Legends of old Honolulu

Front matter

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Foreword

The legends of a people are of interest to the scholar, the thinker, and the poet.

The legends tell us of the struggles, the triumphs, and the wanderings of the people, of their thoughts, their aspirations; in short, they give us a twilight history of the race.

As the geologist finds in the rocks the dim records of the beginnings of life on our planet, the first foreshadowings of the mighty forests that have since covered the lands, and of the countless forms of animal life that have at last culminated in Man, so does the historian discover in the legends of a people the dim traces of its origin and development till it comes out in the stronger light of the later day.

So it is with the legends of the Hawaiians, or of the Polynesian race. We see them, very indistinctly, starting from some distant home in Asia, finally reaching the Pacific Ocean, and then gradually spreading abroad over its islands till they dominate a large portion of its extent.

In bringing together this collection of Hawaiian legends, the author of this little book has conferred a great favor upon all those residents iv FOREWORD

of Hawaii and of those visitors to its shores who may take an interest in its original inhabitants, once an exceedingly numerous people, but now a scattering remnant only. To that native race this little book will be at once a joy and a sorrow; to the heart of the haokj who has lived among them, known them intimately for thirty years or more (as has the writer of this Foreword), and learned to love them, this collection of the legends of old Honolulu brings a warm "Aloha!"

Geo. H. Barton,

Table Of Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

Introduction vii

I. Legendary Places in Honolulu ... i

Introduction

The ancient Hawaiians were not inventive. They did not study new methods of housebuilding or farming. They did not seek new tools or new weapons. They could live comfortably as their ancestors lived. But they were imaginative and therefore told many a wonderful tale of gods and goblins and men. Some of these stories were centuries old, and were closely similar to legends told in Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and many other islands of the Pacific Ocean. Most of them are of course limited to the locality from which they come. The Honolulu legends belong to this class almost entirely, although a student of Polynesian mythology will find many traces of connecting links with the mythology of far distant islands.

The legends of Old Honolulu have been compiled from stories told by the old Hawaiians. Some of them came from those still living, but many have been found in the files of papers published from 1850 to 1870.

The first alphabet for Hawaiians was prepared in 1 82 1. The Hawaiians were taught to viii INTRODUCTION

read and write their histories and ancient stories as rapidly as possible. This was the result of the labors of the American missionaries. Some of the missionaries, notably Mr. Dibble, sent their pupils out to write down and preserve the old legends and traditions. Between thirty and forty years after the first lesson in the alphabet the Hawaiians were writing articles for papers published regularly in their own language — such as Ka Hae Hawaii {The Hawaiian Flag), Ke Kuokoa {The Independent), Ka Hoku Pakipika {The Star of the Pacific). These were followed by many papers down to the present time edited solely by Hawaiians.

Careful research through these papers brings many stories of the past into the hands of students. It is chiefly in this way that these legends of Old Honolulu have been gathered together. This is the result of several years' work of notetaking and compilation.

These legends belong of course to Honolulu people, and will be chiefly interesting to them and those who are acquainted with the city and the island of Oahu. It is hoped that the folk-lore lovers the world over will also enjoy comparing these tales with those of other lands.

Sometimes these old stories have been touched up and added to by the Hawaiian story-teller who has had contact with foreign literature, and

INTRODUCTION ix

the reader may trace the influence of modern ideas; but this does not occur frequently.

The legend of " Chief Man-eater " comes the nearest to historic times. Cannibalism was not a custom among the ancient Hawaiians. These are unquestionably sporadic cases handed down in legends.

These legends have been printed in the following papers and magazines: The Friend , The Paradise of the Pacific, The Mid-Pacific, Thrum's Hawaiian Annual, Historical Society Reports, The Advertiser and Star Bulletin, published in Honolulu.

PRONUNCIATION

Readers will have little difl&culty in pronouncing names if they remember two rules: —

1. No syllable ends in a consonant, e.g., Ho-no-lu-lu, not Hon-o-lulu.

2. Give vowels the German sound rather than the English, e.g., "e" equals "a," and "i" equals "e," and "a" is sounded like "a" in "father."

I

LEGENDARY PLACES IN HONOLULU

HO-NO-LU-LU is a name made by the union of the two words "Hono" and ''lulu." Some say it means "Sheltered Hollow." The old Hawaiians say that "Hono" means "abundance" and "lulu" means "calm," or "peace," or "abundance of peace." The navigator who gave the definition "Fair Haven" was out of the way, inasmuch as the name does not belong to a harbor, but to a district having "abundant calm," or "a pleasant slope of restful land."

