Battles in Hāmākua

Hāmākua

Battle 24 ʻUmialīloa overthrows his brother Hākau

Three more island rulers passed in apparent peace. Then came ʻUmialīloa, referred to often simply as ʻUmi. Sometime between the early 1500s and around 1600 ʻUmi wrested the island rulership from his half-brother Hākau. The story goes that ʻUmi was conceived by the then ruler Līloa, after he had an encounter with a local woman while travelling through the countryside near Hilo. ʻUmi was unknown to all in the royal court, including Līloa, until one day he showed up at the island capitol in the valley of Waipiʻo and successfully claimed his inheritance. As Līloa neared his death, Hākau was appointed island ruler, and ʻUmi was assigned the care of the war god Kūkaʻilimoku (Malo 1951:257). Soon after Līloa passed away, ʻUmi mobilized 2,000 warriors (Kalakaua 1990:312) and disposed of Hākau [24]. The coup may have been nearly bloodless (Fornander 1996:78), or involved the slaughter of many in Hākau’s entourage (Kamakau 1992:14; Malo 1951:256).

Fornander, A. 1996. Ancient History of the Hawaiian People. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu.

Kalakaua, D. 1990. The Legends and Myths of Hawaii. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu.

Malo, D. 1951. Hawaiian Antiquities: Moʻolelo Hawaiʻi. Translated by N.B. Emerson. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication 2, Second Edition, Honolulu.

Kohala and Kona and Hāmākua and Kaʻū

Battles 47 through 51 Civil War at the borderlands

During this time of warfare between the east and west sides of the island, there was also conflict between neighboring districts within the two major island factions. Desha (2000:193) mentions in passing a rebellion by Mahiʻololī, the famous chief from the powerful Mahi family in Kohala that was the chief counselor for Keakealaniwahine (Fornander 1996:128). Mahiʻololī rebelled against Mahiaeʻe (also known as Mahiua), a chief from Kona in an unspecified location that is presumed to have been in the homelands of Mahiaeʻe somewhere in Kona [47].

Mahiʻololī’s son, Kauauanuimahi (also known as Kauauaamahi), fought a protracted war against the forces from the eastern side of the island that were under the leadership of Mokulani. During this five year long struggle known as He Hale Māmala Koa (The House of Fragmented Warriors), the battle apparently moved all across the island from Mahiki [48], up and over Mauna Kea to Kalaieha [49], then up and over Mauna Loa to Kapuʻa [50] in southern Kona, and may have terminated at Kahuenaha [51] in barren Kahuku, Kaʻū.

Desha, S. L. 2000. Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekūhaupi‘o. Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu.

Fornander, A. 1996. Ancient History of the Hawaiian People. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu.

Hāmākua

Battle 52 Oʻahu raids the island of Hawaiʻi

While the chiefs of the island of Hawaiʻi were struggling for control of the island, Kualiʻi the illustrious chief of Oʻahu set out with a fleet of warriors to attack Hawaiʻi (Fornander 1996:281). This kind of interisland raid was designed perhaps as much to keep his warriors in top form and to gain prestige than it was to obtain new territory. Kualiʻi’s force landed at Laupāhoehoe [52], and was met there by the small contingent that the local chief Haʻalilo was able to muster. The Oʻahu faction was victorious. They began preparations for carrying their campaign into Puna, but found out that a rebellion against Kualiʻi was taking place back on Oʻahu, so they repaired to their native island and succeeded in dispatching the rebels there. Kualiʻi then returned to Hilo with his warriors, but it is not clear whether his time there was spent peacefully or in battle.

Fornander, A. 1996. Ancient History of the Hawaiian People. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu.

Hāmākua

Battle 91 Forces of Kamehameha and Keōua fight at the border

In 1785 Kamehemeha returned to Laupāhoehoe in the middle of the Hāmākua district, at the eastern edge of the territory under his control. The combined armies of Hilo and Kaʻū fought there against Kamehameha’s warriors in a battle called Laupāhoehoe Hope near the Hāmākua cliffs. At Kaholo in Hāmākua the forces of Kamehameha including the “young bowmen were seen pulling on their olonā bow string, and the young men accustomed to the sling showed their expertise…The people holding the spears were seen following after the tracks of the people with the slings, attempting to meet the spear men of the enemy” (Desha 2000:197). There was no clear victor, and the armies retired to their respective homes.

