("Na mea hou o Kaupo", Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, April 11, 1885)
There was a lot of sun here in Kaupo in January and February. Some locals said that there hadn’t been hot weather like this in previous years. The runners of the sweet potatoes dried up. In the first week of March, heavy raindrops fell from Kulanihakoi1. It has fallen to the time I am writing, heartening the farmers. The Youth Society has been like a barren desert. So goes the work of the Lord here in Kaupo. No one is found in the church; if it was an establishment serving sweet potato liquor, it would be filled.
On Sunday, March 8, the woman Kumaaiku went to a house to plait a mat, and Kawaiaea, Jr. forbade her from doing this since it was the Sabbath. On that same day, J. K. Kawaiaea found Kahiole returning with baskets of sweet potatoes; since he did not get the food during the six previous days, he had gone on Sunday. Take heed, Kahiole: don’t do this again. On the night of Thursday, Mar. 19, Mr. Waiwaiole and Mrs. Keomailani were joined in the holy bonds of matrimony by Kawaiaea, Jr. After the ceremony, a feast was held at about 10 p.m. to fill the hungry stomachs.
On the night of Friday, Mar. 20, J. K. Kawaiaea held a feast celebrating the completion of a house. Many people attended. The people throwing the feast did not serve strong spirits nor sweet potato liquor, just poi. The people who came that day drank in their homes before arriving. The result was that their eyes were droopy, they stumbled about, and they slurred their words. At about 2 a.m., the writer was startled to hear something noisy like a drum. There were two feasts in Naopuu that night, and these other people were marching about banging drums and blowing flutes. The women were clothed in fine attire.
At about 5 a.m., Noa Kaaa went to the house of the Englishman Kimo Kameki, and Noa saw his wife, Honolulu. Noa jumped on them. The three of them—Noa, Honolulu Iosua, and Kameki—tumbled down, and Noa was pinned down. All of them were drunk. Honolulu told Kameki to get a gun and shoot Noa2. If the intention of Honolulu had come to pass, then it is clear what the result would have been. Noa appeared before me the next day and I saw his wounds. His cheek was bruised, and his forehead had a lump. The reason that Honolulu was mad was because Noa was a flying fish3 in the surging sea4. If the mouth of the gun had resounded, there would have been nothing but burnt food to eat5.
Below is the text of the original article:
Na mea hou o Kaupo
Nui ka la ma Kaupo nei i ka malama o Ian. a me Feb. Olelo kekahi poe kamaaina, aole i ikeia ka la i na makahiki i hala, e like me keia makahiki; ua hele na wahi lau uala a pikao, a i ka pule mua o Mar., ua haule mai la na paka-ua eloelo o Kulanihakoi, a hiki i keia la a’u e kakau nei, a he hoolana ana mai ia i ka poe mahiai. No ka Ahahui Opiopio, e like me ka panoa o ka aina i ka la, pela no na hana a ka Haku ma Kaupo nei, he neo ka mea loaa mau i ka halepule, ina he hale inu uala, piha-kui lua kela.
Ma ka la Sabati, Mar. 8, ua hele o Kumaaiku (w) ma kekahi hale okoa aku e nala moena ai, a e ole o Kawaiaea opio i papa iaia aole e hana, oiai he la Sabati ia. Ia la no, ua loaa o Kahiole ia J K Kawaiaea e hoi mai ana me na kiki uala; no ka loaa ole paha o ka ai i na la eono, nolaila hele ai i ka la pule. E, auhea oe e Kahiole, mai hana hou e like me keia. I ka po Poaha Mar. 19, ua hoohuiia ma ka berita maemae o ka mare o Mr. Waiwaiole me Mrs. Keomailani, na Kawaiaea opio laua i hoohui. Mahope o ka hookuu ana o na hana, ua malamaia he papaaina no ka hoopiha ana i na houpo lewalewa, o ka hora 10 a oi ia o ka po.
I ka po Poalima Mar. 20, ua malama ae o J. K. Kawaiaea, he ahaaina komo hale. Ua nui ka poe i hele mai ma ia la. O ka poe na lakou ka ahaaina, aole i malama ia he mau wai hooikaika kino, aole no hoi he mau umeke uala, aka, he poi wale no. O ka poe i hele mai ia la, ua ai no lakou ma ko lakou mau home; nana aku ia la, pioioi lua na maka, e hoohio ana ma o a maanei, e iho hee ana na olelo, a o ka hopena no ia o ia mea. I ka hora 2 a oi, puiwa hikilele ana ka mea e kakau nei i ka lohe ana aku i keia mea haalulu, eia ka he pahu. Oiai elua ahaaina i malamaia ma ia la o ko Naopuu kekahi, a o ia poe ka i kai-huakai mai, e kani halulu ana ka pahu, a e kani hooeoe ana hoi ka leo o na ohe. O ka aahu o na wahine, ua hanaia a like loa, a he ku maoli no i ka nani ke nana aku.
I ka hora 5 a oi, ua hele aku la o Noa Kaaa, ma ka hale o Kimo Kameki (haole), a ia ike ana mai o kana wahine o Honolulu, o ka manawa iho la no ia i lele mai ai maluna oia nei; ekolu lakou la a hookahi o Noa, o Honolulu Iosua a me Kameki, a paa pu iho la o Noa malalo. O keia poe a pau ua ona lakou, a o keia Honolulu ua hoopuka aku la ia Kameki e kii i pu a e ki aku ia Noa, ina la paha i hookoia ka manao o keia Honolulu, alaila, maopopo ka hopena o ia hana. Ua hiki mai o Noa imua o’u i kekahi la ae, a ua ike au i kona mau alina, ua poholehole ka papalina a puu ka lae. O ke kumu o keia huhu o Honolulu, no ka hele o Noa i ke kapae malolo piipii kai kela, e kani nae ka waha o ka pu, aohe nao ai i ka papaa.
P. PUHALAHUA.
Footnotes
- A mythical lake in the sky that is the source of rain
- Noa and Honolulu had a public dispute 2 years prior, and Noa was removed as district judge in 1891 due to impropriety
- A promiscous person
- “piipii kai”, also a euphemism for anger
- An idiom for a disastrous situation
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