Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Oʻahu ‘Wai’ Ahupuaʻa

Kamapuaʻa had several life forms, including that of a human being and that of a hog. His home was at Kaliuwaʻa, in Kaluanui, Koʻolauloa. ʻOlopana was the king of Oʻahu at this time. (Fornander)

The Hawaiian deity Kamapuaʻa, is a part of the Lono god-force, and possessed many body forms (kinolau), representing both human and various facets of nature. He was born in pig-form to Hina (mother) and Kahiki‘ula (father) at Kaluanui in the Koʻolauloa District of O‘ahu. (Maly)

ʻOlopana, an Oʻahu Chief (and younger brother of Kahikiʻula,) was an adversary of Kamapuaʻa. It was Kamapuaʻa’s custom to go and steal the chickens from ʻOlopana’s lands at Kapaka, at Punaluu, and at Kahana

In one night all the chickens in these different places would be taken. On one of these expeditions, just before daylight while on his way home he met Kawauhelemoa, a supernatural being who had the form of a chicken, who enticed him on until he was discovered by the guards of Olopana.

When ʻOlopana heard that it was Kamapuaʻa that was robbing the hen roosts he sent word to all the people from Kahana to Kaluanui to go after Kamapuaʻa and bring him on their backs to his presence. The people who were sent on this mission numbered about eight hundred.

When they came to Kamapuaʻa, they took him and bound him with ropes, then placed him on a pole and carried him. At Kaluanui, Kamapuaʻa heard about ʻOlopana’s preparations for battle, so he made plans to escape before ʻOlopana and his men arrived.

Kaliuwaʻa is a very high cliff, impossible to climb up or down since there is no trail. The cliff is about two thirds of a mile high. Against this cliff Kamapuaʻa leaned forward and stretched his body to the top to provide a way for his parents, his older brothers, his grandmother, and their servants to escape with all their possessions.

When ʻOlopana and his men arrived at Kaluanui, Kamapuaʻa wasn’t there. ʻOlopana then searched for him , finally ending up in Waiʻanae where ʻOlopana and his men settled.

However, he still couldn’t capture Kamapuaʻa because he didn’t have a kahuna (priest) to direct his efforts. Lonoawohi (aka Lonoawohi) was ʻOlopana’s kahuna when ʻOlopana became king of O’ahu; however, Lonoawohi had been removed from office, bound with ropes, imprisoned, and sentenced to death for a transgression against the chief.

To replace Lonoawohi, ʻOlopana summoned the kahuna Malae from Kauai. Malae told ʻOlopana, to overcome his opponent, he should all the pigs, ʻawa, chickens, fish, men, and bananas you can; take these and lay them before Kamapuaʻa as offerings. These offerings will enfeeble him, and his strength will be gone.”

ʻOlopana carried out Malae’s instructions and laid the offerings before Kamapuaʻa – Kamapuaʻa became weak and feeble. The men then seized Kamapuaʻa and dragged him to Pahoa in Waiʻanae, where Lonoawohi was bound and fastened to a post. ʻOlopana intended to sacrifice him with Kamapuaʻa.

Lonoawohi knew that if Kamapuaʻa was killed, he, too, would be killed, so he directed his sons 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 ‘ʻOlopana’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.”

The men carefully carried Kamapuaʻa to ʻOlopana’s place and put him in the heiau.

That night Lonoawohi slept at the post to which he was tied, his sons with him, while the guards kept watch around the house; and Kamapuaʻa slept in the heiau, also under guard.

Late that night Lonoawohi 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 Kamapuaʻa was being held, he found the guards asleep.

Lonoawohi then placed his hand at the nostrils of Kamapuaʻa and discovered he was still alive and breathing. Lonoawohi 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 Kamapuaʻa: “E! The wai lands of Oʻahu are mine.”

The meaning of the request was this: Lonoawohi wanted all the lands containing the word “wai,” such as, Waiʻanae, Waialua and so on.

Lonoawohi knew, through his great powers, that ʻOlopana would be killed, and that Kamapuaʻa would conquer and possess the island of Oʻahu. This was the reason he made this request.

After this exchange between Lonoawohi and Kamapuaʻa, 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 Kamapuaʻa.

