Kanawai Mamalahoe | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

June 12, 2025 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Papaʻi Bay

At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu died shortly thereafter (1782.) Before his death, Kalaniʻōpuʻu gave an command to Kiwalaʻo and Kamehameha, and to all the chiefs, thus: “Boys, listen, both of you. The heir to the kingdom of Hawaii nei, comprising the three divisions of land, Kaʻū̄, Kona and Kohala, shall be the chief Kiwalaʻo. He is the heir to the lands.” (Fornander)

“As regarding you, Kamehameha, there is no land or property for you; but your land and your endowment shall be the god Kaili (Kūkaʻilimoku.) If, during life, your lord should molest you, take possession of the kingdom; but if the molestation be on your part, you will be deprived of the god.” These words of Kalaniʻōpuʻu were fulfilled in the days of their youth, and his injunction was realized. (Fornander)

Following Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death in 1782, and following his wishes, the kingship was inherited by his son Kīwalaʻō; Kamehameha (Kīwalaʻō’s cousin) was given guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.)

A number of chiefs (both under Kiwalaʻo and Kamehameha were dissatisfied with subsequent redistricting of the lands; civil war ensued between Kīwalaʻō’s forces and the various chiefs under the leadership of Kamehameha.

In the first major skirmish, in the battle of Mokuʻōhai (a fight between Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻo in July, 1782 at Keʻei, south of Kealakekua Bay on the Island of Hawaiʻi,) Kiwalaʻo was killed.

Then, in 1783, following an unsuccessful battle against Keawemauhili and Keōua; Kamehameha sailed to Puna for a surprise attack on some of the warriors against whom the recent battle had been fought.

He went to Papaʻi Bay (Lit. Crab fishermen’s shed; an old village site coastal point of Keaʻau – now called Kings Landing.) Nearby is a māwae (crack, fissure, crevice,) the boundary between Waiakea, Hilo and Keaʻau, Puna.

People there saw that the newcomers were strangers. When asked who they were, someone called out, “It is Kamehameha!” Then the people were filled with fear, for the prowess of the chief was well known and greatly feared.

Kamehameha, commanding the others not to follow, leaped from the canoe to attack two stalwart natives who had been aiding the weak to escape.

A fisherman turned and threw his fishnet over the pursuing chief, causing him to fall down upon the sharp lava. Then he tore the nets which entangled him and again rushed heedlessly on. While straining himself to see where the men were running, his foot broke through a thin shell of lava into a crevice (some suggest it was in the māwae.) To pull it up was impossible.

The men turned back and struck at him with their paddles, but after a few blows the paddles were destroyed. The men ran away. (Westervelt)

Years passed; the memory of that trip made in 1783 to Puna for the sake of robbery and possible murder. The king wondered what had become of the men who had attacked him. He had gone to Hilo (sometime between 1796 and 1802,) determined to find the men of the splintered paddle.

They were captured and when they saw Kamehameha they bowed their heads, hoping to escape recognition. But this revealed them at once to Kamehameha, and he approached them with the command to raise their heads. It was an interesting scene when these common men were brought before the chiefs for final judgment. It is said the chief asked them if they were not at the sea of Papaʻi.

They assented. Then came the question to two of them: “You two perhaps are the men who broke the paddle on my head?” They acknowledged the deed.

Then Kamehameha he said: “Listen! I attacked the innocent and the defenseless. This was not right.

In the future no man in my kingdom shall have the right to make excursions for robbery without punishment, he be chief or priest. I make the law, the new law, for the safety of all men under my government.

If any man plunders or murders the defenseless or the innocent he shall be punished. This law is given in memory of my steersman and shall be known as ‘Ke Kana-wai Ma-mala-hoa,’ or the law of the friend and the broken oars. The old man or the old woman or the child may lie down to sleep by the roadside and none shall injure them.”

