O ke au i kahuli wela ka honua
O ke au i kahuli lole ka lani
O ke au i kuka'iaka ka la.
E ho'omalamalama i ka malama
O ke au o Makali'i ka po
O ka walewale ho'okumu honua ia
O ke kumu o ka lipo, i lipo ai
O ke kumu o ka Po, i po ai
O ka lipolipo, o ka lipolipo
O ka lipo o ka la, o ka lipo o ka po
Po wale ho--'i
Hanau ka po
Hanau Kumulipo i ka po, he kane
Hanau Po'ele i ka po, he wahine
(Kumulipo, The Kalakaua Text)
"Mai, mai, ʻukā, ʻukā"
(Come, come, gobble, gobble [calling pigs])
Olopana was the Ali'i of 'O'ahu at this time. He was nicknamed Kūpeleleu-laho for his hips and shoulders which were as wide as a pua'a and just as stern. Olopana reigned for many years and had many wives. His favorites were the beautiful twins of Pauahula, moku Kona, of Ni'ihau; Pāpahi'o'o and Huluhululi'i'opihi. Olopana gave them the most children amongst his wives—so jealousy burned within the hearts of the other wives with great passion. The wife who harboured the most jealousy was Kūkaula-lena of Makolelau, moku Kona, of Moloka'i—the last and least favorite of Olopana. She simple in comparison to the other beautiful wives and could only weave lei. She had one child, Hoʻopae. Kūkaula-lena clung to her child, feverish disdain and terror for her husband and his favorite wives weighed her shoulders. She feared that Olopana would one day cast them off of Ka'ena point of 'O'ahu, where the man eating honu's lived: Waha-Una-ʻAi-Ā-Manō, where it was customary to discard undesired wives and children. Due to this extreme strain of spiritual mana and weliweli she felt toward Olopana, Lono felt her pain and decided to resolve this. He went to Kū and they both brewed a fierce storm over the island of 'O'ahu. All of 'O'ahu fell into a severe panic. The kānaka, blind with madness, began to eat the barks of trees and dig holes with their hands, deep enough for just their heads to stick out of. Olopana, stricken with the disaster of his kingdom, tore his malo, tore at his lauoho, and tore the 'ili on his forearms. Prostrate on the ground, Olopana prayed to the akua's. This was his oli:
The eye of the god,
Of one,
Of two,
Of three.
The season wence had turned black!
Place them, place rest from here to there.
The assembly undone before our eyes.
Bitter soil,
Bitter octopus whom smiles within the clouds, Kanaloa.
Alas!
The trees of Hawai'i rest.
The trees of Maui rest.
The trees of Kaho'olawe rest.
The trees of Moloka'i rest.
The trees of Kaua'i rest.
The trees of Ni'ihau rest.
Na hōkū wearily look on.
The tender caress of light.
Yearned are the feet, cracking.
YOU ARE READING
Pōlani and the Holoholona (A Beauty and Beast Retelling)
RomanceMalo'olehua is the fourth youngest of 14 daughters of Kuakea-kūʻolo, an esteemed chief of Kaunakakai, Moloka'i, which is an infamous seaport of great trade and rest between the fearsome channels that surround Moloka'i. She is the least beautiful, bu...
