Ka Mo‘olelo o ke Kūlanakauhale o Lahaina, Māhele 1

Published in the Hawaiian language newspaper Ka Lei Rose o Hawaii in June of 1898, this is the first installment in a series of articles written by a native child of Lahaina. The Honorable Daniel Kahāʻulelio begins by describing the position and features of Lahaina town, the way of life of its people, and some of the most impactful changes that took place in the area between the years 1820 and 1830.

The Hawaiian text below (transcribed from the original and adapted to modern orthography) is followed by an English translation.

KA MOʻOLELO
— O KE —
Kūlanakauhale ʻo Lahaina.
I kākau ʻia e Hon. Daniel Kahāʻulelio,
ka Luna Kānāwai o Lahaina.

He keiki papa a lālāwai no ka malu ʻulu o Lele.

NĀ MĀHELE

1-Ke kūlana a me ka hiʻohiʻona o ke kūlanakauhale ʻo Lahaina. 2-Ke ʻano nui o ka noho ʻana o nā kānaka. 3-Nā aliʻi hānau o ka ʻāina. 4-Nā kaukaualiʻi. 5-Nā kānaka koʻikoʻi a naʻauao o ka ʻāina. 6-Nā makaʻāinana e noho ana ma luna o ua kūlanakauhale kaulana lā o ka laʻi o Lele, e hoʻomaka ana mai ka M.H. 1820 a hiki i kēia makahiki e neʻe mālie nei. 7-Nā hana ʻano nui i loko o ka ʻāina.

E Mr. Luna Hoʻoponopono o ka Lei Lose o Hawaiʻi — Aloha ʻoe:

E ʻoluʻolu mai ʻoe iaʻu e hōʻike aku i ke ʻano o ke kūlanakauhale ʻo Lahaina nei, kahi a ka nani a me ke onaona i noho ai, ka mōʻī wahine hoʻi o nā kūlanakauhale i loko o ka pae moku kaulana ʻo Hawaiʻi nei, i haiamū ʻia e ka nani a me ka hiehie, ke kiʻekiʻe o ke ʻala a me ke onaona. Ua kīkīkoʻele wale nō a pau i laila, ʻaʻohe aʻu mea e hoʻohalahala ai, no laila, e hōʻike mua aku ana au i ke kūlana o ke kūlanakauhale ʻo Lahaina nei, ma ka M.H. 1820 mai a hiki i kēia makahiki (ʻauhuhupaʻina) 1898 e neʻe nei — Aloha ʻoukou.

ʻO ke kūlanakauhale ʻo Lahaina nei, eia ʻo ia ke waiho ʻākau komohana nei a hiki i ka ulu niu o Māla kona palena, a ka ulu niu hoʻi a ke aliʻi Kaleikoa i kanu ai, e moe hema hikina ana a hiki kona palena i ka pōhaku nui a Kaukuna i manaʻo ai e hiki i kona ikaika ke hoʻoneʻe iā ia mai kona kahua e waiho ana a i kahi ʻokoʻa aku, akā, ʻaʻole naʻe pēlā, a na ke diana pauda maoli ʻo ia i hoʻoneʻe a hoʻopuehu aku iā ia a lilo i mea ʻole.

No laila, ʻo ka loa o ke kūlanakauhale ponoʻī ʻo Lahaina, ua like me 3 mile, a he 2 ½ mile laulā mai ke kai a hiki i loko o ka hale o Rev. Debela, ʻo kekahi o nā kumu kula o Lahainaluna, a me ka hale lāʻau nani o L. Kapōkahi, aikāne a mī nei, a me ka Luna Hoʻoponopono o ka Lei Rose o Hawaiʻi, a ma kaʻu manaʻo koho, ua like paha me 10 mile ke anapuni o ke kūlanakauhale ʻo Lahaina.

Ua hoʻonohonoho ʻia ʻo Lahaina nei i nā ʻōlelo kaulana a ka poʻe kahiko, mamuli o kona ʻano he paredaiso no ka pae moku ʻo Hawaiʻi i loko o ia au o ka nani a me ka hiehie e haiamū ana; a ʻo ia mau ʻōlelo lā e hoʻonani ana iā Lahaina i loko o ia mau lā, e kū ana i luna o ke kūlana o wahine kapu nona ka nani a me ka hiehie.

