Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 2, 1 February 2001 — Kamehameha believed that strong warriors had to be well nourished [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kamehameha believed that strong warriors

had to be well nourished

By Claire Hughes Department of Health MANY ATHLETIC feats of today pale in comparison to those of the great Hawaiian warriors. Descriptions of battles fought by Kamehameha and his warrior eompanion, Kekūhaupi'o, cleariy demonstrate their fighting skills and the bravery, strength, endurance and fearlessness of their armies. Batīles were fought hand-to-hand with spears, pololū and smaller weapons. This type of fighting required a degree of physical readiness that we, of this generation, would have difficulty comprehending. Kamehameha did not win all the battles, but even in his losses, he demonstrated fearlessness and prowess that was respected by all men. Kamehameha entered the battle against Keawema'uhili aware of the great obstacles ahead. Knowing that he would be greatly outnumbered against the eom-

bined forces of three ali'i from Puna, Hilo One and Hilo Palikū, he decided to attack Keawema'uhili before all his foes had assembled. Reportedly, the ali'i Pai'ea, Kamehameha, was like a whirlwind dodging the spears the multitude of Hilo warriors hurled in battle. Kekūhaupi'o was equally adept. Together, these great warriors fought like a great army. When Kamehameha got hold of an opponent, aided by his knowledge of lua, that man was easily broken. The same was true for Kekūhaupi'o, who would grab an opponent and break his spine. On the battlefield, Kekūhaupi'o would say to his ali'i, "E Kalani, here is the man." It seemed that Kamehameha and Kekūhaupi'o were able to shed attacking spears like bath water. In the heat of the battle, the nī'aupi'o ali'i of Kohala and his fearless followers moved like a twisting wind, blowing away those who opposed them. Observers of the time were filled with fear of these great warriors. Amid a multitude of opponents, Kamehameha exhibited his fighting skills. When great numbers of spears were hurled at him, he ward them off with his spear. He was able to shrug off spears so they would fall behind him. On oeeasions, Kamehameha would seize a flying spear and break it, perhaps to instill fear in the enemy. During this battle, Kekūhaupi'o was so enthralled watching the unparalleled fighting skills of his ali'i, that he let down his own guard.

A spear struck him, grazing his eheek and drawing blood. The resulting flesh wound scarred Kekūhaupi'o's face permanently. After three days of i battle, warriors from / Maui arrived to sup port /

Keawema'uhili. Perhaps if those Maui warriors had not joined in, the victory might have gone to . Kamehameha. / During actual L battle, Kame-

hameha's men ate such foods from the forest as bananas, yams, māhik-

īhiki shnmp and the young fronds of the ho'i'o. These were harvested and eaten to sustain the energy and strength of the warriors. In the many months of peaee that preceded this war, Kamehameha ordered his ali'i and chiefly uncles to farm and fish, while Kekūhaupi'o began preparing the warriors for warfare. After Kamehameha's retum to Kohala, the land of his birth, Keaweaheulu and Kekūhaupi'o guided the building of hālau near Kapa'au to shelter his people during martial arts instruction. To attract chiefs and commoners for his armies, Kamehameha furnished their calabashes with vegetable food ('ai) and fish (i'a) to

ilii I make the men sturdy and ready m for instruction in 7 martial arts. There, / Kamehameha's famous armies, the Hunalele and Huelokū, were developed.

/ Kamehameha used / every possible method / to increase agricultural / yields, so that in case of / war, his warriors and / followers would have ! sufficient food supplies to ' enable them to go to battle. This was a wise act by this famous ali'i of

Hawai'i nei. While in Hawai'i today

we do not need to be concemed about war, we are not nearly doing enough to be self-sufficient in feeding our eommunities. We still have good agricultural lands on all islands and need to exercise our duties as stewards of the 'āina to make sure that future generations will have farmlands to nurture and sustain them. ■ For more stories on Polynesia s most noted leader. warrior and aii'i nui, eheek out "Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekūhaupi'o" by Rev. Stephen Langhern Desha Sr,The original Hawaiian text was translated and published by Kamehameha Schools Press in and is filled with fascinating mo'olelo.

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