Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Island Chronicles | May/June 2006

Island Chronicles
By: CAROL SILVA

Royalty at Leisure

Hawaiian chiefs of old were very fond of traveling for leisure. They particularly enjoyed extended trips away from the rigid protocol of court, excursions that took them deep into the countryside to cold, misty bogs atop mountain peaks or to windswept, lava coastlines. The less pretentious a rural area and its inhabitants were, the more it was prized as a place for the privileged class to stay and savor the experience. There was a certain quiet pleasure in returning for a time to live in the unfettered style of the common folk or to engage in favorite or traditional sports and seasonal activities.

Chiefs may have journeyed to some of the more distant locales, to live closer to sky, earth and sea as their ancestors did. Others may have had simpler desires to see those special, well-honored places mentioned in legend and chant. Courtly retinues went to pay homage to fiery Pele as she flowed seaward or to cross the fragrant pandanus groves of Puna. They went to Pu‘uloa (Pearl Harbor) to feast on the exceptionally tasty fish and shellfish from those waters and to Lahaina, Maui, or Po‘ipū, Kaua‘i, to surf. Sometimes they left offerings to the gods of nature or brought back little tokens unique to the areas they had visited—lei of bright red-orange pandanus fruit or of the braided vines of the sweetly scented maile. They returned with other treats and delicacies, too, such as the dark pink lehua taro reserved for royalty or the fat, tender mullet and milkfish from the ponds of Moloka‘i. This love for travel is in evidence among royalty in historical times as well.

Shortly after the chief Kamehameha won his last battle and gained control of O‘ahu, he put all of his efforts into restoring and improving formerly rich lands on O‘ahu. which lay ravaged by war or wasted by neglect. As a result, hundreds of taro ponds and several major irrigation systems came into being. Crops were planted and tended by chiefs and warriors alike; only ocean fishing or occasional water sports disrupted this pattern of intensive activity. When the ocean teemed with schools of aku, Kamehameha left the uplands and went to fish for pleasure and to relax on the island of Lāna‘i. This chief settled on the remote southern shore at a rocky bay called Kaunolū, where an ancient but hardy fishing village sat on the banks of a dry gulch.

Kamehameha constructed a fortified house on the bluff, where he had a clear view of ocean conditions, as well as a panorama of the land and its unique cultural sites. Aside from the exceptional fishing, Kaunolū was known for its ancient well of fresh water, a treacherous diving ledge, an impressive temple, a place of refuge, fishing shrines and a great number of petroglyphs.

Like Kamehameha, Lot Kapuāiwa also came to Kaunolū to fish and enjoy the favorite resort of his grandfather. Lot was the fifth and last of the direct line to rule. When he came to fish at Kaunolū in 1868, Lot seriously inquired after traditional information from the older residents of the island. He gathered facts and recorded native accounts relative to sites, legends and the local history of the area. Lot also instructed several Lāna‘i men to conceal an unusual fishing god named Ku‘unihi, who stood two feet high and whose face and arms had been carved of stone.

Today, only ruins remain to mark a few of the sites. Yet, it is enough to appreciate the natural beauty of the area, the breathtaking view of the sea and the quiet repose that is still undisturbed.

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