1–Huaʻi ka ʻulu o Lele i ka mālie.
2–E aha ana ka ʻulu kaulana o Lele e lohi nei?
3–Ka pohu laʻi o Hauola.
4–Ka ua Paʻūpili o Lahaina.
5–Ke aheahe makani i ka Maʻaʻa i ka laʻi.

A na ka poʻe haku mele hoʻi ia e pūneʻe hou aʻe ma ke ʻano hoʻohanohano iā Lahaina, e like me kēia ʻala kiele:

Hālau Lahaina, molale, malu i ka ʻulu
Malu mai ka peʻa laulā o ka ʻāina
Kiʻekiʻe Lahaina i ka ua Paʻūpili
Pili aloha Maunahoʻomaha me Kekaʻa
ʻAuʻau i ka wai hoʻolana kino.

MĀHELE 1.

Ke au o ka ʻāina mai ka makahiki 1820 a hiki i ka makahiki 1830. E hoʻomanaʻo, e ka mea heluhelu, ʻo ka M.H. 1820, ʻo ia ka wā i ʻō mai ai nā kukuna ʻōlinolino o ka mālamalama Christiano a Bīnamu a me Kākina mā i lawe mai ai, ʻaʻole i hala ʻelima mahina ma ia hope iho, ua mālama ʻia he hōʻike kula ma Honolulu; [i] ia wā pū nō hoʻi, he mau kula nō ma Lahaina nei i kapa ʻia “he kula pīʻāpā walu,” ʻo ia hoʻi ka ʻĀhē, ʻĀ-hā, ʻAha, Hana, Ha-na, a pēlā wale aku a lehulehu maoli nō.

Ma ka hōʻike a koʻu makua kāne, ke hui pū lā nō ka naʻaupō me ke au kahiko, e laʻa ka pūhenehene, ke kōnane, ka heʻe nalu, ka hōlua, ka ʻūmaika ʻana, ke keʻa pua, ka hoʻolele lupe, a pēlā wale aku o nā ʻano hana like a pau; [i] ia wā pū nō, ke aʻo pū ʻia lā nō ka pīʻāpā walu ma ka pualu a puana like ʻana, ua kohu hula maoli nō ka leʻaleʻa mamuli o ke olowalu like ʻana o nā leo pualu o nā mea a pau — ua lilo ia i mea makemake loa ʻia e nā poʻe kamaʻāina o kēia kūlanakauhale, mai nā aliʻi a nā makaʻāinana, a ua poina mai hoʻi nā leʻaleʻa ʻano nui i maʻa [i] ia wā. A i mea e maopopo ai ka holomua o kēia kūlanakauhale ma kēia lālā nui o ka pono, ua hoʻāla aʻela ʻo Hoapili (k) a me Hoapili (w) ma ke kūkā ʻana me ke Kuhina Nui Kaʻahumanu a me nā aliʻi nō a pau, e kūkulu i pāpū, i mea e pale aku ai i ka ʻenemi, i loko o kēia māhele, ua paʻa ka hale pule ʻo Waineʻe i ka makahiki o ka Haku 1828.

E hoʻi hou ana kākou i hope i ke kūlana o Lahaina i loko o kēia māhele, no nā mea e pili ana i ka pono kino o ka noho ʻana o nā kānaka, e like me ka moʻolelo a koʻu mau mākua i kamaʻilio ai iaʻu. I kona hiki mua ʻana mai i kēia wahi ʻo Lahaina i kona mau lā ʻōpio wale nō, he 19 makahiki ma ke ʻano mākaʻikaʻi iā Lahaina mai Honuaʻula aku nei, no ka ʻāina kaulana i ka maikaʻi a me ka momona, ʻo Lahaina.

ʻAʻole i pau.

THE HISTORY
— OF THE —
Town of Lahaina.
Written by the Honorable Daniel Kahāʻulelio,
Judge of Lahaina.

