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Mo'ikeha and Kila
Drawing Below:
Landfall in Hawai'i, from Peter Buck's Vikings of the Pacific
Mo'ikeha was an ali'i
nui (high chief) from Moa'ulanuiakea, Tahiti, where he lived with
his wife Kapo. They had a child named La'amaikahiki.1
Mo'ikeha's Unhappy
Affair with Lu'ukia
When 'Olopana and
Lu'ukia arrived in Tahiti,2
Mo'ikeha became infatuated with Lu'ukia and soon after took her as
his lover. 'Olopana harbored no ill feeling toward Mo'ikeha; in
fact, he approved of his friend's affair with his wife. 'Olopana was
appointed the highest officer (kuhina nui) of the lands of Tahiti.
At about this time Mua
lusted after Lu'ukia, but she discouraged his approaches, even
though he pressed his suit with great vigor. When he saw that he was
rejected while Mo'ikeha received Lu'ukia's favors, he decided to
cause trouble between them and to persuade Lu'ukia to leave Mo'ikeha.
Mo'ikeha was very fond
of athletic sports and often joined games such as pahe'e (sliding or
skipping a wooden dart for distance) and 'olohu (rolling a stone
wheel for distance). At the fields where games were held, people
gathered to cheer the winners. Lu 'ukia often heard the commotion
and cheering. One day Mua happened to be with Lu'ukia when he heard
the cheering and said: "E Lu'ukia, do you hear the cheering at the
ali'i's games?"
Lu'ukia answered:
"Yes, I hear the cheering."
"I don't think the
cheering means well for you. No, Mo'ikeha is publicly defaming you."
Lu'ukia believed this
lie and grew angry at Mo'ikeha. She decided not to make love with
him anymore and ordered her attendants to bind up her private parts
(wahi huna) with cord to prevent him from reaching them. Lu'ukia was
corded from her waist down to mid-thighs, and the ends of the rope
were then hidden in this lashing so it couldn't be undone. This
lashing, called the "pa'u of Lu'ukia," is used to secure the covers
of water-gourds and also to lash together the parts of single- and
double-hulled canoes.
After Mo'ikeha had
enjoyed himself in the games, he returned home and met Lu'ukia.
Mo'ikeha suspected from Lu'ukia's face that something was wrong, so
he began to wonder why she was unhappy.
That night, while
preparing to sleep, Mo'ikeha was surprised to find Lu'ukia still
wearing her pa'u (skirt), which had not been her habit when they
were lovers. He didn't say anything, however. He bided his time,
intending to find out in good time the rea son for Lu'ukia's unusual
behavior. On the fourth night Lu'ukia still wore the pa'u to sleep.
The next night, Mo'ikeha unfastened the pa'u, and saw the lashing
over her private parts.
"Why are you bound up
like this?" Mo'ikeha asked.
Lu'ukia refused to
speak to him. From evening until midnight Mo'ikeha urged her to tell
him the reason for this lashing, but she remained silent. All
through the rest of the night Mo'ikeha pondered over this recent
change in Lu'ukia. He complained: "I don 't understand you. Here we
were living happily, and now you won't even speak to me. What have I
done to make you bind yourself up like this?"
There was no answer.
"Very well then, since
you no longer want me, I'll go to elsewhere."3
Voyage to Hawai'i
Mo'ikeha directed his
foster-son Kamahualele to make ready a double-hulled canoe. "Let's
go to Hawai'i," he said. "Here I'm tormented by my love for Lu'ukia;
when the ridge-pole of my house Lanikeha disappears below the
horizon, I'll no longer think of Ta hiti."
Kamahualele directed
the paddlers to get the double-hulled canoe ready. Mo'ikeha planned
to take his sisters, Makapu'u and Makaaoa, his two younger brothers,
Kumukahi and Ha'eha'e, his priest Mo'okini, and his prominent men (na
kanaka koikoi)--navigators (ho'okele), favorite priests (kahuna
punahele), and his lookouts (kiu nana), who would spy out land.
Early one morning at
dawn, at the rise of the navigation star (ka hoku ho'okelewa'a;
possibly Sirius), Mo'ikeha boarded his double-hulled canoe with his
fellow voyagers (hoa holo), and left Tahiti.
