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Kamapua'a
'Olopana Victory 'Olopana carried out Malae's instructions and prepared all the different things ordered by the priest. Then he and his followers went to Kamapua'a's dwelling place. The offerings were laid at Kamapua'a's feet as directed by the kahuna, and Kamapua'a became weak and feeble. The men then seized Kamapua'a and dragged him to Pahoa in Wai'anae. When they arrived at there, 'Olopana was very tired from the excitement and hard work of capturing and carrying the pig, so he returned home, leaving his men to bring Kamapua'a along later. Lonoaohi was bound and fastened to a post in the center of a house. 'Olopana intended to sacrifice him with Kamapua'a on the altar of the heiau. Through his powers as a kahuna, Lonoaohi knew what the men intended to do to Kamapua'a, which was this: When the men arrived with Kamapua'a at Pahoa, they would look for stone knives with which to cut open the pig and take out his intestines and other innards, making him easier to carry back to 'Olopana's place. Lonoaohi knew that if Kamapua'a was killed, he, too, would be killed, so he directed his sons Kapuaaolomea and Kapuaahiwa to go and speak to the men: "You two, go to the men and tell them, 'E! the king said not to cut the pig open. Take him as he is to the sacrificial altar. It will take several days to reach 'Olopana's place; if you kill the pig now, he will surely decay, and the king's sacrifice will be spoiled.The pig must not be dragged on the ground, either, for his skin will get bruised and damaged. The pig must be carried on poles. When you get tired, put the hog on the ground and rest. Thus said the king. This is the only way to save your master from death. If he lives, we will all live; but if he dies, we will all die.'" When Lonoaohi's two sons reached the men at Pahoa, they found the men sharpening their knives so they could cut open Kamapua'a's belly. The sons told the men what their father told them to say, and the men abandoned their knives. (Till this day, this area is called Pahoa, or "Stone Knives.") The men carefully carried Kamapua'a to 'Olopana's place and put him in the heiau. That night Lonoaohi slept at the post to which he was tied, his sons with him, while the guards kept watch around the house; and Kamapua'a slept in the heiau, also under guard. Late that night when the Milky Way turned (i.e. past midnight), Lonoaohi was awakened by his god. Lonoaohi then kneeled down and prayed, and at the close of his prayer, the ropes which held him fell from his body and he rose and walked out of the house, where he found the guards all asleep. When he arrived at the place where Kamapua'a was being held, he found the guards asleep. Lonoaohi then placed his hand at the nostrils of Kamapua'a and discovered he was still alive and breathing. Lonoaohi said: "Alive! I thought you might be dead, but I see that you're not. These bones will live!" After a while he again said to Kamapua'a: "E! The wai lands of O'ahu are mine." Kamapua'a grunted: "Huh!" The meaning of the request was this: Lonoaohi wanted all the lands containing the word "wai," such as, Wai'anae, Waialua and so on.(a) Lonoaohi knew, through his great powers, that 'Olopana would be killed, and that Kamapua'a would conquer and possess the island of O'ahu. This was the reason he made this request. After this exchange between Lonoaohi and Kamapua'a, the kahuna returned to his place and sat down. For the rest of the night, he prayed to his god because at dawn he was to be placed on the sacrificial altar with Kamapua'a. When the early morning crowing of the cocks became a din, 'Olopana and the priest Malae came to began the ceremonies performed before a human sacrifice was offered. The two went and climbed onto the terrace ('anu'u) of the sacrificial stand (lele); Kamapua'a was unbound and placed on the terrace as well. 'Olopana and the priest, both naked, turned to face each other and began chanting and praying. Before the prayer ended, Kamapua'a rose above them and opened his fiery eyes. When Malae and 'Olopana saw Kamapua'a standing above them, they froze with fear and awe. Kamapua'a prayed and invoked his many bodies and all his gods. At the close of the prayer the heiau was surrounded by the gods and pigs. Kamapua'a then called out to the priest Lonoaohi:
Then Lonoaohi appeared and raised a kapa banner to mark off an area of kapu; those who entered this area would be saved from death. After this, the slaughter began and the only one who survived Kamapua'a's wrath was Makali'i, who sat on the lap of Kamaunuaniho [another kapu place]. This was how Kamapua'a killed 'Olopana and conquered O'ahu.(b) NOTES (a) Kahiolo gives the following list of O'ahu's "wai"-lands given to Lonoaohi by Kamapua'a: "Waialua, Wai'anae, Waimanalo, Waikele, Waipi'o, Waiawa, Waimano, Waiau, Waimalu, Waikiki, Wai'alae, Wailupe, Waimanalo 2, Waihe'e, Waiahole, Waiale'e, and so on." These were the best agricultural lands on O'ahu: "When Kamapua'a's parents, Hina and Kahiki'ula, realized how many choice sections of land with water was given to the kahuna, they complained. His older brothers and grandmother, however, did not complain; they agreed that the kahuna should have all these lands, and that the rest of the lands of O'ahu were theirs." (b) The traditions of Kamapua'a contains more incidents from his life. For example, the Kahiolo version continues on with the following episodes:
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Kapi'olani Community College - © 1999-2006. All Rights Reserved. http://apdl.kcc.hawaii.edu/~oahu/stories/koolauloa/kamapuaa3.htm Content Manager: Dennis Kawaharada - dennisk@hawaii.edu Web Manager: KCC Web Team - kccweb@hawaii.edu Last Modified: 06-Apr-2006 10:00 HST |
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