After the series of battles beginning with the battle at Moku‘ōhai in 1782 and ending with that at Laupāhoehoe Hope, Kamehameha was no closer to taking control of the island of Hawai‘i than he was when he started. The boundaries between the territories of the three powerful chiefs were the same as they were when the island fractured apart with the demise of Kīwala‘ō. A truce followed on the island of Hawaiʻi for several years. Kamehameha married Kaʻahumanu, the high-ranking daughter of Keʻeaumoku. Foreign ships began to appear in Hawaiian waters, and by 1789 numerous whaling and trading ships were wintering in the islands. Many sailors jumped ship to become land lubbers in paradise, and some of these served various levels of Hawaiian royalty as interpreters of the foreign language and culture, and in managing the alien weapons.

Desha, S. L. 2000. Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekūhaupi‘o. Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu.

Kohala and Hāmākua

Battles 94 through 96 Keōua advances into Kamehameha territory

Keōua pressed his advantage while Kamehameha was away by marching his forces westward into Kamehameha’s defenseless territory. Keōua’s troops ravaged the countryside, destroying agricultural fields, stone walled fishponds, heiau, and the homes of the commoners (Fornander 96:240). By the time Kamehameha and his army returned to Hawai‘i, Keōua was in Waimea. Kamehameha’s troops landed at Kawaihae and marched uphill where they were ambushed by Keōua’s troops in the forests of Mahiki [94] (KSBE website; Desha 2000:281). The fighting pushed eastward into Pāʻauhau [95] (Kamakau 1992:151) or Kaʻao (Desha 2000:281). The cannon named Lopaka, taken from the Fair American, figured prominently in this battle. It served Kamehameha’s forces well until it was captured in a charge by one of Keōua’s chiefs (Fornander 1996:324). It was then used successfully against Kamehameha’s crew until the powder ran out.

The battle was indecisive with many casualities on both sides, and the fighting moved east to Koapapa [96] (alternatively spelled Koapapaʻa in Kamakau 1992:350) near Kūkaʻiau (Desha 2000:285). The fighting was fierce on a wide open plain well suited for battle. Kamehameha’s troops had greater fire power in guns, but Keōua’s warriors were successful in hand to hand combat in removing those from their opponents. Once again there was no clear winner, but many warriors fell at the Battle of the Empty Guns (Desha 2000:285).

Kamehameha went back to Waipi‘o and Kohala (Kam 92:151-152), and Keōua took his time moving back to his home in Kaʻū. While passing by the volcano at Kīlauea, it burst forth in a massive outpouring of cinder and ash, killing many warriors and their families.

Desha, S. L. 2000. Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekūhaupi‘o. Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu.

Fornander, A. 1996. Ancient History of the Hawaiian People. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu.

Kamakau, S. M. 1992. Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii, Revised Edition. The Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu.

Kaleinamanu literary archive: Haku mele

Kohala and Hāmākua

Battles 103 and 104 Kepūwaha‘ula‘ula (Battle of the Red-Mouthed Canon)

Kawaihae was the base for many of Kamehamheha’s military operations, and it was there that he built the luakini heiau called Puʻukoholā in preparation for his final push for conquest. While working on the heiau and considering ways to overcome Keōua, armies from the western islands were mounting an attack on the homelands of Kamehameha only a few miles away on the other side of the Kohala mountains. By this time in 1791 the O‘ahu ruler Kahekili had joined forces with the Kaua‘i ruler Kā‘eokulanai (often referred to as Kā‘eo), creating an alliance that held authority over all Hawaiian islands except the island of Hawai‘i. Kamehameha had been unsuccessful in defeating his island rival Keōua in 10 years of battle; how were they going to fair against an invasion from all of the other islands combined?

One fleet of invaders arrived at Waipi‘o, and began by breaking apart the ancient sacred temples of Paka‘alana and Moa‘ula (Desha 00:296). Another fleet landed at Hālawa [103], ravaged the villages, and destroyed the few warriors stationed there before heading out to sea to join their comrades in Waipiʻo (Forn 96:243).

Kamehameha mobilized his fleet, and they encountered the invading forces on the ocean off the coast of Pali Hulaʻana at Waimanu [104] (Desha 2000:299; Fornander 1996:244; Kamakau 1991:162). Canons mounted on canoes and the use of muskets were an unusual addition to the armament in this sea battle in Hawaiʻi. The roar and the flash of the gunnery earned the battle the name Kepūwaha‘ula‘ula (Battle of the Red-Mouthed Canon). Kamehameha may have also had the western ship the Fair American at his disposal in this engagement. Many of the invaders’ canoes were sunk, and those that survived had nowhere to go upon reaching land. Kamehameha’s navy was victorious.

Desha, S. L. 2000. Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekūhaupi‘o. Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu.

Fornander, A. 1996. Ancient History of the Hawaiian People. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu.

Kamakau, S. M. 1992. Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii, Revised Edition. The Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu.