Hawaiian Folk Tales: KAHALAOPUNA, PRINCESS OF MANOA

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by legends, myths, fables and folk tales. I found this book of Hawaiian Folk Tales and I'm excited to share with you some of the Native Legends of Hawaii.

KAHALAOPUNA, PRINCESS OF MANOA

Akaaka (laughter) is a projecting spur of the mountain range at the
head of Manoa Valley, forming the ridge running back to and above
Waiakeakua, "the water of the gods." Akaaka was united in marriage
to Nalehuaakaaka, still represented by some lehua (_Metrosideros
polymorpha_) bushes on the very brow of the spur or ridge. They had
two children, twins, Kahaukani, a boy, and Kauakuahine, a girl. These
children were adopted at birth by a chief, Kolowahi, and chieftainess,
Pohakukala, who were brother and sister, and cousins of Akaaka. The
brother took charge of the boy, Kahaukani, a synonyme for the Manoa
wind; and Pohakukala the girl, Kauakuahine, meaning the famous
Manoa rain. When the children were grown up, the foster parents
determined that they should be united; and the children, having been
brought up separately and in ignorance of their relationship, made
no objections. They were accordingly married and a girl was born
to them, who was called Kahalaopuna. Thus Kolowahi and Pohakukala,
by conspiring to unite the twin brother and sister, made permanent
the union of rain and wind for which Manoa Valley is noted; and the
fruit of such a union was the most beautiful woman of her time. So
the Manoa girls, foster children of the Manoa rains and winds, have
generally been supposed to have inherited the beauty of Kahalaopuna.

A house was built for Kahalaopuna at Kahaiamano on the road to
Waiakekua, where she lived with a few attendants. The house was
surrounded by a fence of auki (_dracæna_), and a _puloulou_ (sign of
kapu) was placed on each side of the gate, indicative of forbidden
ground. The puloulou were short, stout poles, each surmounted
by a ball of white kapa cloth, and indicated that the person or
persons inhabiting the premises so defined were of the highest rank,
and sacred.

Kahalaopuna was very beautiful from her earliest childhood. Her cheeks
were so red and her face so bright that a glow emanated therefrom
which shone through the thatch of her house when she was in; a rosy
light seemed to envelop the house, and bright rays seemed to play over
it constantly. When she went to bathe in the spring below her house,
the rays of light surrounded her like a halo. The natives maintain
that this bright light is still occasionally seen at Kahaiamano,
indicating that the spirit of Kahalaopuna is revisiting her old home.

She was betrothed in childhood to Kauhi, the young chief of Kailua, in
Koolau, whose parents were so sensible of the honor of the contemplated
union of their son with the Princess of Manoa, who was deemed of a
semi-supernatural descent, that they always sent the poi of Kailua and
the fish of Kawainui for the girl's table. She was thus, as it were,
brought up entirely on the food of her prospective husband.

When she was grown to young womanhood, she was so exquisitely beautiful
that the people of the valley would make visits to the outer puloulou
at the sacred precinct of Luaalea, the land adjoining Kahaiamano, just
to get a glimpse of the beauty as she went to and from the spring. In
this way the fame of her surpassing loveliness was spread all over
the valley, and came to the ears of two men, Kumauna and Keawaa,
both of whom were disfigured by a contraction of the lower eyelids,
and were known as _makahelei_ (drawn eyes). Neither of these men had
ever seen Kahalaopuna, but they fell in love with her from hear-say,
and not daring to present themselves to her as suitors on account
of their disfigurement, they would weave and deck themselves _leis_
(wreaths) of maile (_Alyxia olivæformis_), ginger, and ferns and go to
Waikiki for surf-bathing. While there they would indulge in boasting
of their conquest of the famous beauty, representing the leis with
which they were decked as love-gifts from Kahalaopuna. Now, when
the surf of Kalehuawehe at Waikiki was in proper condition, it would
attract people from all parts of the island to enjoy the delightful
sport. Kauhi, the betrothed of Kahalaopuna, was one of these. The
time set for his marriage to Kahalaopuna was drawing near, and as
yet he had not seen her, when the assertions of the two makahelei
men came to his ears. These were repeated so frequently that Kauhi
finally came to believe them, and they so filled him with jealous
rage of his betrothed that he determined to kill her. He started for
Manoa at dawn, and proceeded as far as Mahinauli, in mid-valley,
where he rested under a hala (_Pandanus odoratissimus_) tree that
grew in the grove of wiliwili (_Erythrina monosperma_). He sat there
some time, brooding over the fancied injury to himself, and nursing
his wrath. Upon resuming his walk he broke off and carried along with
him a bunch of hala nuts. It was quite noon when he reached Kahaiamano
and presented himself before the house of Kahalaopuna. The latter had
just awakened from a sleep, and was lying on a pile of mats facing
the door, thinking of going to the spring, her usual bathing-place,
when she perceived a stranger at the door.