"Honolulu" was probably a name given to a very rich district of farm land near what is now known as the junction of Liliha and School Streets, because its chief was Honolulu, one of the high chiefs of the time of Kakuhihewa, according to the legends. Kamakau, the Hawaiian historian, describes this farm district thus: "Honolulu was a small district, a pleasant land looking toward the west, — a fat land, with flowing streams and springs of water, abundant water for taro patches. Mists resting inland breathed softly on the flowers of the hala-tree."

Kakuhihewa was a king of Oahu in the long, long ago, and was so noted that for centuries the island Oahu has been named after him "The Oahu of Kakuhihewa." He divided the island among his favorite chiefs and officers, who gave their names to the places received by them from the king. Thus what is now known as Honolulu was until the time of Kamehameha I., about the year 1800, almost always mentioned as "Kou," after the chief Kou, who was an "Ilamuku," or "Marshal," under the king Kakuhihewa. "Kou" appears to have been a small district, or, rather, a chief's group of houses and grounds, loosely defined as lying between Hotel Street and the sea and between Nuuanu Avenue and Alakea Street.

Ke-kai-o-Mamala was the name of the surf which came in the outer entrance of the harbor of Kou. It was named after Mamala, a chiefess who loved to play konane (Hawaiian checkers), drink awa, and ride the surf. Her first husband was the shark-man Ouha, who later became a shark-god, living as a great shark outside the reefs of Waikiki and Koko Head. Her second husband was the chief Hono-kau-pu, to whom the king gave the land east of the land of Kou. This land afterward bore the name of its chief.

LEGENDARY PLACES IN HONOLULU 3

Hono-kau-pu. In this section of what is now called Honolulu were several very interesting places.

Kewalo was the place where the Kauwa, a very low class of servants, were drowned by holding their heads under water, according to the law known as "Ke-kai-he-hee." "Kai" means "sea" and "hee" means ''surf-riding" or ''sliding along." The law meant the sUding of the servants under the waves of the sea. Kewalo was also the nesting-ground of the owl who was the cause of a battle between the owls and the king Kakuhihewa, wherein the owls from Kauai to Hawaii gathered together and defeated the forces of the king.

Toward the mountains above Kewalo lies Makiki plain, the place where rats abounded, living in a dense growth of small trees and shrubs. This was a famous place for hunting rats with bows and arrows.

Ula-kua was the place where idols were made. This was near the lumber-yards at the foot of the present Richards Street.

Ka-wai-a-hao, the site of the noted old native church, was the location of a fine fountain of water belonging to a chief named Hao. It means "The water belonging to Hao."

Ke-kau-kukui was close to Ula-kua, and was the place where small konane (checker) boards were laid. These were flat stones with rows of little holes in which a game was played with black and white stones. Here Mamala and Ouha drank awa and played konane. Here also Kekuanaoa, father of Kamehameha V., built his home.

In Hono-kau-pu was one of the noted places for rolling the flat-sided stone disc known as 'Hhe maika stone." This was not far from Richards and Queen Streets, although the great "Ulu-maika" place for the gathering of the chiefs was in Kou.

Ka-ua-nono-ula, the *'rain with the red rainbow," was the place in this district for the *'wai-lua," or ghosts, to gather for their nightly games and sports. Under the shadows of the trees, near the present Hawaiian Board Mission rooms at the junction of Alakea and Merchant Streets, these ghosts made night a source of dread to all the people.

Another place in Honolulu for the gathering of ghosts was at the corner of King Street and Nuuanu Avenue.

Puu-o-wai-na, or Punchbowl, was a "hill of sacrifice" or "offering," according to the meaning of the native words, and not "Wine-hill" as many persons have said. Kamakau, a native historian of nearly fifty years ago, says: "Formerly there was an 'imu ahi,' a fire oven, for

LEGENDARY PLACES IN HONOLULU 5

burning men on this hill. Chiefs and common people were burned as sacrifices in that noted place. Men were brought for sacrifice from Kauai, Oahu, and Maui, but not from Hawaii. People could be burned in this place for violating the tabus of the tabu divine chiefs."

*'The great stone on the top of Punchbowl Hill was the place for burning men."

