In the late 1700s, the Hawaiian archipelago was consumed by war as the rulers of each island vied for control. In 1775, just as British and Americans began the first battles of the Revolutionary War, so did fighting rage across Kaupo in the seaside fields near Kalaeokailio.
Kalaeokailio, Kaupo.
The forces of Maui and Hawaii islands hurled against one other; Hawaiiโs soldiers were ultimately forced to flee. However, the battle became celebrated for the feats of an unheralded warrior on the losing side.
During the retreat, this Hawaii warrior made a daring rescue to save his mentor and displayed flashes of the bravery that enabled him to take control of the entire island chain in the following years.
This is the story of Kamehameha the Great and the battle of Kalaeokailio.
Earlier conflicts
The battle of Kalaeokailio in 1775 was the continuation of a long series of conflicts between Maui and Hawaii.
In the early 1700s, Maui was ruled by Kekaulike, whose court was at Mokulau in Kaupo. In the 1730s, Kekaulike set his eyes on Hawaii Island, weakened by an internal struggle after the death of ruling chief Keawe. Kekaulike and his warriors sailed across the channel to Hawaii and attacked the Kona and Kohala regions.
Kekaulike attacked Hawaii despite close ties with Hawaii's new ruler, Alapai. One of Kekaulike's wives was Alapai's sister, and Alapai had resided at Mokulau with Kekaulike in the years before becoming the ruler of Hawaii.
So with this family connection, why did Kekaulike war with Hawaii? According to Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau, writing in 1866, Kekaulike's motivation was simply the result of being a war-loving chief: "He alii puni kaua o Kekaulike".
Predictably, Alapai counterattacked Kaupo, in two battles called Kaeulu and Kahalemamalakoa.
In 1736, soon after the battle of Kahalemamalakoa, Kekaulike died on Maui and Kamehameha the Great was born on Hawaii. Kekaulike's son Kamehamehanui became ruler of Maui, and because of Alapai's affection for Kamehamehanui (Alapai's nephew), Maui and Hawaii remained at peace until Alapai died in 1754.
But under Kalaniopuu, Hawaii's new ruler, the truce fell apart. In 1759, Kalaniopuu attacked East Maui and took control of Kaupo's neighboring districts of Kipahulu and Hana. Again there were family ties between the Maui and Hawaii rulersโKalaniopuu's wife was Kamehamehanui's auntโbut a kin connection evidently meant less to Kalaniopuu, "a chief who lusted for war, glory and taking others' land", according to Kamakau ("He Alii puni kaua, a he Alii puni hanohano, a lawe wale i ko hai aina.")
Kamehamehanui attempted to retake Hana but failed. Kalaniopuu installed a chief with Kaupo ties in charge of the area, and an uneasy quiet persisted for the next 16 years, with Kalaniopuu controlling Hana and Maui's rulers governing the rest of the island.
Kalaehoahoa raid sets spark
Returning to 1775, before the fateful battle of Kalaeokailio, Kalaniopuu's forces raided Kaupo in an attack called Kalaehoahoa ("The Beaten Brows"). At that time, Kahekili was the ruler of Maui, taking over after his brother Kamehamehanui died a decade earlier.
Kamakau called Kahekili a chief "formidable in battle, intelligent, contemplative" ("He alii ikaika i ke kaua, a he alii naauao, a he noonoo"). Kekaulike's appearance was striking, with tattoos covering half his body from head to toe.
Kahekili, as depicted in the series "Chief of War".
Historian Joseph Poepoe, writing in the newspaper Ka Naโi Aupuni in 1905, described the Kalaehoahoa raid:
"Ma ka makahiki 1775, e noho ana o Kalaniopuu ma Hana, a oia ka wa i hoomaka hou ai ke ala ana o ke kaua mawaena ona ame Kahekili. A oiai e noho ana o Kalaniopuu ilaila, o Kamehameha pu kekahi e noho ana malaila; a o ke kanakolukumamaiwa ia o kona mau makahiki.
