Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands - Kamehameha  l  (Part 3)

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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 3
by Darlene E. Kelley
November 6, 2000

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

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As told by the ancients -- part 3.

At the close of the campaigns which gave Kamehameha his first notable
victories on the island of Hawai'i, poitical changes were taking place
on the other islands. The King of Maui, Kehekili, was making rapid
headway in the race
for supremacy. He too, dreamed of an empire for himself.

The King of the island of Oahu suddenly died, leaving his son to succeed
him. This did not please the ruling nobles of Oahu, and they soon set
the son aside and chose a King who they thought would better suit their
purposes.This King also proved to be a failure. The situation was well
known to Kahekili and gave him an advantage. He invaded and conquered
Oahu, and moved his court to that island, setting up residence at
Waikiki.

A few years of peace settled over the islands. Kamehameha and other
warring chiefs took this opportunity to re-establish their forces, which
had been greatly reduced through war and disease. A terrible epidemic of
measles had attacked the people of the Islands. It is claimed that more
than three hundred bodies were carried out to sea from Waikiki in one
day.

It was around this period that the great fur trade of the northwest
coast of America was opned to the world. The expedition of Captain Cook,
the English navigator and discoverer,who lost his life in Hawai'i, had
pointed the way to an important development in trade in the Orient by
way of North America. England, France, and Spain sent their merchant
ships to America to purchase furs which could be exchanged with great
profit for silks, ivory, spices, and tea in the markets of Canton. These
ships, one by one, cast anchor in the waters of Hawai'i. Some of these
ships wintered in the Islands, their officers and men becoming closely
associated with the native life of the people.

Captain Cook's expeditions not only opened the avenues of trade to the
Orient, but also the minds of the Hawaiians to the knowledge of
firearms. When the foreign ships began to arrive, the native chiefs,
including Kamehameha, were only too glad to give their produce for guns
and ammunition. 

Among other foreigners who came with the trading vessels were two
English sailors, John Young and Issac Davis. These men had been left by
Captain Metcalf on the island of Hawai'i. Kamehameha, realizing their
knowledge of ships and navigation, persuaded them to join his army and
to assist him in campaigns. He also acquired the support and allegiance
of a very important chief, Kaiana, from the island of Kauai.

The chief Kaiana, had made a voyage to China as the guest of a Captain
in the Northwest-China trade. Kaiana was a handome fellow. with features
finely cut, brilliant eyes, and a commanding personality. He dressed in
English fashion. While in Canton, he was warmly received by the English
community and had, altogether, a fine time. It was upon his return that
he accepted the offer of Kamahameha to join his staff, probably
realizing that Kamahameha was onhis way to greater power which he,
Kaiana, might like to share.

In the spring o 1790, Kamehameha again entered the area of war.
Kahekili, King of Maui, had remained on Oahu enjoying his new home in
Waikiki. Kamehameha was waiting for just this opportunity. In the
absence of Kahekili, he invaded the island of Maui.Oe of the bloodest
battles of Kamehameha's time was fought and won by him. the setting was
the beautiful Iao
valley. So many men were killed in this battle that ther bodies filled a
small rver which flows through the valley to the sea. The battle was
given the name of Kepaniwai [ the damning of waters].

It is said that the assistance of John Young and Isacc Davis, who
managed the guns of Kamehameha in the battle of Iao, was a great factor
in his success. Another important factor was the strange and unexplained
renewal of friendship between Kamehameha and the old chief, the uncle of
Kiwalao and Keoua Kuahuula, from Hilo, who allied his forces to those of
Kamehameha in the Maui campaign.

After the battle, Kamehameha made a visit to the island of Molokai
especially to see the widow of his half-uncle, Kalaniopuu, who, some
years before, had made him keeper of the war god. He found the high
chieftess so sick that she lived but a short time. Before she died she
gave into Kamehameha's charge, Liliha, the young widow of Kiwalao. and
their infant daughter, Keopuolani. This baby princess was a very
important child. She held a high rank as an Ali, higher even than that
of Kamahameha. From babyhood she was carefully guarded and she was
especially trained for the high position she would be expected to
occupy. [ Reaching young womanhood, she became the wife of Kamehameha
and the mother of his two sons, Kamehameha ll and Kamehameha lll.]

While Kamehameha was on the island of Molokai, he laid some new plans of
procedure.
He sent a messenger to Kahekili, the King of Maui and Kauai, carrying to
symbolic stones, one white and the other black, offering him peace or
war. If the King returned the white stone, it was equivalent to giving
Kamehameha their kingdom without battle; but if the black stone came
back, he would prepare for war. The king answered that when his body
should be covered with the black tapa, the Kamehameha could take
possesion of the Kingdom without battle. Black tapa is a cloth pounded
from bark and dyed with a mixture of soot and water, was used as a
burial wrapping for the remains of dead royalty. Sacred to the ali, it
was soft and pliable ad somber, suited for its purpose. This was
acceptable for the time being.

Step by step Kamehameha had been gaining ground, but he was far from the
realization of his hopes. While he believed in himself, he still
beleived in the gods of his fathers. He sent a messenger to a famous
prophet of Kauai. asking what he should do to attain the high command of
the island of Hawai'i. The reply was that he was to build a great temple
to the war god, Kukailimoku, at Kawaihae, on Hawai'i.
So,with great anticipation, he returned home to begin the great project.

The Hawaiian temples of the higher order, were usually erected on a
mountainside overlooking the sea. The temple which Kamehameha built at
Kawaihue was served by the priests of the highest rank. This temple was
an irregular parallelogram, two hundred and twenty-four feet long and
one hundred feet wide, with walls twelve feet thick at the base and
varying in height from eight feet on the upper side to twenty feet on
the lower side. The entrance was a narrow passage between two walls, and
the interior divided into terraces paved with smooth, flat stones.

Within the enclosures were thatched houses used for the care of special
images, especially the one dedicated to the war god of the King. There
was a high altar of stone guarded by huge images. This was the altar of
sacrifice where bodies of high chiefs who had been killed in battle were
sacrificed to the war god. There was also an obelisk of fine wicker work
within which the oracle was stationed when the King should come to
consult him. Around the center walls were a great many images carved
from wood or stone.

One can not comprehend just what the building of this temple meant to
Kamehameha. Chiefs and commoners alike tok part in the building of this
temple. The hillsides were camping grounds for thousands. Kamehameha,
himself, carried stones for the walls.

In the meantime, Keoua Kuahuula again started on the warpath. he was
furiously angry when his uncle had joned Kamehameha in the battle of
Iao. He invaded his uncle's district of Hilo and killed the old chief in
Battle. Keoua Kuahuula, the younger brother to Kiwalao, then marched on
to Kamehameha's lands and destroyed property. Word of this was carried
to Kamehameha. He was oblidged to give up temporarily the building of
the temple.

Kamehameha met Kuahuula in several skirmishes and drove him out of the
Hilo district. Keoua Kuahuula with his army, in three divisions, started
homeward to Kau. They traveled by way of the volcano Kilauea. While
encamped there were several earthquakes that took place. One division of
the army got safely away. The middle division followed but was overtaken
by a terrific explosion from the volcano, one of the few explosive
eruptions in early Kilauea's history. An enormous quantity of black sand
and cinders were thrown to a great height and came down in a distructive
shower for many miles around. The third division of Keoua Kuahuula's
army escaped. but when they went forward and reached those who had gone
before them, they found the warriors of the middle division all dead.
Some of them were still standing, others clasped in each others arms,
while others, who had been running, were left in the very positions they
held, completely encased in ashes and cinders from the volcano. Their
footprints remain there today.