She looked at him some time and, recognizing him from oft repeated
descriptions, asked him to enter; but Kauhi refused, and asked her
to come outside. The young girl had been so accustomed from early
childhood to consider herself as belonging to Kauhi, and of being
indebted to him, as it were, for her daily food, that she obeyed
him unhesitatingly.

He perhaps intended to kill her then, but the girl's unhesitating
obedience as well as her extreme loveliness made him hesitate for a
while; and after looking intently at her for some time he told her
to go and bathe and then prepare herself to accompany him in a ramble
about the woods.

While Kahalaopuna was bathing, Kauhi remained moodily seated where
she had left him, and watched the bright glow, like rainbow rays,
playing above the spring. He was alternately filled with jealousy,
regret, and longing for the great beauty of the girl; but that did
not make him relent in his dreadful purpose. He seemed to resent his
betrothed's supposed infidelity the more because she had thrown herself
away on such unworthy persons, who were, besides, ugly and disfigured,
while he, Kauhi, was not only a person of rank and distinction,
but possessed also of considerable manly beauty.

When she was ready he motioned her to follow him, and turned to go
without a word. They went across Kumakaha to Hualea, when the girl
said, "Why don't you stay and have something to eat before we go?"

He answered rather surlily, "I don't care to eat; I have no appetite."

He looked so sternly at her as he said this that she cried out to him,
"Are you annoyed with me? Have I displeased you in any way?"

He only said, "Why, what have you done that would displease me?"

He kept on his way, she following, till they came to a large stone
in Aihualama, when he turned abruptly and, facing the young girl,
looked at her with an expression of mingled longing and hate. At last,
with a deep sigh, he said, "You are beautiful, my betrothed, but,
as you have been false, you must die."

The young girl looked up in surprise at these strange words, but
saw only hatred and a deadly purpose in Kauhi's eyes; so she said:
"If I have to die, why did you not kill me at home, so that my people
could have buried my bones; but you brought me to the wild woods,
and who will bury me? If you think I have been false to you, why not
seek proof before believing it?"

But Kauhi would not listen to her appeal. Perhaps it only served to
remind him of what he considered was his great loss. He struck her
across the temple with the heavy bunch of hala nuts he had broken
off at Mahinauli, and which he had been holding all the time. The
blow killed the girl instantly, and Kauhi hastily dug a hole under
the side of the rock and buried her; then he started down the valley
toward Waikiki.

As soon as he was gone, a large owl, who was a god, and a relative
of Kahalaopuna, and had followed her from home, immediately set to
digging the body out; which done, it brushed the dirt carefully off
with its wings and, breathing into the girl's nostrils, restored her to
life. It rubbed its face against the bruise on the temple, and healed
it immediately. Kauhi had not advanced very far on his way when he
heard the voice of Kahalaopuna singing a lament for his unkindness,
and beseeching him to believe her, or, at least, prove his accusation.

