Ka Poe Kahiko

Kii: Marie Goff

Essays upon Ancient Hawaiian Religion and Sorcery

by Nineteenth-Century Seminarists

Translated & Annotated by Bacil F. Kirtley and Esther T. Mookini

Pg 77-85

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5014451.pdf(https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5014451.pdf)

These essays presented here are samplings from a total of thirty-four which were printed between January 5, 1865, and April 14, 1866, in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa (lit., The Independent Newspaper),1 possibly the most openminded and generally readable of the nineteenth-century Hawaiianlanguage weeklies. These writings, not previously published in English, contribute valuable and fresh information upon numerous areas of Hawaiian religious practice and social custom. That they were compiled and printed at all is owing to the scholarly curiosity and enterprise of the Reverend William Patterson Alexander (1805-1884), who held a pastorate in Maui and who in 1863 founded the Theological School at Wailuku.

KEAWE-NUI-KAU-0-HILO, AN ANCIENT GODDESS OF HAWAl'l

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa.

February 23, 1865.

Ancient Worship. Number 8.

Naimu

Keawe-nui-kau-o-hilo is not a goddess from the oldest time, as are Pele, Hi'iaka and some other deities. Keawe-nui-kau-o-hilo was a mortal woman who died, was paid worship, and became a goddess. She remains a deity in Hawai'i to this time. A god to be errand-sent is called up as follows: if the keeper of this goddess Keawe-nui-kau-o-hilo is angry at Kekoa, because he envies his property; he will procure therefore his death by the pule pule 'ana'ana and will send his goddess Keawe-nui-kau-o-hilo on her errand with these words: "O Keawenui-kau-o-hilo, go to Kekoa. Enter his head. Enter his rectum. He is your poi. He is your fish. Kekoa is your house to live in until you kill him. Kill Kekoa. Carry out my wish! Don't you stay and think of those here, of your guardian. You have no food here." And thus the goddess Keawe-nui-kauo-hilo completes the errand that her keeper sent her to do. The work of this goddess is like that of the gods, Kuamu, Kuawa, Kapo, and Pua. Their words are alike, as is their god-rank.

NAIMU.

HE BELIEF OF THE PEOPLE OF OLD ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE GODS OF THE NIGHT

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa.

March 2, 1865.

Ancient Worship. Number 9

S. N. HOLOKAHIKI

The gods form two classes, say the people of old: 1. gods which are worshiped, 2. ghost-gods of the night.

1. Gods which are worshiped. A number of kinds of gods were worshiped by the people of old. Here are some of the deities they worshiped: birds, fish, Pele, Hi'iaka, Ka-moho-ali'i,Kane, Lono, Keawe-nui-kau-o-hilo, Kapo, Pua, Kuamu, and many more. The people of old believed that the gods went about by day and by night in the form of a wind and could be seen sitting on their keepers; they conversed with their keepers in tiny, belching voices. Some people believed these gods went on missions to which they were dispatched by their keepers, whose hatred was stirred against someone, as might happen in the following instance. Pali, say, is the person who makes "sendings," and since he hates me, he arranges his sending as follows: "O Keawe-nui-kau-o-hilo, O Keawe-ho'opohaku, O Kapo, O Pua, O Kuamu, go all of you and enter into Holokahiki, enter his head, enter his rectum, kill him." And they would go, whether day or night, because of this sending.

2. The ghost-gods of the night. These are spirits of dead people. The people of old sincerely believed and said that the ghost-gods of the night were spirits of the dead. If somebody dies, one does not go out alone at night, because he is afraid. He believes the spirit of the person just deceased will appear to him as a ghost. Indeed, some people believe that the spirits of the dead do not ascend to the heavens, but stay here on earth, where they must feed on moths. And some [dead] people go to the volcano pits of Pele. Thus the spirits of the dead reveal themselves in the following ways: by making a smacking noise, whistling, and calling. One's eyes grow fixed and one says, "The gods are haunting me with a spirit." Again, spirits are seen going about as real bodies, as Napela tells me, for he saw the spirit of the keeper who took care of him, and because of what he witnessed, his fear lasts to this day. He believes the spirits of the dead walk at night. Not only Napela, but the majority of the people believe so.

