Moikeha

Moikeha was the 1st Alii Aimoku of Kauai. He ruled as titular King or chief of Kauai. He was a chief of the Nanaulu line, being son of Mulielealii and grandson of Maweke. His voyage to and back from Kahiki, the ancestral homeland of the Hawaiians, and along with his sons', Kila and Laa, are one of the most remembered trans-Pacific voyages in the twelve century.

Early life

Moikeha was born the son of Mulielealii, king of western Oahu and the eldest male of the Maweke line. Moikeha’s sibling were older brothers, Kumuhonua and Olopana, and Hainakolo, their only sister. He was first cousins to Laakona, High Chief of Ewa; Nuakea, Queen Consort of Molokai; Moi, kaula (prophet) of Molokai; and Hinakaimauliawa, High Chiefess of Koolau. Following the Hawaiian tradition of hanai, Moikeha adopted, as his own, the young chief Laa, the son of Ahukai.

He supported his brother, in most of his youth. They were both left out in their father’s land inheritance which went all to their elder brother Kumuhonua. According to Samuel Kamakau, Moikeha and Olopana two younger brothers, the two younger brothers, made a sea attack upon Kumuhonua, which would have outdated the Battle of Kepuwahaulaula, the first true Hawaiian naval battle, by 700 years. But their elder brother came out victorious and they were defeated and taken captive, together with La'a. Eventually they were released, and seeing that there were no futures for them on Oahu, they decide to travel abroad and establish themselves elsewhere. The brother set up home on Hawaii Island. Olopana control the Waipio Valley and nearby lands, and Moikeha, who if not equal to his brother, was at least his utmost subject and most trusted companion. The duration of their stay in Waipio is not stated in traditional legends, but the legend does mention how they came to depart from the place. The valley and surrounding regions were desolated by heavy storm, floods, and freshets, forcing many of its inhabitants to seek refuge elsewhere.

Travel to Kahiki

Moikeha, taking with him his young adopted son, sailed with his brother’s family to Kahiki. In Kahiki, the ancestral homeland of the Hawaiian people, Olopana received the sovereignty of Moaulanuiakea, a district or section of the land. Building for himself an opulent residence and heiau (temple) for himself, called Lanikeha. Kahiki has been mostly associated with Tahiti, but more likely kahiki (the distance) can be understood to encompass all of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, from Easter Island to the farthest west, even far into the present Malaysia.

Three place names in connection of Moikeha’s and or his sons’ stays on the island were: Moaulanuiakea, the home and estate where Olopana resided; Lanikeha, the name of the temple and residence of Moikeha; and Kapaahu, the neighboring mountain, where Laamaikahiki was stopping when Kila came to him to bring him back to Moikeha. In Hawaiian, the name of the district or section of country over which Olopana was said to have ruled in Kahiki, was in the Hawaiian language Moa-ula-nui-akea. Analyzing this word, it is made up of one appellative, Moa, and three adjectives or epithets, ula, nui, and akea (red, great, open, or wide-spreading). As the adjectives may or may not have been original at the location to which they were related to, and probably arose in the eulogistic inclination of those who cherished its memory, and in the magnifying disposition of the bards of consequent ages, there remains the word Moa, serving as an index for future research. In the island of Raiatea, Society group, one of the entrances leading to the bay on which Opoa was situated was anciently, and is possibly still, called Ava-Moa, the sacred harbor or entrance. If so this, then, could be the place which Hawaiian legends so highly celebrated as the splendid realm of Olopana and of Laa. Moa, meaning "sacred'' in Tahitian and originally a distinctive epithet of that particular harbor, became in Hawaiian and to Hawaiian emigrants a local name, along with other though analogous epithets. When, moreover, we consider that Opoa, to which this "sacred entrance," this Ava-Moa, conducted the voyager, was the seat, cradle, and principal sanctuary of the Society Islands, the Mecca of Tahiti, in fact, there are reasonable grounds for assuming that the Moa- ula, &c., of the Hawaiian legends refers to the Ava-Moa of Raiatea, Society group. It is true that the Hawaiian legends accounting to this period make no mention of Opoa, its Morae or temple, neither to Oro, its presiding deity. But according to Tatutian legends and traditions, the Morae of Opoa was constructed and dedicated to Oro by Hiro, whom their genealogies make the twentieth before the late Queen Pomare IV, and who, according to the same genealogies, was the great-grandson of Raa; whereas the Hawaiian Laa lived twenty-three generations ago, and his foster-father, Moikeha, at least two generations prior. Thus the saga of Moikeha and his contemporaries are silent on the Morae of Opoa and its famous god Oro. On the subject of the mountain of Kapaahu nothing is recognized, It is to be hoped that some Tahitian archaeologist may take the time and trouble to make certain if any of the mountains of Raiatea, especially in the surrounding neighborhood of Opoa, ever carried the name of Kapaahu.

Journey Home

According to the legend, Olopana and Moikeha lived harmoniously in their new domain for a long time, until jealousy and envy actuated a Tahitian chief named Mua to slander Moikeha, and prejudice him in the eyes of Luukia, the wife of Olopana. Unable to clear himself of the slander and to convince Luukia of its malice, life became irksome to Moikeha, and he concluded to seek diversion by returning to his native land. His canoes were equipped forthwith under the superintendence of Kamahualele, his astrologer and seer (Kilokilo), and, with a goodly company of chiefs, retainers, and relatives, they set sail for Hawaii. It was on this occasion, as they approached the island of Hawaii, that Kamahualele is said to have chanted:--

Companions

The legends differ somewhat as to the names of the followers of Moikeha, but they all agree that a number of places, in the Hawaiian group were named after such or such companions of Moikeha, who were permitted to land here and there as the fleet coasted along the island shores, and who succeeded in establishing themselves where they landed. Thus were named the land of Moaula in Kau, Hawaii, the capes of Haehae and Kumukahi in Puna, the district of Honuaula on Maui, capes Makapuu and Makaaoa on Oahu.