The original 1797 law:

Kānāwai Māmalahoe (in Hawaiian:):

E nā kānaka,
E mālama ʻoukou i ke akua
A e mālama hoʻi ke kanaka nui a me kanaka iki;
E hele ka ‘elemakule, ka luahine, a me ke kama
A moe i ke ala
‘A‘ohe mea nāna e ho‘opilikia.
Hewa nō, make.

Law of the Splintered Paddle (English translation:)

Oh people,
Honor thy gods;
Respect alike [the rights of]
People both great and humble;
See to it that our aged,
Our women and our children
Lie down to sleep by the roadside
Without fear of harm.
Disobey, and die.

Kamehameha’s Law of the Splintered Paddle of 1797 is enshrined in the State constitution, Article 9, Section 10: The law of the splintered paddle, Māmalahoe Kānāwai, decreed by Kamehameha I – Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety – shall be a unique and living symbol of the State’s concern for public safety. The State shall have the power to provide for the safety of the people from crimes against persons and property.

Kānāwai Māmalahoe appears as a symbol of crossed paddles in the center of the badge of the Honolulu Police Department. A plaque, facing mauka on the Kamehameha Statue outside Aliʻiōlani Hale in Honolulu, notes the Law of the Splintered Paddle.

Kamehameha-Splintered Paddle

March 21, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaipalaoa

Ka niu peʻahi kanaka o Kaipalaoa.
The man-beckoning coco palms of Kaipalaoa.

(The swaying palms that once grew at Kaipalaoa, Hilo, seemed to wave an invitation. ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #1502)

Hilo is likely to have been one of the first Polynesian settlement areas on Hawai‘i Island; oral history and local legend indicate that Polynesians first settled Hilo Harbor around 1100 AD.

Early accounts of Hilo Bay describe a long black sand beach stretching along present day Bay Front from the Wailuku River to the Wailoa River.

Many heiau (temples) attested to the prosperity of Hilo. Kaipalaoa (Sea Whale) Heiau sat on the southern banks. The village at Kaipalaoa was a major trade center, where people from the northern districts met the people of the southern portions of Hilo and Puna.

Kamehameha was familiar with the Hilo district from his youth. Kaipalaoa, across the Wailuku River from Pu`u`eo was a favorite surfing area, and at least eight excellent breaks could be found from Pu‘u‘eo to Waiākea. (Yuen)

Kamehameha I began a war of conquest, winning his first major skirmish in the battle of Mokuʻōhai (a fight between Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻo in July, 1782 at Keʻei, south of Kealakekua Bay on the Island of Hawaiʻi.) Kiwalaʻo was killed.

Captain George Vancouver, an early European explorer who met with Kamehameha at Hilo Bay in 1794, recorded that Kamehameha was there preparing for his invasion of the neighbor islands, and that Hilo was an important center because his canoes were being built there.

Desha wrote that “It is thought that there were as many as seven mano [twenty eight thousand] people who gathered at the shore at Kaipalaoa when the ali‘i landed”. The people of Hilo had long prepared for Kamehameha’s arrival and collected a large number of hogs and a variety of plant foods, to feed the ruler and his warriors.

Kelly surmised that the people of Hilo had actually prepared for a year prior to Kamehameha’s visit and expanded their fields into the open lands behind Hilo to accommodate the increased number of people that would be present.

Kelly also speculated that many of the fishponds in Waiākea were created to feed Kamehameha, his chiefs, and craftsmen. The area at Hilo Bay that housed Kamehameha’s canoe fleets continues to be the site of canoeing, both recreational and competitive. (Rechtman)

By 1795, having fought his last major battle at Nuʻuanu on O‘ahu with his superior use of modern weapons and western advisors, he subdued all other chiefdoms (with the exception of Kauai).

However, after a short time, another chief entered into a power dispute with Kamehameha; his name was Nāmakehā (the brother of Kaʻiana, a chief of Kauai who had been killed in the Battle of Nuʻuanu.)