Indeed, some people believe in the procession of gods by night. Upon someone's death along the roadway, they say, "He fell to the death marchers, that is, the long procession." The many gods are the spirits of chiefs. Such I have heard, and I have myself seen a dead person on a roadway in Hawai'i, and it was said, "The death marchers killed him." Many people believe strongly and say that there are many ghost-gods.

Furthermore, I am told that there are many [types of] ghost-gods: gods which whistle, gods which peep, gods which peer, gods which are tall, gods which are short, gods which make a smacking noise, and gods which travel long distances. I have heard the following prayer of Pakeaulani, a Moloka'i man. In the evening, he prayed as follows: "O long god! O short god, O god which makes a smacking noise, O god which travels long distances, come visit, eat. Grant life to me, Pakeaulani, and to my father, Kaimunahanaha, living here in this land of Moloka'i. Amama. (This is the amen.)" So he did every night. Therefore, after the two illustrations in this explanation, the belief of the people of old about the activity of the gods of the night has perhaps become clear; it is believed to be, possibly, a clarification of this subject.

S. N. HOLOKAHIKI.

Ka-moho-ali'i was Pele's older brother. He was a powerful sorcerer and could assume the forms of sharks and other fish, in addition to his human who appears in a red malo.

Akua kokio are the spirits that whistle, this is common throughout all Pacific peoples.

Ghostly processions are huaka'i hele po.

SENDING-GODS OF HAWAl'l

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. March 9, 1865.

Ancient Worship. Number 9.

J. WAIMAU

Hawai'i possesses many—a multitude, even—of gods, and they were divided into individual categories and assigned their separate names. Here are some of the divisions into which they were separated: ghost-gods, gods-going-a-fardistance, deliberately created familiar spirits, ancestral guardian spirits, gods patronizing canoe-carving, farming gods, gods who right canoes [which are overturned], sending gods, and so on. But, indeed, it is not my intention to describe all of them and their functions. I have been asked to direct my explanation to the sending-gods, and it now follows. The sending-gods of Hawai'i are Kapo, Kane-milo-hai, Pua, Keawe-nui-kau-o-hilo,and Kuamu. These are the sending-gods of Hawai'i which will be described in this account. What they do is go out and murder. They would be sent out by their keepers in the following way. If the keeper of one of the above gods goes to the door of a house and sees something there he wants—maybe fish, a tapa, clothing, indeed, anything else—if he asks for it and doesn't get it, that will be his grudge. He will return to his house. There he will call up his spirits, and they will come. Then he will send them to murder the person he wants [dead]. The keeper will speak to them in this way. "Go to that person there . . . (to, for instance, Naimu, the person desired dead). . . . All of you go to Naimu, he will be your house to live in, your place to sleep. There will be your clothing, your poi, your fish, your water. All things for you will be there. Don't return here later. If you come back here excrement will be your food, urine your water. All of you go there and eat him to death." At the end of the keeper's speech, they all go and enter into Naimu, and this will cause his death. But if a skilled healing kahuna lives there, he does as follows.

He sprinkles water on Naimu's eyes or probes his body. If Naimu cries out in pain, he continues to press that spot. After a while, he will sit up and speak. This is known as Maktioa'e. Then on the kahuna's asking the reason for his coming, the gods possessing Naimu reply, "We were sent to eat this person to death." Again the kahuna inquires, "For what offense do you beset this person here ?" "He refused fish to our keeper; therefore we were sent here." Again the kahuna inquires, "Who is your keeper?" "Kaawa," they reply. And if the kahuna is knowledgeable, he will ask them to have delicious things to eat. When they agree, he will at once seek something proper, and getting it, he will feed them. When they have finished eating, the kahuna will say, "Hey! You have wronged me. You have eaten my poi and my fish. Because of that, it is wrong for you to possess this person here. All of you go back to your keeper. He is your poi, your fish, and all your other things. Don't possess this person here or I will be the death of you completely." In no time at all they cry out for their keeper's death. Finally, they do return to their keeper and eat him to death. The sick person recovers and so the matter ends.

J. WAIMAU

'Unihipili - a created spirit of a deceased person

Kahuna-The term kahuna most consistently means a "keeper," one who cares for and manipulates a familiar spirit. Ka and huna, it is true, can also mean "the hidden," but in the texts of writers like Kepelino, Malo, Kamakau, Ii, and Haleole this meaning is seldom revelant.

WHAT ARE THE 'Aumakua ACCORDING TO THE BELIEFS OF THE ANCIENTS ?

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. March 23, 1865.

Ancient Worship. Number 11.

I asked the old people as to the meaning of this word 'Aumakua and received no answer. It was the same when I asked this question on Kaua'i, as well as here on Maui. I gave this subject much thought these past few years, and today here is the result of my deliberations. There are two parts to the word 'aumakua, 'au and makua. 'Au is a word meaning a plural number, as in 'Aumoku Kaua o Amerika Huipuia [the Navy of the United States of America]. The navy is not made up of a single ship but of many ships. If the word is moku, then it is a single ship. It is the same with the word 'auwa'a [canoe fleet], which is not a single canoe but a number of canoes. It is the same with the word aukanaka, which means a thickly populated place. It is the same with the word 'aumakua. Our ancestors believed there was a desolate place, entirely deserted. We supposed that this was a place of the ghosts, the auakua [ghost-ridden]. Such is the meaning of the first part of these au words. That is to say, our ancestors worshipped many spirits.

Here is the second. It is believed that the ancestors of chiefs and commoners and those they worshiped are called makua [parents]. It is their spirits that are worshiped. These words, 'au and makua combined, spell 'aumakua, which refer to the great number of those worshiped by their ancestors. Here are the places the gods live: on the pali, in the sea, in the crater at Ki-lau-ea, in the upper air-regions, as the wind, as an 'unihipili? Those placed on the pali are the pali-climbing spirits who are worshiped by some people. It is believed that when a body is thrown into the sea, the corpse, they claim, is changed into a shark, or perhaps into an eel, and is worshiped as such. It is the same when a person's body is thrown into fresh water. It is believed to become a mo'o* and is worshiped as such. Likewise, when corpses and bones are thrown into the crater at Ki-lau-ea, they become fire and lava, it is believed, and are worshiped. They are worshiped down below in Milu. Also in the sky are the spirits spoken of as hidden in the dark-blue heavens, which some people worship as wind spirits. This type of spirit possesses a human being when he sneezes or belches. Such a human is called his ipu [vessel] or his kahu [guardian] and has a faint squeaky voice. The 'unihipili are spirits of dead children or perhaps grandchildren. This is what an 'unihipili does. First, it eats the flower of the hala [pandanus] in the morning and in the evening. At that eating of the food by the parents or grandparents, he will call out "O Holokahiki, come back and eat. Here is the poi and the fish." That is the way he keeps on calling, until later, the spirit returns and mounts upon his keeper. All these are called 'aumakua. Concerning the 'aumakua's great docility. It is said that the shark-'aumakua is very gentle. People can rub its head and mouth; it will take the juice of 'awa6 to drink, and then swim away. Bird-'aumakua, similarly, are said to be tameable. The alaeaha will stand in the hand of his ipu. So, too, the owl, who can save his kahu. If the kahu's arms and legs are bound with a rope, the owl will be able to loosen them. All the 'aumakua are alike in being docile and helpful.

