Peter T Young

October 8, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Universal Remedy

“For ka poʻe kahiko (the people of old) the sea was the remedy upon which all relied, from Hawaiʻi to Kauai.”

“When people took sick with stomach upsets (ʻinoʻino ma ka ʻopu), griping stomach aches (nahu), fever (wela), grayish pallor (hailepo), squeamishness (nanue na ʻopu), nausea (polouea), or dizziness (niua,) …”

“… the usual ailments caused by a change of regular diet from sweet potatoes to taro – or from taro to sweet potatoes – a drink of sea water was the universal remedy employed.”

“Those who live on lands that grow sweet potatoes have foul stools (ua ʻeka ko lakou lepo) when they change to taro lands, and are subject to worms (ua ulu ka ilo maloko.)”

“It is the same with those from lands where taro is grown when they go to lands where sweet potatoes are grown. Their custom therefore was to drink sea water.”

“In the early morning they lighted an imu for sweet potatoes and put them in to bake with a chicken and a dried fish.”

“Then they fetched a large container full of sea water, a container of fresh water to wash away the salty taste, and a bunch of sugar cane.”

“They would drink two to four cupfuls of sea water, then a cupful of fresh water, and then chew the sugar cane.”

“The sea water loosened the bowels, and it kept on working until the yellowish and greenish discharges came forth (puka pu no ka lena a me ke pakaiea.)”

“Then the imu was opened, and the sweet potatoes and other foods eaten (without resulting discomfort.) The stomach felt fine, and the body of the elderly or the aged was made comfortable.”

“Another good use for sea water was to secure forgiveness (huikala.) When someone in the family broke an oath sworn against another (hoʻohiki ʻino) – a man against his wife, a mother against her children, relatives against relatives, “cousins” against “cousins” (hoahanau), and so on …”

“… then the pikai, or sprinkling with salt water, was the remedy to remove (the repercussions from the breaking of the oath.)”

“This is how it was done. A basin or bowl of real sea water, or of water to which salt had been added, in which were laced ʻawa rootlets (huluhulu ʻawa) and olena, was the water to absolve and cleanse (kalahala e huikala) the family for the defilement (haumia) caused by the one who had broken his oath.”

“Any defilement pertaining to the house, to fishing, tapa printing, tapa beating, farming, or wauke cultivation, from which trouble had resulted, could be cleansed with pikai; it purified and caused an end to defilement. Implements of labor could also be cleansed of their defilement by pikai.”

“Another way to purify the family was this. In the evening, after dark, a ‘canoe procession’ was formed (waʻa huakaʻi, in which the participants lined up in single file, as in a canoe.)”

“The person at the head of the procession had a pig, another had tapa garments and ninikea tapas, and another held in his hands bunches of kohekohe grass.”

“The last person in the line offered the prayers for forgiveness and carried the basin for the ritual procession to cleanse the defilement (ka poʻi kaʻi huikala.)”

“The ritual procession (kaʻi) had to be perfect, with the voices responding in unison in the prayers for forgiveness and purification, and their steps exactly alike as they went in the procession and entered the mua, the ‘family chapel.’”

“They lighted the imu for the pig and continued their praying until the pig was cooked and eaten.”

“The rewards (uku) they received were health, blessings, material prosperity, and other benefits of this kind to them all…” (Kamakau)

Seawater is 96.5% water by weight. The remaining 3.5% is composed of salts; there are small amounts of organic material and microorganisms.

It could be classified as a medicinal mineral water due to its content of mineral ions such as Na+, Cl-, Mg++, Ca++, and K+, which are present as salts and attached to organic molecules.

With current technology a total of 95 elements have been found in seawater, including trace elements such as I, Fe, Cu, and Zn. About a third of these elements have also been detected in the human body; regardless of the amount, most of them are essential elements. (Valencia) (The image is Surfer Magazine’s photo of the year, 2011.)

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October 5, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kukuionapeha Heiau

Kaimuki, before man, was a site of rocky land, red soil high in iron and largely covered by lava.

Where Kaimuki got its name is not known. However, there are many stories and legends which tell what the name means. One is from a legend that menehune (legendary little people of Hawaiʻi) chose the place to build their ti ovens. Breaking the word down, ‘Ka’ means the, ‘imu’ – roasting-pit or ti-oven, and ‘ki’ – ti. (Kapio)

William Lunalilo ended up with most of the area known as Kaimuki through the Great Māhele (1848.) Lunalilo was born on January 31, 1835 to High Chiefess Miriam ‘Auhea Kekauluohi (Kuhina Nui, or Premier of the Hawaiian Kingdom and niece of Kamehameha I) and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina.

