"Kihapiilani was one time King of Maui. It was he who caused the road
from Kawaipapa to Kahalaoaka to be paved with smooth rocks, even to the
forests of Oopuloa in Koolau, Maui. He also was the one who built the
road of shells on Molokai." "And," the great Hawaiian antiquarian,
Abraham Fornander, might have continued, "he caused the trail across the
crater of Haleakala to be paved with water-worn stones, to the foot of
Hanakauhi of the mists." Kihapiilani was the great public works king of
the islands.
Because of Kihapiilani a most remarkable event of ancient Hawaiian
history came to pass, the expedition of numberless canoes.
Three and a half centuries ago, Piilani, a king of Maui, had four
children: two sons, Lonoapii who was the eldest child, and Kihapiilani,
the youngest; and two daughters, Piikea, who became the wife of King Umi
of Hawaii, and Kihawahine, now regarded as the lizard god. When the old
king was dying, he adjured his successor, Lonoapii, to take his place as
father and to be kind to the younger brother. But alas, the young prince
was neglected and treated with contempt. One day at Waihee, two
calabashes of small fish, _nehu_, still wet with sea water, were brought
to Lonoapii. These he gave to everybody except the younger brother, who,
therefore, reached out and helped himself. This angered the king so that
he hurled the calabash and its contents into Kihapiilani's face. Without
a word, Kihapiilani arose and travelled to Kula. After some time, he
told his story to the _kahuna_ Apuna and asked what he should do. Apuna
replied that he should seek advice at Keanae from a _kahuna_ named
Kahoko. Kahoko sent him to Hana, and from there to Hawaii, following a
certain dark object as guide. Kihapiilani and his retinue travelled the
windward side of Kohala on foot, swimming through shark-infested waters
around the bold headlands. Everywhere people gathered to him, for he was
handsome and brave. When he reached Laupahoehoe, in Hamakua, he found
his sister, Piikea, living with her husband, Umi. Umi had already become
a great chief for he had overthrown his tyrant brother, Hakau, but his
greatest deeds were yet to follow. These include the union of all of the
island of Hawaii under his rule.
When Kihapiilani explained that he was seeking someone to avenge him,
for Lonoapii had thrown salt water into his face, Piikea goaded Umi to
help him, for he had crossed the seas. So Umi sent messengers with
orders that _koa_ be felled and many canoes made ready for the crossing
to Maui. These were so numerous that when the first canoe reached
Kauiki, the last were still in Waipio. The sea was covered with canoes.
Umi ordered the canoes to be fastened bow to stern by twos, and in this
way the men walked across instead of sailing, the canoes being a
dependable road. This is known in legend as the sailing of numberless
canoes.
At Kauiki fortress the leader, Hoolae, fought bravely from the top of
the hill in daytime, but at night he set a huge wooden image of a man
with a bristling war club at the head of the ladder up which the
attackers had to climb. The trick frightened away all approaching
enemies, while the defenders slept in peace. One night, however,
Piimaiwaa took his war club and approached the giant. He hurled insults
at him from a safe distance. As his taunts drew no response or movement,
Piimaiwaa twirled his war club, threatened with gestures, and gradually
crept closer to discover the clever ruse that had fooled the forces of
Umi. With that obstacle gone, Umi's men surprised and slew the enemy.
Hoolae was captured and killed on the eastern side of Haleakala. War
spread over all of Maui, until Lonapii was slain at Waihee and
Kihapiilani became king of the island. It could well be that during this
campaign Kihapiilani became acquainted with our crater, across which he
later constructed the paved trail, another monument to his reign.
Some believe that the trails paved with waterworn rocks were built by
_menehune_, the dwarf race supposed to work secretively at night.
Actually, the commoners performed the labor, being pressed into service
for the task. They formed an endless chain from the coast, so that rocks
could be passed from hand to hand until carefully fitted into place on
the walkway. The spaces between the larger stones were often filled with
sand or gravel.
The early Mauians had many names for different parts of the crater. Some
places had two names; sometimes one name served more than one place.
Thus there is duplication of use of the name Haleakala, for besides
being the name of the whole volcano, it is also applied to the peak on
the rim west of Kaupo Gap. Or could _haole_ confusion have given rise to
use for the whole mountain a name that once applied only to a prominence
on the rim?
[Illustration: White Hill, Pokaoao.]