grandpa Akana taken by Makana Akana 6/5/06

Kupuna (familly elder, Grandparent, ansestor, relative or closed friend of the grandparent generation)

Kupuna were the ones that passed of the history and traditions of the ohana. Kupuna had great pleasure caring and were close to the mo‘opuna (grandchildren). They were cose to the kids because the parents were usually out working. They were the one that thaught the keiki (kids) games and legends and important Kapu. Life was hard for the kupuna they work diligently to provide clothing, food, and shelter for their Ohana. Mākuahine (mothers) and kaikamāhine (girls) drive small I‘a (fish) into ‘upena (hand nets) with pula (leafy branches) of lau niu (coconut fronds). Kupuna could catch net fulls of colorful I ‘a.They usually caught fish like manini, manpachi, and ono. A young wahine sits on a p‘omhaku (rock) and cleans foreign particles from limu (seaweed) she has gathered (on the poster)

He keiki mea kupuna; it shhows that the child has a grandparent

The Rainbow Maiden
Natives of the valley often called Kahalapuna by the name of Kaikawahine Anuenue; the Rainbow Maiden.
Kahala had taken two chiefs as lovers. Kauhi was the chief from Waikiki. Again, Kauhi killed Kahala and buried her. Again, the owl restored her to life. After a time, the owl decided that so much time had passed, that Kahala's spirit surely must have descended to Po, the Underworld, and thus he abandoned his task.
The spirit of Kahala frantically searched for someone who could restore her body. Mahana could feel the distress of a spirit around him. He let the ghost guide him to the great koa tree where he found the earth disturbed amidst the roots of the tree. He tore the roots away and dug until he uncovered the battered body of his beloved Kahala.
Although lifeless, Mahana hoped that Kahala's spirit may still be restored to her body and he bore her to his elder brother who was a renowned kahuna (priest). The powerful kahuna chanted and prayed. Long into the night, he called upon all his skill and experience to restore Kahala, but utterly failed. In desperation, he called upon two spirit sisters who were family guardians. The sisters found Kahana's spirit and guided it back into her body through the feet while the kahuna performed the chants to restore life.
With the help of the spirit sisters, Mahana nursed Kahala back to her original beauty and health and their love grew deep and strong. However, Kahala would never be safe while Kauhi still lived, so Mahana devised a plan to entice Kauhi into combat. Mahana began to frequent the areas that Kauhi played sports and gambled. He taunted Kauhi until finally, Kauhi admitted that he had killed the rainbow maiden. Mahana declared that Kahala was alive and in his home. To this, Kauhi insisted that the woman in Mahana's home was an imposter. He was so sure that Kahala was dead, that he challenged Mahana to present her to the chiefs of the district including Kahala's kupuna grandfather, Akaaka, the mountain god. Kauhi followed the instructions of his family kahunas and spread the delicate leaves of the ape plant over the ground where Kahala was to walk and sit before the chiefs for judgment. As Kahala made her way towards that path strewn with ape leaves, the spirit sisters, who walked beside her, recognized the test. Slowly and regally, Kahala approached the chiefs leaving a wide trail of broken and bruised leaves. Kauhi's chief sorcerer declared that he could detect ghosts nonetheless and demanded that a second test be implemented. In his eagerness to catch a spirit face in the water, he leaned over the calabash, presenting his own spirit face. Before he could lean back and restore his spirit to his body, Akaaka sprang forward and grasped the reflected face in his hands, destroying the spirit.
The sorcerer fell dead beside the calabash and Kauhi was seized. As agreed, he was baked alive in the imu as punishment for his crimes, and his lands and retainers were given over to Mahana and Kahala who lived long, and with a rainbow over their roof.

Audio file

Bibliography:

Life in Early Hawaii: The Ahupua‘a. Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools Press, 1994.

Pului, Mary. ‘Ōlelo No‘eau Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Honolulu: Bishp museum Press, 1983

Sterling, Elspeth P. and Catherine C. Summers. Sites of Oahu. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1978.