When Kamehameha V died on December 11, 1872 he had not named a successor to the throne. The Islands’ first election to determine who would be King was held – Lunalilo defeated Prince David Kalākaua (the Legislature met, as required by law, in the Courthouse to cast their official ballots of election of the next King. Lunalilo received all thirty-seven votes.)

Lunalilo was the first of the large landholding aliʻi to create a charitable trust for the benefit of his people. He was to reign for one year and twenty-five days, succumbing to pulmonary tuberculosis on February 3, 1874.

His estate included large landholdings on the five major islands, consisting of 33-ahupuaʻa, nine ʻili and more than a dozen home lots. His will, written in 1871, established a perpetual trust under the administration of three trustees to be appointed by the justices of the Hawaiian Supreme Court.

His will instructed his trustees to build a home to accommodate the poor, destitute and infirm people of Hawaiian (aboriginal) blood or extraction, with preference given to older people. The will instructed the Trustees to sell all of the estate’s land to build and maintain the home. (Supreme Court Records)

In 1884, the Kaimuki land was auctioned off. The rocky terrain held little value to its new owner, Dr. Trousseau, who was a “physician to the court of King Kalākaua”. Trousseau ended up giving his land to Senator Paul Isenberg. Theodore Lansing and AV Gear later bought the Kaimuki land (in 1898.) (Lee)

In 1898, Kaimuki was still the barren, rocky and red-dirt land filled with panini, kiawe, and lantana. However, Lansing, a real estate agent, thought it was a great place to build a high class residential district. Initially, sales were slow.

But in 1900, the Chinatown fire forced folks to find places for new homes and businesses – many came to Kaimuki. This eventually led to the construction of the Lēʻahi Hospital (1901.)

Lēʻahi Hospital was once called Honolulu Hospital for the Incurables. The patients were there to die. Most died of tuberculosis which spread to hundreds. The hospital was nicknamed ‘Make house,’ or the house for the dead. (Kapio)

This and other activity in the area destroyed and/or displaced the landscape.

A heiau, Kukuionapeha Heiau (Napeha’s light or beacon) was in the vicinity.

It was in an “Area seaward of 8th and 9th avenues, Ka-imu-ki, Honolulu, that was once a heap of rocks.” (Ulukau) “Kaimuki, at the town side of old signal station. All destroyed.” (Thrum.)

The image shows what is believed to be Kukuionapeha Heiau in Kaimuki (Hawaiʻi State Archives.)

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October 4, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Waikapū

Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands, and covers about 730 square miles. Maui consists of two separate volcanoes with a combining isthmus between the two.

The Mauna Kahālāwai (West Maui Mountain) is probably the older of the two; Haleakala (East Maui) was last active about 1790, whereas activity on West Maui is wholly pre-historic.

The island of Maui is comprised of 12-moku (districts,) that are made up of a number of ahupuaʻa. The moku of Wailuku makes up an area known as Nā Wai ʻEhā (“The Four Great Waters”) – Waiheʻe River, Waiehu Stream, Wailuku (ʻĪao) Stream and Waikapū Stream. (Waikapū Stream is the only Nā Wai ‘Ehā stream that drains to the southern coast of Maui.)

“From Waiheʻe to Waikapū there is much good land below and bounding the ancient terrace area on the kula and in the lower valleys which would be ideal for sweet potato culture, but it is said that little was grown in this section because there was so much taro.” (Handy; Hana Pono)

“For generations the small, slowly growing population clustered around shore sites near streams that supplied them with water. Such sites are best for inshore fishing.”

“When they acquired taro, they no doubt rapidly cleared away the jungle along the streams to make room for taro patches, and there was a beginning of terraced flats that could be irrigated directly from the stream.” (Handy; Hana Pono)

The fertile kalo terraces, complex system of irrigation ʻauwai (ditches) and abundant fresh water from this area sustained Hawaiian culture for 1,000-years. Due to abundant water and fertile lands, there was substantial settlement between the 300- and 600-foot elevation at Waikapū.

The terraces were irrigated with water brought in ditches from springs and streams high in the valleys, allowing extensive areas of the valleys to be cultivated. The irrigation ditches and pondfields were engineered to allow the cool water to circulate among the taro plants and from terrace to terrace, avoiding stagnation and overheating by the sun, which would rot the taro tubers.

An acre of irrigated pondfields produced as much as five times the amount of taro as an acre of dryland cultivation. Over a period of several years, irrigated pondfields could be as much as 10 or 15 times more productive than unirrigated taro gardens, as dryland gardens need to lie fallow for greater lengths of time than irrigated gardens. (Kelly)

In Waikapū, there are different stories associated with the name of this valley and ahupuaʻa; the story of Puapualenalena and the conch shell may be the earliest known.

