Kūkā‘ilimoku – Hawaii Alive

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Kūkāʻilimoku

Ki‘i Hulu Manu: feathered image of Kūkā‘ilimoku (Kū the land grabber), war god of Hawai‘i island.

The early Polynesians who came to the islands of Hawai‘i eventually created full, and often distinct, communities on each island. While there was contact, interaction and exchange between the islands, as a general rule, political control was at the moku (large land division within an island), or sometimes island, level. During the eighteenth century however, one of the most renowned kāula (prophet, seer) from Māui predicted the coming of one who would bring all of the islands under his rule; who would bring peace through unification. During this era, in the court of Kalani‘ōpu‘u was a young boy named Kamehameha. He was a strong and brave youth and was soon assigned to the renowned warrior Kekūhaupi‘o to train in the arts of battle. He was also assigned kāhuna to teach him the ways of the gods.

The powerful god Kūkā‘ilimoku (Kū-snatcher of islands) was one important path to power of the ali‘i nui at this time. Prior to his death, Kalani‘ōpu‘u bequeathed care of his lands to his son Kīwala‘ō, but significantly, left this god of war and politics to Kamehameha. Kamehameha and his kāhuna cared for this god with the utmost austerity and were rewarded with great success in battle. After a series of battles, Kīwala‘ō was killed at Ke‘ei and eventually control of Hawai‘i Island came to Kamehameha. Kamehameha carried his efforts at unification on to Māui and defeated the warriors under Kalanikūpule at the famous battle of ‘Iao. He was not able to take Māui at the time however, as he was called to return home to put down an uprising there.

After several unsuccessful battles with his brother Keoua Kuahu‘ula, Kamehameha took a reprieve from warfare and sought the advice of his kahuna Kapoukahi. This kahuna advised Kamehameha to build a great house for his god Kūkā‘ilimoku. This act would ensure his ultimate victory over all the islands. The entire district was called forth and labored to build the massive Pu‘ukoholā heiau at Kohalā. Upon completion this intense structure stood approx. 200 feet by 100 feet and commanded awe from all who saw it. The structure however, and the god it housed, lacked one thing, an appropriate sacrifice. Kamehameha called his brother Keoua to the heiau and indeed Keoua complied. He was killed on arrival, laid upon the alter, and the dedication was complete. Kamehameha had earned the support of Kūkā‘ilimoku.

With the full power of his war god behind him, Kamehameha launched his massive Peleleu fleet of warships. Upon landing on Māui the ships were said to cover the beaches from Launiupoko to Mala. Kamehameha continued on to Moloka‘i and then launched his decisive battle against Kalanikūpule at O‘ahu. After defeat at Nu‘uanu, Kalanikūpule was later taken and offered in sacrifice to Kūkā‘ilimoku. With only Kaua‘i remaining not under his rule, Kamehameha again launched his fleet. This attempt would be unsuccessful, as a great storm would sink much of the fleet. Later, after a meeting of the two great ali‘i nui, an agreement was made to allow Kaumuali‘i to rule over Kaua‘i until his death at which time Kaua‘i too would be given over to Kamehameha. With this Kamehameha had fulfilled the prophecy and created the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, over which peace would rule for most of the next century.

Origin: Hawai‘i
Collection: ABCFM Collection
Artifact Number: 07855

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Mele inoa no Kamehameha I

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From Nā Leo Hawai‘i Kahiko.

Mele koʻihonua no Kamehamameha

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From: Nā Leo Hawai‘i Kahiko.

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Image from Bishop Museum Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii. Images are not to be re-used without permission.

In 1973 the Polynesian Voyaging Society was founded. Its mission was to build a double hulled canoe and “retrace the legendary voyages that once linked those far-flung islands and in doing so demonstrate to skeptics that the ancient Polynesians could have intentionally sailed across vast stretches of the Pacific without navigational instruments when most seafaring peoples were still hugging continental shores.”* Indeed while Kānaka Maoli held many oral traditions of great navigators such as Mo‘ikeha, Pa‘ao and Hawai‘iloa, who navigated these seas centuries prior to Captain Cook’s arrival, many others believed that the Polynesians possessed no such great skill and merely drifted to Hawai‘i on an accidental voyage. This “drift” theory not only stole a history of skilled navigation from Hawaiians, but also worked to create a disconnect between a people and their sacred stories.

