Kawaihoa
This point is where Kāne thrust his cane into the land to bring forth fresh water, which Kāne and his brother Kanaloa used to prepare their ʻawa drink. ʻAwa is a root Hawaiians used to make a narcotic drink, or they achieved a numb feeling by chewing the root itself. The legendary spring at Kawaihoa no longer exists there. Kawaihoa literally means “companion’s water.
Pukuʻi, Mary Kawena and Samuel H. Elbert. Hawaiian dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1986.
Tape Recorded Interview with Almeda Goss, interviewed by: Mary Kawena Pukuʻi 1962 April 23. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Archives.
Pukuʻi, Mary Kawena and Samuel H. Elbert. Hawaiian dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1986.
Tape Recorded Interview with Almeda Goss, interviewed by: Mary Kawena Pukuʻi 1962 April 23. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Archives.
Death of the Water at Kawaihoa
(as told by Mary Kawena Pukuʻi, interviewed by Oswald Bushnell, December 16, 1960
…they would of course not be careless with water otherwise the water would die. And there’s known cases of the water dying. There's a water hole. From the side of the hill, I saw the hole. Round hole, as though someone had taken a stick and shoved it in.
It’s out there at Maunalua, and was said that the god Kane came there and pushed the cane into the hillside and the water came through there. That’s Kane’s water, so they treated it with a great deal of respect, and they never, never used it for laundry. Then somebody who came along and didn’t think of the Hawaiian respect for that particular water, whereas the Native Hawaiian just used it for drinking purposes only, Kane’s water, did some laundry there. And the water, (dried up) pau.
The water pau, so the Hawaiians, they were distressed. A Hawaiian from Maunalua told me this, an old lady, the last of the Natives, who was born in Hahaione valley. She told me that the water went out. So, they looked for a girl that was ulapa`a. Ulapa`a is a girl who has not yet menstruated. So, they looked for a girl who was ulapa`a, and they found one that was seven years old, and she carried the offerings down there. And they had a ceremony down there, and the offering of a black pig. And the water came back, not with the same force. Again, somebody washed laundry there. Gone entirely. And the same too was another spring at Punalu`u beach in Ka`u, it dried entirely.
So, the Hawaiians had a great deal of respect for water. It was a gift of gods, Kane made it with his cane, (Where was the waterhole located?)
It is near Kawaihoa point. Some distance mauka of Kawaihoa point. It’s pau now. (Is the puka still there?) Puka was there, but the last time I went down there after the Hawaiians were all gone, and ‘ducks’ were running all over. These mechanical army ‘ducks.’ I don’t mean the bird ducks, I mean the gadget ‘ducks.’ They were just going all over there, raising dust. And the place where they gave offerings of fish, this Ko`a where they brought the fish, where they place their first catch, all gone. Just, oh, the ‘ducks’ were going all over there, going up and (Worse that Henry Kaiser yeah?) (laughs) For ‘improvement.’ (laughs) (The Hawaiians leave because the water died?) No, they didn’t.
Tape Recorded Interview with Mary Kawena Pukuʻi interviewed by: Oswald Bushnell 1960, December 16. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Archives.
It’s out there at Maunalua, and was said that the god Kane came there and pushed the cane into the hillside and the water came through there. That’s Kane’s water, so they treated it with a great deal of respect, and they never, never used it for laundry. Then somebody who came along and didn’t think of the Hawaiian respect for that particular water, whereas the Native Hawaiian just used it for drinking purposes only, Kane’s water, did some laundry there. And the water, (dried up) pau.
The water pau, so the Hawaiians, they were distressed. A Hawaiian from Maunalua told me this, an old lady, the last of the Natives, who was born in Hahaione valley. She told me that the water went out. So, they looked for a girl that was ulapa`a. Ulapa`a is a girl who has not yet menstruated. So, they looked for a girl who was ulapa`a, and they found one that was seven years old, and she carried the offerings down there. And they had a ceremony down there, and the offering of a black pig. And the water came back, not with the same force. Again, somebody washed laundry there. Gone entirely. And the same too was another spring at Punalu`u beach in Ka`u, it dried entirely.
So, the Hawaiians had a great deal of respect for water. It was a gift of gods, Kane made it with his cane, (Where was the waterhole located?)
It is near Kawaihoa point. Some distance mauka of Kawaihoa point. It’s pau now. (Is the puka still there?) Puka was there, but the last time I went down there after the Hawaiians were all gone, and ‘ducks’ were running all over. These mechanical army ‘ducks.’ I don’t mean the bird ducks, I mean the gadget ‘ducks.’ They were just going all over there, raising dust. And the place where they gave offerings of fish, this Ko`a where they brought the fish, where they place their first catch, all gone. Just, oh, the ‘ducks’ were going all over there, going up and (Worse that Henry Kaiser yeah?) (laughs) For ‘improvement.’ (laughs) (The Hawaiians leave because the water died?) No, they didn’t.
Tape Recorded Interview with Mary Kawena Pukuʻi interviewed by: Oswald Bushnell 1960, December 16. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Archives.