It was said that in ancient times a conch shell would ring out from the valley, heard around the island it was so loud and resounding. On the opposite, northern side of the stream a dog named Puapualenalena was infatuated with this conch and wanted it for himself.

One day, the owners of the conch had been careless and Puapualenalena gained entrance to the cave on the southern side of the stream that hid the conch, and from that point on it no longer sounded through the valley. The area was so named for the conch (Pu), The Water (Wai) of the Conch (Ka Pu.) (Nupepa Kuokoa, 1872; Hana Pono)

Some say the name comes from Kamehameha after the famous battle of Kepaniwai, when the defeated the forces of Kalanikūpule. Two versions are told.

One is Wai-ka-pu (the Water of the Conch,) for the place where Kamehameha sounded the Pu to begin the battle for Maui. The second is Wai-Kapu (the Sacred Water.) “Kamehameha landed at Kalepolepo, and a kapu was put upon the nearest stream. It became sacred to royalty, as was the custom and is known as Wai-kapu to this hour-that is, the forbidden water”. (Stoddard; Hana Pono)

The lower isthmus (between Mauna Kahālāwai and Haleakala) was sandy. “We passed through Waikapū in the middle of the isthmus …. Between this place and the northern shore, we walked over a bed of sand (a part of an extensive plain).” (Bingham)

In more modern times, the Waikapū ahupuaʻa and surrounding lowlands were given to Henry Cornwall for a sugar plantation, Waikapū Sugar Company, which eventually merged with others to become Wailuku Sugar Company (and later consolidated into the Alexander & Baldwin lands.).

Starting in about the 1850s, sugar cultivation destroyed the extensive terracing; by the mid-1900s, only remnant representations remained.

By 1866, a letter published in the Hawaiian language newspaper Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa lamented “the current condition of once cultivated taro patches being dried up by the foreigners, where they are now planting sugar cane”.

“A permanent railroad was laid to Waiheʻe and to Waikapū connecting at Wailuku, from whence the cane was carried to a mill above Kahului. Another permanent line connected the other plantations. From these portable lines were laid into the fields, and it was thus possible to dispense with hundreds of mules and cattle and drivers heretofore used.” (Girvin)

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October 2, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mokumanu

“O Hina,
Hold back the night.
Let darkness rest upon the eyes of Peʻapeʻa
That I may save my wife.”

Demigod Maui is known for capturing the sun; here is another story of Maui.

Sometime after his effort to pull Kauaʻi closer to Oʻahu failed, Maui and his three brothers went fishing. Each brother caught a shark; Maui, with his famous hook Manaiakalani, caught a moi and a large ulua.

Maui-kupua told his brothers to paddle ashore and directed them to the best landing place. After they landed, he grabbed his gear and his two fish and returned home.

He began to eat the fish when he saw Kumulama, his wife, being carried away by the chief Peʻapeʻamakawalu (eight-eyed-bat; Peʻapeʻa.) Maui pursued, but Peʻapeʻa was too swift for him and disappeared into the sky beyond the sea.

Grieving, Maui went to his mother, Hina, who told him: “Go to the land of Keahumoa; there you’ll see a large hut. Your grandfather Kuolokele (Ku-honeycreeper) lives there; he’ll instruct you on how to recover your wife.” (hawaii-edu)

Maui saw a hump-backed man, his grandfather, coming toward Waipahu with a load of potato leaves, one pack of which, it is said, would cover the whole land of Keahumoa.

Maui picked up a stone and threw it at his grandfather, striking him on the back, whereupon Kuolokele’s back was straightened. Kuolokele picked up the stone Maui threw at him, and threw it to Waipahu, where it has remained to this day.

Maui explained what had happened; Kuolokele had Maui gather kī leaves, ʻieʻie vines and bird feathers.

On the first day, from the bird feathers, ki leaves and ʻieʻie vines, Kuolokele made the body and wings of a bird – moku-manu (bird-ship.) On the second day, he finished the bird and tested it. It flew the first flying-craft ever in Hawaiʻi.

On the third day, Maui appeared before Kuolokele. “It is ready,” the old man said. “Inside the bird you will find cords. With them you can flap its wings and make it fly. Also there is a bundle of food.

Kuolokele told Maui “Fly in this bird until you come to Moanaliha, the land of Peʻapeʻa. When you reach it, look for the village. If the village is deserted, then look toward the sea and you’ll see a great number of people gathered there, among whom will be Peʻapeʻa, along with your wife.”

“Fly near them, but not too close, just close enough to attract their notice; then fly far out to sea. On your return the people watching you will shout, ‘The bird! The strange bird!’”

