CHAPTER II.

RELATING TO KALONAIKAHAILAAU.—KAWELO EQUIPS HIMSELF TO FIGHT AIKANAKA.—ARRIVAL AT KAUAI.

Kalonaikahailaau was the father-in-law of Kawelo, his daughter Kanewahineikiaoha being the wife of Kawelo. Kalonaikahailaau was also Kawelo’s instructor in the art of using the war club as well as the other arts of warfare. Because of the fact that Kalonaikahailaau was living in Koolau, Kawelo ordered his wife to proceed to her father’s place and request that he reveal the use of a certain stroke of the war club, also the bow and arrows used for shooting rats, and the axe used in hewing canoes.

On this journey to Koolau, Kanewahineikiaoha proceeded on ahead while Kamalama followed behind her. She did not see the young man on this outing. They proceeded in this manner to Nuuanu, where they were when the sun sunk below the horizon. Kanewahineikiaoha followed the winding trail down the steep cliff first while Kamalama followed a few moments later. Before she got to the house, she entered the stream and had a bath, while Kamalama hid himself outside of the house, but at a point close enough to overhear anything said in the house. When Kanewahineikiaoha entered the sleeping house, she found that her mother was all by herself, for Kalonaikahailaau was in another house kapued to the women, preparing awa for the gods. When the mother saw her daughter she sprang on her and began to wail, which was heard by the husband, and he sent a man to enquire as to the cause of the wailing. The wife then informed the man that it was their daughter, Kanewahineikiaoha. The man then returned to Kalonaikahailaau and told him that it was their daughter. When he heard this, he concluded his prayers and returned to the main house. When he met his daughter, he asked: “What is the object of my daughter’s journey in this dark night with the ghosts?” The daughter then told the father the object of the journey, saying: “I have come for a certain stroke of the war club, the one called Wahieloa, for my husband and myself, to take with us to Kauai and to use it fighting against Aikanaka.” At hearing this, Kalonaikahailaau chanted as follows:

Our stroke of the war club will never do for your husband. Your husband is a plover, his legs are slim; Your husband is a sandpiper, he runs here and there on the beach; When struck by a big wave he would fall over easily; Your husband is like the stalk of the banana, all he can do is to stand up. [28] Your husband is like a hala tree, it has long hanging roots. [29] Our stroke of the war club is fit only for your father, Who is large from top to bottom. The south wind may blow but he will not fall over. The moae wind may blow but he will not fall over. When the aalii [30] tree does fall it must be uprooted.

Kanewahineikiaoha then said: “All of what you have just said is heard by my husband; he will miss nothing.” The father replied: “What good ears he must have; he is in Kona and we are here in Koolau [31] and yet he hears everything. How wonderful!” The daughter said: “Nothing is hidden from the all powerful god of my husband, Kalanikilo. He has heard.” The father then again asked: “What other reason is there that has brought my daughter here in the dark with the ghosts of the midnight?” The daughter replied: “I have come for the bow and a few arrows used for rat shooting for myself and husband, for we are going to Kauai to fight Aikanaka.” On hearing this Kalonaikahailaau chanted as follows:

What a mistake my daughter has made In marrying a man who shoots rats. He shoots the rats and then gets the food belonging to others, Then gives it to me his father-in-law. He shoots the rats and gets the food belonging to others, Then gives it to you the wife to eat. He shoots the rats and gets the food belonging to others, For Kamalama the favorite younger brother. He shoots the rats and gets the food belonging to others, For Kakuhihewa the owner of the land on which he lives.

The daughter again replied: “All of what you have just said is heard by my husband; he will miss nothing.” The father said: “If the one conceived by me speaks of the matter, then and only then will he hear of it.” The father then again asked his daughter, being the third time: “What is it that has brought my daughter here?” The daughter replied: “I have come for the axe used for the hewing of canoes, for myself and husband to take with us to Kauai to fight Aikanaka.”

The father then chanted the following:

What a mistake my daughter has made In marrying a husband who hews out canoes. He hews out the canoe and leaves it in the forest, Then returns and takes the pig of the innocent And bakes it. What a mistake to have a hewer of canoes as a husband.

When the father concluded with his chant, Kanewahineikiaoha said: “All of what you have just said is heard by my husband, there is nothing hid from him.” The father said: “The only way that will make him know is for some one to be standing there outside listening, who will carry it to him.” When the father of Kanewahineikiaoha said this, Kamalama heard it, and he ran off to hide himself. As soon as he was out of sight, people went out of the house to make a search, but Kamalama was not found.

