► Kalawainui II Breaks Heiau Kapu

Hawaii Star Bulletin
June 25, 1953
Clarice B. Taylor's Tales About Hawaii

The Young Kalawainui Breaks the Heiau Kapu

Hidden Alii, No. 9

     Their was a pause in the rigurous 10 day ceremony of dedicating a new oha god for the heiau in Kona. The priests of Lono had completed the prayers which took four hours to perform during which all the audience knelt rigidly on one knee with their hands and arms uplifted.

     During this pause, the alii gathered in the sacred house near the altar, relaxed and were served dinner of the pork sanctified at the preciding day's sevices.

     The young Kalawainui was about 19. He was attending the service in th company of his foster-father Moopu'u II and had no servant of his own to relieve him during the period of relaxation.

KAPU BROKEN

     The youth was also paralyzed with the need of going to the toilet. Although death awaited the man who broke the kapu by stepping over the doorsill of the sacred house, the youth blindly rushed to the door.

     As he started to step over the doorsill, Kaho'alii, his own grandfather, raised his arm to strike the youth down.

     Moopu'u II was watching. He raised his arm and cried, "Wohi" (the cry of his office as Moopu'u). "There is no life or death in your hands - life and death is in my hands."

     Kaho'alii dropped his arm and the youth looked around in a daze. Moopu'u walked over to the youth, put his arm around him and walked him out of the sacred house as was his right. By putting his arm around the youth he covered the boy with his own kapu.

EXILE
     Not a word was said between the two as Moopu'u walked with the young Kalawainui through the heiau out the path to their own home.

     At the house, Moopu'u quickly gathered a few clothes and food and again taking Kalawainui by the hand slipped through the village to his canoe. He commanded the boy to get in it.

     Taking turns at the paddles, the two men rowed and sailed the ocean until they reached the shores of windward Oahu. The route was familiar to Moopu'u for it was one of his duties to make trips back and forth to Oahu with boatloads of taxes for the King. Ordinarily Moopu'u made the trips with a fleet of rowers.
     
     Once arrived on Oahu, Moopu'u landed at Punaluu where he put the younger Kalawainui in the care of his uncle Keulua at Kaluanui.

Next: Final hiding of the alii.

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Source: https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-43958-0-84/dist.pdf?ctx=ArtCtxPublic

     

► Kapus Restrict the Alii

Honolulu Star Bulletin. June 24, 1953 - Tales About Hawaii, Clarice B. Taylor 

RELIGIOUS KAPUS
RESTRICT THE ALII

HIDDEN ALII, No. 8

     The story of the hidden alii told by Kauhai to Queen Emma and her mother Kekela had as its background the religious ceremonies of old Hawaii which were totally unknown today by Hawaii's young people. 

     The time of the story is about 1800. Kamehameha had conquered and pacified Oahu and had stationed his own alii on Oahu as the rulers of each district. Keulua, an uncle of Moopu'u II, was the Konohiki (district manager) and tax collector for the king at Kalua-nui (Big Hole) near Punaluu on Windward Oahu. 

     The settling of the story is a heiau temple in Kona, Hawaii, dedicated to the war god Ku. 

    The occasion was one of the rigurous 10 day ceremonies for dedicating and setting up a new ohia wood image of the god. Services began when the ohia image had been hauled from a location in the forest to the heiau. Carving of the image had been done in the forest.

DEDICATION SERVICE

     The order of the Ku priests, plus the priests of the Kane and Kanaloa orders were assembled within the walls of the great stone heiau altar. To conduct the services which lased day and night.

     With the priests were the king, all the male alii of the court and as many commoners as would attended such a rigorous service. No women were allowed.

     The king and the highest alii assembled in a grass house built near the heiau altar. The alii were not allowed to go outside the grass house during that 10 day period. The front of the house, facing the altar, was open so that they could take part in the service without being seen by the commoners.

     There were no toilet facilities in this sacred house. Such facilities would be a defilement to the place. Slave attendants of the alii served their masters by thrusting vessels through the thatch of the outside wall of the house.

GODS IN PROCESSION

     Kamohoalii I was one of the principal priests taking part in the services.

     At one point, he led the procession of the priests who paraded about the altar carrying the images of their many gods. At other times, he led the ceremonies in which Kamohoalii and the priests said responsive prayers.

     Within the sacred grass house with the alii were Kamahoalii II and Moopu'u II. It was there duty to see that the kapus were enforced.

     The boy, Kalawainui II, was also present and participating as one of the alii.

Next: Kalawainui II breaks kapu.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Source: https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-43958-0-84/dist.pdf?ctx=ArtCtxPublic