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

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

Ua kuapapa nui ke aupuni iā ʻUmi. Illustration by Haley Kailiehu, 2016.

Helu VII.
 
[Ma ʻaneʻi, e hoʻomaka hou ʻia ke kamaʻilio ʻana no ka huakaʻi kaʻapuni a ke aliʻi, a ʻUmi, i ko lākou hōʻea ʻana i ka palena ʻo Hāmākua a me Hilo.]
 
Kena ia o Koi e ke Alii, e hele a e pepehi ia Paiea, e like me kana mea i noi ai i ke Alii [ma hope o kā lāua heihei heʻenalu]. O kona hele iho la no ia, a hiki ma kahi o Paiea, mauka o Laupahoehoe, a make o Paiea. Luku aku o Koi ma kekahi wahi o Hilo, i ka poe i ku-e ia Umi i ko laua wa i heenalu ai me Paiea. A pau ae la ka Koi luku ana ia lakou.
                 
Hiki aku ke Alii me kana huakai kaapuni, ma Waipunalei, kahi o Kaleioku. Ua hana o Kaleioku, i ka Heiau, mamua o ko laua wa ilihune, me kana Alii [ʻaʻole naʻe i hei ʻia i ke kanaka]. I ka lilo ana nae o Hawaii ia laua, o Paiea ke kanaka i kau ia i ua Heiau la. Hana o Kaleioku a pau, ilaila kahi a Kaleioku i makia ai i ko Umi noho Aupuni ana ia Hawaii. [E ke hoa heluhelu, wahi a ka poʻe kamaʻāina o ia ʻāina ʻo Waipunalei a me Laupāhoehoe, ʻo Mamala ka inoa o ia heiau lā a Kaleiokū i kūkulu ai. Aia ia heiau ke kū mau nei i kēia lā ma ka ʻāina ʻo Haʻakoa ma luna hoʻi o ka pali ma ka ʻaoʻao Kohala o ke awāwa ʻo Laupāhoehoe e kiʻei iho nei i ka lae kahakai kaulana o ua awāwa uluwehiwehi lā. M.K.]
 
Noho lakou malaila a liuliu iki, hele aku lakou i ke kaapuni. I ko lakou kaapuni ana, a puni ka Mokupuni o Hawaii, a hiki lakou i Waipio, kahi a lakou i hoomaka aku ai i ka hele kaapuni ana. Elua Kau, elua Hooilo, ua like paha me elua makahiki. Iloko hoi o ko lakou kaapuni ana, ua kuhikuhi aku o Kaleioku i ka palena o kela aina keia aina, a me na palena o na moku o Hawaii. Ua maopopo i ko ke Alii mau maka, nui no hoi ka olioli o na kanaka o Hawaii a puni, i ka ike ana mai ia Umi, ko lakou Alii hou.

Chapter VII.
 
[Here we will return to our conversation about the journey of the aliʻi, ʻUmi, around the island of Hawaiʻi, as they arrived at the boundary between Hāmākua and Hilo.]
 
Kōī was then ordered by the ʻUmi to go and kill Paiea, just as Kōī had requested of the Aliʻi [after their surfing competition]. He then immediately went off to Paiea’s residence ma uka of Laupāhoehoe, and there Paiea was put to death. Kōī then continued on to massacre those of Hilo who had stood against ʻUmi when he competed with Paiea in their surfing contest.
 
The Aliʻi ʻUmi and his traveling companions arrived at Waipunalei, the place of residence of Kaleiokū. Kaleiokū had constructed a Heiau there with his Aliʻi during their days of living in destitution, [but it had not been consecrated with a human offering]. Now that Hawaiʻi had come under the control of ʻUmi, Paiea would be the one to be placed on that Heiau as an offering. Kaleiokū conducted the ceremonies there until they were complete. It is there that Kaleiokū established and solidified ʻUmi’s governance of Hawaiʻi.  [Dear reading companions, according to the kamaʻāina of Waipunalei and Laupāhoehoe, Mamala is the name of that heiau constructed by Kaleiokū. The heiau still stands today in the ʻāina of Haʻakoa at the top of the pali on the Kohala side of Laupāhoehoe valley, peering down towards the famous point of that lush valley. Author’s Note]
 
They all stayed there for some time before continuing on their journey around the island. They traveled around the entire island of Hawaiʻi until they reached back at Waipiʻo, where their circuit had begun. This journey took them two Kau (the dryer season, made up of six lunar months) and two Hoʻoilo (the wetter season, also made up of six lunar months), approximately two years, to complete. During their circuit around the island, Kaleiokū pointed out the boundaries of each and every ʻāina, including those of all the districts of Hawaiʻi. During this time, the Aliʻi witnessed with his own eyes the great joy of all the people around Hawaiʻi when they saw him and rejoiced in knowing that ʻUmi was their new Aliʻi.