Previously, Kamehameha asked Nāmakehā (who lived in Kaʻū, Hawai‘i) for help in fighting Kalanikūpule and his Maui forces on O‘ahu, but Nāmakehā ignored the request.

Kamehameha, on Oʻahu at the time, returned to his home island of Hawaiʻi with the bulk of his army to suppress the rebellion. The battle took place at Kaipalaoa, Hilo. Kamehameha defeated Nāmakehā.

This was the final battle fought by Kamehameha to unite the archipelago. (Kamehameha negotiated a settlement with King Kaumualiʻi for the control of Kauai and Niʻihau, in 1810.)

Although Kamehameha’s warriors had won the battle over Nāmakehā, they then turned their rage upon the villages and families of the vanquished. It was about the same time and place of the Nāmakehā Rebellion that Kamehameha decreed Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe (The Law of the Splintered Paddle.)

When Liholiho was born at Hilo in November 1797, he was immediately taken from his mother and given to the guardianship of Kaahumanu. (Sinclair) The first-born child of Keōpūolani and Kamehameha, his piko was ceremonially cut at Kaipalaoa, at the heiau of the same name. (Correa)

Stokes included descriptions of Kaipalaoa heiau as: “Probably located just west of Isabelle Point. The native name of this point is Kaipalaoa”. (Scheffel)

Kaipalaoa Point is now known as Cocoanut Point. “The native name of [Isabelle Point] is Kaipalaoa.” (Stokes) Isabel and Kaipalaoa points are separated by only about three hundred feet. (Hawaiian Place Names)

“The site of Kai-palaoa Heiau was on the land of Kai-palaoa, and lay just seaward, and a little toward Wai-anuenue St, from the site of the Hilo Armory at the upper end of the short street from the shore to Ke-awe St, and on the side toward the river a little below the bridge to Pu-u-eo, near the Library.”

“The Armory site was formerly occupied by the royal residence of King Ka-mehameha I, which was named Ka-hale-‘ilio-‘ole – The House Without Rats (or, commoners).” (Kekahuna)

Kaipalaoa heiau is “Near armory site, Hilo; of pookanaka class; the heiau at which Umi’s life was threatened, and the place where Kamehameha is said to have proclaimed his Māmalahoe law (Law of the Splintered Paddle). Destroyed in the time of Kuakini’s governorship of Hawaii.” (Hawaiian Place Names)

Between 1863 and 1890 a landing wharf and US Coast Guard lighthouse were built at the foot of Waiānuenue Avenue. Passengers and freight were transported to steamers anchored in the bay. (HHF & Cultural Surveys)

By 1870, three heiau in Hilo – Kaipalaoa, Kanowa/Kanoa, and Honokawailani – were described as already being “ruins”. Lydgate describes the Hilo bay front area as it looked in 1873:

“The sea at that time came right up to the bank edge of Front street, so that in heavy weather the spray blew more or less up into the street. Along Front street tall coconut trees of great age towered up over the street.”

“From the foot of Church street extending along the beach it was open country, with the exception of one Hawaiian home, one canoe-builder’s workshop – or halau, as it is called by the Hawaiians – and a tumbled down little blacksmith shop some distance farther on.” (Hawaii County)

October 27, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Last Battle

By 1795, having fought his last major battle at Nuʻuanu on O‘ahu with his superior use of modern weapons and western advisors, he subdued all other chiefdoms (with the exception of Kauai).

Then, Kamehameha launched his first invasion attempt on Kauai in April of 1796. About one-fourth of the way across the ocean channel between O‘ahu and Kauai a storm thwarted Kamehameha’s warriors when many of their canoes were swamped in the rough seas and stormy winds, and then were forced to turn back.

With Hawaiʻi Island under Kamehameha’s control, conflict, there, supposedly ended with the death of Keōua at Kawaihae Harbor in early-1792 and the placement of the vanquished chief’s body in the Heiau ‘o Puʻukoholā at Kawaihae.