The P.V.S. completed its first canoe, Hōkūle‘a (star of gladness), in 1975, and with the help of master navigator Mau Pialug of Satawal, sailed on May 1, 1976 from Honolua Bay, Māui. The crew navigated without modern instruments and arrived to a cheering crowd of thousands thirty-four days later in Tahiti. This voyage of way-finding, not only made a statement about a legacy of skilled navigation for Hawaiians but re-awakened a pride within many Kānaka Maoli that helped drive what has been called a “Hawaiian Renaissance.”

The re-birth of traditional navigation, like farming lo‘i (kalo patches), working the loko i‘a (fishponds) and other traditional practices, also helped to re-connect Kānaka Maoli to ancient epistemologies. These traditional ways of knowing contained thousands of years of accumulated knowledge possessed by their ancestors. Learning navigation also brought insights into ‘ōlelo (language), lā‘au (medicine), ho‘omana (religion) and so much more. A better navigator was a better parent, a better co-worker, and better citizen.

The Hōkūle‘a was based on what was known of ancient voyaging design. Limited knowledge about the skills necessary to construct ancient cordage, sails and other parts however, meant that the canoe also contained many modern materials. The second voyaging canoe built by the society, named Hawai‘iloa, was an attempt to use traditional materials as much as possible. One stumbling block was the inability to find a koa log large enough to build the canoe. Where earlier great fleets were built out of native hardwoods, now, after decades of forestry and cattle grazing, trees like the koa were rare. The amazing breadth of the efforts to reclaim ancient knowledges was made apparent when a group of Native Alaskan tribes stepped forward and donated to the society two beautiful Sitka Spruce logs. In an eloquent explanation of the connection between these two distant peoples, a leader of the Alaskan tribe said, “Both the reality and the symbolism of the [Hawai’iloa] project breathe hope and inspiration into all peoples seeking to maintain their traditions, heritage and culture in a society that does not place a high priority on such things….You do it for the Hawaiian people, but it reaches far beyond. In your canoe you carry all of us who share your vision and aspiration for a people to live and prosper with their future firmly built on the knowledge of their heritage and tradition.”**

*Mission: Polynesian Voyaging Society. P.V.S. Pier 7. Honolulu HI.

**Maillot, Byron. CEO, SeAlaska. Building Hawaiiloa. 1993. P.V.S. Honolulu.

Image from Bishop Museum Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii. Images are not to be re-used without permission.

Graphite, ink, wash and watercolor drawing by John Webber, ca. 1778.

As the official artist aboard Captain James Cook’s third voyage through the Pacific (1776-1780), it was John Webber who visually defined for much of eighteenth-century Europe what the distant and exotic peoples and places of this relatively unknown world were like. His commission on this voyage was defined as ethnographic. His work served as a visual history to accompany the written accounts of Cook and his crew. Webber recorded landscapes, scenery, initial contact and other important aspects of society. These images offer a very rare glimpse at life prior to the swift and dramatic changes that would come soon after. The publication and marketing of these well-recorded voyages in the 1785 titled A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, undertaken by the Command of His Majesty, for making discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere spurred great interest in this part of the globe.

Webber was not only a skilled artist, but also a prolific one. When he returned to England in 1780, he displayed over two hundred sketches made from the voyage. His initial work was developed, by himself and others, into finished engravings. These were published along with the official journals of Captain Cook in 1784. The death of Cook on the final voyage would only intensify interest in the expedition and Webber’s depictions. His work aboard Cook’s ships would eventually earn him a place in the prestigious Royal Academy, which was patronized by King George III.

Webber’s sketches while in Hawai‘i are invaluable as rare looks into early Hawaiian life, it is essential to remember that his representations were created through a lens that carried inherent ideas and understandings of an eighteenth-century European worldview. Webber’s art training prepared him to draw the European body and character. This specific view greatly shaped the way in which he drew Hawaiians. Webber was truly imaging the “other.” Also, both the written and sketched accounts of the voyage were affected by political concerns in Europe at the time. Many of the most commonly seen images that came to represent early Hawai‘i, are indeed second and third generation “workings” of his initial drawings. The sketches and watercolors that Webber created during the voyage were later adapted by engravers and others. These usually better known “finished products” were often significantly different than the original drawings.