Hearing her voice, Kauhi returned, and, seeing the owl flying above
her, recognized the means of her resurrection; and, going up to the
girl, ordered her to follow him. They went up the side of the ridge
which divides Manoa Valley from Nuuanu. It was hard work for the
tenderly nurtured maiden to climb the steep mountain ridge, at one
time through a thorny tangle of underbrush, and at another clinging
against the bare face of the rocks, holding on to swinging vines for
support. Kauhi never offered to assist her, but kept on ahead, only
looking back occasionally to see that she followed. When they arrived
at the summit of the divide she was all scratched and bruised, and
her _pa-u_ (skirt) in tatters. Seating herself on a stone to regain
her breath, she asked Kauhi where they were going. He never answered,
but struck her again with the hala branch, killing her instantly,
as before. He then dug a hole near where she lay, and buried her, and
started for Waikiki by way of the Kakea ridge. He was no sooner out
of sight than the owl again scratched the dirt away and restored the
girl, as before. Again she followed and sang a song of love and regret
for her lover's anger, and pleaded with him to lay aside his unjust
suspicions. On hearing her voice again, Kauhi returned and ordered
her to follow him. They descended into Nuuanu Valley, at Kaniakapupu,
and crossed over to Waolani ridge, where he again killed and buried
the faithful girl, who was again restored by the owl. When he was
on his way back, as before, she sang a song, describing the perils
and difficulties of the way traversed by them, and ended by pleading
for pardon for the unknown fault. The wretched man, on hearing her
voice again, was very angry; and his repeated acts of cruelty and
the suffering endured by the girl, far from softening his heart,
only served to render him more brutal, and to extinguish what little
spark of kindly feeling he might have had originally. His only thought
was to kill her for good, and thus obtain some satisfaction for his
wasted poi and fish. He returned to her and ordered her, as before,
to follow him, and started for Kilohana, at the head of Kalihi Valley,
where he again killed her. She was again restored by the owl, and made
her resurrection known by singing to her cruel lover. He this time
took her across gulches, ravines, and plains, until they arrived at
Pohakea, on the Ewa slope of the Kaala Mountains, where he killed her
and buried her under a large _koa_ (_Acacia koa_). The faithful owl
tried to scrape the dirt away, so as to get at the body of the girl,
but his claws became entangled in the numerous roots and rootlets which
Kauhi had been careful not to cut away. The more the owl scratched,
the more deeply tangled he got, and, finally, with bruised claws and
ruffled feathers, he had to give up the idea of rescuing the girl;
and perhaps he thought it useless, as she would be sure to make her
resurrection known to Kauhi. So the owl left, and followed Kauhi on
his return to Waikiki.

There had been another witness to Kauhi's cruelties, and that was
Elepaio (_Chasiempis sandwichensis_), a little green bird, a cousin to
Kahalaopuna. As soon as this bird saw that the owl had deserted the
body of Kahalaopuna, it flew straight to Kahaukani and Kauakuahine,
and told them of all that had happened. The girl had been missed, but,
as some of the servants had recognized Kauhi, and had seen them leave
together for what they supposed was a ramble in the adjoining woods,
no great anxiety had been felt, as yet. But when the little bird told
his tale, there was great consternation, and even positive disbelief;
for, how could any one in his senses, they argued, be guilty of such
cruelty to such a lovely, innocent being, and one, too, belonging
entirely to himself.

In the meantime, the spirit of the murdered girl discovered itself
to a party who were passing by; and one of them, a young man, moved
with compassion, went to the tree indicated by the spirit, and,
removing the dirt and roots, found the body, still warm. He wrapped
it in his _kihei_ (shoulder scarf), and then covered it entirely with
maile, ferns, and ginger, and, making a _haawe_, or back-load, of it,
carried it to his home at Kamoiliili. There, he submitted the body
to his elder brother, who called upon two spirit sisters of theirs,
with whose aid they finally succeeded in restoring it to life. In the
course of the treatment she was frequently taken to an underground
water-cave, called Mauoki, for the _Kakelekele_ (hydropathic cure). The
water-cave has ever since been known as the "Water of Kahalaopuna."