In the morning ʻOlopana and the priest Malae began the ceremonies performed before a human sacrifice was offered. The two went and climbed onto the terrace (ʻanuʻu) of the sacrificial stand (lele) and prayed; before the prayer ended, Kamapuaʻa rose above them and opened his eyes.

When Malae and ʻOlopana saw Kamapuaʻa standing above them, they froze with fear and awe. Kamapuaʻa 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. Kamapuaʻa then called out to the priest Lonoawohi .

Then, Lonoawohi 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 Kamapuaʻa’s wrath was Makaliʻi. This was how Kamapuaʻa killed ʻOlopana and conquered Oʻahu. (KCC)

When Kamapuaʻa started to divide the land, one of the notable aspects of the tradition of Kamapuaʻa is that, Lonoawohi, his priest, asked for and received the lands whose names begin with the word “wai” (i.e. Waikiki, Waianae, Waiawa, Wailupe, etc.) Thus, the priests of the Lono class received the “wai” lands. (Maly) This gave a monopoly of well-watered lands on Oʻahu. (Landgraf)

Kamapuaʻa missed his parents, so he transformed to a fish and traveled to Molokai; he convinced his parents to return to O‘ahu. Satisfied that his parents were home, Kamapuaʻa turned into his fish body for a final journey to Kahiki, the ancestral homeland. (Dye) Later, the lands were redistributed. (Landgraf)

In Hawai‘i and essentially in all cultures – water meant life and growth. In Hawai‘i – “Wai” – fresh water – is a life force – it meant abundance and wealth and was a consistent theme in native traditions, practices, land use and historical accounts.

(Lots of information here is from Fornander, Westervelt, KCC and Maly; the image is a collage of a wooden carving of the demi-god Kamapuaʻa – at Bailey House Museum.)

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© 2015 Hoʻokuleana LLC

A collage of a wooden carving of the demi-god Kampua'a - at Bailey House Museum
A collage of a wooden carving of the demi-god Kampua’a – at Bailey House Museum

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Falls Of Clyde

News on Falls of Clyde prompts me to bring her story back …

She was launched December 12, 1878 by shipbuilders Russell & Co at Port Glasgow, Scotland; the four-masted, full-rigged ship Falls of Clyde became part of the Falls Line fleet – all of which were named after Scottish waterfalls.

Falls of Clyde has a wrought-iron hull with a net tonnage of 1,748 tons and has a registered length of 266-feet, with a 40-foot beam and a 23.5-foot depth of hold.

She was rated the highest rating the maritime insurance firm could provide (Lloyd’s of London.)

Used for trade between Britain and India, the ship was under the British flag and journeyed into the Pacific, stopping at Australia, New Zealand, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Falls of Clyde made 10 voyages to American ports while under the British flag.  Sailing to San Francisco and Portland for wheat, she also made one voyage to New York. The voyages to San Francisco were particularly important, for they involved the ship in one of the United States and Britain’s most significant maritime trades, the California grain trade.

She was later sold to Captain William Matson in 1898 with plans to be used for the lucrative sugar trade between Hawaiʻi and the continent.  However, according to US law, Falls of Clyde needed American registry to trade between American ports, a right denied to foreign-built and registered vessels.

“The four masted iron ship Falls of Clyde (under the command of Captain Matson,) floating the Hawaiian flag, the Oceanic Steamship Company’s pennant and her own signal letters, came into the harbor at 10 o’clock this morning.  … “

“The Falls of Clyde brings about 1,000 tons or general merchandise, a large part of which is machinery for the Honolulu plantation.  She also brings 40 mules and 8 horses for the plantation and a stallion for W. G. Irwin & Co.”  (Hawaiian Star, January 20, 1899)

“She is the first four masted Iron ship with yards on each mast that ever came into this harbor flying the Hawaiian flag. Her authority for flying this flag is a temporary register Issued to her by Hawaiian Consul General Wilder at San Francisco.”  (Hawaiian Star, January 20, 1899)

A special provision was added to the 1900 ‘Organic Act;’ Section 98 of the Act states: “That all vessels carrying Hawaiian registers on the twelfth day of August, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and which were owned bona fide by citizens of the United States, or the citizens of Hawaii …”

“… together with the following-named vessels claiming Hawaiian register, Star of France, Euterpe, Star of Russia, Falls of Clyde, and Wilscott, shall be entitled to be registered as American vessels, with the benefits and privileges appertaining thereto, and …”

“…the coasting trade between the islands aforesaid and any other portion of the United States, shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of law applicable to such trade between any two great coasting districts.”

