CHAPTER VII
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OF THE MEETING BETWEEN KAIALEA AND THE MEN THAT WERE SENT OUT BY HIS MOTHER, HOOIPOIKAMALANAI.
When the men who came in search of Kaialea were being taken to be placed in confinement, in the same place where he was being held, they began to have all kinds of speculation as to their probable fate. Upon arriving at the temple they were placed at a little distance from Kaialea. When he saw them his eyes were filled with tears, while he tried to control his feelings.
When the king’s officers saw him weep they went and told Kila of what they had seen; so he came to the place where Kaialea was confined and proceeded to question him: “Are you weeping?” Kaialea replied: “Yes.” Kila again asked him: What are you weeping for?” Kaialea replied: “I am weeping because I saw the people from my home.” Kila then went over to where the others were being confined and after a while he came back to Kaialea, without having spoken to the others, and again asked Kaialea: “Are you not Moikeha’s son?” Kaialea replied: “No, I am not his son. He is a chief and I am a common man.” Kila then remarked: “You shall not be released from this place until you tell me who your parents are. When you have done that, I will then allow you to return to your home. If you tell me the truth to all the questions that I shall put to you, you shall be released this very day.”
When Kaialea saw that a chance was given him to get out of his difficulties, he then told the truth. In the course of Kila’s questions, he asked him: “How many are there of you from your parents?” Kaialea replied: “There are three of us by Hooipoikamalanai and Moikeha. There is one older than myself, my mother’s first-born, then myself and the one following me, Kila by name, making three by the same mother. Our father and our mother’s younger sister have two, Kekaihawewe the first-born, and Laukapalala the younger, making five of us altogether, all boys. The youngest of the lot is Kila.”
By these answers Kila saw that Kaialea had told the truth, so he proceeded to question him further: “Where is your youngest brother?” Kaialea replied: “He has gone to Tahiti; he was taken by an older brother, Laamaikahiki.” When Kila heard this he immediately gave his executive officer the following orders: “Take him and keep him in confinement in the temple of Pakaalana, because he has not spoken the truth; he says his youngest brother is in Tahiti.” In obedience to the orders of the chief, Kaialea was taken into the temple of Pakaalana. After he had been in confinement for a while, Kila again entered the temple and went and stood at the base of the altar where he could see Kaialea and said: “Keep him in confinement here until the day when the sacrifices are to be offered in this temple, when you must take him and offer him as a sacrifice on the altar.” It was not the intention to sacrifice Kaialea, but said in order to frighten him, which would probably cause him to tell the truth. Kila then gave orders to release the other men who had been confined and they returned to the home of the people who had entertained them before their arrest.
In the meantime those men who had returned secretly to Kauai, Kaialea’s paddlers and the man who had charge of the canoe, arrived there and were questioned by Hooipoikamalanai: “Where are the rest of you?” They replied: “Don’t think that our return means well; no, there is nothing to rejoice over. Kaialea is in confinement in the temple of Pakaalana, as well as some of the people that came later. They are all in confinement. We cannot speak of their fate. If they have been put to death, then they are dead by this time. If they are still living, then they live through the mercy of God.”
When Hooipoikamalanai and Hinauu heard this they were greatly distressed, and said: “This is indeed strange; evil has somehow followed close upon us. Is it possible that we are to lose a second son? It is far better for us to cross the ocean in our old age, if by doing so it would be possible for us to look on the place where the bones of our son are laid, and then die there and be laid with him. Why should we not go, then, and die there with him, since we have enjoyed life so long?”
As Hooipoikamalanai was thus determined to go to Hawaii, she and her sister took several companions along on their journey to die with Kaialea. The heads of the people who were to accompany on this journey, as well as the heads of Hooipoikamalanai and her sister, were then shaved as a sign of their grief.
Upon reaching Waipio they were informed this was the day when sacrifices were to be offered in the temple, and the day when Kaialea was to be sacrificed. As they were approaching land the people from shore saw a double canoe with its platform [122] covered, which was a sign that a chief was aboard. At this same time Kila saw his mother and aunt and his brothers. So he gave orders that the houses be made ready to receive them. After they had landed Hooipoikamalanai and Hinauu were sent for and they were brought to the palace of Kunaka, which was near the temple of Pakaalana, while the brothers of Kila were taken to the other houses apart from their mothers.
Kila, upon seeing his mother and aunt, endeavored to conceal his feelings and went to the stream and pretended to take a swim, although it was only to hide his weeping. Hooipoikamalanai and her sister did not, however, recognize him, for he was somewhat changed and was now a full-grown man.
After Kila had had his weeping in the stream, he returned home to meet his mother and aunt, at the same time keeping himself unknown to them. Hooipoikamalanai and her sister then spoke to Kila: “We would like to have our sons brought here so that we may live together in this same place, as we do not want to have them live away from us.” The brothers were then sent for and they came and lived with their mothers in the same house. While they were all together Kila asked his mother and aunt: “Have you any children?” Hooipoikamalanai answered: “Yes, we have children. There are two of us mothers and one father. We have five children; I have three with our husband. This one, which is Umalehu, is the first-born; then his brother, Kaialea, who is now in confinement; and then the youngest, Kila, who is now dead. He was eaten up by a shark, while on an expedition to Haena with his brothers for the purpose of bringing back the bones of their father which were to be taken to Tahiti later on. I am still keeping the hands of my dead son. Hinauu here has two sons with our husband. These two whom you see here: their names are Kekaihawewe and Laukapalala. When word was brought to us that Kaialea was to be killed, we decided to come and die with him. But if you will give your consent that we die in Kaialea’s stead, let him live.”
Kila replied: “Your son will surely die; he is to be sacrificed tomorrow. I have nothing more to say in the matter. I have left his life and death in the hands of the executioner.”
Shortly after the above conversation took place, Kila asked his brothers: “Where is your brother Kila?” One of the boys answered: “He was eaten up by a shark, just as our mother has told you.” Upon hearing this reply the officers were ordered to arrest them and place them in confinement in the temple where Kaialea was being kept. When this was done Hooipoikamalanai and her sister were greatly troubled because all their sons were now placed in confinement. They then said to themselves: “How much better it would have been for us had we remained at Kauai, for then all our sons would not have gotten into this trouble. It is best that we all die together now.”
On the next day Kila sent out men to call all the people of Waipio together to come and see Kaialea and his brothers placed on the altar for sacrifice. The order given was as follows: “Come together to see the sacrifice.” It was not Kila’s intention, however, to do this, but he was preparing to make himself known to his brothers, mother and aunt, and he was also preparing to reveal the great crime his brothers had committed against him, their brother. Furthermore, he was unable to continue being a stranger to his mother any longer, for his grief was more than he could bear.
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