Volcano—Where Gods Walk – 3
by author Marie Alohalani Brown, Ph.D.
Volcano Village Lodge is the perfect place to stay for anyone who wishes to visit the wahi pana associated the Pele and moʻo clans. Volcano National Park is just a few minutes away. There, an epic battle took place between the volcanic deities and the infamous and extraordinarly beautiful moʻo Kalamainuʻu, who seduced Punaʻaikoaʻe, the husband of Walinuʻu, one of Pele’s elder sisters.
John Papa ʻĪʻī, a famous statesman, published this account about Kalamainuʻu and Punaʻaikoaʻe in a Hawaiian newspaper in 1870, which I have translated and added details to make it more understandable for those who are unfamiliar with Hawaiian legends. The story begins on Oʻahu, when Punaʻaikoaʻe, a ruling chief of that island, decided to go surfing at Waimānalo. When he and his companions arrived, they saw a beautiful woman surfing. All of them were entranced with her, but she only had eyes for Punaʻaikoaʻe. She beckoned to him, and told him that she knew of a better spot to surf, and he followed her. As they paddled on their boards, they conversed. Once or twice, Punaʻaikoaʻe asked Kalamaninuʻu if they were nearing the surf spot, but she would ask him to be patient as it was further out. At one point, he stopped asking because he was so taken up with her beauty and conversation. As they paddled, he failed to notice that they had gone so far out to see that the high peaks of Oʻahu were no longer visible. Indeed, they had arrived to the shores of Molokaʻi. There, they left their boards, and traveled upland to a secluded area where Kalamainuʻu made her home in an enormous cave. The area was eerie. It was far from where people made their homes, and unnaturally still, not even the song of birds broke the silence.
There, Kalamainuʻu kept Punaʻaikoaʻe, meeting his every need, and it was a very long time before he missed the company of others. So long had he dwelt with Kalamainuʻu that his human features began to transform, a result of the prolonged contact with this moʻo whose body, like other moʻo, exuded a thick watery substance termed walewale, which has an adverse effect on humans. His stay with her turned into a kind of imprisonment. Despite his attraction to Kalamainuʻu, there was something about her that deeply frightened Punaʻaikoaʻe, and so he obeyed her commands not to venture far from the cave. Yet, he never suspected that she was other than human.
One day, as he was standing outside of the cave, he heard the faint sound of boisterous human voices coming from downland, seemingly from the seaside. He called out to Kalamainuʻu who was inside the cave to come and listen. She explained that people were probably gathered at the shore to engage in games, probably betting on them, and the cries that drifted upland belonged to those who had either won or lost a bet. He turned to her, and his loneliness for the company of others was clear in his face as he gazed toward the sea, and in voice when he murmured, “I wish I could see what they are up too.” Kalamainuʻu stared at his profile for a few seconds, and then replied, “Tomorrow, you can go and join them.” Overjoyed, Punaʻaikoaʻe thanked her.
The next morning, before he set out, Kalamainuʻu warned him that when he returned, he was to call out so that she would know he was home. Implicit in her warning was the threat of physical harm should he disobey here.
Where Gods Walk – 2 | Where Gods Walk – 4
Marie Alohalani Brown, Ph.D. is the Author of Facing the Spears of Change: The Life and Legacy of John Papa Ii (University of Hawaii Press); winner of the Palapala Poʻokela Award 2017 for the Best Book on Hawaiian Language, Culture, and History.