Converted to US registry, Falls of Clyde then was involved in the Hawaiian transpacific sugar trade for Matson Navigation Co.  She carried people, too.

Her cargo hold was not limited to the sugar plantation business; just as modern Matson ships bring in assorted cargo that fill a variety of shelves across the islands, the Falls of Clyde supplied the Islands with various goods that filled the needs of the past.

Here’s a brief summary of an early manifest: “The ship Falls of Clyde sailed yesterday for Hilo with an assorted cargo valued at $23,599 and including the following: 95 bbls flour, 41 ctls wheat, 914 ctls barley, 231 bales hay, 18,521 lbs bran, 12 ctls corn, 75,000 lbs rice, 12 tons salt, 6492 gals wine, 900 lbs lard, 25 cs canned goods, 189,947 lbs fertilizer, 114,174 ft lumber, 38,000 lbs cement, 4200 lbs tobacco, 550 gals distillate, 65 cs gasoline, 150 cs coal oil, 101 cs assorted oils, 100 bxs soap, 1 cs arms and ammunition, 15 pkgs agricultural implements, 3 pkgs machinery, 3 rolls leather, 50 sks coal, 75 pkgs wagon material, 10 pkgs millwork, 6 cs matches, 25 bales paper, 85 kegs white lead, 20 cs paints, 6 pkgs dry goods, 4 pkgs bicycles and parts, 3 bales twine, 1 cs shoes, 30 mules.” (San Francisco Call, February 19, 1905)

The four-masted vessel, originally rigged as a ship, was down-rigged to a bark; in addition, Matson modified and built a large wooden deckhouse forward and a charthouse on the poop deck.

She carried sugar from Hilo to San Francisco until 1906 when the Associated Oil Company (a group of 45 independent oil producers in which Matson had an interest) bought the ship and in 1907 Falls of Clyde was once again modified when she was converted into a sailing oil tanker.

Associated Oil added 10-tanks within the hull, a boiler room and a pump room with a carrying capacity close to 750,000-gallons.  She also carried molasses from Hilo to San Francisco over the next 13 years.

In 1921, she was sold to the General Petroleum Corporation who, after dismasting, then used her as a floating petroleum barge in Ketchikan, Alaska.

General Petroleum reorganized as Socony-Vacuum (now Mobil Oil) in 1959 and developed new shore facilities at Ketchikan. No longer needed, Falls of Clyde was again sold and towed to Seattle, and laid up.

After several attempts to save the ship of the fate of being scuttled as a breakwater, a group of civic and historic-minded folks in Hawaiʻi, aided by funds from the Matson Navigation Co. and other donations (spearheaded by the Friends of Falls of Clyde,) purchased and returned the ship to Honolulu in 1963.

With lots of voluntary help she was restored, remasted and rerigged and, under management of Bishop Museum, in 1970 she was opened to the public at Pier 5.

Damaged by Hurricane Iwa in 1982, she was moved to Pier 7, and over the course of a few years she was restored and became the centerpiece of the Hawaiʻi Maritime Center, moored at Pier 7 in Honolulu Harbor.

Maintaining any boat is expensive, particularly one that dates to the late-1800s.

The Friends of Falls of Clyde mobilized and rallied, again, and on September 25, the Museum’s Board of Directors approved the sale to the Friends, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Falls of Clyde.  (The Friends took ownership of the Falls of Clyde from Bishop Museum on September 30, 2008.)

“The ship Falls of Clyde (FOC) was placed on the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places (HRHP) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1973. It was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1989 because of its exceptional national significance as the oldest surviving American tanker and the only surviving sailing oil tanker left afloat in the world.” (HHF)

On June 28, 2023 the State of Hawai‘i Department of Transportation announced that it will seek to remove the Falls of Clyde from the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places. The Hawai‘i Historic Places Review Board recently met to address an application to delist the Falls of Clyde.

