Ke Kalaiwaa Ana ame Kona Mau Ano / Canoe Carving and Its Qualities

Kakauia e Z. P. K. Kawaikaumaiikamakaokaopua.) 

(Hoomauia mai.) 

Mamua o ka pii ana i ke kalaiwaa, he pii mua e huli i ka laau [...] i ke kuahiwi. A ina aole loaa [...] la mua, pii hou no e huli i kahi [...] ae; aia no ka pau o ka pii ana [...] he loaa no ka laau koa. He laki [...] hoi ina ua loaa elua a ekolu i [...] hookahi, he uku ia, he i‘a no Kahoolawe; alaila, hookahi mea nui [...] o ka wai. Ina aole e loaa ka [...] pono ole ke kalaiwaa ana. 

Ina e loaa he punawai o hapalua mile ka mamao mai ka laau mai, a i ka punawai, ua laki loa kela. Alaila, hookahi hana i koe lawai‘a a nui ka i‘a, e hoi ai i ke kalaiwa. A nui ka i‘a, hoomo‘a ka ai. He nui maoli ka ikaika i ka haawe i keia mau ukana. O na ko‘i o ke hapa moe, o ka ai, o ka i‘a, umeke huewai, kaula, o ke kaula ka mea e pono ai ka waa i ka nahele, ina hookahi kanaka. Aole olelo ana ina he nui ka poe e pii ana i ke kuahiwi i ka huli laau waa! Maki‘a o huli ka waha o ka waa ilalo, a he hana nui hoi ia i ka mea hookahi e hana ai. 

I kou hiki ana i kahi o ka laau koa waa, o kau laau i makemake [...] ai e oki. No ka mea, o ka hale ka mea mua loa i ka wa e hina ai ka laau ilalo. Ina he laau kekee a pi‘o, ua kapaia ia laau he ihoele. He laau hana nui keia ma [...] oki ana. Me ke akamai, ame ke [...] o ka noonoo. 

O na kahuna kalaiaina apau, he [...] akua kalaiwaa ko lakou mai ke [...], a paa ka waa, a lolo, a [...] iloko o ke kai. Penei ke ano [...] oki ana, i na laau kekee a

Ma na aoao e oki ai ahiki i ka loaa ana o ka iho. Me ka hookoeia mua, i mea nana e kaohi i ka hina ana o ka laau. E hana loa na papalina a lahilahi. E oki oe i ka ha-na me ka pololei a ma‘ioi‘o ole iluna, ilalo, elike me ke olo ana a ka pahiolo, ka like o ka ha-na olalo o ke kumu.

Ina iluna, a ilalo ka ma‘ioi‘o e uwia ana. Nakaka ke poo o ka laau ke ike oe he kapuai ka nakaka, ua hiki aku ia ma kahi o ke anana a oi aku ka poino. Ia oe e maopopo ana e hina ana ka laau, hele mua oe e oki i pauku hapuu i uluna no ka laau. No ka mea, o ka rula ia o ke oki ana o ka laau koa waa. He mea ia e uwia ole ai ka laau, a nakaka, a no ka mea, ua anai iho ka mea kaumaha i kela mea ma‘u malalo. 

I kou makemake ana e hina kela laau o ku ana iluna, a i kou lohe ua lahilahi loa kahi e kaohi ana i ka laau e ku ana ailuna, a i kou lohe ana i ka haku‘i o ka laau, e pono oe e oki hou hookahi maka ko‘i, a o ka hina aku la no ia me ka maikai. A ina aia no iluna ka la, pono paina liilii; aka, ina ua ahiahi loa, pono e haalele ka ai ana, a paa ka hale i ke kukulu. No ka mea, o ka hale ka mea nui. E pono e paa ia mamua o ka poeleele ana. No ka mea, aole like ka noho ana o ke kuahiwi me ko kahakai nei, ka pumehana. O ka noho ana o ke kuahiwi he ua liilii, aia iloko o ka ohu, he ua liilii aia iloko o ka noe, he ua liilii aia iloko o ke ao e po‘ipu ana, ame ka ua u-he hana mao ole ana. Hele loa mai la ka moolelo a kakou imua. 