“If you hear Peʻapeʻa say that you are his bird, all will be well. He will have you taken into his sleeping house, and you can save your wife.’

Maui entered the body of the bird and started to fly. He flew for two days and two nights.

Arriving at Moanaliha, he looked over the land and noticed that the houses, but no people; he saw a crowd at the seashore. He flew until he was right over the multitude and saw his wife, Kumulama.

He continued flying over the deep ocean; then Maui turned and flew toward land.

As he neared the shore, the people exclaimed, “Oh, an enormous bird! An enormous bird!” Peʻapeʻa said, “Perhaps it’s my bird; if it is, it’ll land on my sacred box.”

Maui heard this and landed on the sacred box. After this, the chief and the people arose and returned to their village.

Arriving at his house, the chief told his attendants to go and bring the bird into the sleeping house. The order was carried out and food was brought to the bird. Maui reached out from the opening of the mouth and took the food inside.

Night fell. Through the eyes of the bird Maui watched as people came in and stretched out on piles of mats. They pulled kapa covers over them and closed their eyes in sleep.

Knowing Peʻapeʻamakawalu had eight eyes, four in front and four behind, Maui waited for all eight to close before he made a move.

After a while, one of the eyes closed, then another and another. But one remained open. He continued waiting until almost daylight, when he prayed to Hina: “Hold back the night!” Hina held back the night.

Maui kept awake until the last eye closed. Then he emerged from the bird, went to where Peʻapeʻa was sleeping, killed him and cut off his head.

Maui took his wife and the head and entered the bird again. Then he broke a hole in the roof thatching and flew out.

The next day, the people found neither bird, nor woman, only the headless body of Peʻapeʻamakawalu.

Meanwhile, Maui was flying back to Oʻahu.

As soon as Maui alighted, his grandfather asked, “Where is your wife and your bundle?” “Here they are inside,” replied Maui.

“Then let your wife out first,” said Kuolokele, and Kumulama came out; then Maui brought out the head of Peʻapeʻamakawalu.
Then they ate the prepared feast.

They enjoyed some time together, Kuolokele excused Maui and Kumulama, and they returned home to Hina, who welcomed them back with joy. (Lots of information here from Cultural Surveys, hawaii-edu and Thrum.) The image shows Maui capturing the sun. (Herb Kane)

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September 30, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Johnny Naumu

Major league sports reached Los Angeles in 1946 when the supported-by-the-stars Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC,) an upstart challenger to the then-25-year-old NFL, played the first regular-season major league professional football game in the city.

Ben Lindheimer was majority owner; Don Ameche was president and minority owner (with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Pat O’Brien and others.)

The Dons were the first professional football team to play a regular season game in Los Angeles, beating the rival Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League by two weeks. (LA Times)

The AAFC helped open the West Coast to pro sports and brought long-lasting innovations, such as widespread air travel, extensive use of zone defenses and 14-game schedules, the latter not adopted by the NFL until the 1960s.

Though the eight-team AAFC was generally considered to be on a par with the 10-team NFL, if not better, the new league lasted only four seasons. (LA Times)

A couple Hawaiʻi notables played for the Dons. One, Herman Wedemeyer, is the subject of another summary; the other, John (Johnny) Punualii Naumu is the subject of this one.

Naumu, born September 30, 1919 (a McKinley High School graduate,) played football for UH and USC.

Naumu’s father, John Punualii Naumu Sr (a Patrol Officer) and mother, Evalani Agnes Carroll, lived on the island of Molokai where they raised twelve children. His father died of heart failure while on Oʻahu in 1940 watching John Jr play football for UH.

Naumu was a stand-out at USC; in 1947, he was given the Richard Barrett Award for the most cooperative member of the varsity squad.)

(That award is now known as the Sam Barry Spartan Award – given to the team member selected by the coaching staff who contributed the most to the development of the varsity squad during the season.)

In 1948, the 5’ 8”, 175-pound back played as a free agent for the Dons – they finished 3rd in the All American Football Conference, Western Division, with a record of 7-7.

Naumu played one-year of professional football.

Though the eight-team AAFC was generally considered to be on a par with the 10-team NFL, if not better, the new league lasted only four seasons before three of its remaining seven teams — the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts — were absorbed into the NFL. The Dons were among those dissolved. (LA Times)

Naumu Jr went on to serve with the Hawaii Army National Guard, where he retired as a Colonel, receiving numerous ribbons and medals of honor. (Kapiolani)

Naumu died September 23, 1982 of heart failure playing racquetball. (As an aside, while at UH, Naumu captured the novice handball title. (Ka Leo, April 16, 1941)) He is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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