In most areas of old Hawaii, taro was the main crop. But in Kaupo, sweet potato was king. In fact, based on sheer amount of sweet potato field remains, Archaeologists Pat Kirch and others have estimated that the area could have had a population of up to 17,000 people at its peak.
In May 1922, as traditions were vanishing, Bishop Museum researcher Thomas Maunupau visited Kaupo to preserve the knowledge there. On May 9, he recorded local prayers calling on the pig god Kamapuaa to help sweet potatoes grow.
Maunupau published an account of these prayers a year later, on March, 8, 1923, in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, a weekly periodical. Maunupau's account is presented below at left, along with a translation at right by Hawaiian language scholar Mary Kawena Pukui from the book Huakai Makaikai a Kaupo, Maui.
Maunupau's version
Ma keia wahi i olelo mai ai o Joseph Maciel, no kana mea i maopopo, mamuli o ka hoike ana mai a Mr. J. W. Kawaakoa e pili ana no keia kanu uwala a penei no ia:
Ke Ano o ke Kanu Uwala Ana Ame ka Pule Kamapuaa.
I ka waele ana i ka mala uwala i kinohi, ua hiki no i ka nui lehulehu e waele like me ka mea i ike i ka pule. I ka pau ana o ka waele ana a maemae ka mala uwala, alaila hoomaka na mea apau e paeli like i ka makalua. O ka mea i ike i ka pule oia mamua, a mahope aku na mea apau, i ka manawa e paeli ai i ka makalua. I ke kanu, ana na ka mea paa pule e kanu mua he elua makalua a penei oia e pule ai:
E Kamapuaakane, e Kamapuaawahine, e Ku, e Hina,
E Kamapuaakane, e Kamapuaawahine,
Eia ko kaua waena,
Mai hele oe i ko ha'i waena,
I ko kaua waena wale no oe e eku ai,
I ko kaua waena wale no oe e ki'o ai,
Mai hele oe i ko ha'i waena e kio ai,
O pa auanei oe i ka pohaku a eha,
A i ko kaua waena wale no oe e eku ai, a e ki'o ai,
Aole e pa i ka pohaku,
O na palena apau o keia waena o kaua nou wale no ia,
Amama.
Pau keia pule ana, hoomaka oia e kanu he elua makalua, a pau keia kanu ana ana, alaila, kanu like mai na mea apau. I ke kanu ana, ua kapu ka huli ana ihope a nana, imua wale no e nana ai.
Pau ae la no ka hana a noho aku e nana me ka waele ole i ka nahelehele ahiki i ka manawa e oo ai o ka uwala.
Na ka mea paa pule no e waele mua i ka nahelehele, o na pu'e uwala elua i kanu mua ia ai i kinohi. O keia wale no kana wahi e waele ai, a koe aku no ka nui o ka mala uwala. O ka waele ana o ka nahelehele aole e kiloi mahai, aka, e kapae no ma kahi e waele ai. I keia mau pu'e wale no oia e paeli ai, e nana i ka hua o ka uwala, a ina e ike i ka nunui o ka hua o ka uwala, alaila e kii i pulupulu, a ho'a no i ke ahi malaila noa ke kanawai, alaila hoomaka e pule penei:
E Kamapuaakane a me Kamapuaawahine, eia au ke ai nei i ka ai a kaua,
E Kamapuaakane ame Kamapuaawahine,
Ua noa keia waena ia olua maanei e ai ai, e ki'o ai a e moe ai,
Amama, ua noa.
I ka noa ana o ke kanawai, noho aku e nana i ka mala uwala no eono a i ole ehiku mahina, alaila hoomakake kilo. I ke kilo ana e maheluhelu ahiki i ka ike ana i ka uwala, alaila uhaki. O ka uwala apuupuu he kukae puaa ia. Ua kapu ke kiloi ana i ka uwala, kapae iho no ma kahi o ka pu'e uwala. Na ka mea paa pule wale no e kilo ka uwala, aka, ua hiki no i na mea apau e kii a ohi i ka uwala, aole nae e kiloi. Ua kapu pu no hoi ke kiloi ana i ka pohaku iloko o keia mala uwala ame ka uwa leo nui ana.
