Anahulu Hoʻonui 3/29 – 4/7/2025

Aloha e nā makamaka, 

As this month marks the last of the wet and rainy season of Hoʻoilo, let us return again to the moʻolelo of Kapunahou and honor the ways that these (hi)stories are always teaching us more about our environments. As a reminder, this one article published in Ka Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa contains multiple iterations and versions of the origins of the freshwater spring Kapunahou, and each of these variations contribute to a greater body of knowledge: 

Penei iho ka moolelo a Alekanekelo no Kapunahou:

“O ka moolelo e pili ana ia Kapunahou,” wahi a Mr. Alekanekelo, “ua hahaiia aku i kuu kupunakane e kekahi kanaka Hawaii kahiko ame kana wahine, na mea no laua kekahi kuleana ma kahi kokoke i ka waipuna o Kapunahou, mamua aku, a mahope mai o ke kukuluia ana o ke Kula o Kapunahou e na misionari.

“Iloko o kela au kahiko loa,” wahi ana, “e pahola ana he wi nui a he kau la ma ka Mokupuni o Oahu nei. No kekahi mau mahina, aole he haule wahi ua, no ka hoomau ana i ka honua panoa, kahi i kanuia aku ai o ka uala, a e hoopiha ae paha i na kahawai, e hookaheia aku ai ka wai iloko o na loʻi kalo a ku a pilikia maoli ka poe ilihune, a i wahi no lakou e make ole ai i ka pololi, ua konoia aku lakou e hele iuka o ke kuahiwi, e huli ai i ka pala ame ke ki, i panihakahaka ma kahi o ka poi.

“Mawaho ae o ka pilikia a ka ai, o ka pilikia a ka wai kekahi mea nui, ma Kamoiliili wale no kahi e loaa ai o ka wai, e kahe mai ana mailoko mai o ka pohaku. I kela wahi e hele ai na kanaka o na wahi kokoke mai, e kii ai i wai no lakou maloko o na huewai, alaila huli hoi kau la me ka loihi no ko lakou mau home. 

The above text describes a time of famine and drought, where food and water are both in scarce supply and the rain did not fall for some months. Rather than eating poi made of kalo, the people of this time planted sweet potato and went into the uplands to harvest food growing there. In order to gather water, the people of this place had to venture to Kamōʻiliʻili, the only place to gather fresh water and fill their gourds before returning home. 

As I have noticed recently, this Hoʻoilo season has been rather dry, and yet the plants and trees never seem to forget the location of their source of water—deep underground, fed by the abundance of the mountains.