In ancient Hawaii thieving was an honorable profession. It required
cultivation as well as natural ability. Even as late as the days of
Captain Cook and his discovery of the Hawaiian Islands there is the
record of a chief whose business was to steal successfully. When
Captain Cook discovered the island Kauai, a chief by the name of
Kapu-puu (The-tabu-hill) was one of the first to go out to the ships.
He went saying, “There is plenty of iron [hao]. I will ‘hao’ [steal]
the ‘hao,’ for to ‘hao’ [to plunder] is my livelihood”—as one historian
expressed the saying: “To plunder is with me house and land.” The
chief, however, was detected in the act and was shot and killed. The
natives never seemed to blame Captain Cook for the death of that chief.
The thief was unsuccessful. Really, the sin of stealing consisted in
being detected.
The story of Iwa, the successful thief, is back in the days when Umi
was king of Hawaii, fourteen generations of kings before Kamehameha the
First. The king Umi was well known in Hawaiian historical legends, and
many important events are dated with his reign as the reference-point.
In Puna, Hawaii, while Umi was king, there lived a fisherman by the
name of Keaau. He was widely known for his skill in fishing with a
wonderful shell. It was one of the leho shells, and was used in
catching squid. Its name was Kalo-kuna. Keaau always returned from
fishing with his canoe full. After a time he was talked about all
around the island, and Umi heard about the magic leho of the fisherman.
At that time Umi dwelt in Kona, where he was fishing after the custom
of those days. He sent a messenger commanding the fisherman to bring
his shell to Kona, where he could show its power and his skill. Then
the king, who had the right to take all the property of any of his
subjects, took the shell from the fisherman.
Keaau’s heart became very sore for the loss of his shell, so he went to
a man on Hawaii who was skilled in theft and asked him to secretly
steal the leho and return it to him. He brought his canoe filled with
his property—a pig, some fruit and awa and the black-and-white and
spotted tapa sheets—to give to the thief who could get back his shell.
But neither this thief nor any others on the islands of Hawaii, Maui or
Molokai was sufficiently skilful to give him any aid.
Then he passed on to Oahu, where he met a man fishing, who, according
to the custom of the people, invited him to land and accept
hospitality. When the feast was over, they asked him the object of his
journey. He told the story of the loss of his leho, and said that he
was travelling to find “a thief able to steal back the shell taken by
the strong hand of the chief of Hawaii.”
Then the Oahu people told him about Iwa and his marvellous skill in
plundering. They directed him to row his canoe around by Makapo and
then land, and he would find a boy without a malo (loin cloth). He must
give him the offering—the good things brought in the canoe. He found
the boy and placed before him the gifts. They killed the pig and cooked
it over hot stones. Then they had a feast, and the boy-thief asked the
traveller why he had come to him. The fisherman told all his trouble
and asked Iwa to go with him to recover the shell. To this Iwa
consented, and after a night’s rest prepared to go to Hawaii.
When the time came for the journey he placed Keaau in front and took
his place to steer and paddle. The name of his paddle was Kapahi, which
means “Scatter the water.” Iwa told the fisherman to look sharp at the
land before them; then he talked to his paddle, saying, “Let the ocean
meet the sea of Iwa.” He struck his paddle once into the sea and the
canoe rushed by the little islands along the coast and passed to
Niihau. From Niihau in four paddle-strokes the canoe lay before the
coast of Hawaii, where Umi and his chiefs were fishing. One of the
canoes had a palm-branch house built over it to shade the fisherman.
Iwa asked if that was the royal canoe, and, learning that it was,
quickly backed his canoe around a headland and prepared to dive, saying
to his friend, “I will go and steal that leho.”
He leaped into the water and sank to the bottom of the ocean. He walked
along under the sea aided by his magic power until he came to the place
where the king’s canoes were floating. Over the side of the king’s boat
hung the cord to which the shell was fastened. Iwa rose quietly under
the canoe and caught the leho, slowly drew it down to the bottom, broke
the cord and fastened it to sharp rocks, and then went back to the
place where Keaau was waiting for him. All along the way giant squid
and devilfish fought him and tried to take the shell from his hands,
but by incantations and the power of his gods he escaped to the canoe,
and, leaping in, gave the leho to the fisherman, and paddled away to
Puna. There he dwelt with Keaau for a little while.
When the boy-thief took the cord of Umi he thought that a very great
squid had seized the shell, and let the line run, afraid lest it might
break and the shell be lost, but when he tried to pull he found it fast
below. He sent to the land for all the people who could dive, but none
of them could go to the bottom. Ten days and ten nights he waited in
his canoe. Then he sent over all the island Hawaii for those who knew
how to dive in deep water, but all the noted divers failed. The
messenger came to the place where Iwa was staying. Keaau was away
fishing. Iwa took the messenger to the place where the fisherman dried
squid and showed him a great many already caught. Then Iwa said, “Go
back and tell your king that the leho is not on the line, but a rock is
holding it fast.”