I ka hina ana aku la o ka laau ilalo, o ia ka wa e ana ai oe i ka loloa o ka ili o ka laau koa, elike me kou makemake 8 kapuai paha a i ole 9 paha kapuai ka loa. Alaila, okioki paukuku apuni, alaila, mahele iho ma ke alo elike no me ka lole ana o ka ili bipi. A ina i hemo pono na ili elima a eono paha ua aneane no ia e lawa no na kanaka he umi. No ka mea, o ka laau waa e okiia ana he laau nunui o hookahi kanaka anana puni, a kapa‘i ka lua o ke kanaka. 

O ia hoi, he muku paha ke kapa‘i a he iwilei paha. A makaukau keia mau mea, ooki na laau pou hana elua, e kau iho ai ke kaupoku, a hoomoe mai no hoi na wahi laau o‘a ame na wahi laau kaola. Aole hoi o ke kaula, he nui ke kaula o ke ie; apau keia mau mea i ka paa hookau ka ili koa iluna o ka hale. Me ka hooponopono maikai ana i ka ili koa i mea e palahalaha maikai ai ka ili koa apau na ili koa i ka uhiia, hookau iho i mau laau kaola maluna iho i mea e mohala mau ai ka papaa ili, elike me ka piula hale. A hiki i kona maloo ana, aole ia e upiki hou. Ia maua e pii ana me kuu kaikuaana J. Au, o ke ahi no o ia manawa o ka wa kahiko, kila ame ka pala, a i ole o ka pohaku kalakala o kahakai, a o ka pohaku a-a ke kila, o ia ka pohaku malama loa ia; ame ka lole a-a a ua like no ia me ke kukaepele. Pahee loa aku la i ka welowelo. 

I ka pau ana o keia mau mea i ka makaukau, alaila, hookahi mea i koe, o ka wahie e ho‘a ai, a ao ka po. E kaka oe i mau wahie maloo, liilii ame na pauku nunui. Alaila, kii oe i ke kumu opiko nunui e oki, no ka mea, o ka laau nui loa ia iwaena o na laau apau o ke kuahiwi. 

Ke ike mai la oukou i ka nui o ka hana a ke kahuna kalaiwaa, i ka la hookahi, no keia mau hana apau, he keu aku ka ikaika. Pehea i ikaika ai? O ka poe kahuna kalaiwaa apau, he poe akua kalaiwaa ko lakou. 

Ekolu akua kalaiwaa. 1. Lea; he wahine akua kalaiwaa keia. 2. Kupaaikee; he kane keia akua kalaiwaa. 3. Mokuhalii; he kane keia akua kalaiwaa. A iloko o keia mau akua kalaiwaa oe e koho ai i kau akua e makemake ai. Aia a mahope hoike aku au i ka‘u akua i koho ai i akua kalaiwaa no‘u oia o Lea, pau kela. No ka ho-a ana i ke ahi, e ho-a oe i ka wahie maloo ame ka pauku wahie nunui me ia okoa no. 

(Aole i pau.)

(Written by Z. P. K. Kawaikaumaiikamakaokaopua.)

(Continued.)

Before going up to the canoe carving, first go up to search for a koa tree in the mountains. If nothing is found on the first day, go up again to search another day; you only stop going up when the koa tree is found. It is extremely lucky if two or three are found in the same place; it is an uku, a fish of Kaho‘olawe. Then, one important thing remains: water. If there is no water, the canoe carving will not go well.

If there is a spring located within a half-mile of the tree, that is extremely lucky. Then, one task remains. Go fishing until you have many fish to take back to the canoe carving. When there are many fish, cook taro. It takes great strength to carry these supplies: the adzes, sleeping quilts, taro, fish, water containers, rope. The rope is needed for the canoe in the forest if there is one person. Nothing need be said if a lot of people are going up to the mountains to find a canoe log! If the opening of the canoe should turn downwards, it is a lot of work for only one person to do.