Ina no he ohana nui, a he uuku wale no kahi mala uwala, o ka ai no keia aole wa e nele ai i ka ai.
Here Joseph Marciel told what he knew of the things J. W. Kawaakoa told him about potato cultivation. It is as follows:
The Manner of Planting Sweet Potato and the Kamapua'a Prayer
In the beginning, everyone could clear a patch with the one who knew the prayers. After the weeding was done and the patch was clean, then the holes were made. The person who knew the prayer went ahead and everyone followed after, when making the holes. In planting, the one who knew the prayers planted the slips in two holes and prayed thus:
O Kamapua'a-kāne, O Kamapua'a-wahine, Kū and Hina,
Here is our patch.
Do not go into someone else's,
But root into our own patch,
Excrete only in our own patch
But do not excrete in someone else's patch,
Lest you be stoned and hurt,
Root and excrete only in our patch,
And no one shall stone you.
This whole enclosed patch of ours, is yours,
Amama.
After praying he planted in two holes and when he had finished planting everyone planted. It was kapu to turn and look behind but must only look ahead.
When the work was done, the patch was left alone and not weeded until the sweet potatoes matured.
The one who prayed began the weeding and he weeded the first two which he had planted. He weeded only these but left the others alone. In weeding the weeds were not thrown out to the borders but left just where they were pulled up from. He dug only into these two sweet potato mounds to see how the tubers were and if he saw that they were large, he gathered kindling, built a fire to free the kapu and uttered a prayer like this:
O Kamapua'a-kāne and Kamapua'a-wahine,
I am partaking of our food,
O Kamapua'a-kāne and Kamapua'a-wahine,
The patch is freed to you, eat, excrete and sleep here,
Amama, it is freed.
After the freeing of the kapu, the patch was left alone for six or seven months and then it was closely watched. The sweet potatoes were carefully dug out by hand and then broken off. The rough looking ones were the "excrement of the pig." It was kapu to throw them away and must be left beside the mounds. Only the one who knew the prayers was permitted to watch the potatoes but anyone was permitted to gather them up. It was kapu to throw stones into the potato patch or to shout aloud.
If one had a big family, a small patch was sufficient, there never was a lack of food.
As Thomas Maunupau writes, Kaupo resident Joseph Marciel told him the prayers, but Marciel heard it from another local, J. W. Kawaakoa (as described in a separate post, a former representative in the Hawaii Legislature).
Fortunately, a notebook of Joseph Marciel survives that contains his notes about the Kamapuaa prayers as told to him by Kawaakoa. The notes are dated May 9, 1922, the same day as Marciel's meeting with Maunupau. Thus, it appears that Marciel met with Kawaakoa and wrote down the prayers before talking with Maunupau, since Maunupau does not indicate that Kawaakaoa was present.
The prayers and explanation in Marciel's notebook closely match Maunupau's description but there are some differences. Importantly, these differences could suggest alternate translations from the one from Mary Kawena Pukui. The pages of Marciel's notebook are shown below, followed by a transcription in the left column and a translation at right.
Marciel's version
Pule Kamapuaa
No ka waeli ana, waeli like,
No ka paeli ana, paeli like i ka makalua, no ke kanu ana, he elua makalua e kanu ia e ka mea i ike i keia pule ana
Pule
E Kamapuaa kane,
E Kamapuaa wahine,
E Ku, E Hina,
Kamapuaa kane,
Kamapuaa wahine,
Eia ko kaua waena,
Mai hele oe i ko hai waena,
I ko kaua waena wale no oe e eku ai,
I ko kaua waena wale no oe e kio ai,
Mai hele oe i ko hai waena e kio ai,
O pa auanei oe i ka pohaku a eha,
Ae i ko kaua waena wale no oe e eku ai, ae kio ai, aole e eha
O na palena o keia waena o kaua nou wale no ia,
Amama.
