► The Power of the Stone: Daddy Bray

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Thursday, January 8, 1959 - Clarice B. Taylor's "Tales about Hawaii"

     "My Uncle Kaniho told me that the stone god demonstrated its powerful mana (spiritual power) in a marvelous way.

     David k. Bray Sr. was continuing the story of how the stone god "walked to his house" and became the source of his spiritual power as a kahuna in a modern world.

     "One day a rainbow appeared before their house in Kohala. Kaniho;s father Ku-amoo announced that some alii or great person was approaching.

     "Soon appeared two strangers carrying  pig, chicken, awa and puau wrapped in ti leaves like offerings.

     "The strangers announced themselves as kahuna from Kauai. They asked to see the god Ke Alii. They knelt before it, prayed and made offerings.

KNEW PRAYERS
     "To my Uncle's surprise, they knew the correct prayers and addressed the stone by name Ku-ka-ili-moku.

     "The rainbow which hung over the house disappeared and the Kauai priests sat down to explain their mission.

     "It seems that they were keepers of the female god similar in appearance to Ku-ka-pihe. They claimed their god had been brought from Tahiti at the same time as ours by the High Priest Paao.

     "The Kauai goddess had come to her priests in a dream and told them of the male god on Hawaii and bring back the male god so that the two could be reunited.

     "Now Kuamoo did not want to give up his god, the source of his spiritual power. He sparred for time.

     "There followed a contest in chanting in which the Kauai priests tried to outdo Kuamoo. We Hawaiians call such a contest Hoopapa, the art of debating.

WINS ALL
     "The winner not only wins the contest, he takes away the spiritual power or skill of the loser.

     "The chanting went on through the day and night. Kuamoo's memory never failed him because he felt secure in the power of his god.

     "Finally the Kauai priests gave in and conceded that Kuamoo had the greater spiritual power. They said nothing more about taking the god - but invited Kuamoo to come to Kauai and get the female companion.

NEXT: Kaniho

► My Stone Is Hidden: Daddy Bray

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Wednesday, January 7, 1959 - Clarice B. Taylor's "Tales about Hawaii"

     "It was a dreadful time of fear for those of us who believed in the old Hawaiian gods when Kaahumanu broke the kapus ordered the temples burned and the gods wth them.

     "My ancestors, the keepers of the stone god Ku-ka-ili-moku, burned the feather god images but they hid the real god which was the stone I possess today."

     David K. Bray Sr., Hawaii's best known practicing kahuna, continued his story of how the stone "had walked" to his house and had been the spiritual force behind his work.

     "It may have been at that time (1820) that the stone came into the possession of Ku-amoo, son of Kamehameha the Great. Ku-amoo was priest of Kohala. His mother belonged to of family of priests.

KE ALII
     "Ku-amoo called the stone 'Ke Alii' (The Alii). It would be bad manners to address it as Ku-ka-ii-moku, just as you did not address Kamehameha by his name, you called him 'Ke Alii.'

     "The people called the stone Ku-ka-pihe the death stone. The name arose from the gathering of mourners at the death of a warrior killed by Kamehameha's men."

     "The transference of the name was Hawaiian etiquette. Hawaiian did not call the stone Ku-ka-ili-moku anymore that they would refer to Kamehameha by name as the one who had caused their loss. That would be bad manners.

     "They could not speak disrespectfully of the great war god, so they spoke f him as Ku-ka-pihe.

PLACE OF HONOR
     "In my youth there were many Hawaiians living who had seen Ku-ka-pihe set up in a place of honor in the Kohala home of Ku-amoo. The god was kept in a clean bowl in a nest of red silk with a yellow lei about it.

     "Ku-amoo believed that his healing powers came from the stone. He offered sacrifices and prayers to it every day. He spread his prayer rug before it, drank awa for the god and sprinkled a little of the awa over it before offering sacrifices.

NEXT: The Female God

► Molokai's Iliili-Opae - 3: Construction

Note: Although No. 2 indicates this section as "The Predication," it was entitled as "Construction." The title exchange does not take away from the flow of the story. Enjoy.

Honolulu Star Bulletin. Wednesday, January 16, 1957 - Tales about Hawaii, Clarice B. Taylor 

     The construction of a great heiau (stone temple) in ancient Hawaii was a community undertaking.

     It required the co-operation of the Ke Alii (reigning king) who could commander every man, woman and child in his kingdom to work on the project.

     Construction work could not be started until the crops had been harvested and sufficient food stockpiled to feed the king and priests (in the manner to which they were accustomed) and the workers.

FORGOTTEN
     The Iliili-Opae heiau on Molokai is so many hundreds of years old that the people long ago forgot the name of the king who built it, so they began to believe that the menehunes had built it.

As a matter of fact, it is probably about 700 years old and was built in the 13th century about the time of Umi.

     This conjecture can be made because the heiau architecture follows the pattern believed to have been introduced by Umi of the Island of Hawaii.

     In all probability, the high priest who first obtained the beautiful site from the ruler said nothing about a heiau plan until after the king had accompanied a successful raid on Maui (as predicted by the priest).

     The priest waited until the following winter when the King again wanted a prophecy.

     At the oracle service, attended by the King, the priest prophesied success to the king, provided the king first built a temple at Mapulehu.

COMMON DEVICE
     This was a common device and justifiable, for the king was not allowed to go to war during the Makahiki (fall harvest festival).

Dedication of the first fruits to Lonoikamakahiki

 Photo Credit

     At the close of Makahiki, the dutiful king was supposed to go about the land rebuilding old temples and rededicating them or build a new temple according to the oracle.

     A king had to do what the priest said in the oracle or he was certain to be punished by the gods.
     Old Hawaii legends are full of stories of kings who were sassy to their high priests or who refused to obey the oracle.

     In every case, the king was severely punished. He generally ended life as a sacrifice on the temple altar to the gods.

     The Molokai king who built Iliile-Opae probably threatened his high priest with death, but he went ahead and ordered the constructed started.

NEXT: The Work

He mana'o

Kahuna (priests) held a lot of power to influence an Alii (king). Makes me question who was in charge of the land, people and procession of developments. What if a kahuna was corrupt? Who is in charge when an Alii is murdered by order of a Kahuna? Imagine the fear of the people - emotionally and spiritually? Another interesting part of the story is the indication of forgotten Alii and works were explained away as having Menehune involvement.

Did you catch the word, "sassy" in the text?  - "... kings who were sassy to their high priests..." I liked how the author used the word to describe uncooperative kings. I remember my grandparents using that context.