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation testified, “If the Hawai‘i Historic Places Review Board concurs with HDOT’s finding and subsequently takes action to remove the ship from the state register of historic places, only one of its five designations would be affected.”

“Removing the listing from the Hawai‘i Register would have no effect on the national designations, which are governed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. FOC would still be listed on the National Register and as a National Historic Landmark.” (HHF)

Let’s remember the bottom line … Falls of Clyde is the world’s only surviving four-masted, full-rigged ship and is the oldest surviving American tanker and the only surviving sailing oil tanker left afloat.  (Lots of information and images from NPS, Historic Hawaiʻi and Friends of Falls of Clyde.)

Physical things help us see things. Losing the last means we no longer ‘see’ her to remember her.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ala Wai Boat Harbor

Waikīkī was well-suited for Hawaiian shallow-draft canoes that did not require deep water and could be easily beached.

Deeper-draft Western ships anchored off-shore, “it is unquestionably the most eligible anchoring place in the island.”  Its advantages were sandy bottom, soft coral, irregular reef and mild surf. Nonetheless, while foreign ships did anchor at Waikīkī, it was not the perfect harbor.  (Vancouver 1793)

“…On rounding Diamond hill the village of Wyteetee (Waikīkī) appears through large groves of cocoanut and bread-fruit trees … A reef of coral runs along the whole course of the shore, within a quarter of a mile of the beach, on which the sea breaks high; inside this reef there is a passage for canoes. Ships frequently anchor in the bay, in from sixteen to twenty fathoms, over a sand and coral bottom.”  (Corney, 1818)

On shore, Waikīkī was famous for its fishponds with one listing citing 45 ponds.  The ten fishponds at Kālia were loko puʻuone (isolated shore fishponds formed by a barrier sand berm) with salt-water lens intrusion and fresh water entering from upland ʻauwai (irrigation canals.)  These were later used as duck ponds.

Following the Great Māhele in 1848, many of the fishponds and irrigated and dry-land agricultural plots were continued to be farmed, however at a greatly reduced scale (due to manpower limitations.)

In the 1860s and 1870s, former Asian sugar plantation workers (Japanese and Chinese) replaced the taro and farmed more than 500-acres of wetlands in rice fields, also raising fish and ducks in the ponds.

Toward the beginning of the 1900s, downtown Honolulu was the destination for Hawaiian visitors, who numbered only about 3,000. While Honolulu had numerous hotels, there were few places to stay in Waikīkī.

In 1891, at Kālia, the ‘Old Waikiki’ opened as a bathhouse, one of the first places in Waikīkī to offer rooms for overnight guests. It was later redeveloped in 1928 as the Niumalu Hotel; the site eventually became the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

In 1906, the US War Department acquired more than 70-acres in the Kālia portion of Waikīkī for the establishment of a military reservation to be called Fort DeRussy.

The Army started filling in the fishponds which covered most of the Fort site – pumping fill from the ocean continuously for nearly a year in order to build up an area on which permanent structures could be built.  Thus, the Army began the transformation of Waikīkī from wetlands to solid ground.

As part of the government’s Waikīkī Land Reclamation project, the Waikīkī landscape was further transformed with the construction of the Ala Wai Drainage Canal – begun in 1921 and completed in 1928 – resulted in the draining and filling in of the ponds and irrigated fields of Waikīkī.

During the 1920s (before Ala Moana Park,) a barge channel was dredged parallel to the shore through the coral reef to connect Kewalo Basin to Fort DeRussy.

Part of the dredge material helped to reclaim wetland that was filled in with dredged coral; this created the area now known as Ala Moana Park (completed in 1934.)

Smaller boats, moored in the dredged area, also traveled along this channel to Kewalo Basin to get out to sea.  While no formal facilities were built, boats anchored in the nearshore waters; this was the beginning of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor.

Portions of the coastal area were used as a public park (1936-1947.)   Around this time, the land was conveyed from the City to the State (1949) and some land-based boat-related uses started popping up.

