THE MOʻOLELO OF KAPAEMAHU

Kapaemahu is a moʻolelo - a story that bridges the divide between legend and history

Long before the reign of King Kakuhihewa in the 1500s, four Tahitian healers travelled to Hawaii from their home in Moa'ulanuiakea on the island of Raiatea.  Their names were Kapaemahu, who was the leader of the group, Kapuni, Kinohi and Kahaloa. They settled in a place near here called Ulukou.

 The healers were mahu - extraordinary individuals of dual male and female mind, heart and spirit.  They were beloved by the people for their gentle ways, and their fame spread as they traveled throughout the islands administering their miraculous cures.  

 When it was time to depart, they asked that two stones be placed at their residence and two at their bathing place in the sea as a permanent reminder of the relief of pain and suffering from their ministrations. Four huge stones were quarried from the vicinity of the bell rock in Kaimuki, and transported to Waikiki on the night of Kane.

 The healers transferred their names and spiritual power to the stones, placing mahu idols under each one.  Tradition states that the incantations, fasting and prayers lasted a full cycle of the moon. Then the healers vanished and were seen no more.

Based on the handwritten manuscript of “Tradition of the Wizards Stones Called Ka-Pae-Mahu,” conveyed by James Harbottle Boyd to Thomas George Thrum in 1906 (courtesy of University of Hawai’i archives).

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