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Writer's pictureKuialuaopuna

Olohe of Kahauale'a




Ka‘ao Ho‘oniua Pu‘uwai no Ka-Miki (The Heart Stirring tale of Ka-Miki)

Translated by Kepa Maley

THE HISTORIC PUNA TRAIL – OLD GOVERNMENT ROAD (KEA‘AU SECTION) ARCHIVAL-HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH, ORAL HISTORY AND CONSULTATION STUDY, AND LIMITED SITE PRESERVATION PLAN Ahupua‘a of Kea‘au Puna District, Island of Hawai‘i (TMK:1-6-01 various parcels)

pgs, 21-22



The “Ka‘ao Ho‘oniua Pu‘uwai no Ka-Miki” was published in the Hawaiian newspaper, Ka Hōkū o Hawai‘i between 1914 to 1917 (translated by theKepa Maley). The mo‘olelo is about two supernatural brothers, Ka-Miki (The quick, or adept, one) and Maka-‘iole (Rat [squinting] eyes]), who traveled around the island of Hawai‘i along the ancient ala loa and ala hele (trails and paths) that encircled the island. During their journey, the brothers Ka-Miki and Maka-‘iole competed alongside the trails they traveled, and in famed kahua (contest arenas) and royal courts, against ‘ōlohe (experts skilled in fighting or in other competitions, such as running, fishing, debating, or solving riddles, that were practiced by the ancient Hawaiians). They also challenged priests whose dishonorable conduct offended the gods of ancient Hawai‘i. Ka-Miki and Maka-‘iole were empowered by their ancestress Ka-uluhe-nui-hihi-koloi-uka (The great entangled growth of uluhe fern which spreads across the uplands), a reincarnate form of the goddess Haumea (the creative force of nature; also called Papa and Hina; who was also a goddess of priests and competitors).


The story is set in about the 1300s, at the time when Pili-a-Ka‘aiea (Pili) was sovereign chief of all Kona. It was while on this journey that the brothers came to be at Koa‘e, where Ka-Miki competed at the royal compound of the chief Pū‘ula. Because of his exceptional skills in all manner of fighting, another form of contest was selected between Ka-Miki and Kahauale‘a was called to represent Puna . Excerpts of the account which describe resources of coastal Kea‘au, and the upland regions of Kea‘au and ‘Ōla‘a are cited in the following narratives:


The lands of Kahauale‘a were named for Kahauale‘a, one of the famous warriors and ‘ōlohe of Puna. As Kahauale‘a prepared to enter the kahua [contest arena] Pū‘ula called out in a chant in which he spoke of Puna.



Pa‘a ‘ia ka hanohano o Puna

I ke kai Kōloa

E nū mai la i ka ulu hala o Kea‘au

I ka lā puka i Ha‘eha‘e

I ka lae oni o Kūki‘i a

me Makanoni

Oni mai o Mauna loa me Kūlilikaua

Nā lae ani makani o Kaniahiku

Huki i luna ka papa lohi o ‘Āpua



Secured is the glory of Puna

At the sea of Kōloa

Rumbling through the pandanus grove of Kea‘au

The sun rising at Ha‘eha‘e

At the protruding points

of Kūki‘i and Makanoni

Mauna loa appears above with

[the mist of] Kūlilikaua

The points of Kaniahiku wave in the breeze

Pulled upon the glistening plain of ‘Āpua



It was agreed that Kahauale‘a and Ka-Miki would compete in three contests; uma (hand wrestling), kūpahu (pushing one’s opponent from the arena), and kūkini (running) contests. In the kūkini contest, Ka-Miki and Kahauale‘a were to required to gather certain famous items to prove that they had actually reached the designated places. These things were:

[1] the sacred water of the goddess Waka-keaka-i-ka-wai and accurately describe the nature of the spring Keakaikali‘ulā and forest of Pali-uli;

[2] a valuable bark-cloth sheet–kuina kapa ‘Ō‘ūholowai-o-La‘a for which Puna was famed;

[3] ten olonā (Touchardia latifolia) leaves of ‘Ōla‘a;

[4] one of Puna's famed moena makali‘i pua hīnano (fine mesh mats woven from the pandanus flower sheaths); and

[5] to bring back living ‘o‘opu ‘ai lehua (Gobidae fish) of Hi‘ilawe and ‘anae momona (fat plump rich mullet) which swam in the waters of Pāka‘alana.

 At the outset of the competition, Keahialaka provided the kapa, olonā leaves, and moena, thus eliminating Ka-Miki's need to gather those items. The two competitors then participated in the uma and kūpahu contests and the roar of the crowd was heard from the shore to the depths of the waokele, the upper forests of Kali‘u and Malama. Kahauale‘a was defeated in both of those contests.


Then the kūkini contest between Kahauale‘a and Kamiki began. Kamiki was carried to Pali-uli [in the uplands of ‘Ōla‘a and Kea‘au] on ‘Ōhi‘a-nuimoe-awakea [one of the body forms of Ka-uluhe]. Thus, he arrived at the spring Keaka-i-ka-li‘u-lā which was the dwelling place of Lā‘ie-wai (who came to be called Ka-wahine-i-ka-li‘ulā) and Lā‘ie-lohelohe, the sacred chiefesses and wards of Waka-ke-aka-i-ka-wai and Ka-puka-i-haoa-ka-lā-o-lalo. This was an exceedingly sacred area. Guarded by Waka, it was encircled by rainbows, filled with the songs of ‘i‘iwi, and ‘ō‘ō birds, and surrounded by all manner of plants. On the lands around the spring were grown the prostrate sugar cane called Mikioi-o-lehua, the bananas called Mānai-‘ula-i-ka-wao, the taro called Pāpākole-koa‘e-o-lele-kea, and the ‘awa called Waimaka-a-ka-manu o Puna. Ka-Miki took a leaf of the pāpākolekoa‘e taro, and folded it into a cup (‘a‘apu lā‘alo) to hold the water…and returned to Pū‘ula mā. Ka-Miki presented the water to Pū‘ula and described the beauty of Paliuli to those assembled.


Kahauale‘a had been unable to reach Paliuli and the spring of Keakaikali‘ulā, so instead, he brought the water of Wai-uli, at Kapu‘euhi. His deception was detected, because of the dark nature of the water, thus Ka-Miki won this part of the kūkini contest…


After gathering the water of Keakaikali‘ulā at Pali-uli, ‘Ōhi‘a-nui-moe-awakea lifted Ka-Miki high atop Pali-uli where he could look out across all the lands of Puna. Then Ka-‘ohu-kolo-mai-iluna-o-ka-lā‘au caused a mist to settled upon the forest, stretching from Pali-uli to the shore (of Kea‘au) at ‘Ā‘alāmanu. The scene was described with the saying —


...Mai uka o Pali-uli a hō‘ea i kai o nā ‘ili‘ili nehe o ‘Ā‘alāmanu i ka wai ko‘olihilihi o Hōpoe, e ho‘olewa ala i Hā‘ena – 


From the uplands of Pali-uli all the way to the sea which nestles the pebbles of ‘Ā‘alāmanu, there in the water which props up the eyelashes of Hōpoe who dances at Hā‘ena. 


In the end, Ka-Miki won all the contests, and Kahauale‘a surrendered, giving his thanks to Ka-Miki and acknowledging Ka-Miki's superior skills.






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