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

2/17/2016

 

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

Picture
"Then yet another wave came in and ʻUmi said to Paiea, “Let us catch it.” Paiea agreed, responding, “Pae.” The two caught the wave together and immediately found themselves approaching a small rocky islet standing up on the reef." Illustration by Haley Kailiehu, 2016.
Helu VII.
 
([O Paiea] kela hoa heenalu o Umi, i hai a ma ka Helu 2, o keia Moolelo, a no ka paa kapekepeke maloko o ia Helu, ke makemake nei ka mea nana i kakau ka hapa hope o keia Moolelo, e wehewehe a moakaka lea, i mea e ikeia i ka lawe ana a Umi, i kana aikane o Laupahoehoe, oia kela aikane a Umi, i lilo ai o Puna.)
               
I ko Umi ma hele ana me Koi, aole o Piimaiwaa me Omaokamau, o Koi ma wale no laua me Umi. I ka hiki ana o laua nei ma kahakai o Laupahoehoe, e heenalu ana o Paiea, a me na kanaka olaila, e hookani ana na kanaka ia Paiea, i ka pae i ka nalu, a me ke akamai ona. Nana aku o Umi i ko Paiea kaha ana mai i ka nalu, o ke ohu wale mai no iluna o ka nalu a pio aku la, aole he pae loa mai a hiki iuka, he pae nae ia i na kanaka olaila. Olelo leo uuku aku o Umi, i kekahi wahi kanaka kamaaina, “O ka pae iho la no ka ia, o ka ohu wale mai no iluna o ka nalu a emi aku, aole pela ka pae o ko makou wahi, he pae ko makou wahi, aia no i ka pae a hala loa iuka o ka paala.”
               
Lohe iho la ua wahi kanaka kamaaina nei, hele aku la ia imua o Paiea, i aku la ia ia, “O kela kanaka e noho mai la, i mai nei i ko pae ole ka!” Ninau mai la o Paiea ia ia, “Pehea kana olelo ana mai nei?” I aku la ua wahi kanaka la, “Imai nei, o ka pae iho la no ka ia o ka ohu wale mai no iluna o ka nalu, a emi aku, aole ka pela ka pae o ko lakou aina, he pae loa ka ia a ka paala, pela mai nei ia i olelo mai nei ia'u.” Lohe ae la na kanaka a pau e noho ana i ke anaina heenalu, o Paiea. Hookani ae la lakou ia Umi, me ka lakou olelo mai ia Umi, “Akahi wale no mea nana i hoole mai o Paiea, o oe no e ua keiki, o ka Paiea hana mau keia i ike, o ka heenalu.” Kahea mai o Paiea ia Umi, hele aku la o Umi a kokoke i ko Paiea alo, i mai o Paiea ia Umi, “He oiaio auanei ka ia nei mea i olelo mai nei?” I aku la o Umi ia Paiea, “I mea wale ae no hoi au, o ke ku io mai nei no ka ia o ia nei." I aku la o Paiea ia Umi, “E heihei kaua ma ke kaha nalu ana, ina make au ia oe, lilo no hoi au, a i make hoi oe ia’u, lilo oe.” Ae aku o Umi i kana olelo.
                 
O ka pili aku la no ia o Paiea, elua waa kaulua, hookahi waa kaukahi, mau i ka palaoa, ae aku no o Umi, mau hou mai o Paiea, eha waa kaulua, mau mai i na iwi o Umi, ua ae aku no o Umi, ku mai ke keiki kamaaina olaila, a kokua mai ia Umi, eha waa kaulua, e makemake ana o Paiea, e lilo mai na iwi o Umi ia Paiea, aole nae i lilo, no ka nui o ka waiwai o ua keiki nei, pau e ka waiwai a Paiea, i aku o Paiea i ua keiki kamaaina la, “E kipiia no au e oe, make, eia ka! he nui loa kou ohana.” No ka mea, he Alii no hoi malalo aku o Liloa, a o ua keiki nei hoi, he keiki papa ia ma kekahi aoao o Hamakua, a me Hilo. [Eia kekahi, e ka mea heluhleu, ʻaʻole ʻo kēia wahi keiki papa wale nō ke kākoʻo iā ʻUmi ma kēia heihei a lāua. Wahi a kekahi Haku Moʻolelo kaulana o Hawaiʻi nei, ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau nō hoʻi, “ʻO nā ʻāina a pau mai Waipunalei a hiki i Kaʻula, ua pili lākou ma hope o ʻUmi, a ʻo ko Laupāhoehoe a pau, aia lākou a pau ma hope o Paiea.” I mea e hoʻomaopopo ʻia ai iā kākou a pau kēia wahi i kapa ʻia ʻo Kaʻula, e wehewehe iki kēia wahi mea kākau i kahi o kēia ʻāina. He awāwa lōʻihi nō ʻo Kaʻula ma ka palena o Hāmākua a me Hilo Palikū, ma ka ʻaoʻao Hāmākua o kahi e kū mau nei ka hale wilikō kahiko ma ʻOʻokala, a he pili ko kēia awāwa ʻo Kaʻula i ka ʻāina makuahine o ʻUmi ma Hāmākua Hikina nei.]
               