One legend says that Moikeha's priest was called Mookini, and that he and another follower named Kaluawilinau landed at Kohala, Hawaii. It may have been so, but the inference drawn by the native Hawaiian mind, that the famous Heiau of Mookini in Kohala was called after this companion of Moikeha, is an evident anachronism, as Paao who built the Heiau preceded Moikeha in time of arrival at Hawaii; and it is not probable that the Paao and Pili joint interest in Kohala would then, or in aftertimes, permit their special and sacred Heiau to be named after a chance passenger in the fleet of Moikeha ; the more so as the former sprang from the Samoan group, and the latter came from the Society group. There was, doubtless, a Heiau in Puuepa, Kohala, near the shore, called Mookini, the ruins of which still remain, but it was much older than the one which Paao built, and probably gave its name to the latter.

Another of the companions of Moikeha was the famous Laamaomao, who by subsequent generations was worshipped as an Aumakua, and exalted as a demigod, a Hawaiian Aeolus, from whose Ipu or calabash the imprisoned winds went forth at his bidding, in force and direction to suit the wishes of the devotee. He is said to have taken up his abode near a place called Hale-a-Lono, a well-known hill and landmark on Kaluakoi, island of Molokai. No incident is recorded during the voyage from Kahiki to Hawaii, and having passed through the Hawaiian group, making the different debarcations above mentioned, Moikeha arrived one evening off the island of Kauai, and anchored his canoes outside of Waialua and the surf of Makaiwa, or, as others say, off Waimahanalua in Kepaa, the neighbouring land, where the Puna family of chiefs held their court. Early next morning, with his double canoe dressed in royal style (Pulou-lou-Alii), Moikeha went ashore and was cordially received by the chiefs of the district.

Marriage and Issues

According to one tradition, Puna had two daughters, Hooipo i Kamalanae and Hinauu or Hinauulua, who fell in love with Moikeha, and whom he married; another tradition only mentions Hooipo i Kamalanae as his wife. On the death of Puna, Moikeha became the principal chief (Alii nui) of Kauai, and remained there the balance of his life. Moikeha was listed as the first Alii Aimoku of Kauai. With these two wives Moikeha had the following children mentioned in the legends, Hookamalii, Haulanuiaiakea, Kila, Umalehu, Kaialea, Kekaihawewe, and Laukapalala, all boys.

Not much is said of Hookamalii in the legends. It would appear that he settled in the Kona district of Oahu, where his grandfather, Muliele-alii, had held possession, and is reported to have resided at Ewa. His son Kahai is said to have made a voyage to Kahiki, and from Upolu in the Samoan group brought a species of bread-fruit tree, which he planted at Puuloa. The great-granddaughter of Hookamalii, called Maelo, married Lauli-a-Laa, the son of Laa-mai-kahiki, whom Moikeha took with him to the Society group, and from this union descended the great Kalona families on Oahu, which spread their scions over the entire group.

The second son of Moikeha was Haulanuiaiakea. He followed his father in the supremacy of Kauai. The third son of Moikeha was Kila. He makes a more conspicuous figure in the ancient legends than his other brothers. There is two legends relating to Kila. One is very copious and detailed, but shows evident marks of the embellishments of later narrators; the other is more succinct. They differ in several material points, and thus to believe that the one is not a copy of the other, but that both sprang from independent sources. Comparing the two together, and with other legends referring to this period, the historical facts appear to be these: After Moikeha had been many years residing at Waialua as chief ruler of Kauai, and when his sons were grown-up men, a strong desire took possession of him to see once more his foster-son Laa, whom, on his departure from Kahiki, he had left with his brother Olopana, and whom Olopana had adopted as his heir and successor. Either Moikeha was too old, or from other causes unable to undertake the voyage himself, and Kila was commissioned to go to Kahiki to Moa-ula-nui-akea and bring Laa with him to Kauai. The double canoes were fitted out and equipped for the long voyage; several, if not all, of Kila's brothers went with him; and, finally, Moikeha's own astrologer (Kilokilo) and friend, Kamahualele, who came with him from Kahiki, was ordered to accompany Kila as special counsellor and chief navigator. When all were ready the expedition started. After passing through the Hawaiian group, and taking its departure from the south point of Hawaii, it stood to the southward, and in due time arrived at Kahiki. Eventually Laa is comes to Kauai and the legend adds that after Moikeha's death Laa returned to Tahiti and lived and died there.

It then narrates the adventures of Kila and his troubles with his brothers in a rather prolix and marvellous manner; but the result seems to be, comparing the two legends together, that Kila abandoned the island of Kauai and established himself on Hawaii, where he obtained possession of the valley of Waipio, the former land of his uncle Olopana; and from him several Hawaii families claimed descent, notably Laakapu, the wife of Kahoukapu, Kapukamola, the wife of Makakaualii, and Piilaniwaliine, the wife of Kamalalawalu of Maui.

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