A ma kahi wa o loko o keia makahiki i nee aku ai na koa o Kalaniopuu mai Hana aku e hao wale a e pepehi i na kanaka o Kaupo โai loli.โ Ua nui ka poino ame ka popilikia o na kanaka o Kaupo, mamuli o keia mau hana a na koa o Kalaniopuu.
Ua pepehi mainoino wale ia na kanaka, a hao wale ia ko lakou mau waiwai. Ua nahoahoa na poo o na kanaka i na newa a na koa o Kalaniopuu, a nolaila, ua kapaia keia kaua hoopea wale a Kalaniopuu, o โKalaehoahoa.โ"
[In 1775, while Kalaniopuu was residing at Hana, war again broke out between him and Kahekili. While Kalaniopuu was living there, Kamehameha resided there as well and was 39 years old.
At one point during this year, Kalaniopuuโs warriors marched from Hana to plunder and attack the people of Kaupo, the "land of the sea cucumbers". The people of Kaupo suffered greatly from the actions of Kalaniopuuโs warriors.
The people were ruthlessly attacked and their belongings plundered. The heads of the people were cracked by the clubs of Kalaniopuuโs warriors. That is why this attack by Kalaniopuu was called โKalaehoahoaโ.]
As a term of affection, Poepoe used the common nickname "Kaupo ai loli" (Kaupo, of the sea cucumber eaters), and later also uses a nickname for Hana: "Hana i ka ua lani haahaa" (Hana of the low-lying rain), both names collected in Mary Kawena Pukui's bookย "Olelo Noeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings".
Armies march on Kaupo
As Poepoe continued, when Kahekili heard of the Kalaehoahoa raid, he sent warriors to Kaupo to protect the people there. In response, Kalaniopuu decided to send his own soldiers to Kaupo. Kamehameha the Great, then just a soldier for Kalaniopuu, tried unsuccessfully to dissuade Kalaniopuu from this course:
"I ka lohe ana o Kahekili i keia hana hao wale a Kalaniopuu i na waiwai o na kanaka o ke ahupuaa o Kaupo, e noho ana malalo o kona mana, a pela hoi me ka luku mainoino wale ia o kona poe makaainana, ua hoouna aku la oia ia elua puali kaua oolea malalo o ke alakai ana a Kaneolaelae, no ke kokua ana i na kanaka o Kaupo.
Eia ka noho alihikaua nui ana o na koa o Hawaii ma Hana i ka ua lani haahaa malalo o ke alakai ponoi ana a ka Moi Kalaniopuu, a nana ponoi no i alakai aku i kona poe koa e komo ma ka apana o Kaupo.
Ma keia hoonee kaua ana a Kalaniopuu, ua kaohi aku o Kamehameha i ka makuakane, ia Kalaniopuu, aole e nee ke kaua ilaila, oia wahi a Kamehameha i olelo aku ai i ka makuakane, he โKaua huna-lewa ia, a o Kaupo no kela, ka aina i kaulana i ka ai loli.โ A olelo aku la no o Kamehameha i ka makuakane.
โE ai paha auanei ka makua ame ke keiki i ka loli o Kaupo?โ
I keia wa, aole i lilo maoli o Kamehameha i pukaua na Kalaniopuu, aka, e noho ana no nae ia koa malalo ona; a mamuli hoi o kona ano, he alii oia, ua ku no kona kulana koa ma kahi o na โlii.
No ka olelo a Kamehameha i pane aku ai i kona makuakane haku ia Kalaniopuu, elike me ia i hoike ae la, ua akaaka wale mai no o Kalaniopuu, me ka olelo ana:
โHele au ka makua, hele oukou e aโu mau keiki.โ"
[When Kahekili heard of Kalaniopuu pillaging the possessions of Kaupoโs people, those living under his control, and the slaughter of his subjects, he sent two mighty companies of warriors under the leadership of Kaneolaelae to assist the people of Kaupo.
At that time, Hawaiiโs commanders were based in Hana โof the low rainโ under the direct leadership of King Kalaniopuu, who led his warriors into the district of Kaupo.
