9. KUALII
Kualii's first battle happens before he is a man, when he and his father dedicate the temple on Kawaluna, Oahu, as an act of rebellion. The chiefs of Oahu come against him with three armies, but Kualii, with his warriors, Maheleana and Malanaihaehae, and his war club, Manaiakalani, slays the enemy chiefs and beats back 12,000 men at Kalena. Later he conducts a successful campaign in Hawaii, establishes Paepae against the rebel faction of Molokai, and pacifies Haloalena, who is rebelling against the king of Maui. In this campaign he secures the bold and mischievous Kauhi as his follower, who is in time his chief warrior. As Kualii grows stronger, he goes in disguise to battle, kills the bravest chief, secures his feather cloak, and runs home with it. A lad who sees him pass each day runs after and cuts a finger from the dead enemy, after the battle of Kalakoa, and reveals the true hero of the day.[1] The chant to Kualii is composed by two brothers, Kapaahulani and Kamakaaulani, who are in search of a new lord. On the day of battle at Kaahumoa one joins each army; one brother leads Kualii's forces to an appointed spot and the other attempts to pacify the chief with the prearranged chant, in which he is successful; the brothers are raised to honor and peace is declared. Kualii lives to old age, when he is "carried to battle in a net of strings." His genealogical tree carries his ancestry back to Kane, and Kualii himself has the knowledge and attributes of a god.
[Footnote 1: Compare Kalelealuaka.]