CHAPTER IV.

The Fourth Battle, Between Kamapuaa and Pele.

Kamapuaa sailed for Hawaii and in due course of time landed in Puna; then he proceeded to Kilauea, where Pele [418] and her sisters and brothers were living. When Kamapuaa arrived at Kilauea he went and stood on a point of land called Akanikolea, looking down into the pit, a place kapued by Pele for her own use. It was on this point that Kamapuaa made his stand and looked down into the pit, where he saw the Hiiakas. They were Hiiaka, Hiiakaikapuaaneane and Hiiakaikapoliopele, the sisters of Pele, sitting there below on the floor of the pit of Kilauea stringing leis. When Kamapuaa saw them, he chanted these words:

On the heights of Puuonioni The company of women sat, On the heights of Wahinekapu On the peak of Kilauea. Where sat Papalauahi, For Pele throws her flames in Puna. For the lowlands at Malama are covered with sands, Keeping watch over them. Aloha.

When Kamapuaa was thus chanting Pele heard it all, but she pretended otherwise. She then rolled herself in a cloak made of mats and laid down by the edge of the fire. She knew all the time that it was Kamapuaa that was chanting up there on Akanikolea. Kamapuaa after a pause chanted again:

It is from Puna that I have come And I have seen the women gathering [419] noni, Scratching noni, Pounding noni, Marking with noni, [420] Kapunaiki the long man, It was a long way for him to travel, He was lame, He was stiff. Arise. My greetings to you.

Pele then made answer from the bottom of Halemaumau: “I would get up if you were a man; but being a hog I will not get up.” The reason why Pele made this reply was because Kamapuaa had teased her as the woman who was pounding noni. The real meaning being that Pele had red eyes. This was the real meaning of the chant of Kamapuaa.

After this chant Kamapuaa asked of his gods: “Say, didn’t she recognize me, for she said that I was a hog?” The gods replied: “Chant again.” Kamapuaa then chanted:

By Makalii [421] the leaves of Puna were made bitter, The waters went by above Kapapala. The heavy rains fell at Hilo, In Hilo and Puna the rains fell. O Pele, let us make our abode there, And string the lehua at Hopoe. [422] You shall string them, I shall wear them. Arise. My greetings to you.

The sisters of Pele, Hiiaka and the others, said to her: “Wake up, why keep on lying down, and look at that handsome man standing there on the heights of Akanikolea. Take a look at him, for you can tell on sight whether it is a big man, a small man, a long man, a short man, a good man or a sinful man.” Pele made reply: “That hog that you are mistaking for a man is not a man; that is Kamapuaa the hog grandson of Kamaunuaniho, the son of Kahikiula and Hina.” The sisters again said: “That handsome man standing there on Akanikolea, that you say is a hog? You are an adept in lying. We have seen hogs in the lowlands of Puna, having the body of a hog, feet of a hog, head of a hog, eyes of a hog, ears of a hog, snout of a hog and everything else that belongs to a hog; but nothing like that fellow with a human form standing there.” Pele replied: “That is a hog; that is not a human being which you see standing there on Akanikolea.”

Kamapuaa said to his gods: “Say, I believe I am recognized by those people.” The gods replied, trying to deceive him: “No, they have not recognized you.” Kamapuaa then again chanted:

You do not know that I am Kama. Perchance it is Kama of the mountains that you know, On the top of the mountain, In the forest, In the kindling wood, At the trunk of the tree. Perchance that is the Kama you know. [423]

Pele then replied: “I know you, for you have just come from Kahiki. You have fought Lonokaeho and have killed him, and Kowea became your father-in-law. You have lived with his daughter; you two have a child. When my fire reached out and pinched your eyes you left and came here. That is the reason you have come; to put my fire out and to fight me.” Pele then chanted:

Thou art indeed Kama The man of the high cliffs, Of the low lying cliffs, Of the steep cliffs, Of the cliffs of the rolling stones, Where the kalokalo [424] birds roam, Making it cold in the uplands of Kaliuwaa, For Hiwa is thine And thou art Kama The hog-son of Hina and her husband, The hog-grandson of Kamaunuaniho. Of your pen, Lelepa, Of your belly, a passenger belly, [425] Of the cord on your nose, Haleaha. [426] Thou art Kamapuaa, The buttocks that drop without effort, The nose that is pierced by a cord, The private that joins the belly, The tail that wags behind. Answer, Kama, to your name.

When Pele ended her chanting, Kamapuaa began to chant back a reply. It was by these chants back and forth that the two were led on to do battle.

Sore eyed, sore eyed number one, [427] Who go to the lowlands at Piheka. What food does she eat? That which has been left by the ghosts, The ghosts, the ghosts. Ghosts, are the chiefs of Kona, At Paieie, at Mokuhia, Who goes as far as Panaewa. It is warm, it is warm, It is the warmth that wakes one from sleep. You must wake up, why sleep so long? For the sun is at Ouli. The lowlands are black, are black, With the small fine rain of Hopoe. Strike her, let the woman fly To the lowlands of Makuakeke. Some of the gods are displeased, Some of the gods are deceiving. The swine-eating god has its nose corded. Pele is the goddess that eats swine. Pele grunts and groans. Say, Pele, keep on chiding! Say, Pele, keep on chiding!