From the morning of
departure until sunrise when they first beheld Hilo all went well (holo
pono). Kamahualele stood up and celebrated their arrival in Hawai'i
with a mele:
Behold Hawai'i, an
island, a man
A man is Hawai'i
A man is Hawai'i
A child of Kahiki
A royal bud from Kapa'ahu
From Moa'ulanuiakea Kanaloa
A descendant of Kahiko and Kapulanakehau
Born of Papa,
The daughter of Kukalani'ehu and Kahakauakoko
Sprouts of land in a line
Placed alike to the East, to the West
Arranged evenly in a line
Joined to, joined from Holani
Kaialea, the seer, circumnavigated the islands
Left Nukuhiwa behind; landed on Borabora
Kahiko is the source of land
He divided and separated the islands
Severed the fish-line of Kaha'i
Cut by Ku-Kanaloa
Divided up was the lands, the islands
Cut by the sacred bamboo knife of Kanaloa
Of Haumea Manukahikele
Mo'ikeha is the chief who will live there
My chief shall dwell in Hawai'i
Life! Life! Set life free!
Long live the chief, the priest,
Long live the seer, the servant,
They shall dwell quietly in Hawai'i
The grandchildren will sing out on Kaua'i
Kaua'i, the island
Mo'ikeha, the chief.
Arrival in Hawai'i
After the canoe landed
at Hilo, Kumukahi and Ha'eha'e were charmed by the 'aina (land) and
told Mo'ikeha they wanted to remain there, so Mo'ikeha let them off
the canoe.
Soon after, Mo'ikeha
set sail from Hilo, passing along the north coast of Hawai'i until
he arrived at Kohala. Mo'okini and Kaluawilinau wanted to reside at
Kohala, so Mo'ikeha put them ashore there. He sailed on to the east
coast of Maui and landed at Han a. Honua'ula wanted to reside there,
so he was allowed to remain behind. Mo'ikeha sailed on. When he was
between Lana'i and Moloka'i, directly off of Kawela, Kamahualele
spied a fishing canoe outside Kala'au Point, so he steered
Mo'ikeha's canoe there. Ar riving at the fishing canoe, he found it
belonged to Kakakauhanui, who came there regularly.
When Mo'ikeha saw this
large, well-built man, who appeared powerful and fearless, Mo'ikeha
befriended him. Mo'ikeha told him: "I'm going to leave you here, but
when I find a place for us to live, I'll send someone to bring you
to me."
Mo'ikeha and his
people continued on their journey. Arriving at O'ahu, Mo'ikeha's
sisters Makapu'u and Makaaoa said: "We wish to reside here, where we
can see the cloud drifts of Tahiti."
So Makapu'u and
Makaaoa were allowed to remain on O'ahu, thus leaving Mo'ikeha, his
foster-son Kamahualele, the two padddlers Kapahi and Moanaikaiaiwe,
Kipunuiaiakamau and his companion, and the two lookouts,
Kaukaukamunolea and his companion, to continue on the journey.4
Marriage on Kaua'i
Mo'ikeha left O'ahu
and sailed to Kaua'i, landing at Wailua. It was dark by the time
they arrived, so they did not land, instead, mooring their canoe
offshore. Early the next morning the people saw this double-hulled
canoe floating offshore with the kapu sticks of a chief aboard. The
canoe was brought ashore and the travellers got off. Meanwhile the
locals were gathering in a crowd to go surf-riding at Ka-makaiwa.
Among them were the two daughters of the ali'i nui of Kaua'i,
Ho'oipoikamalanai and Hinauu.
Mo'ikeha and his
companions saw the crowd and followed along to take part in the
morning exercise. Mo'ikeha was a handsome man with dark reddish hair
and a tall, commanding figure.
When Ho'oipoikamalanai
and her sister saw Mo'ikeha, they immediately fell in love with him,
and they decided to take him for their husband. Mo'ikeha in the
meantime was also struck with the beauty and grace of the two
sisters, and he, too, fell in love wi th them and decided to take
one of them to be his wife. After enjoying the surf for a time,
Ho'oipoikamalanai and her sister returned home and told their father
about the new arrival and said: "We wish to take that young chief as
a husband for one of us." The father approved.