Ala Moana Park grew in popularity as swimming beach; with growing use and concern for interaction between Park users and boaters, in 1951, a channel was dredged directly out to sea.  The reef rubble that was dredged was used to fill in this old navigation channel (between Kewalo and the Ala Wai Harbor.)

Over the years, the Harbor grew incrementally.

The Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor is the State’s largest recreational boat harbor, among about fifty small boat harbors, launching ramps, jetties, wharves and landings statewide transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

It consists of about 700 berths. There are also dry berthing spaces, a harbor agent’s office, comfort stations, showers, paved parking, a launching ramp and pier.

In 2022, there were nearly 333.3-million people in the US. There were close to 12-million registered recreational water vessels in that year, meaning that about 4% of our population owns a recreational watercraft of some sort.

Hawaiʻi, the only island state completely surrounded by water, ranks last (50th) in the number of boats, as well as boats per capita in the country (Florida ranks 1st in the number of boats; Minnesota ranks 1st per capita.)

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

A Lasting Legacy by a Brief Stop by Austrians in Hawaiʻi

Austria, politically weakened both domestically and abroad, was forced to relinquish its leading role in Germany after its defeat by Prussia in 1866. Conservative forces sought to retain the old Habsburg glory, but the progressive industrialization had its consequences.  (all-history)

The imperial and royal monarchy of Austria-Hungary did not succeed in integrating the many ethnic groups under its rule. This phenomenon, paradoxically, led to a certain stability, given that no significant union was possible between so many competing nationalities. Meanwhile the civil servants remained loyal to their Habsburg paymasters.  (all-history)

Germans and Hungarians were favored in the political process. Later, into the 1870s, tensions grew.  (Internal conflict led in 1914 to the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand – World War I began.)  (all-history)

It was in this timeframe – 1860-1870s – that Austrians had a chance stay in Honolulu.

At that time Austria-Hungary, also known as the Danube Monarchy, was a major European power comprising some 60-million people who spoke 14-different languages and dialects. The country was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty.

The frigate SMS Donau (with a crew of 360-men,) together with the Corvette Erzherzog Friedrich of the Imperial Austrian Navy, left their base at Pola, Croatia on the Adriatic in late-1868 on a mission to strengthen Austria-Hungary’s trade and consular establishments in the Far East and along the coast of South America.

Donau translates to Danube (the Danube River runs through the core of Austria-Hungary; it’s about 1,000-miles long, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.)

Off the coast of Japan, the two ships ran into two horrific typhoons. It was decided for the Erzherzog Friedrich to return to Europe and the damaged Donau to continue to Honolulu for repairs.

“Arrival of the Austrian Frigate Donau, HIR Austrian Majesty’s steam frigate Donau, Admiral Baron von Petz, commanding, arrived at this port on Monday the 20th, 37 days from Yokohama, Japan. She encountered two heavy cyclones during the passage, in the last of which she suffered serious damage.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“The Donau carries 16 guns, and her engines are 200 horse power. At 10 o’clock AM, on Tuesday, she saluted the Hawaiian flag, which was returned from the Battery on Punch Bowl. She has on board the members of the Imperial Legation, consisting of Contre Admiral Baron von Petz, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary ; Baron von Trautteaberg, Secretary of Legation; Pfisterer, Officer Board of Trade; Schonberger, Czerey, Commercial Reporters.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“In connection with the Donau, we would say that from private letters received from the officers of that ship, here, we are informed that all look back upon their visit in Honolulu with the utmost pleasure. The Hawaiian flag, hoisted over the Consulate at Valparaiso on the first Sunday of their visit there, was hailed with cheers by officers and crew.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, October 5, 1870)

“The Austrian Frigate Donau … experienced heavy storms on the passage, damaging her spars, machinery and hull.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“We hear that Messrs. Foster & Co. will undertake to repair the Austrian Frigate Donau. The job is a heavy one, and will require great skill and ingenuity on the part of the shipwrights, with the appliances at hand, but we understand that it can be done.  The work will be commenced immediately.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

It took some 5 months to repair the ship.

While the Donau was being repaired, the ship’s marching band held daily dockside evening concerts to the great delight of the Honolulu populace.

