Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 5, 1 May 2021 — Honoring Kaua'i's Peaceful King [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Honoring Kaua'i's Peaceful King

Kaumuali'i Valued tbe Liues ofHis Subjects More Tban His Kingdom

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine In 1810, Kaumuali'i, the sovereign king of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau, received intelligence that King Kamehameha I was on O'ahu preparing his army for a third invasion. Kamehameha's two previous efforts to subdue the people of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau, and to consolidate his politieal power across the pae 'āina, had failed spectacularly. In 1796, as Kamehameha's warriors attempted to cross Ka'ie'ie Waho ehannel, they were set upon by a furious storm. Many of the war canoes were swamped and they were forced to turn back to O'ahu. Kamehameha planned a second invasion in 1804, but before his troops left O'ahu, a virulent epidemic swept through the island. This ma'i 'ōku'u (squatting sickness) - possibly dysentery, typhoid or cholera - killed thousands and his warriors were not immune. Onee again Kamehameha's ambitions were thwarted. Whether it was happenstance or strong prayers in fulfillment of prophecy that protected Kaua'i, when Kaumuali'i learned a third invasion was being planned in 1810, he decided to travel to O'ahu and broker a peaee treaty with the relentless Kamehameha for the sake of his people. Before leaving Kaua'i, Kaumuali'i consulted with his kahuna who warned him that upon his arrival on O'ahu, Kamehameha would offer him two stones - one black, one white - and that Kaumuali'i was to select the white stone. As prophesied, when Kaumuali'i reached O'ahu Kamehameha presented him with a black stone and a white stone and asked him to choose one. Kaumuali'i selected the white stone as his kahuna had counseled him to do. Taken abackby Kaumuali'i's selection of the white stone, Kamehameha offered to make Kaumuali'i a vassal king - meaning he would retain his autonomy over the internal affairs of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau, while deferring to Kamehameha in matters of foreign policy. The significance of the stones is not known, but it is believed that, had Kaumuali'i selected the black stone, Kamehameha would have had him killed. It is irrefutable that Kaumuali'i's decision saved the lives of thousands of his people. But in the aftermath of the founding of the Kamehameha Dynasty and the unified Hawaiian Kingdom, over time the memory of the last king of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau was diminished in the minds of most of Kaua'i's people. But not in everyone's. In the late 1990s, a group of Kaua'i people joined together; their mission was to build a statue to honor King Kaumuali'i. It was an informal group of like-minded folks who called themselves the Friends of King Kaumuali'i. Besides funding, the biggest problem that beset the Friends was that no one actually knew what the king

looked like. No painting was made of Kaumuali'i during his lifetime, and he passed away in 1 824 - about two years before photography was invented. This conundrum caused some discord within the group, and its membership faltered. Eventually just two people remained: Aletha Kaohi and Barbara Bennett. For years the Friends' vision for a statue lay dormant. But in 2012, Kaohi and Bennett met with Lee Croft, a professor and former Friends board member who had written a book called Arm Wrestling With Kamehameha about the exploits of the infamous Georg Anton Schāffer, a Bavarian doctor with Russian ties who, upon his arrival in Hawai'i in 1816, insinuated himself into Hawaiian politics. Schāffer barely escaped from Hawai'i with his life; his outrageous behavior during his year in Hawai'i is detailed in Croft's book. Despite his folly, his one noteworthy deed before being banished from the kingdom was designing a European-style "star" or "bastion" fort for Kaumuali'i. This style of fort evolved when cannons eame into use in 15th century Italy, and is distinguished by its polygon shape (as opposed to a square or rectangle). Kaumuali'i built the fort at Pā'ula'ula on a promontory just east of the mouth of the Waimea River. A thousand Kānaka Maoli helped build the fort, including three ali'i wahine: Kekaiha'akūlou, Naoa and Nāmāhana. Pā'ula'ula Fort is commonly known today as the "Russian Fort." Pā'ula'ula served as Kaumuali'i's fort until 1821 when he was kidnapped by Liholiho (Kamehameha II), taken to O'ahu, and forced to marry Queen Ka'ahumanu, Kamehameha I's widow and co-regent with Liholiho. This shrewd political manuever essentially shifted control of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau to the Kamehamehas. As Kaohi flipped through the pages of Croft' s book, she eame across a painting of a chief she had never seen before and stopped, her excitement mounting. "I recognized that it must be a Kaua'i ali'i because the helmet was very low - not high like the Kamehameha helmets," Kaohi recalled. "I asked him, 'is this Kaumuali'i?' and he said yes! I told him 'I'm having ehieken skin!'" The painting was by artist Brook Kapukuniahi Parker, and it was one of his recent works. Kaohi spoke to Parker and explained their vision for a statue of King Kaumuali'i. She asked him how he had conceived the image of Kaumuali'i. "He told me that he went to the Bishop Museum where Kaumuali'i's eape, mahiole (helmet) and J