Orders were issued
that Mo'ikeha be brought to the house of the two ali'i women.
Mo'ikeha and his company were sent for and brought in the presence
of the king. The love of these young people being mutual,
Ho'oipoikamalanai and Hinauu took Mo'ikeha to be their husband.
Mo'ikeha became ali'i nui of Kaua'i after the death of his
father-in-law.
Mo'ikeha had five
children with Ho'oipoikamalanai and Hinauu, all boys. The following
is the genealogy of that generation: Mo'ikehaand Ho'oipoikamalanai
gave birth to Umalehu, Kaialea, and Kila; Mo'ikeha and Hinauu gave
birth to Kekaihawewe and Laukapalala.
In the genealogy from
which these names are taken, Mo'ikeha's descendants are given down
to the reign of Manookalanipo, who became the ancestor of the chiefs
of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. But none of those who know anything about
this genealogy can produce a dir ect line with any degree of
accuracy.5
Kila, the Chosen One
Mo'ikeha worked to
make his two wives and five children happy, giving his undivided
attention to the bringing up of his boys. He thought no more of
Lu'ukia, but after a while, he began to feel a yearning desire to
see his son La'amaikahiki, his child by h is first wife Kapo. So he
called his five sons together and said to them: "I'm thinking of
sending one of you boys to bring your elder brother to Hawai'i." His
boys became greatly excited, each one shouting: "Let me go! Let me
go!!"
When Mo'ikeha saw
there would be much contention among his sons, he devised a test to
determine who should be chosen to go to Tahiti.
He told his sons: "Let
each of you bring a ti-leaf canoe and sail it across the river, one
after another. The one whose canoe lands between my thighs shall be
the one to go and bring your brother here."
Then he took the boys
to the river in the order of their birth. He proceeded to the
opposite bank of the river and sat down at the edge of the water
facing the wind. Meanwhile the boys proceeded to a point right
across and upwind from their father. The oldest boy set his canoe
down in the water and aimed it toward the desired point, but it
missed the mark. The second boy set his canoe down in the water and
it, too, missed the mark. The third and fourth boys also took their
turns and they too failed to hit the mark. Then Kila, the youngest
son, took his canoe and set it down in the water and it sailed
directly to his father and passed between his thighs. When his
brothers saw that their youngest brother had won, they became very
angry and from then on they tried to devise some way of killing him.
Some time after this,
Kila's older brothers invited him to go and play at shooting arrows;
but their parents knew that the boys had no love for their youngest
brother, so their father did not allow Kila to join them. The older
brothers pretended to be kin d to Kila in every way possible, but
their father still refused to allow him to go.
At last, when it was
almost time for Kila to undertake his trip to Tahiti to bring
La'amaikahiki to Hawai'i, Mo'ikeha gave Kila permission to join his
older brothers: "My son, I'm not going to keep you away from your
brothers any longer. The journey you a re about to undertake may
take you away from them forever, so you may accompany them from now
until you leave. In the days following the kapu days of the temple,
you shall sail for Tahiti."
Kila replied: "You
must not permit me to accompany my brothers for I might get killed.
I think you ought to provide them with a god so that they will fear
the god and in that way they will be prevented from killing me. Then
I think it will be safe for me to accompany my brothers."
Mo'ikeha saw the boy's
good judgment in the matter. He called his sons together and told
them that they must now have a god. The boys would not consent to
this. At this Mo'ikeha approved of Kila's discretion and refused to
allow the youngest to accompany his brothers on their excursions.6
Kila's Voyage to
Tahiti
Shortly after this
Mo'ikeha proceeded to get everything ready for Kila's voyage to
Tahiti. Then Mo'ikeha advised him as follows: "When you sail from
here, go by way of O'ahu and call on your aunts; they are living on
the windward side of O'ahu, facing Mol oka'i. When you call on them,
they will recognize you."
