Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 10, 1 October 1990 — Early traditions of Waiāhole [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Early traditions of Waiāhole

by John Charlot

Since the 1970s, Waiāhole and Waikāne valleys have been the focal point of discussions and controversies raised by the impact of development on the land and on Hawaiian and loeal i communities. This

brief sketch of the matenals on the early traditions of the valleys will show their importance in Hawaiian history and culture. Western culture tends to think of land as a commodity, a property like any other, to be bought and sold. Hawaiian attitudes toward the land are very different. In Ellen Wright Prendergast's "Kaulana nā Pua (Famous Are the Flowers)," a protest song against the seizure of the islands by annexationists, this particular difference in attitudes is regarded as crucial: the foreigners' "heap of dollars" is refused in favor of "the stones, the mystic food of the lan^."1 Land for the Hawaiian is not an undifferentiated commodity. The Hawaiian has a keen sense of the character of a particular plaee, a feeling expressed in the numerous chants and songs devoted to different localities. Symptomatic of this sense of plaee is the deep attachment of the resident to his land, "the boast of the stay-at-home" in the Hawaiian proverb. Hawaiian culture was based intimately on its environment. Therefore, eaeh locality displays eultural differences that ean be traced to characteristics of the land that are recognized and appreciated by those who live on it. This deep and clearsighted attention to the land, to a particular plaee, has been transmitted to long-time residents of other races and forms a valuable part of today's loeal consciousness. Waiāhole and Waikāne are certainly important for their natural beauty and agricultural potential; but they are also important for their special traditions and the culture they inspired. Waiāhole and Waikāne form a geographical unit, a distinct area, with Hakipu'u and Kualoa. Any development must be considered within the context of the whole area. The "Cover Sheet" for the Hawai'i Register of Historic Places speaks of Kualoa in these terms: it is one of the "Two most sacred areas on the island of O'ahu . . . In Hawaiian tradition, the lands of Kualoa were considered to be the symbol of sovereignty and independence for O'ahu, and were closely protected by the O'ahu chiefs and priests"(p. 4). A large number of references to the area are cited from Hawaiian literature. Most important, Kualoa was "the sacred land of Haloa, the son of Wakea and Papa, the progenitors of the Hawaiian people"(p. 5). The report concludes with the recommendation: "Kualoa remains significant,even without physical remains of ancient sites, because of its central plaee in O'ahu traditions and the feeling of the sacredness of the land, even by present day Hawaiians. Therefore, on the basis of its plaee in Hawaiian legend and tradition, we recommend the sacred lands of Kualoa be placed on the Hawaii Register as a valuable district . . . of state signifieanee."2 Kualoa was nominated to the National Register on Apnl 15, 1974. Waiāhole and Waikāne themselves have importance and sacredness in Hawaiian tradition, as sections of the whole area.3 That is, the traditions from Waiāhole to Kualoa are connected and reveal the sacredness of the plaee as a whole. The area is in fact connected with one of the greatest expressions of Hawaiian religious thought. The "Kumulipo" chant, composed around 1700, tells the story of the origin of the universe and the Hawaiian people.4 A long section of the chant is devoted to the life of the god Maui. In lines 2004 f., it states of him: At Kahalu'u was the afterbirth [deposited],

at Waikāne the navel cord He died at Hakipu'u in Kualoa. In Hawaiian tradition, the navel cord and afterbirth must be deposited in a sacred and appropriate plaee. Such a plaee would have to be extraordinary for Maui. Further connections ean be found between Waikāne and the "Kumulipo" tradition. In an artiele in the Hawaiian newspaper "Hawaii Holomua" for March 20, 1912, the following is written: At Waikane, Koolau-poko, is a land called Paliuli. Also there in Waikane are two streams that surround this land of Paliuli, for both streams have the same source. In Waikane also are the names Waiolola and Waiololi, mentioned in the Kumulipo chant (Sterling and Summers 1978: 187). This same tradition is found in a story published in the Hawaiian newspaper "Hoku o Hawaii" in 1926: . . . they arrived at Waikane. Here Hi'iaka turned again to converse with her friend. "The name of this land is Waikāne because it was here that Kāne first dug for water for the benefit of Paliuli. There is a Paliuli here and it is on that cliff ledge there . . . Below it are the very famous pieces of water of this plaee, WaiololL and Waiololā. "These are a male and a female. Waiololīis the male, and Waiololā is the female. These are good lands, lands full of sweet things [or: lands full of fertility, rich soil], but when the sweet potatoes of the second growth eome strongly to life, the land is covered with sweet potatoes."5 They then proceed to Hakipu'u and Kualoa, celebrating the traditions of those places. Paliuli, mentioned in both the above quotations, is also referred to in the "Kumulipo" line 269. We will discuss the importance of the term below. The reference to the great god Kāne shows that the valley was connected also with other important traditions of the gods and their earliest workings in the world. E.S. Craighill Handy reports that the original name of the valley was Wai-a-Kāne, Water of Kāne. This is a religious expression that refers to sacred waters or the waters of life6 and is a further indication of the sacred character of the area. The presence of both the "Kumulipo" and the Kāne traditions ean be found also in Kualoa, whieh has strong connections to that god (see note 2). Moreover. Kualoa is traditionally the land of Hāloa, the son of Wākea and Papa, whose stories are told in the "Kumulipo", lines 1734, 1792-1812, 1930-1968. 7 Handy and Handy (1972: 447 ff.) point out even further connections of Kualoa to the "Kumulipo" tradition. The sacred character of the area is reflected in the fact that it was set aside for the kahuna, the Hawaiian priests. The 19th century expert in Hawaiian culture, S.M. Kamakau, wrote in 1867: The lands were given firmly to the kahuna order: these were Waimea, Pupukea, Waiāhole, and Hakipu'u. These lands belonged firmly to the kāhuna order from the most ancient times down to that of Kahahana. In the time of Kahekili and Ka-lei-ku-pule, these were given to their kāhuna and so also in the reign of Kamehameha I . . . Pupukea was for the kāhuna order of Kaualii [sic] (probably Kualii); and Waiāhole for the kāhuna order of Lono-mauki [sic].8 Kamakau follows tradition in tracing this land distribution back to the famous god and chiefly figure Kamapua'a, tales of whom are found also in Kualoa.9 The priests' posession of the area was so secure that even when outside chiefs conquered O'ahu, they did not take the land for their own use, but gave it to their own kāhuna. This shows also that the tradition of the area was not merely a loeal one, but was recognized by the chiefs and priests of other islands. The priests' possession of the

area is consistent with the tradition that Kualoa was particulary respected and protected by priests. Again, the traditions of the area connected. A further indication of the general respect accorded to Kualoa (and particulary Hakipu'u) was the custom of dipping sails in salute when passing the region by sea. This custom was based on the tradition of a eonneehon between Kualoa and Hakipu'u and the heroic voyager Kaha'i, who is reputed to have brought the breadfruit from Sāmoa to Hakipu'u. A religious significance could also be found in the name Waiāhole (Titcomb 1972: 60). The āhole fish was considered a delicacy often reserved for chiefs. It was also important in religious ceremonies in whieh a white fish was needed as a sacrifice. It was put under house posts when they were set to ward off evil. It was considered a pua'a kai, a sea pig: that is, it could be used in some ceremonies in plaee of a pig, and in all ceremonies when a pig was not available.

"Waiahole Waters'