Ancient Hawaiian chiefs were known to keep a tally of the people who lived in their village so that the chiefs would know how many mouths needed feeding, how many fished, hunted, planted, and harvested, and how many people could fight in a war.
That way, if mischievous spirits appeared among the people in the village, the chief could account for the living person as opposed to the non-corporeal. Kama’s father, Nu’upia, was the chief of the land he lived on, which extended from the tip of the mountains to the flat lands and down to the ocean. Kama loved being near the sea and played there often. One day, a boy named Kaha from a nearby village appeared. He and Kama became fast friends and met daily to play near the ocean. Kama’s father often sent an attendant to fetch him whenever he was needed.However, whenever Kama turned to say farewell to Kaha, he was already gone. The days were fun for the two boys who fished, played Konane, and affected the sham battles they saw Nu’upia’s warriors participate in. Kama never asked Kaha about the village he came from until one day, his father’s attendant appeared and summoned Kama to his father’s side. As usual, Kaha was already gone. Appearing before his father, Kama saw other men carrying spears and hand-held weapons. Kama listened intently as the man spoke to his father. A mischievous spirit appeared in their ahupua’a or land section and caused much controversy to the point where father, son, and brother were trying to harm one another. Their chief had taken a tally of everyone who lived on the land, and there appeared to be one person for whom no one could account. That person was a mischievous spirit. The men from the other village had been pursuing him for days. They believed that it was now on Chief Nu’upia’s land. At that moment, an attendant appeared before the chief, telling him several homes had been set to fire along some canoes and that kalo in the lo’ī had been uprooted and strewn about. Immediately, Nu’upia, his men, and those from the visiting ‘ahupua’a left to attend to the matter. Kama returned to the ocean to play and perhaps run into Kaha. To his surprise, Kama found Kaha sitting on the sand, watching as the water rose to his feet and receded into the ocean. He sat silently with his feet crossed and his hands on his lap. That’s when Kama saw that Kama’s hands were covered with black soot and his feet were covered with mud.
“You,” Kama whispered. “You burnt the canoes and pulled up all the kalo? Why? I thought you were my friend?”
“I can’t help it,” Kaha replied in earnest. “It’s my nature, it’s who I am.”
“You’re the one those men from the other ‘ahupua’a are looking for. They said you caused everyone to go mad and try to hurt one another. Now you’re trying to do the same thing to us,” Kama confirmed to Kaha and himself. Grabbing a nearby pohaku ku’i ai, a poi pounder made from stone, Kama held it over his head, ready to strike angrily. Kaha bowed before his friend and begged him, “Spare me, and I will never return to cause harm to you or anyone else!”
“How can I be sure you mean what you say after all you’ve done?” Kama had no reason to believe Kaha at all.
“Give me the pohaku ku’i ai, and I will show you,” Kaha held out his hand. Kama stepped forward and struck his friend across the cheek with the stone poi pounder, knocking him dizzy. Placing the poi pounder in Kaha’s hands, Kama grabbed him by both feet and dragged him into the water. Immediately, Kaha changed into a shark. Kama let go of his feet lest he be bitten. In his shark form, Kaha swam off and disappeared into the waves. Not less than a moment later, Kama saw that Kaha kept his promise for offshore. The pohaku ku'i ai appeared as large as life.
Kaha was never seen again. But you can see that same poi pounder today; it’s a tiny island called Mokoli’i, otherwise known as Chinaman’s Hat. No matter what it's called, it resembles a giant pohaku ku'i ai.
Awesome
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