[1] “T” and “K” are interchangeable. [↑]
XX
IWA, THE NOTABLE THIEF OF OAHU
In ancient Hawaii thieving was an honorable profession. It required cultivation as well as natural ability. Even as late as the days of Captain Cook and his discovery of the Hawaiian Islands there is the record of a chief whose business was to steal successfully. When Captain Cook discovered the island Kauai, a chief by the name of Kapu-puu (The-tabu-hill) was one of the first to go out to the ships. He went saying, “There is plenty of iron [hao]. I will ‘hao’ [steal] the ‘hao,’ for to ‘hao’ [to plunder] is my livelihood”—as one historian expressed the saying: “To plunder is with me house and land.” The chief, however, was detected in the act and was shot and killed. The natives never seemed to blame Captain Cook for the death of that chief. The thief was unsuccessful. Really, the sin of stealing consisted in being detected.
The story of Iwa, the successful thief, is back in the days when Umi was king of Hawaii, fourteen generations of kings before Kamehameha the First. The king Umi was well known in Hawaiian historical legends, and many important [[149]]events are dated with his reign as the reference-point.
In Puna, Hawaii, while Umi was king, there lived a fisherman by the name of Keaau. He was widely known for his skill in fishing with a wonderful shell. It was one of the leho shells, and was used in catching squid. Its name was Kalo-kuna. Keaau always returned from fishing with his canoe full. After a time he was talked about all around the island, and Umi heard about the magic leho of the fisherman.
At that time Umi dwelt in Kona, where he was fishing after the custom of those days. He sent a messenger commanding the fisherman to bring his shell to Kona, where he could show its power and his skill. Then the king, who had the right to take all the property of any of his subjects, took the shell from the fisherman.
Keaau’s heart became very sore for the loss of his shell, so he went to a man on Hawaii who was skilled in theft and asked him to secretly steal the leho and return it to him. He brought his canoe filled with his property—a pig, some fruit and awa and the black-and-white and spotted tapa sheets—to give to the thief who could get back his shell. But neither this thief nor any others on the islands of Hawaii, Maui or Molokai was sufficiently skilful to give him any aid. [[150]]