“A Band in Honolulu, as a convenience on private occasions, and as a means of enjoyment to the public at large, can be easily appreciated, the more so, by the remembrance of the out-door concerts that have of late been given by the Bands attached to war-ships that have visited this port.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

“The Band of Kamehameha III, whose performances at the levees at the Palace, and on other occasions, have now nearly passed out of public remembrance, has entirely disappeared, not more than two members we believe being at present alive; the leader Mr. Mersberg, is living on Hawaii, where he is now engaged in instructing a volunteer Band of twelve instruments, with very great credit to himself as band-master.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

Based on the performances of the Austrian Band, folks petitioned King Kamehameha V to re-institute the Royal Hawaiian Band, originally established in 1836 as the “King’s Band.”

In debate in a legislative session to fund a band, legislator Harris noted:  “As for the item for a band, we needed one. We could dispense with very many things which we now have clothing; for instance, of some kinds. A band also exercised a very beneficial Influence on the people in general.”

“We had recently been favored with the band of the Austrian man-of-war Donau; everyone had been allowed to listen to their music, and its good Influence was shown by the fact of the decrease of crime in the city at that time.    As regarded the band, it was the intension to get genuine musicians to instruct our young men in the art of music.  All of that expense would be abundantly paid for.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, July 13, 1870)

The legacy of the Royal Hawaiian Band lives on.

When the Donau arrived, it had six dead sailors aboard, 2-officers and 4-crew, who had perished in the storms.  They were buried in the Catholic cemetery on King Street (across from Straub.)

In 2012, the Austrian Association of Hawaiʻi had a rededication ceremony in the cemetery for the deceased sailors; the Royal Hawaiian Band performed at the rededication ceremony.

Lots of info here is from a speech by H. Pepi Pesentheiner (Bürgermeister (President) of the Austrian Association of Hawai‘i,) at the rededication of the SMS Donau graves.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kahahana

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,) Molokai, Lānai and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Kahahana was high-born and royally-connected. His father was Elani, one of the highest nobles in the ʻEwa district on Oʻahu, a descendant of the ancient lords of Lihue. His mother was Kaionuilalahai, a sister of Peleioholani, King of Oʻahu, and a cousin of Kahekili, King of Maui.  (Fornander)

While still a child, Kahahana was sent to Maui to grow  up into young manhood in close contact with one of the most noted courts among the different island kings – the court of his relative, Kahekili.

Educated in all the athletic and warlike exercises, Kahahana was remarkable for his personal beauty and manly bearing. Handsome, brave and gallant, he was the idol of the Maui court and the pride of the Oʻahu aristocracy.  (Fornander)

In 1773, back on Oʻahu, Kūmahana was High Chief.  For six generations, Oʻahu Chiefs had always been loyal to the Kākuhihewa family and they were looked upon as their representative on the Oʻahu throne.  Here, Kualiʻi and Peleioholani (grandfather and father of Kūmahana) set a standard.

Kualiʻi was celebrated for his long life and other qualities.  Stern but just, Peleioholani’s reign was a blessing to his kingdom of Oʻahu, which probably had never since the days of Maʻilikūkahi stood higher in population, wealth, and resources, than at the time of his death.  (Fornander)

Not so for Kūmahana.  His weaknesses and extravagancies were enough in three short years to alienate chiefs, priests and commoners.

While leadership was typically assumed via conquest or heredity, under Kūmahana, Chiefs, in conjunction with the High-priest Kaʻōpulupulu, called a public meeting to consider the situation of the country and for the avowed purpose of deposing Kūmahana.

Not a voice was heard nor a spear raised in defense of Kūmahana, who then and there was publicly decreed incompetent and unworthy to rule the Oʻahu kingdom. That meeting and the manner of the execution of its decree find few parallels in the most civilized of modern countries, where the people had to resort to revolution to protect the best interests of their country and their own well-being.  (Fornander)

Though Kūmahana had grown-up children at the time, the Oahu nobles passed them by in selecting a successor to the throne.  It was decided that Kahahana was the most available of all who could be accepted for their future ruler; this was the second king to be elected to succeed to the throne of Oʻahu, the first being Maʻilikūkahi who was his ancestor.

