He Moʻolelo no ʻUmi: Kekahi Aliʻi Kaulana o Ko Hawaiʻi Nei Pae ʻĀina.

A Moʻolelo for ʻUmi: A Famous Aliʻi of These Hawaiian Islands.

Auhea oukou e na hoa heluhelu o ke ala ulili, mai kahi kihi a kahi kihi o ko kakou kulaiwi o Hawaii, aloha nui kakou. Eia no kakou ke hoomau aku nei i ke kuamoo olelo o ko kakou alii kaulana, o Umi-a-Liloa hoi, a ina ua hele a luhi ke kino i ka loihi o ka hele ana i ke ala ulili, e noho pu oukou i ka lokomaikai o keia alii no Hamakua. Ma keia wahi mahele o ko kakou moolelo, e ike ana kou maka i na hana i kaulana ai keia alii, na hana hoi i hoopaa ia e ke alii maoli, e ke alii pono, a i kiahoomanao kona moolelo no kakou, na mamo e ola nei, i mea e ike ai kakou i ka pono a me ka pono ole o ka noho aupuni ana. I alii no o Umi i na kanaka ana i malama ai, oia hoi, ke kanaka nui a me ke kanaka iki, a oia no ke kumu i olelo ia ai keia olelo noiau e ka poe kahiko, "Hookahua ka aina, hanau ke kanaka. Hookahua ke kanaka, hanau ke alii." No laila, e ka poe aloha aina o ko Hawaii nei Paeaina, e hoomau kakou.

Na Kealaulili
Iulai 11, 2014
Koholalele, Hamakua, Hawaii

Dear reading companions of the ala ʻūlili, from one corner to the other corner of our beloved homelands of Hawaiʻi, aloha to you all. Here we are continuing along the path of tradition of our famous aliʻi, ʻUmi-a-Līloa, and if perhaps your body has become weary from the long journey along the steep trails, then sit and rest here with the generosity of this aliʻi from Hāmākua. In this portion of our moʻolelo, your eyes with bare witness to the deeds that made famous this aliʻi, the deeds that are tended to by a true aliʻi, a pono aliʻi. For this moʻolelo stands as a reminder for us, the living descendants today, so that we may come to know of what establishes pono, or disturbs it, in the work of governance. ʻUmi was an aliʻi by the will of the people he cared for, that is, the "big person" and the "small person," and it is for this reason that the people of old would speak of these wise words: "The ʻāina creates the foundation upon which the people are born. The people create the foundation upon which the aliʻi are born." Therefore, dear aloha ʻāina, dear people who love this ʻāina of our Hawaiian Islands, let us continue on.

By Kealaulili
July 11, 2014
Koholālele, Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi

ʻO ʻUmi-a-Līloa, ke aliʻi lokomaikaʻi. Illustration by Haley Kailiehu, 2014.

Helu 3.

Alaila, hoi aku la o Umi me Kaleioku, a noho iho la ma kona wahi, a noho iho la laua malaila [ma Waipunalei]. O ka hoomaka iho la no ia o Kaleioku e hana. O kana hana i hana'i, i mea e lilo ai ke aupuni no kana alii no Umi, no ka mea, ua maopopo ia ia he alii keia, he hanai kanaka, hanai holoholona, puaa, a me ka moa, he mahiai, he ao i ka makaihe, no ia hale ao mai kekahi mau kanaka akamai i ka pana laau, (oia o Koi, Omaokamau, a me Piimaiwaa.)

I ko Umi ma noho ana ilaila, ua liuliu loa. A iloko oia noho ana, nui mai na kanaka, o ka nui o na kanaka he eha kaau, ua like ia me 160 hale, i ke kaau hale hookahi, hookahi lau kanaka, a pela a pau na kaau hale eha, eha lau ia o na kanaka, ua like paha 1,600 ka nui. A pela no o Kaleioku i hoolako ai no kana alii, i na mea a pau e makaukau ai. No ka manao o ua Kaleioku, e lilo ke aupuni i kana alii, oia kona mea i hoomakaukau ai i na kanaka, i ke ao ana i ka makaihe.