During Kalaniopuuโs advance, Kamehameha urged restraint on Kalaniopuu, his uncle, saying that they should not go to war there. Kamehameha told his uncle, โThis will be the frontline of a war, and Kaupo is the land known for the eating of loli. Will the parent and the child both eat the loli of Kaupo?โ
At this time, Kamehameha had not yet been promoted to commander by Kalaniopuu but was still a warrior under him, and among the chiefs stood out for his bravery.
However, Kalaniopuu laughed at the words of Kamehameha to his uncle and said:
โAs I, the parent, go, so shall you, my children.โ]
Poepoe explained Kamehameha's reticence by revealing that Kahekili was in fact Kamehameha's biological father, contrary to the widespread notion that the chief Keoua sired Kamehameha:
"O ke kumu hoi o ko Kamehameha hookakanalua ana ia Kalaniopuu, aole e hele i ke kaua i Kaupo, oia no kona aloha ia Kahekili, kona makuakane ma ka io a ma ke koko. Aka aole nae he hoolohe mai o nei makuakane ona, oia o Kalaniopuu, nolaila, hookahi wale no ana hana pono o ka hoolohe aku i ka leo kauoha a ka makuakane."
[The reason that Kamehameha tried to dissuade Kalaniopuu from going to war at Kaupo was because of his affection for Kahekili, his flesh and blood father. But Kalaniopuu, his uncle, would not heed him, and so the only proper course of action was to obey his uncleโs command.]
With Kalaniopuu bent on war, the soldiers set out. Poepoe related the march to Kaupo and the onset of fighting:
"I keia wa e holapu nei na koa o Kalaniopuu mai kela aoao a i keia aoao o Kaupo, mai ka uka a ke kai, mai kela pea a keia pea o ka aina, ua hoea mai la na koa o Kahekili malalo o Kaneolaelae i Kaupo.
A o keia ka manawa i hooukaia ai he hooili kaua ikaika a oolea loa mawaena o na aoao elua."
[At this time the warriors of Kalaniopuu were marching from all sides of Kaupo, from the uplands to the sea, and from every border of the land, when Kahekili's warriors arrived at Kaupo, led by Kaneolaelae.
And this was the time when a very fierce battle was fought between the two sides.]
"Battle of Kalaeokailio" by artist Brook Kapลซkuniahi Parker.
"Heaped like kukui branches"
With the armies in position, the warriors threw themselves into the fray. When the dust cleared, Hawaii's fallen laid "heaped like kukui branches before Maui's skillful warriors" ("He kaua io no hoi i ahu-lala-kukui ai ka Hawaii imua o ko Maui mau kaeaea koa"), in the words of historian Stephen Desha, writing in 1921.
Over the years, Hawaiian newspapers published a number of accounts of the battle, by notable writers such as John Papa Ii (1869), Joseph Poepoe (1905) and Stephen Desha (1921).
But it was Samuel Kamakau, in an article in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa on December 8, 1866, who provided the most striking description.
Kamakau began with Kahekili's general and the names of the military units involved in the battle:
"Hoouna mai la o Kahekili i kekahi puali koa o ka Niuula a me Kepoouwahi. O Kaneolaelae ka mamaka kaua."
[Kahekili sent the troops called Niuula and Kepoouahi. Kaneolaelae was the leader.]
Following this was an account of the progression of the attack filled with geographic detail:
"O Puumaneone[o] me Kapukaauhuhu na kahua kaua, aka, aole i loaa ia Kalaniopuu ia mau kahua kaua, ua hoouka aku no o Kaneolaelae ma na auwaha uwala makai aku o laila, e kupono ana i Kalaeokailio, e uhi ana ka eheu akau o ke kaua i Pahonu, a o ka eheu hema o ke kaua ma ka huli hikina o ka pali o Waipu. O Kaneolaelae, ua huli pono kana kaua i na kawaha e huli ana i Kiei. I ka hoouka kaua ana o na aoao elua, ua lanakila o Kaneolaelae maluna o ke kaua o Hawaii, ua luku mai o Kaneolaelae i na koa o Hawaii, no ka mea, ua pii loa iuka o Kihapuhala, ma Paauhau ke kaua o Hawaii, nolaila ua loihi kahi o ke kaua ana o ka Hawaii. O ka auwaa ka puuhonua o ka Hawaii, aia no i ka lulu o Kalaeokailio."