Holo ae la ka pili a laua nei, o ko laua au aku la no ia, a ke kulana e hee ia’i, u-a-i aku la o Paiea a mawaho iki aku, lana laua nei ilaila, ho-e-a mai ka nalu, pane aku la o Paiea, “Pae kaua.” Hoole mai la o Umi, ho-e-a hou mai la ka nalu, pane hou o Paiea, “Pae kaua.” Hoole hou aku la no o Umi, hoea mai la ka nalu hou, pane mai la o Umi, “Pae kaua.” Pane mai la no o Paiea, “Pae.” Ka laua kaha iho la no ia, pae like a kokoke i kahi moku pu-ko-a e ku ana, hooke mai la o Paiea ia Umi, paa ka poohiwi o Umi, e kunihi ae ana o Umi, hala maloko, mamua aku o ua wahi moku pu-ko-a la, pau ko Paiea pae ana, pae aku la no Umi, a hiki i ka paala. Nana mai la o Koi, ua pohole ka poohiwi, a me ka umauma o Umi, hele mai o Koi a ma ke alo hawanawana mai la ia Umi, “Ina e pa ka aina ia oe, make o Paiea, ia’u.” Ae mai la o Umi i kana noi, o ko Paiea mea i u-a-i aku ai iwaho, no ko Paiea manao e hooke mai ia Umi a paa i ua wahi moku la, a pae mai o Paiea. No ko Umi akamai, pakele mai oia, i kela pilikia mahunehune.
                 
Eo ae la o Paiea ia Umi, pau loa ka waiwai i ua keiki la, koe nae na waiwai i piliia i ka palaoa, no Umi ia, oia ka lilo ana o keia keiki i aikane na Umi ia manawa.
 
(Aole i pau.)
Chapter VII.
 
(Paiea was that surfing “companion” of ʻUmi that was told of in Chapter 2 of this Moʻolelo. However, because that part of the story was incompletely recorded, the one who is writing the latter half of this Moʻolelo would like to explain it furthermore clearly, so as to make known the way in which ʻUmi came into relation with his aikāne of Laupāhoehoe. That is, the aikāne of ʻUmi to whom control of the district of Puna was given.)
 
There was a time when ʻUmi went off walking with Kōī. Piʻimaiwaʻa and ʻŌmaʻokāmau did not go with them. It was only Kōī and ʻUmi. When they arrived at the shore in Laupāhoehoe, Paiea was surfing with some of the others of that place. The people there were praising Paiea and his ability to ride a wave with great skill. ʻUmi looked on as Paiea passed over each wave, rising up and then sitting back with each swell. He didn’t ride any of the waves in to shore, while others there did. ʻUmi then spoke in a quiet voice to one of the kamaʻāina standing there, “Is this how waves are ridden here, by rising up over the swell and sitting back? That is not how we ride waves in our place. When we ride a wave, we ride it all the way in to our shoreline of smooth alā stones.”
 
When that kamaʻāina heard this, he went before Paiea and told him, “That kanaka sitting over there is talking about you not riding waves.” Paiea then asked him, “What is it that he is saying?” That kanaka responded, “He said, ‘Is this how waves are ridden here, by rising up over the swell and sitting back?’ That is not how they ride waves in their ʻāina. When they ride a wave, they ride it all the way in to the shoreline of smooth alā stones. That is what he said to me.” All those gathered to watch Paiea surf heard these words, and they began to make a ruckus about ʻUmi. They then said to ʻUmi, “This is the first time that someone has challenged Paiea, as you have done, young boy. You should know that surfing is an art that Paiea is most skilled in.” Paiea called out to ʻUmi, and ʻUmi walked over to be in Paiea’s presence. Paiea then said to ʻUmi, “It is true what that person has told me?” ʻUmi responded, “I was simply making a passing remark, but it is true what he has told you.” Paiea then said to ʻUmi, “Let us have a surfing race. If I am defeated by you, I will be yours, and if you are defeated by me, you will be mine.” And ʻUmi agreed to his challenge.
 