Previously, Kamehameha asked Nāmakehā (who lived in Kaʻū, Hawai‘i) for help in fighting Kalanikūpule and his Maui forces on O‘ahu, but Nāmakehā ignored the request.

Instead, Nāmakehā prepared a rebellion against Kamehameha to take place on Hawai‘i Island.

Hostilities erupted between the two that lasted from September 1796 to January 1797.

Kamehameha, on Oʻahu at the time, returned to his home island of Hawaiʻi with the bulk of his army to suppress the rebellion. The battle took place at Kaipalaoa, Hilo.

Kamehameha defeated Nāmakehā. The undisputed sovereignty of Kamehameha was thus established over the entire Island chain (except Kauai and Niʻihau.)

This was the final battle fought by Kamehameha to unite the archipelago. (Kamehameha negotiated a settlement with King Kaumualiʻi for the control of Kauai and Niʻihau, in 1810.)

Although Kamehameha’s warriors had won the battle over Nāmakehā, they then turned their rage upon the villages and families of the vanquished. It so happens that this included the family of ʻŌpūkahaʻia, who had had supported Nāmakehā. They fled to the mountains and hid for several days in a cave.

The warriors found the family and ultimately killed ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s parents and infant brother. (ʻŌpūkahaʻia was captured, later trained as a Kahuna under his uncle, traveled to the continent and ultimately turned to Christianity and was the inspiration for the American missionaries to come to Hawaiʻi.)

Interestingly, it was about the same time of the Nāmakehā Rebellion that Kamehameha decreed Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe (The Law of the Splintered Paddle.)

A story suggests that Kamehameha I was fighting on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Chasing a couple fishermen (presumably with the intention to kill them), his leg was caught in the reef and, in defense, one of the fisherman hit him on the head with a paddle, which broke into pieces.

Kamehameha was able to escape (because the fisherman fled, rather than finishing him off.) The story continues that Kamehameha learned from this experience and saw that it was wrong to misuse power by attacking innocent people.

Later, Kamehameha summoned the two fishermen. When they came, he pardoned them and admitted his mistake by proclaiming a new law, Kānāwai Māmalahoe – Law of the Splintered Paddle.

The original 1797 law:

Kānāwai Māmalahoe (in Hawaiian:):

E nā kānaka,
E mālama ʻoukou i ke akua
A e mālama hoʻi ke kanaka nui a me kanaka iki;
E hele ka ‘elemakule, ka luahine, a me ke kama
A moe i ke ala
‘A‘ohe mea nāna e ho‘opilikia.
Hewa nō, make.

Law of the Splintered Paddle (English translation:)

Kamehameha’s Law of the Splintered Paddle of 1797 is enshrined in the State constitution, Article 9, Section 10: “Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety”. It has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants.

Kānāwai Māmalahoe appears as a symbol of crossed paddles in the center of the badge of the Honolulu Police Department. A plaque, facing mauka on the Kamehameha Statue outside Ali‘iōlani Hale in Honolulu, notes the Law of the Splintered Paddle.

The image shows Kamehameha, as depicted by Herb Kane.

March 11, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kānāwai Māmalahoe (Law of the Splintered Paddle)

In old Hawai‘i, people knew their place in life; some were born to be ali‘i (chiefs,) others were maka‘āinana (commoners.)

Each followed protocols, traditions and kapu.

The Ali‘i were descended from the gods and had strong mana (spiritual power.)

Maka‘āinana were workers (farmers, fishers, crafters and laborers.)

Even though kapu and traditions guided people on how to behave, sometimes innocent people got caught in the middle of feuding chiefs.

A story suggests that on one occasion, Kamehameha I was fighting in Puna.

While chasing two fishermen (presumably with the intention to kill them), his leg was caught in the reef and, in defense, one of the fisherman hit him on the head with a paddle, which broke into pieces.

Kamehameha was able to escape (because the fisherman fled, rather than finishing him off.)

The story continues that Kamehameha learned from this experience and saw that it was wrong to misuse power by attacking innocent people.