Kanu ka mea i ike i keia pule i elua makalua, a hoomaka no poe apau e kanu. O keia mau pue elua oia wale no na pue e makaala ai i ka waele ana i ka nahelehele. O ka waele ana i ka nahelehele, aole i kiloi mahai, ka pae no ma kahi e waele ai. I keia mau pue wale no oe e pa elieli ai, i nana ai i ka hua o ka uala, ina oe i ike i ka hua o ka uala a nunui kupono, kii i pulupulu a hoa no malaila noa ke Kanawai
-Pule-
E Kamapuaa kane ame
Kamapuaa wahine,
E i au ke ai nei i ka ai a kaua,
E Kamapuaa kane ame
Kamapuaa wahine,
Ua noa keia waena ia olua
Maanei e ai ai,
E kio ai
Ae moe ai,
Amama, ua noa.
Nana i ka hopena eono ai ole he ehiku paha mahina alaila kilo i ke kilo ana e maheluhelu a hiki i kou ike ana i ka uala, alaila uhaki o kou uala apuupuu oia ka hope loa o na uala (He kukae puaa ia)
O ka lula hope loa, kilo oe aole i kiloi i ka uala kapae no mahope. O oe wale no ka mea nana i kilo, ua noa no nae i na poe apau e kii e ohi. O ka ohi ana, aole i kiloi, ua olelo ia ina he ohana nui ia aole loa ia he mea i wi ai i ka ai, i loko o ka uuku wale no o kahi waena.
Hon. JW Kawaakoa,
Kaupo, Maui
May 9, 1922.
per JV Marciel
Kamapuaa Prayer
As to weeding, it was always done the same
Regarding digging, the holes for planting were always dug the same. Two holes were planted by the one who knew this prayer
Prayer
O Kamapuaa kane
O Kamapuaa wahine
O Ku, O Hina,
Kamapuaa kane,
Kamapuaa wahine,
Here is our patch.
Do not go into someone else's patch,
Root only in our patch,
Excrete only in our patch,
Do not go to someone else's patch to excrete,
Lest you be stoned and hurt,
And by rooting and excreting only in our patch, you will not be hurt
The boundaries of this patch of ours is for you,
The prayer is finished.
The one who knew this prayer planted the two holes, and all the people began to plant. These two mounds were the only ones watched to remove the weeds. When removing the weeds, they were not thrown to the edge. They were set apart. These mounds were the only ones you would dig in to watch the sweet potato tubers. If you saw the sweet potato tubers grow to a suitable size, you would fetch kindling a light a fire to remove the restriction
-Prayer-
O Kamapuaa kane and
Kamapuaa wahine,
I am partaking of our food,
O Kamapuaa kane and
Kamapuaa wahine,
The patch is freed to you,
Here you can eat
Excrete
And sleep,
The prayer is finished, the restriction is lifted.
You would watch the effects of this for six or perhaps seven months, then dig until you saw the sweet potato. Then you would break off the lumpy portion at the very end of the sweet potato tubers (these being “pig excrement”).
The final rule, when you dug, the unfit sweet potatoes would not be thrown away. You were the only one allowed to dig; all the other people were allowed to collect the sweet potato. When gathering, nothing is thrown away. It is said that if a family was large there would be no famine even though one’s field was small.
Hon. JW Kawaakoa,
Kaupo, Maui
May 9, 1922.
per JV Marciel
Comparison of the texts
In the first paragraph, Maunupau offers more detail than Marciel, such as the (translated) sentence, "The person who knew the prayer went ahead and everyone followed after, when making the holes." Perhaps Maunupau got this additional information from talking with Marciel even though Marciel did not write it in his version.
