He Moolelo Kaao Hawaii no Laukaiele

“He Moolelo Kaao Hawaii no Laukaieie…” (A Hawaiian Tradition of Laukaieie) was published in the native language newspaper, Nupepa Ka Oiaio, between January 5th 1894 to September 13th 1895. The moʻolelo was submitted to the paper by Moses Manu. The story is a rich and complex account with island-wide references to—places; descriptions of place name origins; history and mele; interspersed with accounts from other traditions and references to nineteenth century events.

* It is reached “by a fourteen mile journey from Holualoa up the old Judd trail, or by an eighteen or twenty mile trip from Kealakekua, via Puʻulehua and Kanahaha… It is on the slope of Hualalai, at between 4,500 and 5000 feet elevation, with Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa towering snow-clad, much farther away.”

The following narratives (translated by Maly), have been excerpted from the moʻolelo, and include an overview of the tradition and those narratives which recount the travels of an elder of Lau-ka-ʻieʻie—

Kaholokuaīwa [w] and Koaʻekea [k] lived at Ulu, in Waipiʻo Valley on the island of Hawaiʻi. They were descended from the chiefly and godly lines of Kahiki and Hawaiʻi. Their first child was Laukaʻieʻie. But because she was born in an ʻeʻepa (mysterious) form, looking more like a plant than a child, she was wrapped in līpoa seaweed and set in the stream. Without her parents knowledge, Laukaʻieʻie was retrieved by a mountain goddess and nurtured. Later, two other children, boys, were born to Kaholokuaīwa and Koaʻekea. One was named Hiʻilawe, and the other was Makanikeoe (who was also a wind deity).

Koaʻekeaʻs sister was Pōkāhi, and her husband was Kaukini. Though they had been married for a long time, they were childless, and because of their prayers and offerings, the forest goddess, Hinauluʻōhiʻa, approached Pōkāhi while she was gathering seaweed, and told her that she would have a girl child to raise as her own. The condition was, that no one, not even her brother and sister-in-law were to know about this child. Because Pōkāhi and Kaukini lived on the mountain ridges between Waipiʻo and Waimanu, it was easy for her to keep the secret. It was in this way, that Laukaʻieʻie came to be raised by her own aunt and uncle. As a youth, Laukaʻieʻieʻs companions were the spirits of the plants and animals of the forest. When she matured, she was very beautiful, and thoughts of finding an acceptable mate for her began to grow. One night, when Laukaʻieʻie was sleeping, she dreamed of flying past the valley lands of Hawaiʻi, and across, Maui, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Niʻihau, Kaʻula, and on to Lehua9, where she saw a handsome young chief, named Kawelonaakalāilehua. It was this chief that was destined to become her husband, and who was fetched to Hawaiʻi, by her elder relative, Pūpū-kani-ʻoe… [January 5–19, 1894]

Pūpū-kani-ʻoe and her companions from Lehua and Kaʻula, sailed in their canoe, passing Kahoʻolawe, guided by the sharks of those waters. They entered the channel of ʻAlenuihāhā and her companions, who had never before seen Hawaiʻi, saw the mountains of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualālai rising above. Ka-welona-a-ka-lā-i-Lehua inquired of Pūpū-kani-ʻoe, the names of those places on Hawaiʻi. She answered, telling them that they were the mountains on which dwell the women who wear the kapa hau (snow garments), and who covered the lands down to where the woods were found. Pūpū-kani-ʻoe then chanted:

Maʻemaʻe i ka hau ka luna o Mauna Kea, Pure are the snows atop Mauna Kea

Ōpū iho la iluna o ka hinahina, Little clumps settled upon the hinahina,

Ka pua luhiehu a ka māmane, Adorned with the blossoms of the māmane,

He lama wale ala no ke ike aku, It looks like a light when seen,

Aloha mai nei hoi ka Aina… There is such love for the land…

She then called out, describing Haleakalā:

Aia hoʻi ke kuahiwi kaulana o Maui, Behold the famous mountain of Maui,

Ke kunihi aʻe la i ka makani, Standing boldly in the winds,

Akāka wale no Haleakalā Haleakalā is clear,

Ka ʻuwē a ke kini of Koʻolau… And the multitudes of Koʻolau cry out…

9 The lengthy narratives include site descriptions and traditional accounts for various locations on each of the named islands.

The party then passed Kohala, and arrived at Waipiʻo, were they landed. [March 9, 1894; Maly, translator]