Ka Hala a Piʻilani a ke Kuʻe i Maui: The Passing of Piʻilani and the Strife on Maui

Chief Piʻilani, the chief who first ruled all of Maui and brought prosperity to the people, died in Lāhainā near the end of the 16th century. Prior to his death Piʻilani appointed his son Lono as his successor, and called on Lono to live in peace with his brother. For several years the brothers lived harmoniously in Waiheʻe, constructing, improving and expanding the loʻi kalo in this abundant ahupuaʻa. It is possible that at this time, or perhaps a little earlier, under the leadership of Lono, and through the industriousness of his brother Kiha, that the ʻauwai, or aqueducts, were built that crossed the land and brought water from Waiheʻe and Kalepa stream, making the land incredibly productive. A map of Waiheʻe from the mid-19th century, around the time of the great land ownership transition known as the Great Māhele, shows nearly solid fields of loʻi kalo extending from the vertical wall along the north edge of Waiheʻe Valley, to Kalepa Stream at the southern edge of the ahupuaʻa. These taro patches are only intermittently broken up by house sites where the ʻohana, and the mahiʻai, or farmers who worked this abundant land lived. 

However, this time of agricultural expansion and development did not last. Sadly, Lono’s jealousy and suspicion got the best of him, and the relationship between the brothers devolved into a conflict that would eventually witness the powerful kingdom of Hawai`i Island, under the leadership of his brother-in-law ‘Umi a Liloa, who had married Lono’s sister, Piʻikea. This sibling rivalry, which eventually turned into an inter-island war, would leave an indelible mark on Maui, and would seem to have a lasting impact on Maui’s relationship with Hawaiʻi Island, at least for several generations to come. 

Although Lono and Kiha were full siblings, sons of Piʻilani and his wife Laʻieloheloheikawai, at a young age Piʻilani began preparing Lono for the challenges, responsibility, and privilege, kuleana, of leadership of an entire mokupuni, or island. Kiha, on the other hand, grew up on the island of Oʻahu, raised by his mother’s family, the ruling ʻohana of Oʻahu. Considering Piʻilani’s decision to betroth his daughter Piʻikea at a young age to the ruling chief of Hawaiʻi Island, while his son Kiha grew up with the ruling family of Oʻahu, it seems reasonable to speculate that Piʻilani’s aspirations for his family line lay in providing unity across a large part of the archipelago, at least among the most powerful families of Hawaiʻi at that time. 

This approach of finding means other than aggressive wars to unify and provide abundance seems fitting to what we know about the character and virtue of Piʻlani.  As described above, Piʻilani’s style of leadership on Maui included the construction of ritual centers such as heiau, which both acknowledged the efficacy of the gods, while uniting the people through religious ceremony. However, Piʻilani also oversaw the development and expansion of loʻi kalo and loko iʻa (including, according to Waiheʻe kūpuna, the loko iʻa kalo in Waiheʻe) on West Maui, and Malaʻai (rain-fed agricultural fields) on East Maui. Perhaps Piʻilani’s admonition for his Kiha to live in peace with Lono, the rightful heir according to the wish of their father, came as an attempt to have Maui serve as the center of a political dynasty that stretched from Hawaiʻi Island to, at least, Oʻahu.  As a chief who saw the value of peace in achieving prosperity for his people, Piʻilani’s request that Kiha live in peace with Lono serves as one of the final acts of a truly aliʻi maikaʻi loa, a great chief. 

The jealousy and paranoia that Lono demonstrated curtailed the era of prosperity his father had achieved. With his growing fear about his brother’s aspirations, Lono began humiliating and disrespecting Kiha, something that, as a high ranking chief, he probably had never previously experienced. Hawaiian Historian Samuel Kamakau describes the escalating tensions between the two brothers coming to a head when a dispute arose over the ruling chief’s taro patch in Waiheʻe. While Kamakau does not specify the exact location of these taro patches, considering the proximity of the fishpond (loko iʻa kalo) and the taro growing in the fishpond, as well as the taro patches that surrounded it, to the village at Kapoho, a known chiefly residential area, it seems reasonable that the area of this dispute centered on the Kapoho fishpond and its surrounding area.

