Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 1, 1 January 2010 — The stone image [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The stone image

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Dr. Ph, R.D. There was a man who lived on the Leeward Coast of O'ahu during the time of Kahekili's rule. This man had a reputation for being lazy and without belief in the gods. One night the man dreamed of a stone image that talked to him. The stone image asked the man to eome and get him out of the cold night. The stone told the man exactly where to find him, high upon the mountain ridge. The man awoke to the realization that he had been dreaming. He didn't think that a stone could speak, so the man went back to sleep. The image reappeared in the man's dreams and asked to be rescued. The man woke and immediately went in search of the stone. He found the stone in the

exact location described in his dreams. The man carried the stone image home and he

cleaned it and kept it. The next night the man, onee again, dreamed that the

stone spoke to him. 1 he stone reveaied that a school of fish would arrive at the shore nearby. The man was urged to get nets and a eanoe and to go and catch the fish. But, the man had neither nets nor eanoe. So the man decided to go to the konohiki of the land to ask for help. He told the konohiki there would be fish at the shore, but he had no nets or eanoe to catch the fish. The konohiki gathered nets and canoes and went out into the oeean to catch the fish. The catch was huge. People from 'Ewa, Wai'anae, Nānākuli and Waialua, all eame for fish. There was so mueh fish that some spoiled and heeame very smelly on the heaeh. Fish kept coming to the same plaee for many days. The supply of fish seemed inexhaustible. As instructed in his dreams, the keeper of the stone image took the first fish that was caught and offered it to the stone image. The man brought the stone the first fish from eaeh subsequent catch, as well. The man heeame a favorite of the konohiki, who rewarded the man with property, fish nets, canoes and land. This was more weahh than the man had ever seen before. The konohiki continued to care for the man and they shared great weahh together for a long time. Men who lived in 'Ewa who were keepers of gods heard about the man and his stone with great power. These men eame from 'Ewa and stole the man's stone. Again, the spirit of the stone appeared in a dream to reveal his hiding plaee. The man retrieved his stone from that plaee and kept it safe. (This mo'olelo was written by David Kalākaua.) This mo'olelo demonstrates how inappropriate it is to judge the value of another person. The man indeed had a spiritual side. And, he demonstrated honor, obedience and responsibility to his 'aumakua. The man's respectful approach to his konohiki yielded cooperation and respect from that superior. The man's obedience, responsibility and generosity were richly rewarded with respect, weahh and protection for the rest of his days. ■

moomeheu

A stone image is at the eenter of this mo'olelo by David Kalākaua. The upright stone pictured sits near a taro field in Ha'ikū, O'ahu. - Photo: LisaAsato