palaoa (whale-tooth pendant) are on display, said Kaohi. "He spent hours there, sitting and meditating day-after-day. And then one day he went home, picked up his palate, picked up

his brush. and that is what he painted. It's a spiritual image to him."

Parker gave Kaohi unlimited use of the image of Kaumuali'i. Inspired, Kaohi and Bennett reactivated the Friends of King Kaumuali'i. When Maureen Fodale joined the team in 2013 as secretary, they began working in earnest to gain nonprofit status for the organization and raise funds towards building the statue. However, Kaohi realized that the task ahead of them was bigger than fundraising for a statue. Kaohi, who is a descendant of Kaumuali'i six generations removed, realized that an awareness program was needed before a statue was built. Kaohi, who serves as president of the Friends of King King Kaumuali'i - Art: Brook Kapukuniahi Parker, courtesy of Friends of King Kaumauli'i

Hūli'a aloha shared on the ploque ot the bose of the stotue of King Koumuoli'i. - Photo: Courtesy

Kaumuali'i, often visited schools to teach Kaua'i haumāna about King Kaumuali'i. She talked about the incident that became her epiphany: "I was with a fourth grade class and I asked them 'does anyone know who Kaumuali'i is?' And after a long while one child finally shouted 'Kaumuali'i Highway!' That was the breaking point. I thought to myself, is that all they know? That Highway 50 is Kaumuali'i Highway?" Determined, Kaohi and Bennett talked with Bill Arakaki, Kaua'i DOE complex superintendent, to share their vision of an awareness program. With Arakaki's support, Parker's painting, and the largesse of the Hindu monestary in Wailua that loaned them their printing press, the Friends had hundreds of posters made of Kaumuali'i, along with a historical timeline of his life, for distribution in every classroom at every school on Kaua'i - public, private and charter. But printing posters for Kaua'i classrooms was only the beginning of their awareness campaign whieh aims to not only teach the entire community about King Kaumuali'i, but to cultivate an appreciation of his leadership and sacrifice for his people. While their work in the community was placed on pause for the past year as they hunkered down like the rest of the world to wait out the pandemic, the Friends look forward to expanding their education efforts as things begin to open up again. "We have always done programs for children in the schools. We shared stories, had an art contest, a banner contest, but it's been hard with everybody under quarantine," said Fodale. As work on their nonprofit status progressed, and fundraising money began coming in, the reorganized and re-energized Friends reached out in 2014 to worldrenowned sculptor Saim Caglayan, a native of Turkey and part-time resident of Kaua'i who has a small shop in Hanapēpē. Caglayan was excited about the project, and initally wanted to carve the 8-foot statue from a single boulder, but eventually they agreed on a bronze statue. Dr. Keao NeSmith, a director on the governing board of the Friends, modeled for the statue. "When I saw the painting I saw Keao NeSmith," said Kaohi. Caglayan agreed and selected NeSmith to be his model. As an interesting