E ka mea heluhelu, e ʻoluʻolu e waiho nō hoʻi kākou i ka moʻolelo nei no ka manawa i hiki hoʻi i kēia wahi mea kākau ke hoʻākāka aku i ke kumu no ka hoʻomohala hou ʻia ʻana mai o kēia moʻolelo nei i mua o kākou. Nīnau maila kekahi, “No ke aha ʻoe e paʻi hou nei i ka moʻolelo kahiko no ʻUmi-a-Līloa?” A eia kaʻu pane: Wahi a kekahi kākau moʻolelo kaulana o Hawaiʻi, ʻo ia nō ʻo Joseph M. Poepoe, “O ka makaukau ma na Moolelo o kou Aina Makuahine ke keehina ike mua ma ke Kalaiaina e hiki ai ke paio no ka pono o ka Noho’na Aupuni ana.” Eia kekahi, ʻī maila ʻo Poepoe iā kākou, “E ku mai oukou ma na alanui, a nana a e ninau hoi no na kuamoo kahiko, ‘Auhea ka aoao maikai?’ E ka lahui, pehea la e hiki ai ia kakou ke ninau i ka aoao maikai, ke ole e paa ia kakou ka moolelo kahiko o ko kakou Aina Aloha?” (Ka Naʻi Aupuni, Ian. 17, 1906) Ma o kēia ʻōlelo noʻeau a Poepoe, ʻike nō hoʻi kākou, ua hoʻoikaika ʻia ko kākou keʻehina ma ke kālaiʻāina i ka ʻike o nā kuamoʻo kahiko o ko kākou kūpuna naʻauao, me he mea lā, ʻo nā moʻolelo kahiko o ko kākou ʻāina ʻōiwi nei, ʻo ia nā pōhaku e uhau ai a paʻa ke kahua o ko kākou hālau no ka noho Aupuni ʻana.

​He mea koʻikoʻi ko kākou kuamoʻo ʻōlelo no ka poʻe kūkulu aupuni, a he kuleana nui ko ka poʻe haku moʻolelo i ka wā kahiko. Wahi a P. W. Kaawa, aia i loko o ka moʻolelo, “ka huli anaʻku a nana me he aniani la. ‘Me nei ka hana ana o Mea i kona aupuni pono ai kona noho alii ana.’ A hoolohe ke alii i ka olelo a ka Haku Moolelo, ola. A hookuli no hoi make no ke alii” (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa Dek. 23, 1865). Ke huli aku a ke nānā kākou i nā kuamoʻo kahiko o ko kākou ʻĀina Aloha ʻo Hawaiʻi, me he aniani lā, hiki ke ʻike leʻa ʻia, ʻo ko kākou kuamoʻo ʻōlelo ka iwikuamoʻo o ke kino aupuni no ka lāhui Hawaiʻi. Paʻa ke kuamoʻo, kū ke kino. No ia kumu, i haku ʻia ai nā moʻolelo e ka poʻe kahiko no ka noho aupuni ʻana me ka pono, a pūlama ʻia hoʻi ia mau moʻolelo no kākou, nā maka a ka lāhui aloha ʻāina e kukupu nei. ʻO ka moʻolelo nei no ʻUmi kekahi o ia mau moʻolelo koʻikoʻi no ka hoʻomaopopo ʻana ia mea he aupuni pono.
 