At dawn the next morning, Kamalama returned home, and, when he reached the top of Nuuanu pali, he looked down and saw Kanewahineikiaoha, her father, her brothers and the rest of the people coming up the road. Kamalama then turned and returned to Waikiki. On his arrival on this side of the Apuakehau stream, he was seen by Kawelo who then repeated the chant recited by his father-in-law in Koolau as follows:

Our stroke of the war club will never do for your husband. Your husband is a plover, his legs are slim; Your husband is a sandpiper, for he runs here and there on the beach; When struck by a big wave he would fall over easily. Your husband is like the stalk of a banana, all he can do is to stand up. Your husband is like a hala tree, it has long hanging roots. Our stroke of the war club is fit only for your father, Who is large from top to bottom. The south wind may blow, but he will not fall over. The moae wind may blow, but he will not fall over. The hoolua wind may blow, but he will not fall over. When I, the aalii tree of the windy place, do fall over I will overturn with the sod.

At the end of Kawelo’s chant, Kamalama said: “Shut up. Knowing that you can hear so well, yet you sent me to that friendless place.” “I am going in to have something to eat, for I am hungry,” continued Kamalama. As soon as he got into the house, he called out to their steward, Puikikaulehua: “Bring me some food and meat.” There were brought forty large potatoes and forty packages of baked pork. Kamalama then sat down and began his meal, and he ate until he was satisfied. Just as he finished his meal, his brother’s father-in-law and wife arrived. As soon as Kawelo saw them, he repeated the chant recited by his father-in-law in Koolau. At the close of the chant Kanewahineikiaoha said to her father: “There you are: I told you that my husband was bound to hear it, because he has an all powerful god, Kalanikilo.” The father replied: “Yes, I see and I am satisfied that your husband can hear all right. The talking was carried on in Koolau and he has heard it in Kona.” Kanewahineikiaoha then said to Kawelo: “Let us have something to eat first, and after that you can exercise with the war club.” Kawelo refused, and he spoke very strongly to his wife, saying: “The pig’s intestine will be full of dirt for it is to be killed.” By this reply made by Kawelo, his father-in-law became very angry and said to Kawelo that they take up the war club first as requested by Kawelo. He then ordered his son, Mauiakekai to stand up against Kawelo. When Kawelo heard this order issued by his father-in-law that some one else was to stand up against him, he replied in a chant as follows:

Let the teacher and the pupil Face each other outside.

By this Kawelo meant that he would much prefer his father-in-law, for his temper was now roused over what had been said of him. Because of this chant of Kawelo, Kalonaikahailaau was also very angry at Kawelo, which made him stand up with his war club, Wahieekaeka by name. The three then stood up on one side, while Kawelo stood up on his side. Kalonaikahailaau then raised his club as though to strike Kawelo on the side, while Kawelo brought up his war club from the ground striking Kalonaikahailaau on his side knocking him down and making his feet tremble. Kawelo then chanted as follows:

There you have felt of it; You are made unconscious by Kuikaa, By Hookaa, by Kaakua, by Kaaalo. [32] You will surely see the avenging club of Malailua, The club that will break your jaws, For then the avenging club will cease its work. Tomorrow you shall see The rooster that is fed of the sun, Till the crop fills with dirt And the feathers fall off Like a rooster that is hung up in the smoke [33] With its feathers burnt off. The conquering cock has made but one kick. They are scattered, they are scattered.

Kanewahineikiaoha after a while came and poured some water over Kalonaikahailaau which revived him. After the effects of the blow had disappeared, he said to Kawelo: “That is the way to use your club. You have nothing more to learn.”

Some little time after this, Kawelo sent Kanewahineikiaoha, Kamalama, Kalaumeki and Kauluiki, to go to Puuloa and ask of Kakuhihewa, who was king of Oahu at the time, for the use of a canoe. Upon the arrival of the messengers at Puuloa, Kakuhihewa asked of them: “What do you want?” Kanewahineikiaoha replied: “We have come for a double canoe for us.” Kakuhihewa again asked: “Canoe for what?” “A canoe for Kawelo to go to Kauai to fight Aikanaka.” When Kakuhihewa heard this, he ordered that a double canoe be given Kawelo; for Kakuhihewa even at this time was in fear of Kawelo, who at any time might rise up and overthrow his kingdom; he therefore furnished Kawelo with the means of removing him to Kauai where he would probably stay.

