The Legends and Myths of Hawaii: The fables and folk-lore of a strange people

by King of Hawaii David Kalakaua

He landed at Waikiki, on that island, and was well received by Kaihikapu, one of the three principal chiefs of Oahu. His father was the noted Kakuhihewa, who had entertained Lono during his voluntary exile, and who at his death, a short time before, had divided the island among his three oldest sons, leaving the dignity of moi to Kanekapu. Harmony existed among the brothers, and all of them followed the example of their father in maintaining attractive petty courts and imposing establishments. The moi retained possession of the royal mansion at Kailua, which was two hundred and forty feet in length and ninety in breadth, and adorned with all the taste and skill of the period.

Kaihikapu had a princely mansion at Ewa, but his court was at Waikiki at the time of the arrival of Iwikauikaua. The young chief, whose rank was at once recognized, was provided with quarters for himself and attendants near the court, and soon became a favorite with the nobility. The part he had taken in the battles of Lono, together with his miraculous escape at the temple of Puukohola, became the talk of the court, and he was treated as a hero.

In the pleasure of the courts of Oahu, Iwikauikaua spent a number of years on the island, and finally became the husband of Kauakahi, daughter of Kaihikapu. It was not a love-match, at least so far as Iwikauikaua was concerned, for after his marriage he squandered the most of his time for some years in roaming from district to district and giving little heed to the future. At length he began to crave a more active life, and was about to seek it on some other island when the noted war of the Kawelos, of Kauai, gave employment to his spear.

Kawelo had been driven from Kauai by his cousin, and, finding refuge in Oahu, had been given lands in the Waianae Mountains by Kaihikapu. Instead of settling there in peace, he began to construct canoes and prepare for a return to Kauai with a force sufficient to maintain himself on that island. Kaihikapu was finally induced to assist him, and so substantially that he invaded Kauai, deposed and killed his cousin, and assumed the moiship. Iwikauikaua took part in the expedition, but became disgusted with the jealousies of the Kauai chiefs and returned to Oahu at the close of the war, without attempting to avail himself of the opportunities afforded by the rebellion.

His marriage with Kauakahi promised him no advancement. His hair began to be tinged with gray, and the future presented to him no sign of the fulfilment of the prophecy of his youth. He consulted the kaulas, but they gave him no satisfaction. One of them told him, however, that his fortunes lay to the windward, and he provisioned a double canoe, and, with a competent crew and a few retainers, set sail in that direction without taking leave of any one. He stopped for a few days on Molokai, and a kaula there advised him to go to Maui. He accordingly set sail for that island, where resided two of his sisters, whom he had not seen for many years. One of them, Kapukini, was the wife of Kauhiakama, the moi of Maui; and the other, Pueopokii, of Kaaoao, a prominent chief of Kaupo.

He landed at Lahaina, and made himself known to Kapukini. Their greeting was affectionate, and they had much to relate of their past lives. She was the only wife of Kauhiakama, and he was astounded to hear that the aged moi had started two days before with a hostile army for Oahu. The object of the invasion was not clear, but Iwikauikaua felt satisfied that it would end disastrously, and impatiently awaited the result. The only son of Kapukini had reached his manhood, and Iwikauikaua advised his sister to prepare for his installation as moi, expressing the opinion that Kauhiakama would never return. His surmises proved to be correct. Within ten days a mere handful of the force with which the moi had embarked for Oahu returned, bringing news of the defeat and death of Kauhiakama.

The moi had landed at Waikiki, where he was met and defeated by the united chiefs of Oahu. He was slain during the battle, and his body was taken to the heiau of Apuakehau, where it was treated with unusual indignity—so unusual, in fact, that Kahekili, the moi of Maui, many generations after remembered the act, and retaliated in kind upon the chiefs captured by him in his conquest of Oahu.

Kauhiakama had always been a rash and visionary leader, and his tragical end did not surprise Iwikauikaua. It was on his report that his warlike father, Kamalalawalu, had invaded Hawaii, and met defeat and death at the hands of Lono, and with equal thoughtlessness he had thrown a small invading force into the most thickly populated district of Oahu, and led it to slaughter.

But, whatever may have been the weaknesses of Kauhiakama, a lack of courage was certainly not one of them, and the news of his death, together with that of the indignity visited upon his remains, created a wild excitement among the chiefs of Maui. His son was installed as moi without opposition, and a general demand for revenge went up from the whole island. Large quotas of warriors were offered from every district, and the young moi was implored to baptize the beginning of his reign with the best blood of Oahu.

But Iwikauikaua advised the excited chiefs to act with discretion. No one more than himself felt like avenging the death of Kauhiakama, who was the husband of his sister; “but,” he said to them, “the chiefs of Oahu are united, and a war upon one of them means a conflict with the whole island. Their spears are as long and as many as ours, and their knives are as sharp; therefore let not the chiefs of Maui be hasty.”