THE BATTLE BEGINS.

With this chant of Kamapuaa Pele became furious and she ordered her sisters and brothers to start the fire. Pele next ordered her brothers that one of them climb above Kamapuaa, the one called Hiiakaluna and the other, Hiiakalalo, [428] to get under Kamapuaa. When the two were getting near Kamapuaa, in obedience to the command of Pele, Kamapuaa asked of his gods: “Who are these, coming?” “They are the brothers of Pele, Hiiakaluna and Hiiakalalo. If they ever come together we will be killed.” Upon hearing this reply from the gods, Kamapuaa sent his love making god, Lonoikiaweawealoha, to go and make love with the brothers of Pele. [429] When this god met the brothers of Pele he cunningly made love to them and they immediately forgot the orders of Pele. The two proceeded to the lowlands of Puna, in Malamanui, and lived there. When the brothers decided to do this Pele was aware of their action, so she ordered Lonomakua to start the fire. When Kamapuaa saw the fire burning, he chanted these words:

The fire by Lonomakua [430] Of the woman, Pele. It is burning in the uplands of Puna, By the white snow of Maunakea, The smoke darkens the heaven, Caused by the loud voiced woman [431] at Pohakea. [432] It meets there in the heaven, It is a goddess of many forms, Of changeable forms. The eyes are of Lono, Like unto me the body. Hawaii is coming for me, The prophet with many tears. The forehead of stones is falling, The sound of the round stones is heard. [433] The axe with the red binding is striking, [434] The cry of the birds is heard, The voice of many tears [435] of Hilo. Kilauea is consumed by fire, The sand takes on heat, It ignites and flies upward, By the devastation of the goddess. Puna is darkened by the bitter rain, [436] Stifling is the smoke from the pit, The strong offensive smoke of Pele. My greetings, woman of the pit.

Pele made reply: “Yes, that would have been all right, had you come in peace, then I would have treated you peaceably; but since you have come otherwise, it is only by strength that you can get Pele.” Pele then ordered Lonomakua to keep up with the fire; she also ordered the Hiiakas, the Kahoaliis, her uncles and all the gods to keep the fire going. Molten rocks then flew up to heaven; the heaven was as though in flames; the sun looked red and the sky was cloudless. The heat from the fire reached the breast of Kamapuaa and his whole body was encompassed by the fire of Pele; but Kamapuaa was surrounded by his gods, Kuliaikekaua and others, so he was protected and was not consumed by the fire of Pele. The sun was, however, darkened by the smoke of the woman, and Kilauea was entirely lost from view through the great heat; and this heat extended to the other islands of the group.

Therefore Pele thought that Kamapuaa must be dead, so she caused the fire to be put out, and the fire in Kilauea ceased burning; nothing remained but a few burning spots in the bottom of Halemaumau.

When at last Pele looked, there stood Kamapuaa on Akanikolea, still alive. Again Pele ordered that the fire be rekindled. As soon as Kamapuaa saw the fire was again burning, he called out for his sister, Keliiomakahanaloa, who came up in the form of a small cloud from the south, and when it was directly over the pit of Kilauea, a heavy rain fell which filled the pit until it overflowed, putting out the fire of Pele; and the only things that were saved were the fire making sticks. The hog forms of Kama [437] then descended into the pit of Kilauea until the whole place was overrun with hogs. Kamapuaa then changed himself into the form of a hog, opened wide its mouth, showing its tusks, and swallowed Halemaumau, taking in Pele, her sisters and brothers, and they were kept within his stomach until Pele and the others were almost dead. But when Lonoikiawewaealoha, the fickle god, the love making and unstable god, saw this he put compassion in the heart of Kamapuaa and his gods and Pele and the others were saved, otherwise Pele would have been killed. Shortly after this, Kamapuaa left Halemaumau, whereupon Pele ordered Lonomakua to again start the fire. Lonomakua then took up the two pieces of wood and began rubbing them together [438] and in time the fire was started and the kindling wood was put on, and after a while the pit of Kilauea was again filled. The fire came up until it reached Kamapuaa, who was standing on Akanikolea. He then called for his different supernatural bodies, such as the trees, olomea, hala, the uhaloa and amaumau, and these different things began to grow, shutting off the fire. This battle was maintained for some time, no one gaining a single advantage. After the battle had been maintained for some days Pele and Kamapuaa lived as husband and wife. During this union the two made a compact, dividing Hawaii into two parts; Pele taking three districts, Puna, Kau and Kona, the districts having the most lava rocks; while Kohala, Hamakua and Hilo went to Kamapuaa; these districts being the ones free of rocks. This ended the war between the two.