Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 2, 1 February 2019 — To Be Famed in Heart and Mind [ARTICLE]

To Be Famed in Heart and Mind

By Kamealoha Forrest Aloha to my fellow readers who cherish this carrier of knowledge. I bring before the masses of fellow readers certain oral histories I have heard, or was taught, from the time I was a child up until now, pertaining to my beloved home of Halele'a. Since we have all been conhned to our homes due to the increased intensity of the pandemic, I thought it a good idea to release this article as a little "snack" to delight the readership while we physically distance. These histories will perhaps inspire a metaphysical tour through imagination to my island of the snatching sun, similar to that of The Woman of the Pit. On Kaua'i there are left many startling remnants of the amazing works of the Menehune people of old, as storied and greatly visited places. Because Kaua'i is known as the plaee where this extraordinary race dwelled, in certain places of Halele'a, whieh is known as Hanalei now, there exist many of these places as well as their eompanion stories. The Menehune people had two favorite pastimes, one was to build, the other was lele kawa or pebble diving. There are many rocky oeean points that are named after these pastimes of the Menehune, I, however, am not the person to reveal those stories, that is the responsibility of those of those areas. With that I present those famous places of my area, while leaving the rest to my fellow Kaua'i of the other moku to decide what to share. Makaihuwa'a or Kamakaihuwa'a, whieh is a hill that lies between Wai'oli and Waipā, is one of these famous places. One story that was shared by the historian Frederick B. Wiehman, stated that this was the first lighthouse of Kaua'i whieh the Menehune built. The ancients, as well as paddlers in present times, still use this hill as the marker to safely bring in canoes through the proper ehannel to the shores of Mahamoku. This hill was built by the Menehune to ensure that their names would live on. Kealahula is a beach and cliffside that is

in the ahupua'a of Lumaha'i. It is located on the path called Kalanikahua, below the plaee known as Kahalahala and before the hill Pu'uhinahina. It is from Kealahula that the rocks and pebbles were moved to build up Kamakaihuwa'a. It is because of the Menehune's moving of these rocks from this area that a path was formed from the frequency and amount of Menehune walking back and forth that this plaee was named Kealahula. During ealm days and the summer months, this area is one of the paths to get to the beach of Ho'ohila in Lumaha'i. Ka'alele is a plaee and the name of a rock that was brought down from Wainiha, and carried to the rocky oeean cliff point of Lumaha'i as ajumping off point for lele kawa. After this rock was set up, the Menehune commenced their enjoyment of their favorite pastime of lele kawa. However, when one of the Menehune named Ka'alele jumped into the oeean, the oeean became agitated and the water rose up like a mountain due to the movement of an ulua in the water. As this ulua was thrashing about, the body of the Menehune was injured and he nearly died, the ulua continued to attack but in the end it was the Menehune who was victorious. The ulua was dragged up to shore until this enemy of the deep died. It is because of this amazing feat that this plaee is named for the Menehune Ka'alele who killed the ulua. There, at the point of Lumaha'i, below the groves of Mapuana and after the hau lowlands of Maihilaukoa, is the point of Ka'alele. All the famed places and beloved areas of my homeland have not been presented here. I leave that for another time, or perhaps for someone else to add to what I have already presented, perhaps with more skillful and beautiful language than I have here. That is all from this Unukupua wind. ■ Kamealoha Forrest is a bright and skillful kumu hula and haku melefrom Hā'ena Kaua'i. He is a beloved descendant ofthe the Mahuiki anā Chandler 'ohana, and is a strong advocate for the revitalization of the Hawaiian language anā culture.