Part of an ancient chant concerning "Punchbowl" reads as follows:

" O the raging tabu fire of Keaka, O the high ascending fire of the sacrifice! Tabu fire, scattered ashes.

Tabu fire, spreading heat."

Nuuanu Valley, inland from Kou, was full of interesting legendary places. The most interesting, however, is the little valley made by a mountain spur pushing its way out from the Kalihi foothills into the larger valley, and bearing the name ''Waolani," the wilderness home of the gods, and now the home of Honolulu's Country Club. This region belonged to the eepa people. These were almost the same as the ill-shaped, deformed or injured gnomes of European fairy tales. In this beautiful little valley which opened into Nuuanu Valley was the heiau Waolani built for Ka-hanai-a-ke-Akua (The chief brought up by the gods), long before the days of Kakuhihewa. It was said that the two divine caretakers of this chief were Kahano and Newa, and that Kahano was the god who lay down on the ocean, stretching out his hands until one rested on Kahiki (Tahiti or some other foreign land) and the other rested on Oahu. Over his arms as a great bridge walked the Menehunes, or fairy people, to Oahu. They came to be servants for this young chief who was in the care of the gods. They built fish-ponds and temples. They lived in Manoa Valley and on Punchbowl Hill. Ku-leo-nui (Ku with the loud voice) was their master. He could call them any evening. His voice was heard over all the island. They came at once and almost invariably finished each task before the rays of the rising sun drove them to their hidden resorts in forest or wilderness.

Waolani heiau was the place where the noted legendary musical shell "Kiha-pu" had its first home — from which it was stolen by Kapuni and carried to its historic home in Waipio Valley, Hawaii. Below Waolani Heights, the Menehunes built the temple Ka-he-iki for the child nourished by the gods, and here the priest and prophet lived who founded the priest-clan called "-Mo-o-kahuna," one of the most sacred clans of the ancient Hawaiians. Not far from this temple was the scene of the dramatic plea of an owl

LEGENDARY PLACES IN HONOLULU 7

for her eggs when taken from Kewalo by a man who had found her nest. This is part of the story of the battle of the owls and the king.

Nearer the bank of the Nuuanu stream was the great bread-fruit tree into which a woman turned her husband by magic power when he was about to be slain and offered as sacrifice to the gods. This tree became one of the most powerful wooden gods of the Hawaiians, being preserved, it is said, even to the times of Kamehameha I.

At the foot of Nuuanu Valley is Pu-iwa, a place by the side of the Nuuanu stream. Here a father, Maikoha, told his daughters to bury his body, that from it might come the wauke-trees, from which kapa cloth has been pounded ever since.

From this place, the legend says, the wauke-trees spread over all the islands.

In the bed over which the Nuuanu waters pour is the legendary stone called "The Canoe of the Dragon." This lies among the boulders in the stream not far from the old Kaumakapili Church premises.

In Nuuanu Valley was the fierce conflict between Kawelo, the strong man from Kauai, assisted by two friends, and a band of robbers. In this battle torn-up trees figured as mighty war-clubs.

These are legendary places which border Kou, the ancient Honolulu. Besides these are many more spots of great interest, as in Waikiki and Manoa Valley, but these lie beyond the boundaries of Kou and ancient Honolulu. In Kou itself was the noted Pakaka Temple. This temple was standing on the western side of the foot of Fort Street long after the fort was built after which the street was named. It was just below the fort. Pakaka was owned by Kinau, the mother of Kamehameha V. It was a heiau, or temple, built before the time of Kakuhihewa. In this temple, the school of the priests of Oahu had its headquarters for centuries. The walls of the temple were adorned all around with heads of men offered in sacrifice.

Kou was probably the most noted konane (or checker) board place on Oahu. There was a famous large stone almost opposite the site of the temple. Here the chiefs gathered for many a game. Property and even lives were freely gambled away. The Spreckels Building covers the site of this famous gambling resort.

One of the finest "Ulu-maika" places on the islands was the one belonging to Kou. This was a hard, smooth track about twelve feet wide extending from the corner on Merchant and Fort Streets now occupied by the Bank of Hawaii along the seaward side of Merchant

LEGENDARY PLACES IN HONOLULU g

Street to the place beyond Nuuanu Avenue known as the old iron works at Ula-ko-heo. It was used by the highest chiefs for rolling the stone disc known as "the maika stone." Kamehameha I. is recorded as having used this maika track.

lO LEGENDS OF HONOLULU