This watercolor from the Bishop Museum Art Collection was sketched from a scene that Webber witnessed at Kealakekua Bay, on the western side of the Big Island of Hawai‘i. A double-hulled canoe appeared at Kealakekua where Cook’s ships had anchored. Aboard the canoe are 12 masked rowers, one of whom appears to be carrying a feathered ki‘i, or image. The rowers paddled by the European vessels and continued on to shore with no explanation as to their mission.

Collection: Art Collection
Call Number: Art. E.C. Hawaiian. Transportation. Canoes.
Artifact Number: SXC 96640
Location: Bishop Museum Archives

Image from Bishop Museum Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii. Images are not to be re-used without permission.

Hāloa denies that.An open poi bowl meant that no business or ill will was to be discussed lest Hāloa, the taro plant, be offended.*

As the hiapo (first-born child) of the deities Wākea and Ho‘ohōkūkalani, Hāloa-naka, the kalo plant, holds important kuleana (responsibility/privilege) in the relationship between Kānaka Maoli and the land that surrounds them. The second born to these gods, named Hāloa in honor of his elder brother, is ancestor to all Hawaiian people. In Hawaiian knowledge, it is the duty of this younger sibling to honor and serve the elder and in turn the elder sibling will provide for them. This inter-dependant relationship between man and the land serves to connect the fate of both.

Kalo (Colocasia esculenta), a representation of the land, was consumed by Kānaka Maoli as the primary food in traditional society. The partaking of foods, as kinolau (myriad bodies) of the gods, was one way of getting nearer to the gods. The planting, harvesting and consumption of kalo were all treated with great respect, shown through the many protocol that surrounded these practices.

Kalo could be grown in either lo‘i (wetland patches), or in the case of areas with much less rain, mala (dryland gardens). Wetland taro gardens were an integral part of an inter-dependent system that often stretched from mountain to sea. Entire communities worked together to keep kahawai (streams) and ‘auwai (ditches) clean and running so that all farmers within the system could benefit from the clean, cool waters of the main streams. A land that was full with taro patches was considered ‘āina momona (fattened land).

Kalo was baked or steamed and then often pounded into ‘ai pa‘a (firm food) or poi. Poi was eaten with the fingers and was often described as one-finger or two-finger poi depending on the thickness. Cultural understandings displayed in the protocol surrounding the eating of poi are mentioned by Mary Kawena Pukui in Native Planters,“My own people, among whom I grew up, never used three fingers…there was an etiquette involved: I was taught as a small child never to separate the fingers…never to insert the fingers above the first joint.”** These things were all considered piggish, greedy.

The kalo was pounded into pa‘i ‘ai (pounded food) and poi on papa ku‘i ‘ai (kalo pounding boards) with pōhaku ku‘i ‘ai (food pounding stones). These pōhaku were most often carved from basalt stones and formed with a rounded base and knobbed head. One derivation often found on the island of Kaua’i is a stirrup, handle shape. Bishop Museum’s ethnology collection contains hundreds of pōhaku ku‘i ‘ai in a number of styles, sizes and materials.

* Pukui, Mary Kawena. ‘Olelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication 71. no.1700, p.182. Honolulu. Bishop Museum Press, 1983.

**Handy, E.S. Craighill and Elizabeth Green Handy with the collaboration of Mary Kawena Pukui. Native Planters in Old Hawaii: their Life, Lore, and Environment. Bernice P. Bishop Museum bulletin 233. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1991. pp 115.

Location: Bishop Museum

Image from Bishop Museum Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii. Images are not to be re-used without permission.

The tropic bird that soars to the cliff of LīloaSaid of a chief of high rank*

Hawaiian society under the ‘Aikapu system was stratified according to rank. An individual’s rank was not determined by wealth or gender, but by genealogy. Those of the highest rank could trace their genealogy all the way back to the beginning of time, to the very first organism to inhabit the earth, even to the primordial darkness preceding all life. These genealogies were recorded in chants called ko‘ihonua that glorified Ali‘i bloodlines, ancestors, and their decedents.

Ali‘i, like other strata of Hawaiian society, were not all of similar rank. The highest Ali‘i were the Mō‘ī, or supreme rulers. They were often nī‘aupi‘o chiefs, having being conceived through the union of high ranking siblings. These nī‘aupi‘o chiefs were considered to be Akua (Gods) on earth, and as such, they had to keep strict kapu, or taboos, least the welfare of their people and lands be compromised. Also, because ruling was a kuleana (responsibility, right), many chiefs would go to great lengths to ensure their kapu were kept. For example, for those whose kapu forbade their shadow falling on another human, they would often leave their kauhale (housing complex) only after the sun had gone down so that their shadow could not be cast. Ruling in Hawai‘i was not just about luxury, as the Mō‘ī had an inter-dependent relationship with the maka‘āinana. The commoners provided the resources that the Mō‘ī would use to mālama their people and the Gods.

