Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 8, 1 March 2019 — Kamehameha's Warriors Were Well-Nourished [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kamehameha's Warriors Were Well-Nourished

a MO'OLELO v > HIST0RY f

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Dr. PH.,R.D. Historians describe the remarkable fighting skills, bravery and fearlessness of Kamehameha, his warrior eompanion, Kekūhaupi'o, and their armies. Whenever Kamehameha prepared for battle, he assured that his warriors were fit, well-trained and well-fed. To sustain warrior energy and strength during actual battles, Kamehameha's men harvested food from surrounding forests: bananas, yams, mahikihiki shrimp, and young fronds of hō'i'o

and hō'i'o kula were gathered. Many months of peaee had preceded Kamehameha's battle with Keawemauhili, the ruler of Hilo and Hāmākua. Kamehameha charged his ali'i and chiefly uncles to farm and fish to feed their warriors. Keaweaheulu and Kekūhaupi'o guided the building of halau, near ; Kapa'au, to shelter the warriors during martial arts instruction. I Kekūkaupi'o began preparing warriors for warfare. To attract chiefs r and commoners for his armies, r Kamehameha furnished their ealai bashes with 'ai (vegetables) and i'a t (fish) to create sturdy men that were l ready for martial arts instruction. r Kamehameha's famous armies, the 1 Hunalele and Huelokū were developed there, near Kapa'au. ; Battles in old Hawai'i were i fought hand-to-hand with ihe > (spear), pololū (long spear), and

several small hand-held weapons. Hand-to-hand fighting required a great physical readiness, enduranee, strength and agility that, today, would be difficult fully achieve. Kamehameha's forces of about 32,000 went to Hilo by land and sea. Kamehameha possessed great strength and highly developed skill in lua, the hand-to-hand fighting method. Any opponent was easily lifted and broken. Kekūhaupi'o was also skilled in lua, the fighting method reserved for ali'i and their elite warriors. Kekūhaupi'o could grab hold of an opponent, break bones and mortally injure that warrior. On the battlefields, Kekūhaupi'o would eall out to his ali'i, "E Kalani, here is the man." It seemed, to those who watched, that Kamehameha and Kekūhaupi'o were able to shed attacking spears

like bath water. In the heat of battle, it is said that the niaupi'o chief of Kohala, Kamehameha, and his fearless followers moved like a twisting wind, blowing away those who opposed them. Observers of those warriors were filled with fear. On occasion, Kamehameha would seize a flying spear and break it, perhaps to instill fear in the enemy. Survivors of the battle in Hilo, described that Great Warrior's skills. When large numbers of spears were hurled at him, Kamehameha warded them off with his spear. Or, Kamehameha could shrug off spears, so they fell behind him. Amid the multitude of opponents in Hilo, Kamehameha exhibited his fighting skills. During that battle with Keawemauhili, for a moment, Kekūhaupi ' o was enthralled . . . watching the unparalleled fighting skill of his ali'i. Momentarily, he

let his guard down. A spear struck Kekūhaupi'o, grazing his eheek and drawing blood. That flesh wound scarred him, permanently. After three days of battle, a large contingent of warriors could be seen arriving, by eanoe, from Maui to support Keawehauhili. Kamehameha's forces were greatly out-numbered and tired. They could not possibly prevail against an enemy now. Kamehameha and his armies retreated to their homes in Kohala to fight another day. Kamehameha did not always win his battles, but even in his losses, he demonstrated a fearlessness and prowess that was respected by all men. ■ Information for this article is from Kamehameha and his Warrrior Kekuhaupi'o, by Stephen L. Desha (pg 149 to 180).