The mana of the 'aumakua is as follows. Should a man go out to sea and his canoe be swamped and he cannot refloat it, he may call out for the shark. "O Ku-hai-moana, take me to shore." Then the shark will appear quickly. The kahu will then climb on to the shark's back, hold tightly to its fins and say, "Look ahead. Go quickly and don't wait." Then the shark will be off, giving his all, puffing like a steamboat. The god of lua fighters, Ku'i-a-lua, does the same thing. If a lua fighter goes to a place where no one lives, he is not afraid, for he (Ku'i-a-lua) will give him strength and help him in killing those who resist him. The owl helps in the same way. If the kahu of the owl is beaten to death and is buried in the earth, the owl will come to get him. He will brush the earth with his wings, then finding the body, he will revive it and bring his kahu back to life. The 'unihipili spirit does the same. If someone were to do me wrong or if somebody complained of my beating [him], I will be told. If I were to be tried for stealing or adultery, I will be told that I may escape punishment. It will be the same with sickness. He will tell me which medicine will cure the illness. The alaeaha bird does the same. If I were to be angry at you, I would send him to get you and he would attack you and put an illness on you which would be your immediate death. It is similar with the sending-spirits. They go after a person, eating his throat and anus, shutting up the hole so that dung cannot come out.

Similar is the Kalaipahoa, a powerful spirit, according to the old people. It throws a lethal thing into the food bowl—into poi, sweet potatoes, taro—and the victim, not knowing about it, dies. Or it [the poison] is, not known [by the victim], in fingernails or in the stopper of the water gourd. The sickness will be dropsy, asthma, or the like. The sacrifices that please the 'aumakua are as follows: If a mo'o is angry at his kahu or maybe the kahu's family, either of the latter will become ill and probably most weak. The victim must offer the following things: a brindled dog along with 'awa, a red fish such as the kumu [goatfish], a piece of red sugar cane, and some grass which grew in taro patches wrapped in yellow tapa. These must be taken into the mo'o pit and placed securely therein. Then the mo'o 'aumakua will be appeased and the sick will be cured. It is the same with the shark- 'aumakua. A black pig, a dark-red chicken, together with 'awa wrapped securely in kolikoliko, which was made from a young wauke plant by a young virgin, (who would spread this wauke out until it became bleached white) are offered. This is all wrapped securely and is taken to the seashore to an altar (a place of worship). Then [the supplicant] calls out as follows: "O 'aumakua from the rising sun to the setting sun, from north to south, from top to bottom; spirits of the pali, of the sea and in the water. Here is the offering, a gift from Naimu. Bring life to us, to the aged needing a cane for support, having withered and wrinkled skin. This is our life from the gods." Then he throws [the bundle] into the sea, buries the chicken alive and places the pig on the altar. He then returns home and looks for rain. If rain falls, the spirit understands. The rain washes away bad luck and the defilement is ended. If rain falls heavily from black clouds, then it is good. It is the same with Pele's and Hi'iaka's family. Offerings to them are 'awa, green taro tops. So too are the offerings to other spirits.

Makukoa'e is the tropic-bird phantom, a poetic name for death and the spirit of death: Pukui and Elbert, p. 213. Birds such as the koa'e, haupu,' alae, and albatross were implicated in sorcery. Maka-ku-koa'e is the god who brings madness or raving insanity or imbecility

 Kane-milo-hai is listed among the 'aumakua gods by Kamakau, p. 58, as "Kane-accepter-of-sacrifice." He is a brother of Pele and accompanied her from Tahiti to Hawai'i. He was left on an islet in the northwestern end of the Hawaiian group to guard this outpost and is represented as a catcher-of-souls and a resuscitator, and is associated with healing and saving.

Alaeaha. Perhaps this is the 'Alae-a-Hina, mudhen of Hina, from whom Maui wrested the secret of fire. This bird is deeply invoked in sorcery practices and beliefs.

