► The Stone Walks: Daddy Bray

The Saturday Star-Bulletin - Honolulu, T.H., January 10, 1959 - "Clarice B. Taylor's Tales about Hawaii"

     "After the funeral services for Uncle Kaniho, I went to his Punchbowl house and asked his wife for the stone-god."

     David K. Bray was telling the story of how he came into possession of the stone-god which has been the source of his spiritual power as a practicing Kahuna in the modern world.

     His widow refused to give the stone to me. She had a favorite nephew whom she wanted to inherit it and with it the kahuna powers of Uncle Kaniho.

     "I reminded her that she had been present when he promised the stone to me.

     "If Uncle Kaniho said these things to you, let the stone walk to your house,'" was her reply.

     "I went away and stayed away for more than three months and then the stone did walk to my house.

     "During the three months Kaniho's widow had tried to use the stone for her own personal gain. Instead of getting rich she brought disaster on her family.

     "The stone became an evil thing and brought about the deaths of three members of her family. It was Ku-ka-pihe (the death stone) again.

     "After the third death, Uncle's widow was warned by a kahuna friend that she must give up the stone. She sent it to me by her favorite nephew.

     "That was how the stone walked to my house. That was why I had to purify the stone to make it lose its Kukapihe nature.

 

► Kaniho Gives the Stone to Daddy Bray

Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Friday, January 9, 1959 - "Clarice B. Taylor's Tales about Hawaii"

     "My Uncle Kaniho inherited the stone-god Ku-ka-pihe from his father Kuamoo. With it, he inherited the kahuna powers of his father.

     "He could heal the sick, see into the future and find lost articles. He was one of the prominent kahuna of the early 1900s."

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

     "Uncle Kaniho was my great teacher. He selected me as his favorite pupil when I was a boy. He taught me the prayers and the proper sacrifices to make to the god.

WATCHED HIM
     "He watched me carefully when I cam under the influence of other religious teachers and it was he who said that the ancient gods had protected me when I returned to the religion of my ancestors.

     "Uncle Kaniho promised to pass on his spiritual powers to me. He had no children of his own.

     "I was of great help to him when he became so well known and popular that he had many haole patients as well as Hawaiian. Uncle Kaniho could not speak English so he would get me to translate for him.

     "He was well known among the haoles as "the kahuna who could find things." He often made haoles angry with his power to see into their private lives.

NOT SEEN BY HAOLES
     "They, the haoles, never saw the stone god and they never they that Kaniho's ability to see came from that god. He called it "Our Alii."

     "When Kaniho lay dying he called me to his bedside and, holding the stone in his hands, made me its caretaker saying,

     "Take good care of Our Alii when I am gone. Use it for good. Never send it on an errand of evil and it will always take care of you and your family."

NEXT: The stone walks

► 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