O Ka‘uiki, mauna ki‘eki‘e,
Huki a‘e la a pa i ka lani
He po‘ohiwi no kai halulu. …
Ka‘uiki, mountain famous in story,
Stretching upward to touch the heavens,
A shoulder for the buffeting sea. … (Beckwith)
“Ka‘uiki is beloved, Afloat on the sea like a bird!” Hana is called ‘a land beloved of chiefs because of the fortress of Ka‘uiki and the ease of living in that place.’ (Beckwith)
The Polynesian name of the moon, Mahina, is derived from Hina, the goddess mother of Maui. The Hawaiians say that Hina and her maidens pounded out the softest, finest kapa cloth on the long, thick kapa board at the foot of Ka‘uiki. (Westervelt)
“Mythical names are attached to the dwellers on Ka‘uiki in ancient days. On the summit may be seen the rock placed by Aiai as an outlook for schools of fish entering the bay.”
“Here Maui stood to push the sky higher because it lay so near the earth at Ka‘uiki. Here lived Hina-hana-ia-ka-malama, she who worked at tapa making in the moon, and her husband, father of Puna and Hema on the Ulu line of chiefs.” (Beckwith)
“Ka‘uiki is not a grand hill to look at. In its outline or profile it resembles a moi’s (fish) head diving in the ocean. On its north-east is the dark cliff of Mapuwena, and at its base is the slippery sand of Kapueokahi by the ship’s harbour, and the surf of Keanini.”
“To the east of Paliuli is a sort of deep round cave wherein the famous chiefess, Kaahumanu, was hidden during the battle engagements of Kalaiopuu and Kahekili in East Maui in 1775 and 1778.”
“There did Ka‘ahumanu lead Mr. Wm. Richards in 1830, and showed him her place of concealment, and the spot at Mapuwena where she was born. Down at its front, and within the cave at the base of Ka‘uiki, lies the famous eel of Laumeki, which causes the top to tremble.”
“A certain blow-hole is at its front that is sounded by the reef-wind of Mokuhano. Its principal outlet of sound was closed up entirely with kauila spears, the strange work of a certain chief named Kalaikini. (Those spears have so remained to this day.) Over two hundred years have passed since then.”
“At the south flourishes a coco-nut grove (whence the saying: “The coco-nuts of Kane are not reached by you”) and the dark cliff of Kaihalulu.”
“On the western and northern sides spreads the flat land devoted to Hana’s cane cultivation. Close to the base of the hill is the ancient land division of chiefs, called Kuakaha, with the temples of Honuaula and Kuawalu. There was the bake-oven for slain warriors taken captive by Kahekili at the hill of Ka‘uika in 1782.”
“Just above the water of Punahoa is the foundation of Kawalakii. Near the crown of the hill there is the ladder of the hill of Lanakila (victory) of the ohia of Kealakomo, which was closed in the contest of that period.”
“At the summit of the hill looking eastward is ever-green Hawaii; on the south side of Makokiloia is Makopalena, and on the north-east of Mapuwena, in the centre, is the foundation of Wananaiku. Viewing Kauiki from Hawaii, Kaihuakala lies to the front; inland is Puuokahaula, while seaward is Alau like a sheltering island.”
“In such is its dignity and claim to admiration, like a bird soaring upward; a cape for the noio sea-bird of Mokuhano, as if scarified for the bosun birds of Kaihalulu and Kapueokahi. There a certain chief thrust his spear in the heavens for Hana’s fame, as ‘Hāna of low heavenly rain.” (Thrum)
“Ka‘ahumanu was born about the year 1773, at the foot of the hill Ka‘uiki, on the eastern shore of Maui. Her father was Ke‘eaumoku, subsequently a distinguished warrior and counsellor of the late conqueror.”
“Her mother was Nāmāhāna, the relict and sister of Kamehamehanui, and who, as his wife, and as the daughter of King Kekaulike, had been Queen of Maui.”
“Kamehamehanui was the son and successor of Kekaulike, and the brother of Kahekili who governed Maui, as late as 1793, and of Ka‘eo, the father of Kaumuali‘i, who, both father and son, were successive kings of Kauai and Ni‘ihau.” (Bingham)
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Thank you, very interesting and infomative
I spent my formative years in the shadow of Ka’uiki, a member of the fourth generation of our family that continues its presence on the shore of Kapueokahi..