A native and prosperous child of the breadfruit shelter of Lele.

SECTIONS

1-The position and features of Lahaina town. 2-The prevalent way of life of the people. 3-The chiefs born of the land. 4-The lesser chiefs. 5-The prominent and wise people of the land. 6-The commoners living in this famous town of peaceful Lele, from 1820 A.D. forward to this year passing gently by. 7-The important activities taking place in the area.

To the Editor of the Lei Rose o Hawaiʻi — Greetings to you:

Please allow me to describe the character of this town of Lahaina where splendor and charm reside, queen of all towns in this celebrated archipelago of Hawaiʻi, profuse with dignity and elegance, foremost in fragrance and allure. Everything there is done to perfection, leaving nothing for me to criticize, and therefore I will first explain the position of Lahaina town, since 1820 A.D. until this year (in the month of Makaliʻi) of 1898 that we are in — Affection to all.

As for this town of Lahaina, it extends northwest to the coconut grove of Māla serving as its boundary, which is the grove that the chief Kaleikoa planted, and stretches southeast to its boundary, which is the large boulder that Kaukuna believed he was strong enough to move from its existing site to a different location, yet was unable to, and thus used actual dynamite to move and scatter it into nothingness.

Thus, the length of Lahaina town itself is roughly 3 miles across, and 2 ½ miles wide from the shoreline inland to Reverend Dibble’s house, he being one of the schoolteachers of Lahainaluna, and to the splendid wooden house of L. Kapōkahi, a dear friend of mine and of the Editor of the Lei Rose o Hawaiʻi, and in my estimation, the perimeter of Lahaina town is about 10 miles.

Lahaina was encapsulated in the famous sayings of the ancient ones as a result of its reputation as a paradise for the Hawaiian islands in that era of overwhelming splendor and elegance, and those words exalting Lahaina in that time are established upon the station of that sacred goddess to whom belongs the glory and excellence.

1-The breadfruit of Lele is exposed in the calm.
2-What has become of the famous breadfruit of Lele that is shimmering?
3-The quiet calm of Hauola.
4-The pili-soaking rain of Lahaina.
5-The gentle gusts of the Maʻaʻa in the stillness.

Composers then further developed these into words of prestige for Lahaina, such as this scent so sweetly emitted:

Lahaina is like a long-house, unobstructed, sheltered by breadfruit
Shaded in even the distant extremities of the land
Lahaina is majestic in the Paʻūpili rain
Maunahoʻomaha lovingly nestles up to Kekaʻa
Bathing in the waters that lighten the body.

SECTION 1.

The period of the land from the year 1820 until 1830. Do remember, reader, that 1820 A.D. is when the bright rays of Christian enlightenment appeared, brought by Bingham and Thurston folks, and when not five months had passed before a school exhibition was held in Honolulu; at the same time, there were schools here in Lahaina called “eight-page alphabet schools,” consisting of ʻĀhē, ʻĀ-hā, ʻAha, Hana, Ha-na, and so forth in numerous combinations.

According to my father’s testimony, uncivilized behavior is associated with the past, including activities such as noʻa-hiding games, checkers, surfing, land-sledding, stone rolling, arrow shooting, kite flying, and all other sorts of pastimes; yet even then, the eight-page alphabet was simultaneously being taught en masse and in unison, which was similar to a traditional hula in the delight experienced from the collective sound of all those voices in concert — it became something greatly enjoyed by the locals of this town, from chiefs to commoners, and the main pastimes once common in that era were forgotten. In order to recognize the progress of the town in this important branch of morality, Hoapili (m) and Hoapili (f) initiated discussions with the Regent Kaʻahumanu and all the other chiefs to build a fort as a means to defend against enemies, and let it also be mentioned in this section that the Waineʻe church was erected in the year of our Lord 1828.

Let us return to the conditions of Lahaina in this section, regarding matters related to the physical needs of the people and their lifestyle, as told to me by my parents. When [my father] first arrived here in Lahaina in his younger days, he was just 19 years old and came to visit, having left from Honuaʻula for the land famed for its beauty and bounty — Lahaina.

To be continued.