Wahi a kekahi mea kākau kaulana o Hawaiʻi, ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau hoʻi, “I ke kuapapa nui ana o ke aupuni o Hawaii ia Umi-a-Liloa ua kaulana kona inoa mai Hawaii a Kauai, aole alii e like me kona noho aupuni ana.” Eia kekahi, kākau ihola ʻo Kamakau no ke ʻano o ko ʻUmi kūkulu aupuni ʻana me kēia, “I ko Umi-a-Liloa noho alii ana, ua hoonoho oia i ka poe paahana, a ua hookaawale i ka poe i loaa kela oihana keia oihana o ke aupuni. Hookaawale oia i ka papa alii a kaawale, i ka papa kahuna a kaawale, i ka papa kilo a kaawale, i ka poe akamai o ka aina a kaawale. A hookaawale i ka poe mahiai a hookaawale i ka poe lawaia, a me ka poe kalai waa. Hookaawale oia i ka poe koa a me ka poe pale ihe, i kela oihana keia oihana me ka makaukau, a i kela mea paahana keia mea paahana, me ka malama ma ka lakou hana. A pela na kiaaina, na ai okana, na ai ahupuaa, na ai iliaina, ua makaukau i ka hooponoponoia.” (Ke Au Okoa. Dec. 1, 1870) Ma muli o ko ʻUmi hoʻonoho papa ʻana i ka poʻe paʻahana a akamai hoʻi o ka ʻāina, ua lilo ka lāhui Hawaiʻi i poʻe kuleana no kēlā a me kēia ʻoihana a pēlā pū me kēlā a me kēia ʻāina hoʻi ma Hawaiʻi, a pēlā i kuapapa nui ai ke aupuni. He aupuni kūpono ke aupuni kuapapa, no ka mea, kū ke aupuni kuapapa ma luna o ke kahua i kūkulu ʻia e ka poʻe noho papa o ka ʻāina, nā makaʻāinana a me nā konohiki hoʻi. Ma kēia kūkulu aupuni ʻana, lawe mai ka poʻe noho papa i ko lākou ʻike a me ko lākou moʻolelo hoʻi, me he mea lā, he mau pōhaku ko kēlā a me kēia kanaka noho papa o ka ʻāina a halihali mai lākou a uhau i ka pōhaku i kahua a kuapapa nui. Ma luna hoʻi o kēia kahua kuapapa i kūkulu ʻia ai ke aupuni kuapapa. Pēlā nō kā ʻUmi kūkulu aupuni ʻana. 
 
ʻOkoʻa ke kuapapa ʻana o ke aupuni, ʻokoʻa hoʻi ka naʻi aupuni ʻana. Ua kaulana a laha loa ka moʻolelo no ka naʻi aupuni ma Hawaiʻi nei. He inoa ʻo “Ka Naʻi Aupuni” no Kamehameha I, ma muli o kona naʻi ʻana i ke aupuni o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina ma lalo ona. He naʻi ka hana nui a Kamehameha I a me kāna mau ʻalihikaua i ko lākou kūkulu aupuni ʻana, ma o ka hoʻouka kaua a me ka hoʻokuʻikahi ʻana. ʻOiai ua naʻi akula ʻo Ka Naʻi Aupuni i aupuni pono no ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina, ʻaʻole na Ka Naʻi Aupuni ke kahua o ia aupuni. Na kona mau mua i hoʻopaʻa i ke kahua no kona naʻi aupuni ʻana ma nā moku a pau i kēia Pae ʻĀina nei. Na ʻUmi i Hawaiʻi, na Kakaʻalaneo i Maui, na Māʻilikūkahi i Oʻahu, a na Manokalanipō hoʻi i Kauaʻi i hoʻonoho papa i ka poʻe aloha ʻāina i kēlā a me kēia ʻāina, a na ka poʻe aloha ʻāina i hoʻopaʻa i ke kahua no ko lākou aupuni ma o ka hana a ko lākou mau lima ponoʻī. ʻO ke kahua ma mua, ma hope ke kūkulu. ʻAʻole i pono ke aupuni i ka naʻi ʻana o ke aliʻi wale nō. 
 
I kā Davida K. Kahalemaile haʻiʻōlelo ʻana no ka Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea i ka M.H. 1871, ʻī maila ʻo ia no ke ʻano o ka huaʻōlelo “aupuni” ma Hawaiʻi penei, “O ke ano hoi o ka huaolelo aupuni, Oia ka hui ana o na Alii a me na Makaainana e noonoo a e kau i Kanawai no lakou, a kapa ia mai keia hui ana, he Aupuni” (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Aug. 12, 1871). No laila, ʻaʻole hiki ke kūkulu ʻia ke aupuni e ke aliʻi wale nō. I aliʻi nō ke aliʻi i ke kanaka, a i aupuni hoʻi ke aupuni i ke kanaka kekahi. Wahi a kahiko, hoʻokahua ka ʻāina, hānau ke kanaka. Hoʻokahua ke kanaka, hānau ke aliʻi. Hoʻokahua ke aliʻi, hānau ke aupuni. ʻO ia ke kuamoʻo no ke aupuni kuapapa nui iā ʻUmi, a he aniani ia moʻolelo no kākou, e ka lāhui Hawaiʻi, i ko kākou huli ʻana i ke kuamoʻo kūpono no ke kūkulu hou ʻana i aupuni kūʻokoʻa no Hawaiʻi i kēia au nei. 
 