The second paragraph is the planting prayer, and there are two lines with differences:
Maunupau
A i ko kaua waena wale no oe e eku ai, a e ki'o ai, aole e pa i ka pohaku
O na palena apau o keia waena o kaua nou wale no ia
Marciel
Ae i ko kaua waena wale no oe e eku ai, ae kio ai, aole e eha
O na palena o keia waena o kaua nou wale no ia
As seen above, Maunupau writes aole e pa i ka pohaku ("you will not be hit by a stone"), while Marciel's version has the simpler aole e eha ("you will not be hurt"). Next, Maunupau writes na palena apau o keia waena, which literally means "all the borders of this patch" but which Mary Kawena Pukui translates as "this whole enclosed patch". Again, Marciel's version is a simpler na palena o keia waena ("the borders of this patch") removing the apau ("all").
After this first prayer, there are a series of paragraphs describing planting. Maunupau again provides more detail than Marciel, including how during the planting, "It was kapu to turn and look behind but must only look ahead." However, there are no inconsistencies between the two texts.
Next is the second prayer, releasing the kapu. Here, Maunupau and Marciel are identical, save some idiosyncrasies in Marciel's spelling.
In the final two paragraphs, Maunupau continues the pattern of providing more detail than Marciel, such as "It was kapu to throw stones into the potato patch or to shout aloud." In addition, there is a significant differences in the text of this final section.
In this final section, Maunupau writes, I ke kilo ana e maheluhelu ahiki i ka ike ana i ka uwala, alaila uhaki. O ka uwala apuupuu he kukae puaa ia ("The sweet potatoes were carefully dug out by hand and then broken off. The rough looking ones were the 'excrement of the pig.'"
On this same subject, Marciel writes, Kilo i ke kilo ana e maheluhelu a hiki i kou ike ana i ka uala, alaila uhaki o kou uala apuupuu oia ka hope loa o na uala (He kukae puaa ia). ("You would dig until you saw the sweet potato. Then you would break off the lumpy portion at the very end of the sweet potato tubers (these being “pig excrement”)).
As seen above, Maunupau suggests that the "rough-looking" sweet potato were separated out from the well-formed tubers, and that the rough ones were called kukae puaa ("pig excrement"). Marciel, however, says that the deformed ends of every sweet potato were considered the kukae puaa.
Finally, as a translation note, when Maunupau writes, Na ka mea paa pule wale no e kilo ka uwala, aka, ua hiki no i na mea apau e kii a ohi i ka uwala, Pukui translates this as "Only the one who knew the prayers was permitted to watch the potatoes but anyone was permitted to gather them up." The choice of "watch" for kilo here is perhaps not the ideal translation.
While the Hawaiian dictionary has "examine sweet potato" as a definition for kilo, Pukui translates kilo as "dig" only a few sentences earlier with I ke kilo ana e maheluhelu ahiki i ka ike ana i ka uwala, alaila uhaki. ("The sweet potatoes were carefully dug out by hand and then broken off.")
Moreover, an article in the Dec. 28, 1846, issue of Ka Elele contains the following: Ua hele ka lua i ke kilo paoo, (eli uwala) ("The old woman went to "kilo" sweet potato remains (dig sweet potato))". The context here makes it clear that kilo is a synonym for dig.
Regarding the differences between Maunupau's and Marciel's versions of the prayers, the most likely reason is that when Marciel met with Kawaakoa on May 9, 1922, Marciel only wrote the outline of Kawaakoa's prayers and explanation in his notebook. Then when Marciel met with Maunupau later that day, Marciel used his notes but added further information from his conversation with Kawaakoa. This would explain the additional detail in Maunupau's version.
As a final note, there are routinely differences between prayers and legends of ancient Hawaiian culture. There are numerous written versions of the legend of Hiiakaikapoliopele, for example, often with significant variation. Hooulumahiehie, who wrote a version of Hiiakaikapoliopele in 1905, identifies where there are differences in the versions and tells the readers that they must judge which is truthful. Those same words can be applied here.
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