Years later, Kamehameha summoned the two fishermen. When they came, he pardoned them and admitted his mistake by proclaiming a new law, Kānāwai Māmalahoe – Law of the Splintered Paddle.

The original 1797 law:

Kānāwai Māmalahoe (in Hawaiian:):

E nā kānaka,

E mālama ‘oukou i ke akua

A e mālama ho‘i ke kanaka nui a me kanaka iki;

E hele ka ‘elemakule, ka luahine, a me ke kama

A moe i ke ala

‘A‘ohe mea nāna e ho‘opilikia.

Hewa nō, make.

Law of the Splintered Paddle (English translation:)

Oh people,

Honor thy gods;

Respect alike [the rights of]

People both great and humble;

See to it that our aged,

Our women and our children

Lie down to sleep by the roadside

Without fear of harm.

Disobey, and die.

Kamehameha’s Law of the Splintered Paddle of 1797 is enshrined in the State constitution, Article 9, Section 10:

“Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety”.

It has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants.

Kānāwai Māmalahoe appears as a symbol of crossed paddles in the center of the badge of the Honolulu Police Department.

A plaque, facing mauka on the Kamehameha Statue outside Ali‘iōlani Hale in Honolulu, notes the Law of the Splintered Paddle (it is the image noted here.)

February 28, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

It was a dark and stormy night …

“It was said that on a certain night of heavy down pouring rain – the lightning struck its wrathful flashes into the sky – the thunder pounded with all its might – the stormy wind veered every which way – the red water churned in the streams.” (Poepoe, Ahlo)

The child born that night was of royal blood, and was destined to become not only the king of Hawaiʻi, but the conqueror and sovereign of the group.

They say the child was poʻolua, “that is, a child of two fathers, (it) was considered a great honor by chiefs of that period.” (Luomala) Some say that his mother, Kekuʻiapoiwa (married to Keōua,) had a liaison with Kahekili (ruler of Maui.)

Though Kahekili was thought to possibly be his biological father, he was raised by his parents (and was considered the son of Kekuʻiapoiwa and Keōua.)

The exact year of his birth is not known; different historians/writers place the year of his birth from about 1736 to 1759.

He was said to be born at Kokoiki (”little blood,” referring to the first signs of childbirth – Kokoiki is one of the star names listed in the Kumulipo chant.)

Another notes, “(A) bright and beautiful star, appeared at Kokoiki on the night before the child was born and is hence called Kokoiki.” (Kūʻokoʻa Home Rula, Ahlo) (Scientific study places Halley’s Comet in the same relative position in the Hawaiian sky on December 1, 1758. (Ahlo))

Keʻāulumoku predicted that he “would triumph over his enemies, and in the end be hailed as the greatest of Hawaiian conquerors.” (Kalākaua)

Word went out to find and kill the baby, but the Kohala community conspired to save him.

“A numerous guard had been set to wait the time of birth. The chiefs kept awake with the guards (for a time,) but due to the rain and the cold, the chiefs fell asleep, and near daybreak Kekuʻiapoiwa went into the house and, turning her face to the side of the house at the gable end, braced her feet against the wall.”

“A certain stranger (Naeʻole) was outside the house listening, and when he heard the sound of the last bearing-down pain (kuakoko), he lifted the thatch at the side of the house, and made a hole above.”

“As soon as the child was born, had slipped down upon the tapa spread out to receive it, and Kekuʻiapoiwa had stood up and let the afterbirth (ewe) come away, he covered the child in the tapa and carried it away.” (Kamakau)

The young child, Kamehameha, was carried on a perilous journey through Kohala and Pololū Valley to Awini. (KamehamehaDayCelebration)

Hawi, meaning ”unable to breathe,” was where the child, being spirited away by a servant, required resuscitation and nursing. Kapaʻau, meaning ”wet blanket,” was where heavy rain soaked the infant’s kapa (blanket.) Halaʻula (scattered blood) was the town where soldiers were killed in anger. (Sproat – (Fujii, NY Times)) Some believe Kamehameha also spent much of his teen years in Pololū (long spear.)