No laila, e nā mamo haʻaheo a ka mea nona kēia moʻolelo, e hoʻomau ʻia aku kēia wahi moʻolelo mai ka ʻāina kupuna nei ʻo Hāmākua mai i kēia malama aʻe. He kohu pōhaku kūpaʻa nō hoʻi kēia moʻolelo a ke hāʻawi aku nei kēia wahi kamaʻāina o Hāmākua Hikina i nei pōhaku e uhau iho i ke kahua a kākou e kūkulu nei i kuapapa hoʻi ko kākou noho aupuni ʻana. A he kuamoʻo kahiko kēia moʻolelo no ko kākou ʻāina, i mea e hoʻonaʻauao ai iā kākou i ko kākou paio naʻauao ʻana no ka pono o ko kākou lāhui a no ke ea hoʻi o ko kākou ʻāina aloha.

Na Noʻeau Peralto, Mea Kākau
Koholālele, Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi
​Malaki 16, 2016
 
(Aole i pau.)

Dear reader, let us now set aside this moʻolelo for the time being so that this humble writer may clearly explain the reason for this moʻolelo being unfolded and spread out again before us. Some have asked, “Why are you re-publishing this old story about ʻUmi-a-Līloa?” And here is my response: According to one of the famous writers of moʻolelo of Hawaiʻi, Joseph M. Poepoe, “Expertise in the moʻolelo of your motherland is the foundation of knowledge upon which we can make a firm political stance and fight for the pono of our governance.” Furthermore, Poepoe urges us, “Stand, all of you, at the roadway, and look forth and ask of the old traditions, ‘Which is the right way?’ Oh nation, how are we to ask of ourselves the right way, if we are not well-versed in the old moʻolelo of our ʻĀina Aloha?” (Ka Naʻi Aupuni, Jan. 17, 1906) From these wise words of Poepoe, we know that our political stance is strengthened with knowledge of the traditions of our brilliant ancestors. It is as though the ancestral moʻolelo of our native homeland are like stones that we stack together to make firm the foundation for our house of governance. 
 
The continuum of our historical record is of great importance to the builders of our nation, and because of this, the keepers of our moʻolelo were imbued with great kuleana in the days of old. According to P. W. Kaawa, moʻolelo involve “searching and reflecting, like looking in a mirror. ‘This is how so-and-so established their governance, which made pono their reign as an aliʻi.’ And if the aliʻi listened well to the words of the Haku Moʻolelo, life would come to them. But if their words were disregarded, death was sure to fall upon the aliʻi” (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa Dec. 23, 1865). When we search and look towards the ancestral traditions and pathways of our beloved ʻāina of Hawaiʻi, like looking in a mirror, it can clearly be seen that our ancestral traditions (kuamoʻo ʻōlelo) form the backbone (iwikuamoʻo) of the body politic for the Hawaiian nation. If the kuamoʻo is strong, the body stands firm. It is for this reason that moʻolelo about the establishment of pono governance were composed, cherished, and cared for by the people of old for us, the growing offspring of the lāhui aloha ʻāina. The moʻolelo of ʻUmi is one of these important stories for coming to understand what a pono government (aupuni) is.     
 
According to another famous scholar of Hawaiʻi, Samuel M. Kamakau, “When the aupuni of Hawaiʻi was united (kuapapa nui) by ʻUmi-a-Līloa, his name became famous from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi. There was no chief who had governed as he did.” Furthermore, Kamakau wrote about the ways in which ʻUmi established this aupuni: “During ʻUmi-a-Līloa’s reign, he organized the practitioners of each and every occupation and craft in the aupuni, and separated them out by specialization. He separated out the class of aliʻi, the class of kahuna, the class of kilo (celestial observers), and those skilled in the knowledge of the land. He separated out the farmers and fishers, and the canoe carvers. He separated out the warriors and those skilled in the martial arts. They attended to each and every craft with great skill, and each and every practitioner took great care in their work. And so it was also with the kiaʻāina (governors), the ʻokana (district) chiefs, the ahupuaʻa chiefs, and ʻiliʻāina chiefs; they were all trained as experts” (Ke Au Okoa. Dec. 1, 1870). Because of ʻUmi’s system of organizing and establishing in place (hoʻonoho papa) the expert practitioners of the land, the Hawaiian nation became a people with kuleana for each and every craft and also for each and every ʻāina in Hawaiʻi. That is how that aupuni became kuapapa (united, peaceful, stable). The aupuni that is kuapapa is a pono aupuni because it stands upon a foundation that is built by the noho papa (people established in place for generations), the makaʻāinana and the konohiki, that is, of the ʻāina. In this form of nation building, the noho papa of the ʻāina bring with them their experience and their moʻolelo, as if each of them carries stones with them, which are stacked together in great numbers (kuapapa) to form a foundational platform. It is then upon this kuapapa foundation that the aupuni kuapapa (unified government) is built. Such is the manner in which ʻUmi built the aupuni.
 