There might be one Ali‘i Nui ruling over an entire island, or several each with their own moku (large land division within an island). Lesser Ali‘i, known as kaukau ali‘i might rule over an ahupua‘a, smaller land division, or an ‘ili, an even smaller land division within an ahupua‘a. Unlike the Ali‘i Nui, the Kaukau Ali‘i often did not have strict kapu. In fact, many Kaukau Ali‘i were not of much higher rank than the konohiki, or resource managers, who dealt directly with the maka‘āinana (common people).

One important symbol of rank for the highest Ali‘i was the lei niho palaoa, a whale tooth pendant. The carved hook pendant is strung on thousands of finely braided strands of human hair. These significant lei were worn by Ali‘i of both genders. These whale teeth were collected from carcass that would wash ashore at specific places in the islands. Theses wahi pana (sacred places) were considered important areas to control in order to have access to the mana that these items brought. Control over these spots, like Kualoa on O‘ahu, might mean control over the entire island.

* Pukui, Mary Kawena. `Olelo no`eau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication 71. no.1750, p188. Honolulu. Bishop Museum Press, 1983.

Location: Bishop Museum

Image from Bishop Museum Archives, Honolulu, Hawaii. Images are not to be re-used without permission.

Games and sport have always been an integral part of Hawaiian life. In traditional society pa‘ani kahiko (ancient games) were numerous and extremely popular. These games actually came to the forefront of everyday life during the yearly makahiki festival that spanned approximately three to four months. The time of makahiki meant the arrival of the god Lono and the setting aside of the god Kū. Warfare and other activities of Kū ceased and the land, and its inhabitants, were allowed to regenerate, procreate and grow anew. This was a time of le‘ale‘a (pleasure) when many games and contests were held.

Physical Sport

Some of these games that were played were physical sports. These contests were not only used as arenas where the strong and swift could attain recognition and fame, but they also served to train the many warriors who might need to be called upon later in battle. Ancient mo‘olelo record many contests of sport ranging from kūkini (running), he’e hōlua (sledding), he‘e nalu (surfing), lele kawa (cliff jumping) to hākōkō (wrestling), mokomoko (boxing) and many others. Games such as ‘ulumaika (rolling disks), moa pahe‘e (dart throwing) and ‘ō‘ō ihe (spear throwing) required a steady hand and a trained eye. The more formal of these contests during the makahiki would take place at a designated kahua pa‘ani (sporting area) with the wooden staff Lonomakua watching over the contestants. Not only was a contestant being judged, but the glory or dishonor of the family name was on the line. The victors of these contests were heralded throughout the islands. Many of the most heroic stories of the gods involve these battles of strength and speed.

Games of the Mind

Kānaka Maoli were also passionate about games of the mind that rewarded the player with the quickest and sharpest wit. Recitation of genealogies, proverbial sayings and knowledge of hidden meanings in phrases were some of the most admired of Hawaiian skills. Word games and ‘ōlelo nane (riddles) were favorites. Another verbal type of duel ho‘opa‘apa‘a, could be seen as an extreme verbal sport as a loss in a contest could mean death. Kōnane, a form of checkers, was another game that challenged the mind. This was often played on boards of stone with alternate sets of black and white pebbles. Some more elaborate sets contained carved figures as men.

Procreative Games

Procreation was the basis for the earth itself and was considered a natural gift of the gods. Games to encourage procreation were especially prevalent during the makahiki. ‘Ume (to draw towards or attract) and kilu were two varieties of this sort of game. Like the other games and sports mentioned, accounts of ‘ume and kilu can be found throughout the ancient mo‘olelo. One well-known incident is the game of kilu played by Hi‘iaka, sister of Pele, and Lohi‘au, an ali‘i of Kaua‘i.

Boxing match before Captain Cook. Ink and watercolor by John Webber, ca. 1779 [the actual event took place on January 28, 1779]. (56×98.5 cm)

Collection: Art Collection
Call Number: Webber
Location: Bishop Museum Archives