After these words of
advice, Mo'ikeha picked out the men who were to accompany Kila on
this voyage. Kamahualele, Mo'ikeha's foster-son, was appointed as
his travelling companion (hoa hele). Kapahi and Moanaikaiaiwa were
selected as the paddlers (hoewa'a). Kipunuiaiakamau and his
companion were selected as navigators (ho'okele) and steermen (kipu,
lit. to hold back a canoe with a paddle). In case the canoe was in
danger of running aground, Kamahualele would call out: "Kipunuiaiakamau,
hold on!" Then he and his companion would hold back water and the
canoe would come to a stop. (Thus,these two men were named
Kipunui-aiakamau.) Kaukaukamunolea and his companion were selected
as pilots (kiu, lit. "to scout or spy out").
When Kila was about
ready to set sail, two Kaua'i people said they wanted to go with
himÑHooholoku and his companion. And upon the expressed wish of
Kamahualele, Kila took Kuaiwilu and Kauineno, making ten in this
company, with Kila and Kamahualele the to tal was twelve.
When the men were
ready, Mo'ikeha ordered the kahuna kilokilo (who studied the signs
in the heavens) to see if his son's journey would be safe. After
reading the signs they announced that the journey would be safe. The
kahuna Wanahili was selected as the thirteenth crew member.
At the dawn of the day
the kahuna had designated for departure, just at the rising of the
navigation star (hoku-ho'okele-wa'a, possibly Sirius), Kila set sail
for O'ahu. Arriving off the shore of windward O'ahu where his aunts
were living, he hove to in h is canoe and called out: "My greetings
to you, Makapu'u and Makaaoa."
Makapu'u and Makaaoa
replied, "Who are you?"
"I am Kila of the
uplands, Kila of the lowlands, Kila-pa-Wahineikamalanai. I am the
offspring of Mo'ikeha."
"Is Mo'ikeha still
alive then?"
"He is still alive."
"What is he doing?"
"Dwelling in ease on
Kaua'i, the sun rising and setting; the surf of Makaiwa breaking
unevenly; the kukui blossoms of Puna changing; the waters of Wailua
spreading out. He will live and die on Kaua'i."
"What brings you
here?"
"I am searching for a
chief."
"What chief?"
"La'amaikahiki."
Then Kila left O'ahu
and sailed for Kala'au Point where Mo'ikeha's friend Kakakauhanui
was living. Kila again called out as he did to his aunts. Kila
visited all the people left by Mo'ikeha, from O'ahu to Hawai'i, then
proceeded to Tahiti.
The crew first landed
at Moa'ulanuiakea-iki where Kupohihi was living, a human rat [a
member of the rat clan], one of Mo'ikeha's uncles.
They called at
Kupohihi's because they were out of food. Kila called out to his
granduncle in the same manner as when he called on his aunts, and
the crew was supplied with food.
Arrival in Tahiti
Arriving in Tahiti,
they saw Lanikeha, the royal house (hale ali'i) of Mo'ikeha. After
staying there for a few days, they again set sail for
Moa'ulanuiakea-nui and landed on the beach. Kila and Kamahualele set
out to call on Lu'ukia. When Kila arrived at Lu'ukia's residence, he
called out: "My greetings to you, Lu'ukia."
"Who are you?"
"I am Kila of the
uplands, Kila of the lowlands, Kila-pa-Wahineikamalanai. I am the
offspring of Mo'ikeha."
"Is Mo'ikeha still
alive then?"
"He is still alive."
"What is he doing?"
"Dwelling in ease on
Kaua'i, the sun rising and setting; the surf of Makaiwa breaking
unevenly; the kukui blossoms of Puna changing; the waters of Wailua
spreading out. He will live and die on Kaua'i."
"What brings you
here?"
"I am searching for a
chief."
"What chief?"
"La'amaikahiki."
"Your brother is
hidden on the mountain of Kapa'ahu; we haven't seen him." v After
this conversation with Lu'ukia, Kila retired to Lanikeha, Mo'ikeha's
residence at Moa'ulanuiakea. Later Kamahualele and Kila looked for
La'amaikahiki for many, many days, but couldn't find him. He had
been hidden. Finally, Kila gave up and rested.