The process of kuapapa (uniting in peace, stacking together) an aupuni is different from the process of conquering an aupuni (naʻi aupuni). The moʻolelo of the of conquest (naʻi) of the aupuni has become famous and very well-known here in Hawaiʻi. “Ka Naʻi Aupuni” (The Conqueror of the Nation) was a name given to Kamehameha I, because of his naʻi (conquest) of the aupuni of this entire archipelago under his control. “Naʻi” (conquest, striving to obtain) was the primary work of Kamehameha I and his battle leaders in their building of the aupuni, through warfare and diplomacy. And while Ka Naʻi Aupuni did, in many ways, “naʻi” a pono aupuni for these Hawaiian Islands, the foundation of that aupuni was not built by Ka Naʻi Aupuni himself. It was his predecessors who solidified the foundation for his naʻi (conquest) of the aupuni in each and every district and island in this archipelago. It was ʻUmi on Hawaiʻi, Kakaʻalaneo on Maui, Māʻilikūkahi on Oʻahu, and Manokalanipō on Kauaʻi who organized and established in place the people who aloha ʻāina in each and every place. And it was the people, the aloha ʻāina, who established the firm foundation for their aupuni with the works of their own hands. The foundation is first, then it is built upon. An aupuni cannot be made pono if it is only the aliʻi who “naʻi” (conquer, strive for) it. 
 
In a speech given by Davida K. Kahalemaile in 1871 about Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, he spoke about the meaning of the word “aupuni” in Hawaiʻi, as such: “The meaning of the word aupuni refers to the chiefs and the common people coming together to deliberate and enact a set of laws for themselves. This unified body is called an Aupuni” (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Aug. 12, 1871). Therefore, an aupuni cannot be built by the chiefs alone. Just as the chiefs are chiefs because of the people, so too is the aupuni an aupuni because of the people. According to the traditions of old, the ʻāina creates the foundation upon which the people are born. Then the people create the foundation upon which the chiefs are born. And last, the chiefs create the foundation upon which the aupuni is born. That is the genealogy of the aupuni that was made kuapapa by ʻUmi, and this moʻolelo stands as a mirror for us, the lāhui Hawaiʻi, as we seek out a pono pathway for the rebuilding of an independent aupuni for Hawaiʻi in this new era. 
 
Therefore, oh proud descendants of the one for whom this moʻolelo is written, we shall continue this moʻolelo from the ancestral lands of Hāmākua next month. This moʻolelo is like a steadfast stone, and this kamaʻāina of Hāmākua Hikina offers it here for us to stack upon the foundation we are building to bring about a kuapapa form of governance. This moʻolelo is an old kuamoʻo (tradition, pathway) of our ʻāina, and it can surely enlighten us in our conscious struggle for the pono of our nation and for the ea (life, sovereignty, independence) of our beloved ʻāina.
 
​
By Noʻeau Peralto, Author
Koholālele, Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi
​March 16, 2016

(To be continued)

Kākau ʻia e J. H. Z. Kalunaaina, Mal. 22, 1862
Hoʻopuka hou ʻia a ʻunuhi ʻia e Kealaulili

Written by J. H. Z. Kalunaaina, Mar. 22, 1862
Republished and translated by Kealaulili

* Italicized text & text in [brackets] are editor/translator/author notes, written by Kealaulili.

** He wahi leo mahalo kēia no ke kōkua ʻana mai o kahi luna hoʻoponopono keu a ke akamai ma ka ʻōlelo makuahine, ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi hoʻi. Mahalo nui iā Maya Kawailanaokeawaiki Saffery no ke kōkua ʻoluʻolu ʻana mai!

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