor of Keoua, but the combined armies were driven from the island by Kamehameha. ”

“ The boy saw at once that no time would be wasted by the Kauai people nor would they allow him time to prepare himself although he knew that that was a part of the profession; but they did not, however, find him unprepared, the boy immediately replied: “You must then remain in there, you full-grown men until you die. Eat up what food you have, obey the calls of nature, and eat, you must die within for you cannot come out.” ”

“ Instead of settling there in peace, he began to construct canoes and prepare for a return to Kauai with a force sufficient to maintain himself on that island. Kaihikapu was finally induced to assist him, and so substantially that he invaded Kauai, deposed and killed his cousin, and assumed the moiship. Iwikauikaua took part in the expedition, but became disgusted with the jealousies of the Kauai chiefs and returned to Oahu at the close of the war, without attempting to avail himself of the opportunities afforded by the rebellion. ”

“ Kaeo, King of Kauai, sent two messengers to acquaint Kahahana of Cook’s visit, [285] whereupon Kaopulupulu the high priest of Oahu said: “These people are foreigners; they are surely the people that will come and dwell in this land” (p. 169) .
In 1779 Kahahana, the Oahu King, had but lately returned from Maui where he assisted Kahekili in his wars against Kalaniopuu of Hawaii. The rupture between Kahekili and Kahahana did not occur till afterward, in 1780–81 (pp. 197–8) . ”

“ Silent are the voices on the plain.
No medley of the birds is in the forest;
There is quiet, resting in peace.”
Pele entered the long house, passed by the place of the drums, and seated herself on a resting-place of soft royal mats.
The chiefs were astonished, and after a long time asked her if she came from the far-off sunrise of foreign lands.
Pele replied, smiling, “Ka! I belong to Kauai.”
Lohiau, the high chief, said: “O stranger, child of a journey, you speak in riddles. I know Kauai from harbor to clustered hills, and my eyes have never seen any woman like you.” ”

“ He then makes Kukuipahu king over Maui and goes on to Oahu, where Kakuhihewa hastens to make peace. One day when Makolea is out surf riding, messengers of the king of Kauai, Kaikipaananea, steal her away and she becomes this king's wife. Kepakailiula follows her to Kauai and defeats the king in boxing. One more contest is prepared; the king has two riddles, the failure to answer which will mean death. Only one man knows the answers, Kukaea, the public crier, and he is an outcast who has lived on nothing but filth air his life. ”

“ As a youth of the highest divine rank, he will be a fit mate to wed her mistress. The chiefess consents, and during the absence of the ambassadress, goes journeying with her four remaining guardians. During this journey she is seen and recognized by the prophet of Kauai, who has for many years been on the lookout for the sign of the rainbow. Under his guardianship she and the four sisters travel to Kauai, to which place the scene now shifts. Here they once more face Aiwohikupua, and the prophet predicts the coming of the avenger. Meanwhile the lizard bears the youngest sister over sea. ”

“ A prophet from Kauai who has seen the rainbow which always rests over the girl's dwelling place, desiring to attach himself to so great a chief, visits the place, but is eluded by Waka, who, warned by her husband, flies with her charge, first to Molokai, where a countryman, catching sight of the girl's face, is so transported with her beauty that he makes the tour of the island proclaiming her rank, thence to Maui and then to Hawaii, where she is directed to a spot called Paliuli on the borders of Puna, a night's journey inland through the forest from the beach at Keaau. ”

“ When he looked through, he saw the bravery of his brother Kamalama and adopted sons; they were on the point of routing the Kauai forces, and he admired the courage of his [handful of] men. After this he saw Kamalama and his men killing the men on the other side, while the few of the enemy left were running up Nounou hill. On the top of this hill, Aikanaka the king and Kauahoa the great warrior of Kauai had their camp. Kawelo was therefore very anxious lest Kamalama’s forces suffer at the hand of Kauahoa ”

“ Leaving Kauai, they crossed the channel, and, after moving from place to place for some years, finally took up their abode in a secluded spot near Waolani, on the island of Oahu.
In the possession of the Kiha-pu, Ika, the chief of the band, who claimed it as his individual property, became cruel and dictatorial to his companions. He esteemed himself little less than a god, and demanded a full half of all the earnings and pilferings of his associates. ”

“ Until the final conquest of the group by Kamehameha I. at the close of the last century, the five principal islands of the archipelago—Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Molokai—were each governed, as a rule, by one or more independent chiefs. The smaller islands of Lanai and Kahoolawe were usually subject to Maui, while Niihau always shared the political fate of Kauai. ”

“ A fight follows in which the son-in-law knocks out the old man and proves his competence as a pupil. The Oahu king furnishes a canoe in which Kawelo sets out for Kauai with his wife, his brother, Kamalama, and other followers, of whom Kalaumeki and Kaeleha are chief. ”

“ Ia wa, alawa ae la o Maakuakeke, i uka, ua nalowale ka aina, o Oahu nei, nolaila, makau iho la i ka make.
The great fish Uhumakaikai did not cease pulling all that day and night until the next morning when, after paddling for some time they came to the west of Niihau and in time passed Manawaikeao; they next passed off Hulaia, Kauai. When they reached there Maakuakeke said to Kawelo: “Say, there is a large land above us. What land is it?” Kawelo replied: “It is Kauai.” ”

“ UWEUWELEKEHAU Olopana, king of Kauai, has decreed that his daughter, Luukia, shall marry none but Uweuwelekehau, the son of Ku and Hina in Hilo, and that he shall be known when he comes by his chiefly equipment, red canoe, red sails, etc. Thunder, lightning, and floods have heralded this child's birth, and he is kept under the chiefly taboo. One day he goes to the Kalopulepule River to sail a boat; floods wash him out to sea; and in the form of a fish he swims to Kauai, is brought to Luukia and, changing into a man, becomes her lover. ”

“ This mele comes from Kauai, an Island in many respects individualized from the other parts of the group and that seems to have been the nurse of a more delicate imagination than was wont to flourish elsewhere. Its tone is archaic, and it has the rare merit of not transfusing the more crudely erotic human emotions into the romantic sentiments inspired by nature.
The Hawaiians dearly loved fable and allegory. Argument or truth, dressed out in such fanciful garb, gained double force and acceptance. We may not be able to follow a poet in his wanderings ”