Upon receiving the double canoe, the messengers returned and landed at Waikiki, where preparations for the voyage were immediately begun, completed, and a start was made on that day. As they were about to start, Kou, a second wife of Kawelo’s, urged that she too be allowed to accompany them to Kauai, but Kawelo would not allow it. They then set sail from Waikiki and made their first landing at Waianae, where they built a temple for the gods of Kawelo. After the temple was completed, Kawelo gathered his gods together, they being Kaneikapualena and Kulanihehu. Kawelo then lifted up his gods and placed them on the altar in the temple and prayed as follows:

Say, Kaneikapualena, Arise and let us journey to Kauai Where we shall grow and live, live and grow.

At the close of the prayer, the chicken feathers on the forehead of the god fluttered; so he chanted:

Thou art my all powerful god From my ancestors. Say, Kulanihehu, arise! Let us journey to Kauai. This god is afraid, [34] My god who is without power From my ancestors.

Kawelo then took up his war club, Kuikaa, and chanted as follows:

There, you are made unconscious by Kuikaa, By Hookaa, by Kaakua, by Kaaalo. You will surely see the avenging club of Malailua, The club that will break your jaws, For then the avenging club will cease its work. Tomorrow you shall see The rooster that is fed of the sun, Till the crop fills with dirt And the feathers fall off Like a rooster that is hung up in the smoke With its feathers burnt off. The conquering cock has made but one kick. They are scattered, they are scattered.

At the close of this chant by Kawelo, that evening they set out from Waianae. As they reached a point in the channel of Kaieiewaho, between Kauai and Waianae, Kawelo’s love for Kou, the wife whom he left at Waikiki, began to well up within him, so he chanted as follows:

Farewell to thee, Kou; farewell, Kou. The love of Kou is within me, My companion of the windy days And the cold of Ahulu. The coconut trees at Pai are calling me back; They appear as raging fire to my eyes, Like the volcanic rocks at Kuamanuunuu. I am tempted to get them, to string them and to wear them, The akulikuli blossoms there at Huia, For they are calling me back there.

At the close of this chant Kamalama answered: “You know that you love your wife; why didn’t you remain? I could have made the trip against Aikanaka by myself.” By these words of Kamalama, Kawelo thought that Kamalama must be angry with him, so he chanted these words: “How could I tell that it was going to hurt your feelings?”

On this trip to Kauai, Keolewa [35] was seen above the clouds by Kawelo before the others, so he chanted:

Keolewa is there directly ahead of the canoe, Keolewa is there directly ahead of the canoe.

At this the uncles from Kauai, Kaweloikiakoo and his companion remarked: “You are deceiving us, Kawelo. Your parents and we two have traveled this ocean from evening till morn and noon, and Keolewa can only be seen as a bird in the sky.” Soon after this the dawn began to break, and Keolewa was then plainly seen by them all to windward, while the hill of Kalanipuu was also seen as though wading in the sea to meet them. When Kawelo’s uncles saw these different objects, they saw that Kawelo was right after all. At this time, they were directly off of Hanamaulu, so the two uncles said to Kawelo in a chant as follows:

Say, Kaweloleimakua, Let us land, let us land. Say, offspring from the cliffs of Puna, The eyes of Haloa are looking from above, My lord, my chief.

“Yes, what is it?” The uncles then said to Kawelo: “Let us land here, see your parents, your older brothers, cook some food and then proceed on to battle.”

Kawelo then chanted a reply as follows:

Say, little Kamalama, my younger brother, Point the bow of the canoe towards Wailua, Yes, towards Wailua.

When Kamalama heard the orders of Kawelo, he pointed the bow of the canoes toward Wailua. They then continued on to Wailua and anchored just below the village. Kawelo then chanted these lines regarding Kamalama:

Say, little Kamalama, my younger brother, Sit up on your heels, Gird on your loin cloth And partake of food and meat.

When Kamalama heard these words from Kawelo, he ordered those on the canoe to eat; so they all partook of food until they were satisfied.

While they were lying off Wailua, the people on the top of the Nounou hill saw them, so the people roused up Aikanaka and told him of the coming of a large double canoe. When Aikanaka saw the canoe, he immediately sent Kaehuikiawakea, his best runner, with the orders: “You go on down and inspect that double canoe. If it is a war canoe, let them come ashore and they can meet Kuahulu and Onionikaua, my chief officers, and they can make war on them. But if the people on the canoe are on a journey to see the land, let them come ashore, where they can meet Kuahulu and Onionikaua, who have food and meat, wearing kapas, loin cloths and house to stop in.”

Kaehuikiawakea then started off running until he arrived at the beach, then he plunged in and swam to the canoe. While he was swimming toward the canoe, he was seen by Kamalama, who chanted to Kawelo as follows:

Say, Kaweloleimakua, Let us land, let us land. The offspring from the cliffs of Puna, The eyes of Haloa are looking from above, My lord, my chief.