Among the most well-remembered of these incidents, and which, according to the legends, gave Waiheʻe its current name, came about when Lono threw the water from a cooking pot onto his brother. This water, containing cooking octopus (heʻe), covered Kiha, with one of the tentacles of this octopus stuck to his eye. This incident seemed to convince Kiha that staying in Waiheʻe would put his life in jeopardy, so, prudently, he left. 

Kiha’s journeys took him first to Molokaʻi, then Lānaʻi, where after being recognized as the high chief, he chose to flee in order to preserve his life. Returning to Maui, Kiha and his wife lived for some time in the arid lands on the boundary between Honuaʻula and Kula. According to Kamakau, this period of his life saw Kiha and his wife living in abject poverty, and reduced to stealing a kapa beater and anvil in order to make clothes to wear. After being accused of theft, Kiha left this dry area of Kula, and settled in the area around the Kailua Gulch, on the boundary between Kula and Hamakuapoko, possibly in the area around the headquarters of the current-day Haleakalā Ranch, although I am speculating about this based on other oral traditions. 

Unfortunately, when Kiha arrived this area suffered under a tremendous drought. As a skilled farmer, and a hard worker, as evidenced by his work constructing taro patches in Waihe’e, Kiha made a journey to Hali’imaile in order to acquire slips of ʻuala, or sweet potato.  Kiha carrying a massive load of ʻuala slips (the vines used in cultivating the sweet potato), loading them on his shoulders. On his journey home from this trip to Haliʻimaile, two kupuna approached him, admiring the great quantity of ʻuala slips on his shoulders. In both suspicion and awe they noted that, as residents of that area, no one lived in that area with whom they were not familiar. At that moment, with their suspicion piqued, a great rainbow appeared over the shoulders of Kiha, a ho’ailona, or sign, of the aliʻi, indicating that the person in the person in their presence was no commoner, but a chief of very high rank. 

However, these kūpuna did not reveal his identity, but instead provided him information on a network of supporters who assisted him during his escape along the north shore of Maui. Believing that he could gain the support of the Hana chiefs Kiha left for Hāna, where he hoped to gain the support of the high chief Hoʻolaemakua to support him in a planned uprising against his brother in Waiheʻe.  After a surreptitious, and unwelcome affair with his daughter, Koleamoku, this high chief of Hāna, who very likely had the means of launching an effective rebellion against Lono, turned against Kiha, forcing him, once again to flee, this time to the island of Hawaiʻi.  After crossing the ʻAlenuihāhā channel, Kiha arrived in Kailua at the court of ʻUmialiloa (ʻUmi), the high chief of Hawaiʻi, and Kiha’s brother-in-law through his sister Piʻikea. Upon his arrival, Kiha immediately made contact with his sister, who had heard, and agreed that Kiha had been badly treated by Lono.

ʻUmialiloa, like Piʻikea, welcomed Kiha to Hawaiʻi, offering him sanctuary in his court. Kiha, however, responded that he had no desire for protection, but that he sought revenge, both on Lono and on Hoʻolaemakua, who had betrayed him.  Surprisingly, ʻUmialiloa responded immediately that they would take a year to build the war canoes and the weapons of war in order to prepare for the conquest of Maui from Lono. According to the legends, the majority of the fighting took place in Hāna, particularly around the fortress of Kaʻuiki. As the battle progressed, the combined forces of ʻUmi and Kiha captured Kaʻuiki, then captured, tortured and killed Hoʻolaemakua which led to the final assault. Kiha and ʻUmi’s forces landed in Wailuku, intent on capturing and killing Lono. 

When Lono learned of the horrible death of the Hāna chief Hoʻolaemakua, he was said to have trembled with fear and died on the spot; although according to some legends, Lono died in Waiheʻe. Lono clearly retained some followers, as, despite his attempt to find Lono’s corpse in order to mutilate it, Kiha learned that his remains had been hidden, never to be located. While Hawaiian historians preserved surprisingly little of this phase of the battle, perhaps because of Lono’s sudden death. With Lono dead, Kiha became the undisputed aliʻiʻaimokupuni, the chief of the entire island. In spite of his reported cruelty to Hoʻolaemakua and Lono, Kiha is remembered as a good ruler, like his father, who reigned in a time of peace and prosperity, improving the life of the people, the makaʻāinana. 

— Dr. Scott Fisher