King Ola:
King Ola of Kauai was not happy because the land in Waimea Valley was very dry and the people's crops were dying. They had so many people but not enough food. One day the king told one of his men, "Why not bring water from the mountain springs here?" They thought of different ways but nothing worked. King Ola couldn't eat or sleep. The next day he met this strange little man. He was wearing the most beautiful feather cloak and crown upon his head. He told the King of Kauai, "I'm a menehune." King Ola knew that menehune had wonderful powers. The King of the Menehune said, "I want to make two promises. You have to muzzle the dogs and quiet the chickens and everyone has to be asleep. The last one is that you must catch fish and give one to each of my men." In the evening, King Ola didn't get much sleep. In the morning he and his men rushed to the foot of the mountain. The people gave out a joyous shout because a ditch had been built so water from the mountain springs could flow into the dry valley. The next day he asked his people how can we catch all this fish he wants us to catch. Why don't we catch all the shrimp he wants us to get? There is plenty of that. So they caught millions and millions of shrimp for the menehune. King Ola gave the menehune shrimp when the sun was going down The last menehune came and took his shrimp. There were only two shrimp left, one for the king of the menehune and one for King Ola. The menehune told King Ola,"The ditch is yours now." If you ever visit this place on Kauai, you will see the ditch and the place where King Ola gave all the menehune their shrimp as a gift. In Hawaiian Pu-uo-pai means the mountain of shrimp. Ka'ena Point:On the northwestern coast of Oahu is a point of land called Ka'ena Point. Nearby is a huge boulder known as Pohaku o Kauai, or Rock of Kauai. Legend has it that both of these landmarks came to be because of the actions of one man on a dark, stormy night many years ago. On this night, when the wind raged, lightning struck, thunder rumbled and the rain beat down from the heavens upon the islands of Hawaii, a baby boy was born. The storm was so vicious that the unrelenting rain that fell from the black clouds washed the red soil down through the valleys and soon the flooded streams and thundering waterfalls churned as red as blood. As the storm raged on, a rainbow appeared above the house in which the baby was born. It was still there the next day when the storm died down, the sky cleared and the sun came out. It was thought that the child was special, and that rainbow was a sign of his power. The boy was named Haupu. He displayed incredible strength at an early age and eventually grew to be a brave and powerful warrior. He was known throughout the islands – respected for his amazing strength, but feared for his quick temper. One night, Ka'ena, an Oahu chief, organised a night-fishing expedition. He gathered many people from the village and they set out in canoes of all sizes, with torches and their largest fishing nets. This same night, Haupa was sleeping in his royal home on Kauai, some 30 miles (48 km) from Oahu. He awoke to strange noises out on the water, and when he looked out he saw faraway lights dancing in the black distance. Half asleep, Huapu imagined a group of warriors coming from Oahu to attack his people, and so he rushed to the edge of a nearby cliff, heaved up a huge boulder and flung it out across the channel between the two islands. The canoes were smashed and shattered into tiny pieces, and chief Ka'ena, who stood proudly in the middle of his people, lost his life along with many of the fishermen. The boulder hit the water with such force that the resulting waves washed huge amounts of sand onto the shore, forming a point of land. The survivors of the disastrous fishing expedition made their way back to the shore of Oahu, and thereafter named the cape "Ka'ena" after their fallen chief. The boulder, they named the Rock of Kauai. |
Pi:
It all started when the chief wanted to build a wall to get water from Waimea River into his taro patches. All of the men worked except Pi. He was lazy. His children and his wife told Pi to get up and do work for his family. They were grumbling so Pi said he will do work for the family. First he dug up all his taro and steamed them in an imu. Next he invited the menehune to a feast that would be found near the wall being built. The menehune knew that Pi was asking for help and said his men would be there. Pi continued preparing the feast by pounding poi and putting it in small bundles wrapped in small pieces of ti leaves. He tied the bundles to a kukui tree which he planted next to the unfinished wall. He even caught shrimp for them. That night the menehune came to work for him. They worked through the night and finished the wall right before dawn. When they were done, they had a big feast prepared by Pi. With their stomachs filled, the menehunes went happily home. When the chief and his men came in the morning, they were shocked to see the wall completely built. They knew that the menehune must have come and finshed it. But they asked, "Who invited them?" They answered, "It has to be Pi because he was the only one who knew the menehune." They rewarded Pi and his family with a lot of fish, kapa, and other things. Today the wall may be seen today near Waima River on the island of Kauai People look at the rocks on the wall and wonder how the menehune could chip those rocks with just stone tools and fit them together in just one night. Pi’s Watercourse: Pi was an ordinary man living in Waimea, Kauai, who wanted to construct a mano, or dam, across the Waimea River and a watercourse therefrom to a point near Kikiaola. Having settled upon the best locations for his proposed work, he went up to the mountains and ordered all the Menehunes that were living near Puukapele to prepare stones for the dam and watercourse. The Menehunes were portioned off for the work; some to gather stones, and others to cut them. All the material was ready in no time (manawa ole), and Pi settled upon the night when the work was to be done. When the time came he went to the point where the dam was to be built, and waited. At the dead of night he heard the noise and hum of the voices of the Menehunes on their way to Kikiaola, each of whom was carrying a stone. The dam was duly constructed, every stone fitting in its proper place, and the stone auwai, or watercourse, also laid around the bend of Kikiaola. Before the break of day the work was completed, and the water of the [111]Waimea River was turned by the dam into the watercourse on the flat lands of Waimea. When the work was finished Pi served out food for the Menehunes, which consisted of shrimps (opae), this being the only kind to be had in sufficient quantity to supply each with a fish to himself. They were well supplied and satisfied, and at dawn returned to the mountains of Puukapele rejoicing, and the hum of their voices gave rise to the saying, “Wawa ka Menehune i Puukapele, ma Kauai, puoho ka manu o ka loko o Kawainui ma Koolaupoko, Oahu”—the hum of the voices of the Menehunes at Puukapele, Kauai, startled the birds of the pond of Kawainui, at Koolaupoko Oahu. The auwai, or watercourse, of Pi is still to be seen at Kikiaola. At one time Pi also told the Menehunes to wall in a fish-pond at the bend of the Huleia River. They commenced work toward midnight, but at dawn the walls of the pond were not sufficiently finished to meet, so it was left incomplete, and has remained so to this day. |