Hawaiian Mythology · 40 of 55

Legend of Kalaehina (Kalaikini, Kaleikini)

(a) Kalae-hina is so strong that he can throw a canoe into the sea as easily as if it were a spear, tear up trees by the roots, and split wood with his head. When the six canoes which his brother is building at Kupua in South Kona get stuck at the place called Na-wa‘a-ho‘okui in bringing them down to the sea, he hits on a plan to deliver five of them by sea from a different landing while he himself brings the sixth along on his back by the upper road. His brother therefore sends him to kill the chiefs of Maui and seize the rule from Kamalalawalu. At Kauiki in Hana the chief is found holding competitive sports and Kalae-hina enters the games. When the chief sees how strong the new champion is he runs away and hides at Wai-anapanapa.

Kalae-hina becomes ruling chief over Maui and gets such a great name for strength that the men who work for him are silent from fear. Kapakohana, who has superseded Ola on Kauai because of his strength, comes to test himself with Kalae-hina. They wrestle and Kapakohana manages to push his antagonist over the cliff Kai-halulu and drown him in the sea, after which feat he cuts out his jawbone and exhibits it to the people. 25

(b) The kupua Kalai-kini comes from Kauai of Mano-kalani-po in the form of a man to contend with the kupua of Hawaii. In Puna he strives to overthrow Pohaku-o-lekia in the form of a standing rock on the hill above Kapoho but is unable because Lekia is encouraged by his wife Pohaku-o-Hanalei, who stands in the form of a round-shaped rock beside the other. At Kapahua on the coast beyond Kalapana he stops up with kauila wood the spouting horn called "the blowhole of Kalaikini" in order to prevent the salt spray from spoiling the potato crop or, some say, for mischievous reasons. 26

(c) In Waipio, Kaleikini tries to uproot a kupua stone called Nuhinuhi-a-Ua and attacks a kawau tree which is a great kupua called Ke-kumu-kewau which, if uprooted, would have caused a flood. He is called a native of Polulu in Kohala and can change himself into many forms. Once he wanted his sister to name a child after him but said nothing of his wish. Every child born to her he would throw into a certain pond, where it became a fish, until a kahuna advised the family of his wish. The fish are to be seen there to this day and are called uiui because of the squeaking noise they make. 27

(d) In Hana, Kaleikini is described as a wanton mischief maker. He comes from Hawaii to Hana on Maui and tries to stop up the spouting horn near Kauiki called Puhi-o-Mokuhano, and he smashes the stone of Kane beside that of Kanaloa (Niu-o-Kane a me Kanaloa) because of its fame. 28

Many Kupua stories center about the court of Kukuipahu in Kohala district on Hawaii, and that chief is a favorite figure in kupua extravaganzas. In the story of Kaipalaoa the riddler, Kukui-pahu's wife is Kalena-i-hele-auau and it is she who instructs her nephew in riddling. In that of the riddler Kapunohu, the kupua's sister becomes Kukui-pahu's wife. In the story of Kepakailiula, Kukui-pahu marries his daughter to the red-skinned kupua. Actors in the story have traditional place names. Kukui-pahu names a land section in Kohala. Kaunalewa names the district on Kauai where Uweuwelekehau and Lu‘ukia plant a coconut grove and where stands the heiau Lolomauna. 29 Keauhou and Kahalu‘u are places on the Kona coast of Hawaii. Makolea is the name of a heiau at Kahalu‘u presided over by Lono's god Ka-ili, where Lono-i-ka-makahiki is said to have celebrated some of his victories. 30 The story is patched up out of episodes drawn from both native and foreign sources and has, like others of these late compositions, no traditional value save as an example of how kupua elements were manipulated for stock entertainment.