“What is it, what is it?” asked Kawelo. Kamalama replied: “Here is a man for an offering to our god. Here he is; he is about to come aboard.” Kawelo said: “Is our cousin, Kaehuikiawakea, then to be the person whom you think we ought to take and offer as a sacrifice to our god?”

As soon as Kaehuikiawakea reached the canoe, he climbed aboard and asked: “What are these canoes for?” Kamalama replied: “They are war canoes.” Kaehuikiawakea again inquired: “When you make war, who is your champion?” Kamalama replied: “I am.” The man then asked again: “Where is Kawelo?” “He is in Oahu.” The man again asked: “What is this large bundle on the platform?” “It contains our different things,” answered Kamalama.

Kaehuikiawakea then stood up and felt of the bundle with his feet and remarked about the size of the bundle. After a while, he again asked Kamalama: “How is the fight to begin?” Kamalama replied: “Let us first be allowed to come ashore, then you can lift our canoe ashore. After that we will go and take a bath, then come back and partake of some food; after we are satisfied we will then gird on our loin cloths more tightly and the fight shall then begin.”

Kaehuikiawakea consented to this and said to Kamalama: “We will not get out of breath for such as you, since Kawelo whose strength has been rumored to us has remained behind.” Soon after this, he again said to Kamalama boastingly: “You go back to Oahu; these are not the canoes with which to fight Kauai.”

You must have a large canoe, A small canoe, a long canoe And a short canoe Before you come and make war on Kauai.

While this conversation was being carried on between the two on the canoes, the people began to gather on the shore with the two champions, Kuahulu and Onionikaua. The number of men under these two were about eight hundred, not counting the women and children.

As soon as the canoes touched the beach, the Kauai men were anxious to begin the attack, but Kaehuikiawakea stopped them saying: “Don’t fight them now. Let us carry the canoes to the dry sand and then let these people go and have a bath, and when they return, let them partake of some food; when they are satisfied they can then gird on their loin cloths, then after that we can fight them.” [36] The men and the two officers agreed to this. The people then waded in and lifted up the canoe onto their shoulders, both on the inside and outside of the canoe with Kawelo, Kamalama as well as all the rest of the people still seated in the canoe. At this time Kawelo quietly asked Kamalama: “Where are we?” Kamalama answered: “We are over the dry sand where some of the prickly grass grows.” Kawelo then said to Kamalama: “You go to my feet.” Kamalama then proceeded to the feet of Kawelo, pulled the end of the rope which held the bundle, and Kawelo was loosened. Kawelo then rose with his war club, Kuikaa. When the people who were following along either side of the canoe saw Kawelo, they called out in a loud voice: “O, you will all be killed! Here is Kawelo standing in the canoe.” When those who were carrying the canoe on their shoulders heard this call, they looked onto the canoe and when they saw Kawelo, they dropped the canoe down, crushing a good many of the people, while some of them were so afraid of Kawelo they were unable to run. Kawelo then looked towards Wailua and saw that the sands were in disorder and were hollowed out in places, leaving little gulches here and there, with the rocks exposed. And when he saw the people like the bending of the surf, he chanted:

How numerous are the high surfs today below! The ocean is bathing in foam. Is it the sea of Kahinalii? [37] For the rocks are exposed and the sand is in hollows, And the rocks are in heaps in Wailua. The sands that once were level Are cut up and are in gulches; Cut up by the rocks of Kauai, Great Kauai, isle of lehua; [38] Land of death and lacking in love, Whose people are not the friends of Kawelo.

At the close of this chant, Kawelo paused awhile and then continued:

O thou owl, O thou owl! The owl that is wet by the rain, The owl that is hooting in the rain, You are hit by Kawelo, By the soldier of the noonday, The soldiers of the waters of Wailua, Of the path that leads to Kaupea Where you and I are made weary, Onionikaua. [39] The men are all at the sand point, They are found within Kuikaa, The kapued head of Kuikaa. Grind your teeth in rage, Grind your teeth in rage.

All the people who were not afraid of Kawelo that held their ground were killed by the use of his war club Kuikaa. As one side was killed by Kawelo, the canoe leaned over on that side; Kawelo then swung his club along the other side killing all the men there. In this slaughter, the two officers who were stationed at Wailua were also slain. Kawelo then sent Kamalama and his adopted sons, Kaeleha, Kalaumeki and Kauluiki and his companions, after the fleeing enemy.