Koai'e | Kimono top - lime

Koaiʻe
Ma ka nahele o luna o Waipiʻo, kiʻi akula ʻo Loheloa iā Koaiʻe, i ke kumu koa kilakila i waʻa no kona holo ʻana i Kuaihelani e ʻimi ai i ke kāne a Haʻinakolo, iā Keāniniʻulaokalani: ʻAʻole nō hoʻi i kana mai ka nui [o ke kumu koaiʻe], he ʻumi kānaka nāna e ʻapo, a laila, puni kona pōʻai poepoe. A ʻo kona lōʻihi, ua hele a ʻoi pā ʻumi aku i ko nā kumu lāʻau loloa ʻē aʻe o ia kuahiwi. Ua ʻōlelo ʻia, inā e piʻi kekahi mea a kau pono ma luna o kona wēkiu, e hiki ana iā ia ke ʻike iā Waimea a me nā ʻoawa a pau o nā pali hulaʻana…ʻO ko [Loheloa] hele ia a kokoke i kahi o ua kumu koa nei, lohe ana kēia i kekahi leo o ke kāhea ʻana aʻe, “E Koaiʻe ē! Eia lā ʻo Loheloa, i kiʻi maila iā ʻoe, e ʻau i ke kai. ʻOni ʻia kō mole i lalo iō Milu lā.” I ia wā i lohe aku ai kēia i ka halulu o ka honua, ʻo ia nō ʻoe ʻo ke ōlaʻi e nakunaku ana i loko o ka ʻōpū o ka honua. Manaʻo ihola nō kēia, ʻo ka mole kēia o ua kumu koa nei e ʻoni ana i lalo o ka papakū o ka honua…ʻO ko ia nei hele nō ia a paʻipaʻi aʻela i ua kumu koa nei me ka ʻōlelo ʻana iho, “ʻO Koaiʻe kā kou inoa. He kupua, he hoʻopāpā ikaika iaʻu nei, iā Loheloa…I nei lā, ʻauʻau wahi kai ʻoe, e Koaiʻe.” ʻO ko ia nei hopu akula nō ia i ke kumu o ua koa nei. Hoʻokahi lima ma kekahi ʻaoʻao, a hoʻokahi lima ma kahi ʻaoʻao, ka ʻākau a me ka hema, he kani ana nō ke ʻū a ua kāʻeʻaʻeʻa nei, lewa ana ua kumu koa nei i luna: ʻo ka mole, ʻo ke aʻa, a me nā mea a pau. I ka wā i hemo ai ua kumu koa nei mai loko aʻe o ka lepo, ua naka haʻalulu ka honua a ʻupaʻupaʻi nā hono o nā kuahiwi. 

An epic journey requires a major vessel. Loheloa knew this from accompanying his sister and uncle to Kuaihelani some years prior. For his second journey there to find the kāne of his niece, Haʻinakolo, he secured a grand tree that would be a strong and reliable canoe. In the forests above Waipiʻo, he encountered a legendary koa tree named Koaiʻe. It was ten times taller than all the other trees and the arm spans of ten men could fit around it. Koaiʻe was an ancient kumu lāʻau and a friend to other beings of the forest. One of them warned as Loheloa approached, telling Koaiʻe to send his tap root all the way down to Milu. Koaiʻe did so, causing a great rumbling that shook the earth. But he was no match for Loheloa, who grabbed onto his trunk with both hands, pulled with all his might, and uprooted him. So deep was Koaiʻe in the ground and so wide was his network of roots that extracting him from the honua (earth) caused the ridge he grew on to lift momentarily from its footing. Loheloa set the trunk on his shoulder and dragged Koaiʻe all the way down to the ocean. This is one of many displays of strength by this larger-than-life character in the story. Koa (Acacia koa) and koaiʻa (also koaiʻe; Acacia koaia) are closely related and both are prized for their wood. Koaiʻe grows at lower elevations, is stouter and harder than koa, and its seeds sit in the pod in line with its length. Koa is one of two major rainforest canopy species, is the preferred tree for waʻa (canoes), and its seeds sit in the pod perpendicular to its length.