Paiea then set the wager: two double-hulled canoes and one single-hulled canoe, against the palaoa (whale tooth necklace) of ʻUmi. ʻUmi agreed. Then Paiea wagered again: four double-hulled canoes against the iwi (bones) of ʻUmi. And ʻUmi agreed again to this wager. However, at that moment the young kamaʻāina of that place stepped in to help ʻUmi by offering four double-hulled canoes to match Paiea’s wager. It was clear that Paiea wanted the iwi of ʻUmi to become his, but that would not be, for the waiwai (wealth) of this young kamaʻāina was great and Paiea’s had already be exhausted. Paiea then said to that keiki kamaʻāina, “If you were to rebel against me, I would surely be killed, for you have a very large ʻohana!” Paiea was merely a resident aliʻi under Līloa. But this young kamaʻāina, however, he was a keiki papa--a Native whose ancestors for several generations back were Natives of this same place—of this side of Hāmākua and Hilo. Dear reader, allow me to add here that this “keiki papa” was not the only one who backed ʻUmi in this competition. According to one of the famous Haku Moʻolelo of Hawaiʻi, Samuel M. Kamakau, “All the people of the ʻāina from Waipunalei to Kaʻula placed their wagers on ʻUmi, and all those of Laupāhoehoe backed Paiea.” So that we all might come to understand where this place called Kaʻula is, this humble writer will describe it briefly here. Kaʻula is a long gulch at the boundary of Hāmākua and Hilo Palikū. It is located on the Hāmākua side of the place where the remains of the old sugar mill in ʻOʻokala stands today, and it is connected to the lands of ʻUmi’s mother here in Hāmākua Hikina.] 
 
Once their wagers were set, the two of them paddled out to spot where the surf could be caught. Paiea then moved a little further out, and they waited out there floating. When a wave arrived, Paiea said to ʻUmi, “Let’s catch it.” But ʻUmi disagreed. Then another wave arrived and Paiea again said, “Let us catch it.” But again ʻUmi refused. Then yet another wave came in and ʻUmi said to Paiea, “Let’s catch it.” Paiea agreed, responding, “Pae.” The two caught the wave together and immediately found themselves approaching a small rocky islet standing up on the reef. Paiea crowded ʻUmi, pushing him towards it, and as ʻUmi turned to the inside, maneuvering carefully to avoid it, his shoulder was hit. Before reaching that rocky islet on the reef, Paiea pulled off the wave, but ʻUmi continued to ride it all the way in to the smooth alā stones on the shore. Kōī saw that ʻUmi’s shoulder and chest had been scraped and bruised, and so he went over close to ʻUmi and whispered to him, “If the ʻāina comes under your control one day, Paiea will be killed by me.” ʻUmi quietly agreed to his request. The reason why Paiea had moved himself outside was because his intention was to crowd ʻUmi and push him in to that small rocky islet, so that he would win. However, because of ʻUmi’s skill, he was able to just barely avoid that trouble.
 
Paiea was defeated by ʻUmi. All the waiwai that Paiea had wagered was taken by the young kamaʻāina, with the exception of what he had wagered against ʻUmi’s palaoa (whale tooth necklace). That was for ʻUmi. And so it was at that moment that this young kamaʻāina of Laupāhoehoe became a favored aikāne of ʻUmi.
 
(To be continued)

Kākau ʻia e J. H. Z. Kalunaaina, Mal. 15, 1862
Hoʻopuka hou ʻia a ʻunuhi ʻia e Kealaulili
Written by J. H. Z. Kalunaaina, Mar. 15, 1862
Republished and translated by Kealaulili

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    About the story...

    "He Moolelo no Umi" is one of the earliest known published versions of the story of ʻUmi-a-Liloa, the great chief of Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi. The version of this story that is republished and translated here was first published by Simeon Keliikaapuni and J. H. Z. Kalunaaina in 1862, in the Hawaiian language newspaper called Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. After Keliikaapuni & Kalunaaina published "He Moolelo no Umi," similar versions of this important moʻolelo were published and republished in newspapers by a number of others throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Our kūpuna clearly valued this moʻolelo and the lessons it imbued upon each generation who learned it. We, in the same spirit that inspired our kūpuna to retell this moʻolelo, represent it here, in both its original language and in english, so that our generation and the many generations to come may derive knowledge from the important lessons held within this moʻolelo. And so that we, kamaʻāina of Hāmākua, may find pride in the deep cultural heritage and history of our beloved homelands, the birthplace of this great chief, ʻUmi-a-Līloa.

    Start the moʻolelo

    Kealaulili, Mea Kākau

    This moʻolelo has been compiled and translated by Kealaulili, based on "He Moolelo no Umi," originally published by Simeon Keliikaapuni & J. H. Z. Kalunaaina in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa in 1862. 

    Haley Kailiehu, Artist

    All illustrations have been created by ʻŌiwi artist, Haley Kailiehu.


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