Kahalaopuna, Princess of Manoa

Author: Traditional

Time Period: 1001 CE–1500 CE

Country or Culture: Polynesia

Genre: Myth

PLOT SUMMARY

The Hawaiian mountain god Akaaka (who is represented by the mountain ridge overlooking Waikiki) marries the goddess Nalehuaakaaka (who is seen as the red lehua bushes along the mountain) and the two have twin children: the boy Kahaukani (the Manoa wind) and the girl Kauakuahine (the rain of the mountain ridge). When the twins are born, however, they are adopted separately by a chief, Kolowahi, and a female chief, Pohakukala.

When the two twins reach adulthood, their respective adoptive parents, unaware that they are in fact brother and sister, decide that the two should be married. The union of Kahaukani and Kauakuahine forever link the rain and the wind. The marriage also produces the most beautiful girl of her time, Kahalaopuna (also known as Kaha and Kahala). Stories of her exquisite beauty spread throughout the land. The red glow from her cheeks and face can be seen through the walls of her house (which are surrounded with fencing and signs that indicate that entry into that sacred building is forbidden). When she bathes, beams of rainbow colors radiate from and surround her.

When she is still an infant, Kaha is betrothed to the young chief Kauhi. Many would-be suitors express interest in her hand, but Kaha (well trained by her parents) remains committed to Kauhi. Two men of inferior rank, Keawaawakiihelei and Kumauna, fall so in love with her—despite never having seen her—that they devise a plan. They make and wear flower wreaths (leis) and other adornments, claiming that they were given to the men as love gifts from Kaha.

As the time of the wedding draws near, Kauhi arrives at Waikiki (near Kaha’s home) to surf. He has heard stories about his betrothed and the two strange men, and becomes enraged at his fiancée’s alleged infidelity. He travels to her house, and when she sees him at her door, she immediately knows who he is. She invites Kauhi into her home, but he instead invites her for a walk in the woods. There, he beats her to death and buries her. The owl god accompanying her, however, resurrects her. Kauhi kills her again, and the owl brings her back to life again, and this process is repeated several more times. Kauhi eventually kills her and buries her so deep under roots and brambles that the owl cannot unearth her. However, another man unearths her body and resurrects her.

The young man, Mahana, wants Kaha to become his bride, but she cannot as long as Kauhi lives. Mahana, through a game with Kauhi, is able to trick the latter into admitting his terrible deeds. King Akaaka becomes aware of Kauhi’s actions as well (in addition to the boasts of Keawaawakiihelei and Kumauna) and has all three punished by baking them in imus (ovens). The remains of Kauhi are swept away in a tidal wave. However, a shark god who is related to Kauhi resurrects him as a shark. Meanwhile, Akaaka gives Mahana permission to marry his granddaughter. Two years later, Kaha is surfing (defying the wishes of her grandfather, who knows of Kauhi’s transformation). Kauhi bites her in half, burying the lower half of her body at the bottom of the sea so she cannot be brought back to life. Upon learning of her death, her parents and grandparents give up their human forms and return to their natural forms.

SIGNIFICANCE

The Manoa Valley lies near Hawaii’s capital and largest city of Honolulu. Overlooking the valley and Waikiki Beach is a range of steep mountains. The valley itself is very lush, the product of almost daily rainfall. Also a product of this weather are the frequent rainbows associated with the valley. The Polynesian tribes occupying Hawaii long before Westerners arrived paid tribute to the beauty of this region by telling stories of the gods, heroes, spirits, and villains who made the valley the natural wonder it is today. Such tales, which were handed down through oral tradition, were eventually documented and compiled into a collection by missionaries during the mid-nineteenth century.

The story of Kahalaopuna illustrates the relationship seen by the indigenous people of Hawaii between humans, the gods, and the natural world. One of the key figures in this story, for example, is Akaaka (translated as “laughter”), a god who exists as a large promontory on the mountains overlooking the valley. When Kaha is born, Akaaka, his wife, and their twin children (whose later marriage forever links the Manoa wind with its rain) all become a royal family of humans. Although they exert power over their subjects, this family does not demonstrate supernatural power until Kaha’s death takes place. When this event takes place, the family returns to their status as gods and as the natural features of the valley. Additionally, Kahalaopuna’s beauty is seen as the source of the frequent rainbows and a beautiful red glow, both of which are indicators of her presence for the people (who were not allowed to see her while she was betrothed to Kauhi).

Also prominent in the story are spirits. Despite Kaha’s multiple deaths at the hand of her fiancé, her spirit remains intact, returning to her body when it is uncovered by her companion. It is only when her body cannot be repaired that her spirit disperses into the valley. Hawaiian folklore thus attributes the rainbows and the red glow that sometimes appears with them to Kaha’s spirit, revisiting her home near Waikiki.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beckwith, Martha. Hawaiian Mythology. New Haven: Yale UP, 1940. Print.

Kalakaua, David. The Legends and Myths of Hawaii: The Fables and Folk-Lore of a Strange People. 1888. Print.

Kawaharada, Dennis. Introduction. Ancient O‘ahu: Stories from Fornander and Thrum. Ed. Kawaharada. Honolulu: Kalamaku. 2001. Print.

Thrum, Thomas G. “Kahalaopuna, Princess of Manoa.” Hawaiian Folk Tales. Chicago: McClurg, 1907. Print.

Westervelt, W. D. Legends of Gods and Ghosts: Hawaiian Mythology. Boston: Ellis, 1915. Print.