[The battlefields were Puumaneoneo and Kapukaauhuhu, but Kalaniopuu was not found on those battlegrounds. Kaneolaelae made his attack on the sweet potato fields on the makai side of there, straight at Kalaeokailio. The right flank of the attack spread out at Pahonu, and the left flank covered the eastern face of Waipu. Kaneolaelaeโs attack turned directly at the furrows facing Kiei. And as the two sides were battling, Kaneolaelae prevailed over Hawaii's warriors. Kaneolaelae slaughtered the Hawaii warriors all the way up to Kihapuhala at Papaauhau. That is how far Hawaii's forces extended. The sanctuary of the Hawaii people was the canoe fleet, which was on the leeward side of Kalaeokailio.]
Finally, Kamakau described the retreat of Hawaii's soldiers, during which Kamehameha the Great saved the life of his mentor, Kekuhaupio.
"O ke koa kaulana o ka aoao o ka Hawaii, o Kekuhaupio ka inoa. Ua kaohi oia i ka hee ino o ka Hawaii ia la, i ke kupono ana i ka auwaha uala, ua hihiu o Kekuhaupio i ke kalina uala, a hina iho la, aka, ike koke aku la o Kamehameha I i ka hina ana o Kekuhaupio, hoouka koke aku la o Kamehameha ma ka hunapaa o ke kaua, mai make o Kekuhaupio ia la, ina aole e kokua o Kamehameha iaia, aka, ua hee aku o Kalaniopuu ma, a kau iluna o ka auwaa. Ua luku aku o Kaneolaelae i ka Hawaii a hiki i Kalaeokailio. Oniu ae la oia i kana laau kana, e hoike ana i kona lanakila maluna o Kalaniopuu ke Alii o Hawaii. Ua kapaia kela kaua ana o Kalaeokailio. O ke kaua mua keia o Kamehameha i kaulana ai i ke koa, o ka hoopakele ana i kana kumu koa, a me kana kumu nana i ao i ke kakaolelo, a me ka oihana kahuna."
[The famous warrior on the Hawaii side was named Kekuhaupio. He kept Hawaii's side from a complete rout. While standing in the sweet potato furrows, Kekuhaupio became entangled in a vine and fell. However, Kamehameha I saw Kekuhaupio fall and quickly attacked the rear guard. Kekuhaupio would have died that day if Kamehameha had not helped him. Kalaniopuu and his forces fled and boarded the canoe fleet. Kaneolaelae slaughtered the Hawaii side up to Kalaeokailio. He brandished his war club, displaying his victory over Kalaniopuu, the alii of Hawaii. The name of that battle was called Kalaeokailio. This was the first battle where Kamehameha was famed as a warrior, rescuing his military instructor, his teacher of oration and priestly matters.]
Kamehameha rescuing Kekuhaupio at Kalaeokailio, from the graphic novel "Waikaua".
Sites of the battle
Kamakau's geography-laden account allows us to see the vastness of the battleground. Along the shore, the fighting stretched from Puumaneoneo in the west to Pahonu in the east, a distance of over 2.5 miles.
Puu Maneoneo and Pahonu in relation to Kalaeokailio.
In addition, the battle stretched well upland, based on this description from Kamakau: "Ua pii loa iuka o Kihapuhala, ma Paauhau ke kaua o Hawaii, nolaila ua loihi kahi o ke kaua ana o ka Hawaii." [Hawaii's fighters ascended all the way up to Kihapuhala, in Papaauhau. Thus, the battleground extended a far distance.]
The location of Kihapuhala is unknown now, but when Kamakau says the fighter went upland (pii loa iuka), the inclusion of the word "loa" (very much) makes it clear that Kihapuhala is a significant distance from the shoreline.
Here are some English translations of Kamakau's descriptions of battleground sites:
"The battlefields were Puumaneoneo and Kapukaauhuhu."