E ka mea heluhelu, eia mai kekahi lālā o kēia kuamoʻo ʻōlelo no ko ʻUmi noho ʻana me Kaleiokū. Wahi a S. M. Kamakau, "I ka lilo ana o Kaleioku i kahu hanai no Umi. O ka hanai no ia i kanaka, a piha ua halau a piha ua halau, a umi a umi na halau i paha i kanaka, hele mai kanaka o Hilo i ka paakai i Hamakua, a ua hanaiia i ka puaa, a o ko Hamakua huakai a me ko Kohala a me ko Kona, e hele ana ma Hilo a Puna i ka hulu, a hookipa ia lakou ma kahi hanai kanaka o Umi. Aole i hala ka makahiki, ua kauluwela ka nui o na kanaka, a ua kaulana ka lokomaikai o Umi, aia na kanaka a pau o ka mahiai ka hana nui, a i ke ahiahi o ke ao i na mea kaua, alaila kukui aku la ka lohe a hiki i Waipio, aia o Umi la me Kaleioku kahi i noho ai, he alii lokomaikai, he malama i ke kanaka nui i ke kanaka iki, i ka elemakule, i ka luahine, i ke keiki, i ka ilihune, i ka mea mai." (Ke Au Okoa, Nov. 17, 1870.)

Chapter 3.

Thus, ʻUmi returned with Kaleiokū, and the two stayed together there at his residence [at Waipunalei]. And so the work of Kaleiokū immediately began. His work was that which would ensure that the kingdom would be ruled by his aliʻi, ʻUmi. For he understood that ʻUmi truly was an aliʻi. He fed the people. He fed the animals, pigs and the chickens. He was a farmer. And he was well learned in the use of a spear, coming from the same school as that of other men skilled in the use of bows (that is, Kōī, ʻŌmaʻokāmau, and Piʻimaiwaʻa).

During ʻUmi's residence there, he remained for a significant period of time. Within that period of residence, a great number of people came to live there. The number of people was equal to that of four kaʻau (x40), that being, 160 houses. Within one kaʻau (group of 40) houses was one lau (400) of people, and so it was for each kaʻau of houses, equalling to four lau of people, that being 1,600 people total. That was how Kaleiokū supplied his aliʻi, with all the necessities to prepare him. For it was Kaleiokū's intention to bring the kingdom under the rule of his aliʻi. That is why he prepared the people with lessons in fighting with spears. 

Oh reader, here is another branch of this path of tradition regarding ʻUmi's residence with Kaleiokū. According to S. M. Kamakau, "When Kaleiokū became a guardian for ʻUmi, they began to feed the people until each and every hālau was filled. Tens upon tens of hālau were filled with a multitude of people. When the people of Hilo went to Hāmākua for salt, they were fed pork. And when those of Hāmākua, Kohala, and Kona journeyed to Hilo and Puna for feathers, they were greeted at the place where ʻUmi fed his people. Without even a year passing, the people were swarming in numbers, and the generosity of ʻUmi became well-known. The main work of the people was in farming, and in the evenings the things related to battle were taught. Eventually, word spread as far as Waipiʻo that ʻUmi was in residence with Kaleiokū, and that he was a generous aliʻi. He cared for the "big person" and the "small person" for the elderly men and women, for the children, for those in destitution, and for the sick."

No Nunu me Kakohe
Regarding Nunu and Kakohe

Ua loohia na wahi elemakule kahuna a Hakau i ka mai. Inu laau hoonaha ua mau wahi elemakule nei, a naha iho la ko laua mau apu, a pau ka inoino o ko laua mau opu, ia manawa koke no, olelo aku la laua i ko laua kanaka, e hele i o Hakau la i ko laua haku. No ka mea, he punahele ua mau wahi elemakule nei, ia Liloa i ka makuakane o Hakau me Umi, eia ke kumu i punahele ai laua ia Liloa. Aia ia laua ka malama o Kaili ke akua o ua Liloa nei, ia laua wale no e hiki ai, aole i kekahi mea e ae. I na no ke kaua mai, hele aku no o Liloa ia laua, na laua no e hoole mai, "aole kaua," pau ae la no, a pela aku no i kela hihia o ke aupuni, keia hihia. A hiki i ka wa i make ai o Liloa, ua hooili ae i ka aina no Hakau.

