Kapoi
The second legendary owl locality is found near the foot of Punchbowl Hill.[3]
Honolulu as the name of even a village was not known. Apparently there were very few people living along the watercourse coming down Nuuanu Valley. It may have been that even Kou, (the ancient name for Honolulu,) had not been heard. At any rate, the seacoast was a place of growing rushes and nesting birds. A dry heated plain almost entirely destitute of trees extended up to the foothills. Taro patches and little groves of various kinds of trees bordered each watercourse. The population was small and widely scattered. There was a legend of a band of robbers which infested this region. It was almost a “desolate place.” [[133]]
Down Pauoa Valley dashes a stream of beautiful clear water. This passes along the eastern edge of a small extinct crater known as Punchbowl Hill, whose ancient name was Puu-o-wai-na. The water from this stream was easily diverted into choice taro patch land. Here not far from the upper end of Fort Street at Kahehuna lived a man by the name of Kapoi.
His grass house was decaying. The thatch was falling to pieces. It was becoming a poor shelter from the storms which so frequently swept down the valley. Kapoi went to the Kewalo marsh near the beach, where tall pili grass was growing, to get a bundle of the grass to use for thatching. He found a nest of owl’s eggs. He took up his bundle of grass and nest of eggs and returned home.
In the evening he prepared to cook the eggs. With his fire-sticks he had made a fire in his small imu, or oven. An owl flew down and sat on the wall by the gate. Kapoi had almost finished wrapping the eggs in ti leaves and was about to lay them on the hot stones when the owl called to him: “O Kapoi! Give me my eggs.”
Kapoi said, “How many eggs belong to you?”
The owl replied, “I have seven eggs.”
Then Kapoi said, “I am cooking these eggs for I have no fish.” [[134]]
The owl pleaded once more: “O Kapoi! Give me back my eggs.”
“But,” said Kapoi, “I am already wrapping them for cooking.”
Then the owl said: “O Kapoi! You are heartless, and you have no sorrow for me if you do not give back my eggs.”
Kapoi was touched, and said, “Come and get your eggs.”
Because of this kindness the owl became Kapoi’s god, and commanded him to build a heiau (temple) and make a raised place and an altar for sacrifice. The name of the place where he was to build his temple was Manoa. Here he built his temple. He laid a sacrifice and some bananas on the altar, established the day for the tabu to begin and the day also when the tabu should be lifted.
This was talked about by the people. By and by the high chief heard that a man had built a temple for his god, had made it tabu and had lifted the tabu.
Kakuhihewa was living at Waikiki. He was the king after whom the island Oahu was named Oahu-a-Kakuhihewa (The Oahu of Kakuhihewa). This was the especial name of Oahu for centuries. Kakuhihewa encouraged sports and games, and agriculture and fishing. His house was so large that its dimensions have come down in the [[135]]legends, about 250 x 100 feet. Kakuhihewa was kind, and yet this offence of Kapoi was serious in the eyes of the people in view of their ancient customs and ideas. Kakuhihewa had made a law for his temple which he was building at Waikiki. He had established his tabu over all the people and had made the decree that, if any chief or man should build a temple with a tabu on it and should lift that tabu before the tabu on the king’s temple should be over, that chief or man should pay the penalty of death as a rebel.
This king sent out his servants and captured Kapoi. They brought him to Waikiki and placed him in the king’s heiau Kapalaha. He was to be killed and offered in sacrifice to the offended god of the king’s temple.