The young man who had rescued her from the grave naturally wanted
her to become his bride; but the girl refused, saying that as long
as Kauhi lived she was his, and none other's, as her very body was,
as it were, nourished on his food, and was as much his property as
the food had been.

The elder brother then counselled the younger to seek, in some way,
the death of Kauhi. To this end they conspired with the parents of
Kahalaopuna to keep her last resurrection secret. The young man then
set to work to learn all the meles Kahalaopuna had sung to her lover
during that fatal journey. When he knew these songs well, he sought
the _kilu_ (play, or game) houses of the King and high chiefs, where
Kauhi was sure to be found.

One day, when Kauhi was playing, this young man placed himself on the
opposite side, and as Kauhi ceased, took up the kilu and chanted the
first of Kahalaopuna's meles.

Kauhi was very much surprised, and contrary to the etiquette of the
game of kilu, stopped him in his play to ask him where he had learned
that song. The young man answered he had learned it from Kahalaopuna,
the famous Manoa beauty, who was a friend of his sister's and who was
now on a visit at their house. Kauhi, knowing the owl had deserted the
body of the girl, felt certain that she was really dead, and accused
the other of telling a lie. This led to an angry and stormy scene,
when the antagonists were parted by orders of the King.

The next night found them both at the kilu house, when the second
of Kahalaopuna's songs was sung, and another angry discussion took
place. Again they were separated by others. On the third night,
the third song having been sung, the dispute between the young men
became so violent that Kauhi told the young man that the Kahalaopuna
he knew must be an impostor, as the real person of that name was dead,
to his certain knowledge. He dared him to produce the young woman whom
he had been representing as Kahalaopuna; and should she not prove to
be the genuine one then his life should be the forfeit, and on the
other hand, if it should be the real one, then he, Kauhi, should be
declared the liar and pay for his insults to the other with his life.

This was just what the young man had been scheming to compass, and
he quickly assented to the challenge, calling on the King and chiefs
to take notice of the terms of agreement, and to see that they were
enforced.

On the appointed day Kahalaopuna went to Waikiki, attended by her
parents, relatives, servants, and the two spirit sisters, who had
assumed human form for that day so as to accompany their friend and
advise her in case of necessity. Akaaka, the grandfather, who had been
residing in Waikiki some little time previous to the dispute between
the young men, was appointed one of the judges at the approaching
trial.

Kauhi had consulted the priests and sorcerers of his family as to
the possibility of the murdered girl having assumed human shape for
the purpose of working him some injury. Kaea, a famous priest and
seer of his family, told him to have the large leaves of the a-pe
(_Calladium costatum_) spread where Kahalaopuna and party were to be
seated. If she was a spirit, she would not be able to tear the a-pe
leaf on which she would be seated, but if human, the leaf or leaves
would be torn. With the permission of the King, this was done. The
latter, surrounded by the highest chiefs and a vast assemblage from
all parts of the island, was there to witness the test.

When Kahalaopuna and party were on the road to the scene of the test,
her spirit friends informed her of the a-pe leaves, and advised her
to trample on them so as to tear them as much as possible, as they,
being spirits, would be unable to tear the leaves on which they should
be seated, and if any one's attention were drawn to them, they would
be found out and killed by the _poe po-i uhane_ (spirit catchers).

The young girl faithfully performed what was required of her. Kaea,
on seeing the torn leaves, remarked that she was evidently human,
but that he felt the presence of spirits, and would watch for them,
feeling sure they were in some way connected with the girl. Akaaka
then told him to look in a calabash of water, when he would in all
probability see the spirits. The seer, in his eagerness to unravel the
mystery, forgot his usual caution and ordered a vessel of water to be
brought, and, looking in, he saw only his own reflection. Akaaka at
that moment caught the reflection of the seer (which was his spirit),
and crushed it between his palms, and at that moment the seer dropped
down dead. Akaaka now turned around and opened his arms and embraced
Kahalaopuna, thus acknowledging her as his own beloved granddaughter.