I ka wa i hele aku ai o kahi kanaka o ua mau elemakule nei imua o Hakau ke alii, ninau mai ke alii ia ia, "Heaha mai nei kau?" I aku ia, "I hele mai nei au imua ou o ke alii, na na wahi elemakule i hoouna mai nei, e hele mai au imua ou o ke alii, i ai, i i-a, i awa, no laua, i mea e hoopaa ai i ka naha laau o laua," pane mai la ke alii ia ia. "O hoi oe a ia laua hoole aku.'' Hoi mai ua kanaka nei, a hai mai i ka ke alii mea i olelo mai ai ia ia, imua o ua mau wahi elemakule nei, lohe iho laua, he mau olelo inoino loa ka ke aili no laua, loaa ia laua ka ohumu ma ko laua naau, (lilo ka aina ia Umi la.)


I ka wa i noho iho ai mahope iho o ka lohe ana i na olelo a ke alii, kaumaha ko laua nei manao, me ke kahaha nui loa, olelo aku kekahi wahi elemakule, i kekahi elemakule, "Pehea la ka Kaleioku hanai, e loheia mai nei? E hele paha kaua malaila ?" Ae mai la kekahi elemakule, "Ae, e nana wale aku hoi kaua i ka maikai o kana hanai, me ka maikai ole," ua holo like ia i ko laua manao.

Wahi a S. M. Kamakau, "Makemake iho la o Nunu a me Kakohe e ikemaka no ka mea, he kaikaina o Kaleioku no laua iloko o na makua hookahi, a he poe hoi mai ka pupuu hookahi mai, a mai ka papa kahuna mai hoi a Lono." (Ke Au Okoa, Nov. 17, 1870.)

O ko laua nei hoomaka no ia i ka hele ana, o ko laua nei hele no ia, a poakolu laua nei i ke alanui, mai Waipio aku laua nei ka hele ana 'ku, e hele ana laua i Hilo, ma ka aoao akau aku o Hamakua.

(Aole i pau)

The elderly kahuna of Hakau were overwhelmed by sickness. These elderly men drank a purgative medicine, and when their coconut shell cups were taken, the pain in their stomachs resided. At that moment, they told their attendants to go to their chief, Hakau, because these old men were favorites of Līloa, the father of Hakau and ʻUmi. Here is the reason for Līloa favoring them. Theirs alone was the task of caring for Kāʻili, the akua of Līloa, no one else could do the same. If war was imminent, Līloa went to them, and it was they who told him, "No war," and it was finished. And so it was for each and every difficulty of the kingdom, until the time of Līloa's passing arrived, and the ʻāina was inherited by Hakau. 

When one of the attendants of these old men went before Hakau, the aliʻi asked of them, "What is your business here?" The attendant responded, "I have come before you, oh chief, because the old men have sent me to come before you to request some food, fish, and ʻawa for them, so that the purgative medicine they took can be complete." The aliʻi responded to them, "Return to them and tell them no." Their attendant then returned to them and told them what the aliʻi had said. When they heard that the aliʻi had only very wicked words for them, a plot of conspiracy developed in their naʻau (rule of the ʻāina would be taken by ʻUmi).

In the time they spent after the words of the aliʻi were heard, their thoughts were burdened by great displeasure. One of the old m"en said to the other, "What about the hānai of Kaleiokū that we heard about? Perhaps we should go there?" The other old man agreed, "Yes, let us go see for ourselves what is good and perhaps not good of his hānai." Their thoughts were in alignment. 

According to S. M. Kamakau, "Nunu and Kakohe wanted to see for themselves, because Kaleiokū was a kaikaina (younger familial relative) of theirs, coming from a common parent, that is, they came from the same womb, and from the priestly class of Lono."

And so they began their journey. They traveled for three nights along the trail from Waipiʻo heading towards Hilo, on the northern side of Hāmākua.


(To be continued)

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