About Kūmauna
Kūmauna can mean “upright mountain.”
This wahi pana (storied place) refers to a character in the moʻolelo of Kahalaopuna. Upon death, Kūmaunaʻs ʻaumakua (ancestral spirit) protected him by turning him into a mountain peak.
Kūmauna can literally be translated as “upright mountain” and is thought to be named after one of the people in the moʻolelo of Kahalaopuna. In one telling of the moʻolelo, Kūmauna and Keawaʻawahiʻihelei boasted about their fake rendezvous with the beautiful Kahalaopuna—spinning stories about how she showered them with affection. Their stories damaged her reputation so much that the man Kahalaopuna was supposed to marry repeatedly tried to kill her, believing she had been unfaithful. When she was finally able to tell her story, Kahalaopuna denounced the two men who’d lied about her and, as punishment, they were sentenced to death. Their ʻaumākua protected them by turning them into mountain peaks overlooking Mānoa Valley.
How to observe the site
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Sources for the information
- Nakuina, Emma M. Hawaii, Its People, Their Legends. Honolulu, T.H., 1904.