Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands - Kamehameha  l  (Part 2)

The US GenWeb Archives provide genealogical and historical data to 
the general public without fee or charge of any kind. It is intended
that this material not be used in a commercial manner. All submissions
become part of the permanent collection.

Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands
" Keepers of the Culture "
A study in time of the Hawaiian Islands
Kamehameha  l 
and stories told by the ancients -- part 2
by Darlene E. Kelley
November 5, 2000

http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As told by the ancients -- part 2.

It is essential to know, if Hawaiian history is to be understood, that
the importance of the gods which the Hawaiians worshipped, played an
important part in the detail of their lives. There were numberless
deities in their religon. Every man had his own akua, the god which was
believed to preside over the occupation or profession which he followed.
Images were made from wood or stone to represent these deities. The
people believed that the spirits of the gods lived within the images.
The war gods of the Kings wielded a powerful influence over the men of
war. These images were carried in every battle before the Kings. They
were designed to strike terror to the hearts of the enemy. Grotesque and
terrible, with eyes made from kukui nuts, dark and shinning, with
centers of mother-of-pearl, gving the impression of movement, with open
mouths filled with shark's teeth and teeth of dead warriors, and with
heads covered with red feathers, these images were awful enough to
terrify any warrior who believed in ther power.

Kamehameha must have known how great was his inheritance. The very
meaning of the name of the war god, Kukailimoku, was " to conquer. "
The KIng had given Kamehameha the greatest honor. The door of
opportunity opened before him.

After King Kalaniopuu closed his council of Chiefs at Waipio, he left at
once for another part of the island, hoping to control a rebellion which
had sprung up. The leader of this little war was captured and killed.
His body was carried to the heiau dedicated to the war god to be
sacrificed.

This ceremony was supposed to be performed by Kiwalao, as representive
of his father, however while he was making preparations for the
ceremony, Kamehameha suddenly picked up the body of the dead chief and
laid it on the alter in the heiau and proceeded to perform the
ceremonial rites himself. This caused quite a stir amongst the chiefs.

There had been jealousy between Kamehameha and Kiwalao, for sometime,
and Kamehameha's high handed action intensified this. The King fearing
his nephew would be killed, advised him to go away untl this excitement
had died down, So Kamehameha, taking the war god with him, retired to
his own lands in Kohala.

Two years went by and the old king, Kalaniopuu died. The year was 1782,
when Kiwalao became the king. He was at once joined by his uncle, his
father's brother, Keawemauhili, an ambitious chief of the highest rank,
who hoped for great returns for himself when, as was the custom
following a kings death, the lands of the kingdom would be divided among
the chiefs or won through civil conflict. 

The ancients give a vivid account of the ceremonials performed at the
death of a king. First a shllow grave is made about a foot deep. The
body of the dead ruler is wrapped in banana and taro leaves and then
placed in the shallow grave and a light covering of soil is laid on top.
A fire is then built the full length of the grave and kept burning for
ten days and nights to hasten decay. During this a time a kahuna
performs continuous ceremonies. After the body has become decomposed
from the heat of the fire, it is removed from this shallow grave and the
flesh is scaped from the bones. The bones are then carefully arranged,
those from the right side of the body placed together, and then the same
for the left side. The long bones of the arms and legs are stained a
dark red,the insignia of kingship. They are then tied together and wound
round and round with strands of human hair. The bundle of bones are then
wrapped in royal black tapa, and the skull carefully layed on top. the
skull is completely encased in the tapa which follows the outline of the
head so smoothly it looks as though it has been pasted.

A strange ending to this ceremony shows how thoroughly the Hawaiians do
their work. The flesh which had been scraped from the bones are also
wrapped in black tapa, and on the night of the god Kane, when spirits
are supposed to walk abroad, every light is extinguished and there is a
perfect silence over the village. During the black-out, the sacred
bundle is carried out to sea and buried in the deep.

After the time of mourning for the King had passed, Kiwalao, with his
brother, Keoua
Kuahuula, and, accompanied by his uncle and a large retinue of chiefs
and warriors, sailed in his double canoe, carrying the bones of his dead
father to be placed in Hale o Keawe at Honaunau, the burial place of the
kings of old Hawai'i.

When Kiwalao reached Honaunau, he was called upon by Kamehameha. He met
his cousin with all courtesy and together wailed in memory of the dead.

For two years, Kamehameha had been living quietly in Kohala, improving
his lands, building a watercourse which is still seen today, making a
landing for canoes, and in every way laying a foundation for the future.
In the meantime, a group of important chiefs from Kona, knowing
Kamehameha's ability as a warrior [ one of the group having been his
instructor ], and also knowing his power to make and hold friends and to
inspire men with great loyalty and devotion to himself, persuaded him,
in case of coming war, to be their leader. This he agreed to do.

The day following the funeral rites of the old King, Kiwalao announced
from the platform of Hale o Keawe the last will and testament of his
father, King Kalaniopuu. This but verified the decision which had been
made by the King's council at Waipio. It did not, however, please the
chiefs from Kona. War clouds began to gather.

The system of land tenure in old Hawai'i was a feudal system. The king
owned all the land, at least in theory. The practice was to divide the
land among the high chiefs and they, in return, allotted lands to
retainers, receiving from them the larger share of what the land
produced. But at the death of a king the situation might be entirely
changed. When a new ruler came into power, he and his counselors had to
set up a new regime.

Kiwalao, the young king, was not especially strong of character. While
he appeared friendly to Kamehameha at the time of the funeral, he was
later persuaded by his old uncle to divide the kingdom that he and his
favorite chiefs would receive the important share, robbing Kamahameha
and the Kona chiefs of much of their valuable property. This was a bad
situation. as the chiefs exclaimed that it was better to go to war over
this valuable land.

There followed one of the greatest battles in Hawaiian history called
the battle of Mokuohai. Thousands of men, including Kiwalao, the king,
lost their lives. The " City of Refuge" at Honaunau was filled with the
women and children of the contending warriors while the battle raged
outside.

Kamehameha's party was victorious. This war changed the entire political
set-up of the island of Hawai'i. Instead of one kingdom over which
Kalaniopuu had once been ruler, there were now three small kingdoms.
Keoua Kuahuula escaped to become King of the district of Kau, and his
uncle became the high chief of the district of Hilo and a potion of
Hamakua. But to Kamehameha came the great reward. Through battle he had
won the larger section of the island.

As time went by, there were many skirmishes between the opposing forces.
Kamehameha, with his stronger army, was continually adding to his
domain.