The messenger returned to the king and reported the saying of Iwa. Then
the king sent swift men to run and bring Iwa to him. The boy agreed to
go to Umi, and sped more swiftly than the runners sent for him. When he
stood before Umi he told the king all his story and leaped into the
sea, diving down, breaking the rock and bringing up the piece to which
the line had been tied. Umi then wanted Iwa to return to Puna and steal
that leho for him. Iwa went back to the fisherman’s house, and that
night stole the shell for the king.
When Umi received the shell he rejoiced greatly at the skill of this
thief. Then he thought about his tabu stone axe in Waipio Valley, and
wished to test this boy-thief again.
This sacred stone axe really belonged to Umi, the son of Liloa, but it
had been kept in the tabu heiau (sacred temple) of Pakaalana, in Waipio
Valley. Two old women were guardians of this tabu axe. It was tied fast
in the middle of a line. One end of that cord was fastened around the
neck of one old woman, and one end around the neck of the other. Thus
they wore the cord as a lei (wreath) of that sacred stone axe of Umi.
When Umi asked the thief if he would steal this axe, Iwa said he would
try, but he waited until the sun was almost down, then he ran swiftly
to Waipio Valley as if he were a messenger of the king, calling to the
people and establishing a tabu over the land:
“Sleep—sleep for the sacred stone axe of Umi.
Tabu—let no man go forth from his house.
Tabu—let no dog bark.
Tabu—let no rooster crow.
Tabu—let no pig make a noise.
Sleep—sleep till the tabu is raised.”
Five times he called the tabu, beginning at Puukapu near Waimea, as he
went to the guarded path to Waipio. When he had established this tabu
he travelled down to the place where the old women guarded the axe. He
called again, “Has sleep come to you two?” And they answered, “Here we
are; we are not asleep.” He called again: “Where are you? I would touch
that sacred axe of Umi and return and report that this hand has held
the sacred stone axe of the king.”
He came near and took the axe and pulled the ends of the string tight
around the necks of the old women, choking them and throwing them over.
Then he broke the string and ran swiftly up the path over the
precipice. The old women disentangled themselves and began to cry out,
“Stolen is the tabu axe of Umi, and the thief has gone up toward
Waimea.” The people followed Iwa from place to place, but could not
overtake him, and soon lost him.
Iwa went on to the king’s place and lay down to sleep. As morning drew
near the king’s people found him asleep and told the king he had not
been away, but when Iwa was awake he was called to the king, who said,
“Here, you have not got the tabu stone axe.”
“Perhaps not,” said the boy, “but here is an axe which I found last
night. Will you look at it?” The king saw that it was his tabu axe, and
wondered at the magic power of the thief, for he thought it impossible
to go to Waipio and return in the one night, and he knew how difficult
it would be to get the axe and escape from the people.
He determined to give Iwa another trial—a contest with the best thieves
of his kingdom. He asked if Iwa would consent to a death contest. The
one surpassing in theft should receive reward. The defeated should be
put to death. This plan seemed right to the thief from Oahu. It would
be a great battle—one against six.
The king called his clan of six thieves and Iwa, and told them that he
would set apart two houses in which they could put their plunder. That
night they were to go out and steal, and the one whose house contained
the most property should be the victor. The report of the contest
spread all through the village, and the people prepared to hide their
property.
Iwa lay down to sleep while the six men quietly and swiftly passed
among the people, stealing whatever they could. When they saw Iwa
asleep they pitied him for his certain death. Toward morning their
house was almost full, and still Iwa slept. The six thieves were very
tired and hungry, so they prepared a feast and awa. They ate and drank
until overcome with drunkenness. A little before dawn they also fell
asleep.
Iwa arose, hastened to the house filled by the six thieves, and hastily
removed all their plunder to his own house. Then he went quietly to
Umi’s sleeping-house, and, showing his great skill, removed the tapa
sheets from the bed in which the king was sleeping, and piled them on
the other things in his house. Then he lay down again as if asleep.
The morning cold fell on the king, and he was chilled, and awoke,
feeling for the sheets, but could not find them. He remembered the
contest, and as the daylight rested upon them he called the people
together.
They went to the house of the six thieves and opened it to look for
their plunder, and not one thing was there. It was entirely empty.
After this they went to Iwa’s house. When the door was open they saw
the king’s tapa sheets on all the other plunder. The six thieves were
put to death, and Iwa was honored for some years as the very dear
friend of the king and the most adroit thief in the kingdom.
After a time he longed for the place of his birth, and he asked Umi to
send him back to his parents. Umi filled a double canoe with good
things and let him go back to the green-sided pali (or precipice) of
the district of Koolau, on the island Oahu.