“Kamehameha (Kalani Pai‘ea Wohi o Kaleikini Keali‘ikui Kamehameha o ‘Iolani i Kaiwikapu Kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea) was a man of tremendous physical and intellectual strength. In any land and in any age he would have been a leader.” (Kalākaua, ROOK)

While still in his youth, Kamehameha proved his right to rule over all the islands by lifting the Naha Stone at Pinao Heiau in Pi‘ihonua, Hilo (c. 1773.) (ROOK)

By the time of Cook’s arrival (1778,) Kamehameha had become a superb warrior who already carried the scars of a number of political and physical encounters. The young warrior Kamehameha was described as a tall, strong and physically fearless man who “moved in an aura of violence.” (NPS)

The impress of his mind remains with his crude and vigorous laws, and wherever he stepped is seen an imperishable track. He was so strong of limb that ordinary men were but children in his grasp, and in council the wisest yielded to his judgment. He seems to have been born a man and to have had no boyhood. (Kalākaua)

He was always sedate and thoughtful, and from his earliest years cared for no sport or pastime that was not manly. He had a harsh and rugged face, less given to smiles than frowns, but strongly marked with lines indicative of self-reliance and changeless purpose. (Kalākaua)

He was barbarous, unforgiving and merciless to his enemies, but just, sagacious and considerate in dealing with his subjects. He was more feared and admired than loved and respected; but his strength of arm and force of character well fitted him for the supreme chieftaincy of the group, and he accomplished what no one else could have done in his day. (Kalākaua)

In 1790 (at the same time that George Washington was serving as the US’s first president,) the island of Hawaiʻi was under multiple rule; Kamehameha (ruler of Kohala, Kona and Hāmākua regions) successfully invaded Maui, Lanai and Molokai.

He sent an emissary to the famous kahuna (priest, soothsayer,) Kapoukahi, to determine how he could conquer all of the island of Hawaiʻi. According to Thrum, Kapoukahi instructed Kamehameha “to build a large heiau for his god at Puʻukoholā, adjoining the old heiau of Mailekini.”

It is estimated that the human chain from Pololū Valley to Puʻukohola had somewhere between 10,000-20,000 men carrying stones from Pololū Valley to Kawaihae. (NPS)

After completing the heiau in 1791, Kamehameha invited Keōua to come to Kawaihae to make peace. However, as Keōua was about to step ashore, he was attacked and killed by one of Kamehameha’s chiefs.

With Keōua dead, and his supporters captured or slain, Kamehameha became King of Hawaiʻi island, an event that according to prophesy eventually led to the conquest and consolidation of the islands under the rule of Kamehameha I.

It was the koa (warriors) of Hilo who supported Kamehameha in his early quest to unite Moku O Keawe. After gaining control of Moku O Keawe, Kamehameha celebrated the Makahiki in Hilo in 1794. (ROOK)

The village and area of Hilo was named by Kamehameha after a special braid that was used to secure his canoe. Kamehameha and Keōpūolani’s son, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) was born in Hilo (1797.) (ROOK)

Kamehameha’s great war fleet, Peleleu, that was instrumental in Kamehameha’s conquest, was built and based at Hilo (1796-1801). After uniting all of the islands under his rule in 1810, Hilo became Kamehameha’s first seat of government. (ROOK)

It was in Hilo that Kamehameha established his greatest law, the Kānāwai Māmalahoe (Law of the Splintered Paddle). (ROOK) Kamehameha’s Law of the Splintered Paddle of 1797 is enshrined in the State constitution, Article 9, Section 10: “Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety”.

It has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants. Kānāwai Māmalahoe appears as a symbol of crossed paddles in the center of the badge of the Honolulu Police Department. The image shows Kamehameha as a young warrior (HerbKane.)