On the day before the
kapu nights, Kila told Kamahualele. "You had better get our
double-hulled canoe ready for our return voyage. I've decided to
give up the search. Let's go back and tell Mo'ikeha we couldn't find
La'amaikahiki. Perhaps Mo'ikeha will se nd someone else to continue
the search."
Kamahualele proceeded
to carry out Kila's orders, but he was not willing to give up the
search. He thought it over and went to find Kuhelepolani, an aged
kahuna of 'Olopana. He brought her to Kila and said to him: "Let's
delay our voyage home for a while to see if this old woman can find
the chief for us. She is a kahuna to 'Olopana. Perhaps she can
direct us to your brother's secret residence."
Kila was gladdened by
the prospects of finding his brother, but he was a stranger to such
matters and asked Kamahualele: "What is a kahuna? What can she do?"
Kamahualele described the character and rites of the priestess. Then
Kila insisted that the kahun a help him perform the rites that would
allow him to see La'amaikahiki.
Since Kila was so
anxious to find his brother, Kuhelepolani explained to him what he
should do. "After tomorrow, you will find La'amaikahiki on the
mountain of Kapa'ahu. When we hear the beating of the drum Hawea,
the drum which belongs to your father, Mo 'ikeha, you must place a
human sacrifice on the altar at Lanikeha, your father's heiau; then
you will be able to see your brother. The drumbeat is a signal for
sacrifice during the kapu nights. Tomorrow night is the night of the
strictest kapu (kapu loa), and it has always been so from your
father's time."
On the evening of the
following day, the drum of La'amaikahiki was heard. Hearing the
drum, Kamahualele was ordered to find a person for the sacrifice and
to place the corpse on the altar according to the instructions of
the aged priestess. During this ni ght, when the drum was heard,
Kuhelepolani came to Kila and asked him: "Did you hear the drum? The
time has come when you will see your brother. Follow me wherever I
go."
All that night and the
next day Kila followed the aged kahuna. At evening, when they
arrived near the place where La'amaikahiki was living, Kuhelepolani
told him: "Let us remain here until we hear the drum again. Then you
will enter into the mua (the hous e where people worship within the
temple). When we get to the door of the mua, go in and conceal
yourself in one of the corners; remain in your hiding place until
your brother enters the house. Then be watchful; the one who
approaches and strikes the drum is La'amaikahiki; after the priests
line up and begin the prayer service (ka'i ka 'aha), call out to
him."
Kila and Kuhelepolani
remained where they were until they heard the beating of the drum.
That evening, after the sun had set, they approached the door of the
mua and Kila went in and hid himself. When he entered the mua,
Kuhelepolani rose and walked away, as it was the law (kanawai) that
women were forbidden to join the priests at the kapu houses. Not
very long after Kila had entered the mua, La'amaikahiki came in and
went and stood before the drum, where he remained awaiting the
arrival of the priests. S hortly thereafter the priests entered. One
of them offered a blessing (pule), after which they prepared to
begin the prayer service.
At this moment Kila
came forth and called out: "My greetings to you, La'amaikahiki."
La'amaikahiki. "Who
are you?"
"Who are you?"
"I am Kila of the
uplands, Kila of the lowlands, Kila-pa-Wahineikamalanai. I am the
offspring of Mo'ikeha."
"Is Mo'ikeha still
alive then?"
"He is still alive."
"What is he doing?"
"Dwelling in ease on
Kaua'i, the sun rising and setting; the surf of Makaiwa breaking
unevenly; the kukui blossoms of Puna changing; the waters of Wailua
spreading out. He will live and die on Kaua'i."
"What brings you
here?"
"I've been sent by our
father to come and take you to him as he is very anxious to see all
his children together. I've been looking for you since my arrival
here, but I was unable to find you; just as I was about to give up
the search and return to Hawai' i, an old woman came to me and told
me how to find you."
La'amaikahiki
immediately prepared to accompany his brother to Hawai'i, as
Mo'ikeha wished. La'amaikahiki took his priests and his god
Lonoikaoualii, and set sail for Hawai'i with the men who had come
with Kila. When they were approaching Kaua'i, La'amaik ahiki began
beating his drum. Mo'ikeha heard his drum and ordered everything,
the land as well as the house, to be made ready for the reception of
the chief La'amaikahiki. Upon the arrival of La'amaikahiki and Kila,
the high priest of Kaua'i, Poloahilani took La'amaikahiki and his
god Lonoika'ouali'i ("Lono at the Chiefly Supremacy") to the heiau.
It is said that La'amaikahiki was the first person to bring a god (akua)
to Hawai'i.
La'amaikahiki lived on
Kaua'i for a time. Then he moved over to Kahiki-nui on Maui. This
place was named for La'amaikahiki's homeland, in honor of him. As
the place was too windy, however, La'amaikahiki left for the west
coast of the island of Kaho'olawe, where he lived until he finally
returned to Tahiti. Because La'amaikahiki lived on Kah'oolawe and
set sail for home from that island, the ocean to the west of
Kaho'olawe is called Kealaikahiki, "The Road to Tahiti."
After the death of
Mo'ikeha, his corpse was taken to the cliffs of Ha'ena where it was
deposited. Soon after this Kila assumed the chiefdomship in place of
Mo'ikeha, according to the wishes of his late father, his mother and
aunt, and his mother's father.7
NOTES
This version of the
Mo'ikeha story is from Fornander, Vol. IV, pp. 112-128; the story of
La'amaikahiki is found on pp. 152-154 of the same volume. Other
versions of the Mo'ikeha-Kila-La'amaikahiki story are found in
Kamakau's Tales and Traditions (105-11 0) and Kalakaua's Legends and
Myths of Hawaii ("The Triple Marriage of Laa-mai-kahiki," 117-135).
1. For a
discussion of the location of Mo'ikeha's homeland in Tahiti, see
Rubellite Kawena Johnson's "From the Gills of the Fish: The Tahitian
Homeland of Hawaii's Chief Mo'ikeha" in Pacific Studies, Vol. 3, No.
1, 1979, pp. 51-79. Johnson points out that Fornander favored the
island of Ra'iatea as the homeland, while Teuira Henry favored the
island of Tahiti-nui. Based on an analysis of Tahitian and Hawaiian
place names, Johnson argues for Tahiti-nui as Mo'ikeha's homeland,
though "not greater Tahiti-nui as [Henry] suggestsÉbut its peninsula
to the south" (51).
2.
According to one tradition,'Olopana and Lu'ukia left Waipi'o after a
flood (Beckwith 353); See note 3 below: Kalakaua says 'Olopana
migrated to Tahiti after a hurricane and flood devastated Waipi'o. A
flood as a cause of a migration is found also in t he Easter Island
tradition of Hotu Matua; though the flood in that tradition seems to
refer to the rising of the sea level (Barthel 10).
3.
According to another mo'olelo reported by Kamakau, both Mo'ikeha and
'Olopana belonged to Tahiti. Mo'ikeha left Kahiki and came to
Hawai'i because he had "opened the food-offering calabash of his
older brother 'Olopana and had been caught undoing the c hastity
belt of 'Olopana's wife Lu'ukia, the 'aha, or sennit cord, binding
called Lu'u-a-na-ko'a-i-ka-moana. He was severely criticized and so
he went off to sea" (Kamakau 105).
In the Kalakaua
version, both 'Olopana and Mo'ikeha belonged to Hawai'i. They were
grandsons of Maweke, a native chief of the Nanaula line and ali'i
nui of O'ahu. Maweke had three sonsÑthe eldest, Mulieali'i, became
ali'i nui of the western side of O'ahu; Kalehenui was given land in
Ko'olau; Keaunui resided in 'Ewa. Mulieali'i had three
sonsÑKumuhonua, who became ali'i nui of O'ahu, and 'Olopana and
Mo'ikeha, who were given small holdings. The two younger brothers
were dissatisfied with their lots on O'ah u and settled in Waipi'o
on the Big Island. 'Olopana married Lu'ukia, a granddaughter of
Hikapaloa, ali'i of Kohala. Mo'ikeha did not marry while living in
Waipi'o; he adopted a son, La'a, a son of Ahukai and a descendent of
Paumakua, the famous voyaging chief of east O'ahu, who "visited all
foreign lands then known to the Hawaiians" (119).
