Our Beloved Child Has Passed
("Ka Maua Mea Aloha He Keiki Ua Hala", Nupepa Kuokoa, October 4, 1918)
Dear Nupepa Kuokoa, greetings:—Please ferry my tearful news in empty space of the deck of your messenger to announce at the door of each and every home you visit that our dearly beloved has departed along the path all must take, leaving behind the mortal remains for us1 and the rest of the family to mourn with all-consuming grief, yet fulfilling the Scriptures that dust shall return to the earth and the spirit to its Maker.2
Our dear child3 Annie Kanamu Kapoi was born in Kaupo, where the rain makes one hide behind rock walls, on February 21, 1879, and died on September 17, 1918. Therefore, for a full 39 years she breathed the frigid air of this temporary world.
Her traits that she always exhibited to us and that we will never forget were her generosity, unending kindness and heart full of love. Because of her affection for her mother, she refrained from taking a husband. Her mother was her partner.
She served as a schoolteacher for a number of years and also worked for the Maui Telephone Company.4 Because of her affection for her mother, she returned to her beloved home.
In her home, she had a ready hand to tend to and welcome visitors of all nationalities who called. She gave and gave, and because all her generous deeds, in her final hour, numerous friends and acquaintances came to see her earthly remains. They all made the same remark—“How much love and sorrow we feel for her.”
O rain that makes one hide behind rock walls, the homeland of my dear child, you will no longer shower her. O cliffs of Kalepa and Lelekea, her feet will no longer roam over you. O love-snatching wind,5 where my beloved child lived until she became a local in this land where she began as a stranger, your piercing cold will no longer strike her skin, since she is gone, eyes veiled in the gloomy clouds of the road from whence none may return. What searing grief in my chest for my dear one.
We parents and her entire family would like to give our eternal thanks to everyone who came to see her mortal remains and all those well-wishers who adorned her body with bouquets and provided other decorations to beautify her. And above all, glory to the name Jehovah, since as He gave, so shall He take away.6 Praise be His name.
This lament for our beloved will end here with a parting farewell to you, editor.
We the undersigned being the parents and family,
J. K. KAPOI,
MRS. AGNES KAPOI.
And family
Below is the obituary in the original Hawaiian:
KA MAUA MEA ALOHA HE KEIKI UA HALA
I ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Aloha oe a nui loa:—Ho mai hoi oe no ka’u wahi puolo waimaka kekahi wahi kowa kaawale o kou oneki ahailono, a nau hoi ia e hoike aku ma kela ame keia ipuka hale au e kipa aku ai, i ka haalele ana mai la o ka maua mea aloha, a hele aku la i ke ala o na mea apau a waiho i ke kino lepo na maua ame ka ohana e paiauma ai, me ka minamina nui, aka, ko ae la ka ka Palapala, e hoi ka lepo i ka lepo, o ka uhane me ka mea nana oia i hana.
Ua hanauia ka lei aloha Annie Kanamu Kapoi ma ka Ua Peepapohaku o Kaupo, Maui, ma ka la 21 o Feberuari, 1879, a make aku la ma ka la 17 o Sept. 1918, a nolaila ua piha he 39 makahiki o kona hanu ana i na ea hu’ihu’i o keia aina malihini.
O kona mau ano i kamaaina ia maua e hiki ole ai ia maua ke hoopoina nona, o ia hoi, he puuwai hamama, he oluolu palena ole, a me ka pihapono o kona puuwai i ke aloha, a no ka nui o kona aloha i kona mama, ua hoopoina oia i ka lawe ana mai i kane, a o kana kane o kona mama, a moe aku la.
Ua lawelawe i ka oihana kumukula no kekahi mau makahiki, a ua noho hana me ka hui telepona o Maui, a no kona aloha no i kona mama ua hoi no a noho i kona home ana i aloha ai.
O kona noho ana ma ka home, he lima makaukau kona i ka hooponopono ana, a e hookipa ana hoi i na malihini o na lahui like ole ke kipa mai i kona home, ua haawi aku a oi mamua o ka haawi, a ma kana mau hana maikai apau, a i kona hora hope, ua nui na makamaka ame na hoaloha i hele mai e ike hope i kona kino lepo. Hookahi a lakou olelo—“Nui ke aloha me ka minamina iaia.”
E ka Ua Peepapohaku, ke onehanau o kuu lei, aole e hoopulu hou iaia: e na pali o Kalepa ame Lelekea, aole e hehi hou kona mau kapuai ia olua; e ka makani kailialoha, kahi a kuu lei i noho ai a kamaaina, a ua lilo i kupa no keia aina i noho malihini ia mai ai, aole e pa hou kou mau iniki hu’ihu’i i kona ili, oiai ua nalo, ua huna na maka i ke ao polohiwa i ke ala hiki ole ke hoi hou mai. Auwe, e ka mea wela o ka umauma i ke aloha i kuu lei.
Ke haawi aku nei maua na makua ame kona ohana apau i na hoomaikai palena ole i ka poe apau i hele mai e ike i kona kino ame ka poe apau i hoohiwahiwa mai i kona kino me na poke pua ame na makana e ae apau a na hoaloha i makana mai iaia no ka hoonani ana i kona kino lepo, a maluna ae o na mea apau, e hoonaniia ka inoa o Iehova, a no ka mea, Nana no i haawi mai, a Nana no e lawe aku. E hoomaikai ia Kona inoa.
Ke hooki nei i keia manewanewa o ka maua mea aloha, ame oe, e ka Lunahooponopono ke aloha nui.
O makou iho no na makua ame ka ohana,
J. K. KAPOI,
MRS. AGNES KAPOI.
Me ka ohana
Footnotes
- The parents of the deceased.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7.
- “Lei” in the original article.
- In operation from 1889 to 1918.
- A poetic reference to Kipahulu. See entry No. 1463 in the book “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings“.
- Job 1:21.