THE ANCIENT KUPUA OF HAWAI'I

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa.

May 4, 1865.

Ancient Worship. Number 16.

P. W. KAAWA.

Kupua, to the people of old Hawai'i, meant a type of being known to their ancestors which performed fabulous deeds. . The kupua is a most ancient being, coming down from the time of Papa and Wakea, the oldest ancestors of Hawai'i, to the time of Kau-i-ke-aouli (Ka-mehameha III) and to our chiefs living today.

Marvelous things were known by our ancestors concerning the kupua's knowledge, its skill, its famous deeds, and its strength in battle. Among these [beings] were Ke-paka-'ili-'ula,1 the powerful prince of Hawai'i, 'Umi of Liloa, and so on.

The most famous chiefs were kupua. Ka-ulu-la'au, Kakaalaneo's child, who fought the spirits of La-na'i and who uprooted the breadfruit trees of Lahaina, was a kupua. Another kupua was Kana, Hina's elastic son, who broke up the stretching hill of Ka-pepe'e-kauila6 of Moloka'i. Kawelo was a mischievous kupua, the champion spear-throwing chief of Kaua'i, the commander in battle who challenged Kauahoa, the handsome hero of Hanalei. Ka-ha'i-nui-a-hema was a kupua who traveled over the seas looking for his father, whose eyes were gouged out by Aaia-nukea-lawai'a-kane and who was placed inside Ke-ana-ka-ua-lehu, The-cave-of-ashes. Lono-i-ka-makahiki, kapu child of Kalani, was a kupua. Kalani [here, presumably, meaning "the chief," and referring to Lono-i-ka-makahiki] was a kapu child of Keawe, a famous high chief of Hawai'i. Lono-i-ka-makahiki challenged Ka-kuhihewa, the high chief of O'ahu. Maui, Hina's fleet-footed son, was a kupua. He made fire, which was a secret of the mudhen folk, by rubbing the forehead of 'Alae-iki-huapi [little-red-billed-mudhen]. It was also Maui who broke the sun's rays because it moved too fast and his mother's beaten tapa could not dry out.

Another characteristic of the kupua is as follows: A kupua is born on a sort of day marked by extreme marvels. For a person so beloved by the heavens, thunder roars, rain falls, the earth shudders, red mist rises up, the earth acts strangely, islands overturn. Such are known as divine kupua. They are the ones the gods cause to be born in a strange manner. For example, the children born above the status of ordinary humans. Such as level ten, in some cases, level eleven in others.

Second. The god-like beings from Tahiti who came to Hawai'i did deeds more extraordinary than those of humans. They were called the kupua of Tahiti. Lono-ka-'eho, Kama-pua'a, Haumea, Pele, Kane, and Kanaloa were such kupua. The spirits who came from Tahiti desired the beautiful women of Hawai'i, married them and had children. These children were most famous for their skill and great strength in battle. They were called the ancient kupua of Hawai'i and were beings like Nani-wai-'ale'ale, a high chief of Kaua'i, Kawelonaakalailehua, and Hina-hanai-a-ka-malama, the woman who leaped to the moon and whose legs were cut off by her husband. She was then called Lono-muku. Another thing about kupuas is that the children born with a kupua nature do not have human bodies. They have wonder-bodies like Ku-'ilio-loa's of O'ahu, a supernatural being of O'ahu. (He lives on top of Kane-hoa-lani at Kua-loa.) His chant is as follows: Ku-ilio-loa stands at the large opening, at Kulokuloku, At the swollen path of Hoonewa, The upper jaw is stripped like the skull, Dead the evil spirits of the ocean. Ke-au-miki and Au-ka were the kupua of the sea. Lima-loa was a kupua of Kaua'i. He made a circuit of Kaua'i in a single day. Also, Papanui, a woman of Moloka'i, and Aukele-nui-a-iku [were kupua].

P. W. KAAWA.