Kahahana was still in Kahekili’s court on Maui at the time and when approached to release Kahahana to return to Oʻahu, Kahekili turned to Kahahana and said, “I permit you to go. Only do me this favor, that when you are firmly established on O‘ahu, you let the land of Kualoa and the ivory that drifts ashore (palaoa-pae) be mine; let these be my property on the island.”  (Kamakau)

Then the chiefs, lesser chiefs, priests, counselors, warriors and commoners gathered from the mountains of the interior to the seacoast at the principal place at Waikīkī to make Kahahana Chief over O‘ahu.  When word of Kahekili’s request was made known to Kaʻōpulupulu he responded, “if you give away these things your authority will be lost.”  (Kamakau)

“To Kualoa belong the water courses of your ancestors, Kalumalumaʻi and Kekaiheheʻe; the sacred drums of Kapahuʻulu, and the spring of Kahoʻahuʻula; the sacred hill of Kauakahi son of Kahoʻowaha of Kualoa. Without the ivory that drifts ashore you could not offer to the gods the first victim slain in battle; it would be for Kahekili to offer it on Maui, and the rule would become his. You would no longer be ruler.”  (Koʻolaupoko HCC)

In Hawaiian tradition, the lands of Kualoa were considered to be the symbol of sovereignty and independence for Oahu, and were closely protected by the Oahu chiefs and priests.  (NPS)

The ahupuaʻa of Kualoa was once famed for the “ivory that drifts ashore (Palaoa-pae)”. The combination of wind, current and reef brought to the Kualoa shoreline the bodies of dead whales.  Whale ivory that washed ashore was considered sacred.

One of the most powerful symbols of status was the whale tooth lei or lei niho palaoa. The beaches of Kualoa on O‘ahu were a major collection point for whale ivory and as such this ‘āina was considered the spot to control in order to possess all of O‘ahu. (Bishop Museum)

Kaʻōpulupulu also strongly stated that if Kahahana had obtained the kingdom by conquest, he might do as he liked, but having been chosen by the Oʻahu chiefs, it would be wrong in him to cede to another the national emblems of sovereignty and independence. Kahahana and the chiefs agreed with Kaʻōpulupulu’s arguments, decided not to comply with the Kahekili’s demands.

All seemed OK, for a while.  When war broke out between Kalaniopuʻu of Hawaiʻi Island and Kahekili in 1779, Kahahana had come to the aid of Kahekili.

Later, things soured.

“At that time, Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oʻahu and Molokai, and the queen of Kauai was disposed to assist him in these enterprises.”  (Kalākaua)

In a meeting between Kahahana and Kahekili, Kahekili deceived Kahahana by having him believe Kaʻōpulupulu had offered the government and throne of Oʻahu to him (Kahekili), but that out of affection for his nephew he had refused; and he intimated strongly that Kaʻōpulupulu was a traitor to Kahahana.

Kahahana believed the falsehoods and it subsequently caused friction between Kahahana and Kaʻōpulupulu and the Oʻahu King turned a deaf ear to his kahuna’s advice and by the later part of 1782 or beginning of 1783, he arranged to have Kaʻōpulupulu killed.

With his main obstacle removed, Kahekili prepared for an invasion against Oʻahu and Kahahana.  He landed at Waikīkī in the beginning of 1783.  Kahekili, dividing his forces in three columns, marched from Waikīkī by Pūowaina (Punchbowl,) Pauoa and Kapena to battle Kahahana and his forces.

Kahahana’s army was routed, and he and his wife fled to the mountains.  For nearly two years or more they wandered over the mountains, secretly aided, fed and clothed by his supporters.  Kahekili’s warriors finally found and killed Kahahana.

Kahekili and his eldest son and heir-apparent, Kalanikūpule, conquered Kahahana, adding Oʻahu under his control.   (Kahekili’s son, Kalanikūpule, inherited his kingdom; Oʻahu was later lost to Kamehameha in the Battle of Nuʻuanu (1795.))

The image shows Kualoa (KualoaRanch.)  Lots of information here from Kamakau and Fornander.

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