Mo'oinanea | Kane Polo

Moʻoinanea
Hoʻāʻo ʻo Luʻukia me nā kahu hānai ona e hoʻomake iā Haʻinakolo:
“ʻO ka mea i hoʻoholo ʻia e lāua, ʻo ia kēia, e lawe nō ʻo Kaholoholokai i nā wahī ʻelua a lāua i hoʻomākaukau ai na Haʻinakolo a hiki i uka o Kapahi. A nāna ponoʻī nō e hāʻawi aku iā Haʻinakolo me ka ʻōlelo ʻana aku iā ia, he mau wahi kōʻalaʻala kahawai ia o Hiʻilawe i hoʻouna ʻia aku nāna e ko lākou hulu makuahine ʻo Luʻukia. Hoʻoholo pū ihola nō hoʻi lāua e hoʻouna mua aku lāua i nā kino pulelehua o kekahi o ko lāua mau ʻaumākua ikaika no uka o ua wahi lā i lilo ʻo Moʻoinanea i ka poʻipoʻi i ua mau mea ala, a kaʻawale ʻo ia mai ka hale aku o Haʻinakolo mā. No laila, ʻo ko Kaholoholokai uhau ihola nō ia i kekahi pule e kāhea ana i ka lepelepeohina, ka ʻōkaʻi, a me ka pulelehua maoli e piʻi a pau i uka o Kapahi e hoʻomāʻaloʻalo ai i mua o nā maka o Moʻoinanea. He manawa ʻole nō hoʻi, muia ana ka lewa a pau o Kapahi i nā kini a me nā menehune o nā lepelepeohina, nā ʻōkaʻi, a me nā pulelehua. ʻO ka hele ia o ke poʻi ʻana a ua mau mea lele hoʻokalakupua nei a halaʻoʻa ana ma nā maka o Moʻoinanea, ʻoiai ia e noho ana ma ka puka o ka hale o nā aliʻi wāhine ʻōpio. I ka ʻike ʻana o ua Moʻoinanea nei i kēia mau mea lele i ʻono loa ʻia e kona puʻu ma o kona kino moʻo lā, ʻo kona wā nō ia i haʻalele iho ai i kona kino kanaka a hoʻi aʻela a ke kino moʻo; ʻaʻole naʻe hoʻokahi kino, akā he lau ua mea he kino o nā moʻo liʻiliʻi e naholo ana e poʻi ai i nā pulelehua. Ua pūheʻe akula ua poʻe pulelehua nei i uka o ka nāhelehele, a hoʻokahi ka naholo like ʻana o nā moʻo e alualu hele ai iā lākou.” 

As Haʻinakolo grew into maturity, her great beauty became evident, and by 15 she was the talk of the island. Her aunty Luʻukia, jealous and bitter at still being single and childless, hatched a plan to kill her. She made her two kāhuna, Kaholoholouka and Kaholoholokai, carry out her bidding. Reluctantly, the two old men gathered ʻōpae and ʻoʻopu, wrapped them in bundles and cooked them in tī leaves. Each girl’s bundle was filled with the amount of ʻōpae and ʻoʻopu that matched her age (15 of each for Haʻinakolo, the eldest). Then, lethal prayers were directed at the bundle for Haʻinakolo. Their plan was to take the bundles to the girls’ home as a gift from Luʻukia, but the door of their hale was guarded by Moʻoinanea. So, they called upon one of their strongest ʻaumakua to send their “butterfly forms” to distract Moʻoinanea, as moths and butterflies are a favorite moʻo snack. In no time at all, the uplands of Kapahi were filled with swarms of lepelepeohina, ʻōkaʻi, and pūlelehua. They flew away from the hale into the forest and Moʻoinanea, hungry and mesmerized, followed after them. Kaholoholokai quickly went to the door of the house with the bundles and offered them to Haʻinakolo and her sisters. The Maile sisters declined, as they were on restriction from such foods. Haʻinakolo, however, could smell the delicious scent rising from the bundles and was keen to partake. Does Haʻinakolo eat the poisoned bundle? Read the translation of this part of the story on our moʻolelo site to find out.