In the Kalakaua
version, 'Olopana and Mo'ikeha left Hawai'i in five canoes after a
hurricane and floods devastated Waipi'o. He and his brother sailed
south and landed on Ra'iatea, where they took possession of the
land. 'Olopana became the ruler and Mo'ik eha his chief adviser.
Mo'ikeha's house and heiau were called Lanikeha ("heavenly resting
place"Ñpossibly a variant of Laniakea, the Hawaiian form of the name
Ra'iatea?). Mo'ikeha left Ra'iatea to return to Hawai'i after his
brother became jealous of his growing prosperity and popularity. A
native ali'i named Mua, with ambitions of replacing Mo'ikeha as
chief adviser, fueled 'Olopana's jealousy.
4. Some of
the names of Mo'ikeha's crew have survived as place names on the
islands where they settled: Kumukahi is the easternmost point of
Hawai'i; Ha'eha'e is a land division near Kumukahi. Honua'ula is a
district of south-central Maui; Makapu'u is the easternmost point of
O'ahu.
Kamakau gives the
following list of people let off the canoe as it sailed through the
Hawaiian Islands from east to west: Moa'ula, who remained at
Punalu'u, Hawai'i; Paha'a and Pana'ewa, who remained at Lahaina,
Maui; La'amaomao, who remained at Haleolono, Kaulako'i, Moloka'i;
Poka'i and Mo'eke, who remained at Wai'anae, O'ahu.
Kalakaua records that
Mo'ikeha sailed from the harbor of Opoa on Ra'iatea. The
double-hulled canoe was nearly a hundred feet long and the crew was
over forty. It included the prophet, poet, and astrologer
Kamahualele; the priest Mo'okini; and La'amaomao, the director of
the winds.
After an apparently
uneventful 2500 miles voyage, Mo'ikeha arrived at Ka'u, where a
joyous crowd greeted the canoe and water and provisions were
replenished. The canoe then proceeded to Cape Kumukahi and Kohala on
Hawai'i, where it was welcomed by the ali'i nui Kaniuhi; then to
Honua'ula on Maui. Mo'ikeha was warned by his priest and seer
against going to 'Ewa to visit his father Mulieleali'i, so he sailed
north around O'ahu, stopping only at Makapu'u and Makaaoa. He landed
on Kaua'i, near Kapa'a.
5.
Kamakau's Version of Mo'ikeha's Marriage: Mo'ikeha married one woman
whose name was both Ho'oipoikamalanai and Hina-'au-lua. Mo'ikeha's
three children were Ho'omali'i, named for the skin of 'Olopana;
Haulani-nui-ai-akea for the eyes of 'Olopana; and Kila, for Lu'ukia,
the wife of 'Olopana.
Kalakaua's Version of
Mo'ikeha's Marriage: Mo'ikeha married Ho'oipo after winning the
right to do so in a canoe race devised by Puna, the ali'i of Wailua
and the father of Ho'oipo. Puna sent a servant with a palaoa (a
carved and consecrated whale-tooth) to the island of Ka'ula (SW of
Kaua'i). Nine suitors raced to the island to be the first to bring
the whale-tooth back. Mo'ikeha won the race by sailing to Ka'ula
with the help of La'amaomao, his director of winds, who had a
calabash that contained all the winds of Hawai'i, which he could
call forth by chanting their names. In this version, Mo'ikeha had
seven sons with Ho'oipo; the third was called Kila.
6. Neither
Kamakau nor Kalakaua mention the rivalry of the brothers or the test
of the ti-leaf canoes, which is the central incident in the
Fornander version. A test involving toy canoes is a motif in
Polynesian voyaging traditions. The story of Tafa'i includes a
version of this test: the young voyaging hero Tafa'i made a twig
canoe that beat the twig canoes of the other boys to shore.
7. The
Fornander version of Mo'ikeha continues on with the story of Kila
(Vol. IV, 128-152) before telling the story of La'amaikahiki's
second visit to Hawai'i.
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