Puumaneoneo and Kapukaauhuhu are the names of ahupuaa. Kapukaauhuhu (usually written as Pukaauhuhu) is near Kalaeokailio, while Puumaneoneo lies about a mile west, near Nuu Bay.
Puumaneoneo, about 1.5 miles west of Kalaeokailio.
"The right flank of the attack spread out at Pahonu, and the left flank covered the eastern face of Waipu."
Pahonu is a shoreline region near Waiuha Bay, a mile east of Kalaeokailio. Waipu, the site of a spring, is the area at the western base of Kalaeokailio.
Waipu and Pahonu in relation to Kalaeokailio.
"Kaneolaelaeโs attack turned directly at the furrows facing Kiei."
Kiei is one of the few shore areas near Kalaeokailio where canoes could land. In 1929, archaeologist Winslow Walker visited Kaupo and described Kiei: "Kiei on the shore is a rocky beach with two canoe-sheds and a well of brackish water."
Kiei in relation to Kalaeokailio.
"The sanctuary of the Hawaii people was the canoe fleet, which was on the leeward side of Kalaeokailio."
The leeward side of Kalaeokailio is Mamalu Bay. Kalaeokailio's cliff shelters this expansive bay from Kaupo's forceful winds, creating an ideal spot to anchor a canoe fleet.
Mamalu Bay.
Kalaeokailio's sweet potato fields
As noted in the book "Native Planters in Old Hawaii", "Kaupo has been famous for its sweet potatoes, both in ancient times and in recent years." Kamakau's description of the battle of Kalaeokailio makes it clear that the surrounding area abounded with the crop in the late 1700s.
Kamakau recounted how Kaneolaelae, Maui's general, led his attack at the sweet potato fields directly at Kalaeokailio, going on to describe the furrows near Kiei and adding that the plants were so thick that the Hawaii warrior Kekuhaupio got caught in the vines and tripped.
These intriguing descriptions inspired archaeologists Pat Kirch, John Holson and Alex Baer to take a closer look at the Kalaeokailio area in 2007-2008. They found an abundance of agricultural sites.
In a 2009 journal article, the archaeologists wrote that the Kaupo fields may have been able to produce as much as 15,000 metric tons of sweet potatoes each year. Based on the calories this would provide, they calculated a potential population for Kaupo in ancient times and concluded that, "A maximum population of up to 8,000-10,000 persons for Kaupo strikes us as not unreasonable."
Overhead imagery near Kaleaokailio showing traces of ancient agricultural terraces.
Aftermath of the battle
After the battle of Kalaeokailio in 1775, the remaining years of the 18th century saw Kamehameha rise to power.
In 1782, Hawaii Island ruler Kalaniopuu passed away, while in 1793, Kahekili fell ill and died. Kamehameha fought the successors of these chiefs and ultimately emerged victorious on his way to ruling all of Hawaii.
In 1784, Kekuhaupio Kamehameha's mentor and fellow hero of the battle of Kalaeokailio, died, ironically, not in real battle but hit by spear in mock battle.
In a twist of fate, Kekuhaupio, Kamehameha's mentor, survived the spears at the battle of Kalaeokailio only to meet his end during a mock battle about a decade later when a spear aggravated an old injury, perhaps a spear injury from the battle of Kalaeokailio.
Here is Kamakau's account of Kekuhaupio's death:
"O ke kumu o ka make ana, he kaua lealea pahukala, ua hala ka pale ana i ka ihe, ua ku ka ihe ma kahi e waiho ana ka laau kahiko i loko, a ua oni paha kela laau, ua pili pu paha me na mea o loko o ka naauโNo laila, make ihola o Kekuhaupio i ka A.D. 1784."
[The cause of death was a play spear battle. The parry of the spear was missed, and the spear struck the place where an old piece of wood lay inside. That piece of wood likely shifted and struck internal organs. Therefore, Kekuhaupio died in A.D. 1784.]
Stone terrace at Kamanawa Point, with Kalaeokailio in the background.