The King now demanded of the girl and of Kauhi an account of all
that had happened between them, and of the reported death of the
maiden. They both told their stories, Kauhi ascribing his anger
to hearing the assertions of the two disfigured men, Kumauna and
Keawaa. These two, on being confronted with the girl, acknowledged
never having seen her before, and that all their words had been idle
boastings. The King then said: "As your fun has cost this innocent
girl so much suffering, it is my will that you two and Kauhi suffer
death at once, as a matter of justice; and if your gods are powerful
enough to restore you, so much the better for you."

Two large _imus_ (ground ovens) had been heated by the followers of the
young men, in anticipation of the possible fate of either, and Kauhi,
with the two mischief-makers and such of their respective followers and
retainers as preferred to die with their chiefs, were baked therein.

The greater number of Kauhi's people were so incensed with his cruelty
to the lovely young girl that they transferred their allegiance to her,
offering themselves for her vassals as restitution, in a measure,
for the undeserved sufferings borne by her at the hands of their
cruel chief.

The King gave her for a bride to the young man who had not only saved
her, but had been the means of avenging her wrongs.

The imus in which Kauhi and his companions were baked were on the
side of the stream of Apuakehau, in the famous Ulukou grove, and very
near the sea. The night following, a great tidal wave, sent in by a
powerful old shark god, a relative of Kauhi's, swept over the site
of the two ovens, and in the morning it was seen that their contents
had disappeared. The bones had been taken by the old shark into the
sea. The chiefs, Kumauna and Keawaa, were, through the power of their
family gods, transformed into the two mountain peaks on the eastern
corner of Manoa Valley, while Kauhi and his followers were turned
into sharks.

Kahalaopuna lived happily with her husband for about two years. Her
grandfather, knowing of Kauhi's transformation, and aware of his
vindictive nature, strictly forbade her from ever going into the
sea. She remembered and heeded the warning during those years,
but one day, her husband and all their men having gone to Manoa to
cultivate kalo (_Colocasia antiquorum_), she was left alone with her
maid servants.

The surf on that day was in fine sporting condition, and a number
of young women were surf-riding, and Kahalaopuna longed to be with
them. Forgetting the warning, as soon as her mother fell asleep she
slipped out with one of her maids and swam out on a surf-board. This
was Kauhi's opportunity, and as soon as she was fairly outside the
reef he bit her in two and held the upper half of the body up out of
the water, so that all the surf-bathers would see and know that he
had at last obtained his revenge.

Immediately on her death the spirit of the young woman went back and
told her sleeping mother of what had befallen her. The latter woke
up, and, missing her, gave the alarm. This was soon confirmed by the
terrified surf-bathers, who had all fled ashore at seeing the terrible
fate of Kahalaopuna. Canoes were launched and manned, and chase given
to the shark and his prey, which could be easily tracked by the blood.

He swam just far enough below the surface of the water to be visible,
and yet too far to be reached with effect by the fishing-spears of
the pursuers. He led them a long chase to Waianae; then, in a sandy
opening in the bottom of the sea, where everything was visible to the
pursuers, he ate up the young woman, so that she could never again
be restored to this life.

Her parents, on hearing of her end, retired to Manoa Valley, and gave
up their human life, resolving themselves into their supernatural
elements. Kahaukani, the father, is known as the Manoa wind, but his
usual and visible form is the grove of ha-u (_hibiscus_) trees, below
Kahaiamano. Kauakuahine, the mother, assumed her rain form, and is
very often to be met with about the former home of her beloved child.

The grandparents also gave up their human forms, and returned, the
one to his mountain form, and the other into the lehua bushes still
to be met with on the very brow of the hill, where they keep watch
over the old home of their petted and adored grandchild.