side note, several years after modeling for the statue, NeSmith discovered that he is actually a descendant of King Kaumuali'i when his 'ohana started working on their genealogy. Before beginning work on the statue, Caglayan created a maquette, a 3-foot version of the statue that would serve as a "proof of concept" of the statue project that could be shared with the community. The statue was finally completed at a foundry in Southern California in October 2020, and was escorted home to Kaua'i by NeSmith. With community advocacy efforts supported by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), the Friends had already received approval for the statue to be erected at Pā'ula'ula State Park, the site of Kaumuali'i's fort. However, a pā (enclosure) needed to be built at the site, so the Friends put out a kāhea to the community asking for their "time, talent or treasure" to kōkua with the final phase of the project. They worried about asking for help when so many were struggling in the pandemic, but to their surprise and delight, some 60 people eame out to help build the pā using rocks from the site, while hundreds more gave financially. The Friends of King Kaumuali'i became a nonprofit in 2016 and over the years, they have raised about $350,000, thanks to the generosity of hundreds of individuals and organizations, and a $220,000 Grant-in-Aid grant from the Hawai'i State Fegislature in 2018. The Friends credit Kaua'i Rep. Dee Morikawa with championing the grant on behalf of the Kaua'i community. The names of all eontributors will be placed in a time capsule in the pedestal below the statue. On March 20, 2021, King Kaumuali'i finally eame home to Pā'ula'ula. He was welcomed with a statue dedication ceremony and unveiling that was shared online in observation of social distancing protocols so that all the Kaua'i people who had contributed to the project over the years with their time, talent or treasure could enjoy the moment and see the fruit of their collective effort. Acknowledging the effort and dedication of the Kaua'i community to bring Kaumuali'i back to his home at Pā'ula'ula, Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Kaua'i Trustee Dan Ahuna said, "This work not only honors our cultural traditions, our ali'i and our 'āina, but will stand for generations as a reminder of the unique history of Kaua'i." While this might seem to be the happy ending to their story, it is only a milestone reached. "Even though the statue has been erected, the journey doesn't stop," declared Kaohi. "We still need funding. My vision, my calling, is to create an endowment to maintain the statue, provide security and whatever else is needed. In two months I'll be 91 - so I can't stop!" "The statue is up, but it's not finished," added Fodale. "We're still working on the garden and certain areas and then there's the whole issue of security. It's also eomplicated by the fact that there is no WiFi or electricity up there." The Friends will share their story via a virtual "talk story" hosted by OHA on May 10 (see sidebar), and are planning a genealogy conference to bring Kaua'i people SEE KAUATS KING ON PAGE 16

King Kaumuoli'i sacrificed his sovereignfy to save his people from sloughter by Komehomeho l's army. - Photo: Courtesy

KAUAT8 KING Continued from page 15

(L-R) Alethū Kaohi, Dee Morikawa, Saim Caglayan and the late Kumu Hula Kaua'i'ike Flores with the maquette (prototype) of the statue in 2018 at Pā'ula'ula. OHA helped the Friends secure plaeement of the statue at Pā'ula'ula by submitting testimony to the County of Kaua'i Planning Commission. - Photo: Courtesy

together to discover their own personal connection to Kaua'i's history. Originally planned for last year, the conference had to be canceled due to the pandemic, but organizers hope to host the first Mo'okū'auhau o ka Lāhui genealogy conference before the close of 202 1 . "We hope that when we have [the conference] it will start the feeling of interconnectedness, like a family reunion - some sort of annual celebration that will awaken connections and grow the actual 'ohana of Kaumuali'i," said Fodale. "I think it is time for Hawaiians to speak up if they are related to Kaumuali'i," said Kaohi. "The time may eome when we create the House of Kaumuali'i, where the descendants take on the kuleana of caring for the statue; I can't say how long the Friends will be in existence." The connections are there, even if they are not yet known. "Kaua'i was a separate kingdom for a long time," noted Fodale. Referring to Kaua'i's admirable legacy of peaee that began with Kukona, was inherited by Manokalanipō, perpetuated by Kamakahelei, and passed on to Kaumuali'i she added, "whether you want to eall that strategy, physical access or spiritual prophecy, Kaua'i has remained a little bit different." In the 14th century, Kukona wept for his people in the hills above Koloa, grief-stricken that their blood would be shed to turn back an invasion of their island. Centuries later, his descendant, Kaumuali'i, pondered a similar fate. In a 19th century newspaper series Kapiikauinamoku wrote: "Kaumuali'i had naught to lose but his throne not half so precious to him as the blood of his subjects. He delivered his sovereignty to the invading Kamehameha. Few of this world's monarchs ean boast of so deep a eoneem for the welfare of their people." ■ Ifyour 'ohana is related to King Kaumuali'i please eontact the Friends at kaitmualiiohana@gmail.com