When you reach the place where the canoe-worthy koa tree is, the first desirable tree should be cut. Because shelter is of primary concern when the tree comes down. If the tree is crooked and curved, then such a tree is called an iho‘ole. This is a hard tree to cut. Skill and careful thinking are needed.

All land resource experts have canoe carving gods, from the mountain to when the canoe is complete, the lolo canoe launching ceremony, and putting it into the ocean. Here is how crooked and curved trees are cut.

Cut from the sides until you find the core. First scrape it, to control the tree when it falls. “Work the cheeks hard until dainty.” Cut notches straight and even above and below; like sawing with a saw is how even the notch must be at the bottom of the trunk.

If it is uneven up and down, then it will split. The top of the tree will crack open; if you see that the crack is a foot long, then the damage extends a fathom or more. When you know that the tree will fall, you first go to cut a piece of hāpu‘u as a cushion for the tree, because that is the rule for felling a canoe koa tree. It keeps the tree from splitting and cracking because the fall of a heavy thing is smoothed out by the moist thing below.

When you want that tree standing up to fall, and you hear that the section keeping it standing is weak, and you also hear a reverberation in the tree, you should chop one more adze blow, and it will fall well. And if the sun is up, you should have a light meal; however, if it is late evening, you should leave off eating until shelter is built, because the shelter is the important thing. It needs to be finished before dark, because staying in the mountains is not like staying at the shore, where it is warm. Staying in the mountains there may be light rain, it may be in the fog, a little rain in the mist, a little rain in the mist, a little rain in the engulfing clouds, or even a relentless chilly rain. Our story continues onward.

When the tree falls down is when you measure out the length of the koa tree’s surface, per your desire of eight or perhaps nine feet long. Then, cut pieces all around, taking off strips in the front like stripping off leather. And if five or six layers of bark came off completely, that is almost enough for 10 people. Because the canoe tree that will be cut is a huge tree, as wide around as a person’s arms will reach, it is called “the equal of a person.”

It might also refer to a muku or an iwilei. When these things are ready, cut two pillars for the roof to rest upon, and lay out rafters and rafter supports. Do not use rope, a large amount of rope made from the ‘ie vine; once all of this is set, place the koa bark onto the shelter. Carefully arrange the koa bark so that it spreads out completely flat; use all the koa bark for covering, placing wooden beams on top to keep the bark spread out, like corrugated tin roofing. When it is dry, then it will not roll up again. While I was going up with my older brother, J. Au, fire in the days of old was steel and flint, or a rough stone from the shore with basalt as the steel, a kind of carefully-maintained stone; and with the sheath fiber of the coconut, it was just like a match. It flared smoothly.

When all of these things are ready, then one thing remains: the firewood to burn all through the night. You chop small dry firewood and big sections. Then, you fetch a large ‘ōpiko trunk to cut, because that is the largest tree amongst all the trees of the mountains.

You are seeing the great amount of work the canoe carving experts do in a single day, all of these tasks, and their strength is incredible. How are they so strong? All canoe carving experts have canoe carving gods.

There are three canoe carving gods. 1. Lea; this is a female canoe carving god. 2. Kūpā‘aike‘e; this canoe carving god is male. 3. Mokuhāli‘i; this canoe carving god is male. And from among these canoe carving gods, you choose the god that you want. Later, I will explain about the god that I chose as the canoe carving god for me, who is Lea; that is done. For starting the fire, light the dry firewood and the large piece of firewood with it, the whole thing.

(To be continued.)

Citation:

Kawaikaumaiikamakaokaopua, Z. P. K. “Ke Kalaiwaa Ana ame Kona Mau Ano” [Canoe Carving and Its Qualities]. Translated by Iasona Ellinwood, Kapōmaikaʻi Stone, and M. Puakea Nogelmeier. Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. Nov. 16, 1922, vol. 61, no. 46, p. 7. Institute of Hawaiian Language Research and Translation, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2019.

Original article retrieved from Ka Nupepa Kuokoa in Papakilo Database.