Kaʻanoʻilani Fuller
Waiakōlea ma Niʻihau
Mānaleo Series
These short clips of native speakers on Ka Leo Hawaiʻi talking about their lives and practices are invaluable windows into our past, our language, and ourselves. Our mahalo kūhohonu goes out to Larry Kimura and Puakea Nogelmeier for their foresight in preserving the voices of these hulu kupuna.
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Kaʻanoʻilani Fuller shares the story of a water source on Niʻihau first found by the kōlea birds.
Kaʻanoʻilani Fuller (KF): Kawaihoa.
Puakea Nogelmeier (PN): Kawaihoa, ʻō! ʻAe, ʻae.
Lolena Nicholas (LN): Keanahaki, eh.
KF: A, a i laila ka Waiakōlea
PN: Waiakōlea?
KF: Wai-a-kōlea. Hele mākou i laila i ka ʻohi kīnākia, i luna o kēlā pali o Kawaihoa.
PN: ʻO ia?
KF: Hele a mea maila kahi poʻe, “E, ʻono au i ka mea, i ka inu wai.” “Mamake ʻoe e inu wai? ʻAʻohe wai? Oh ok, loaʻa nō kaʻu huewai, noʻu nō. E hele nō ʻoe e ʻimi i kou wai.”
Mea maila kēlā poʻe kūpuna. “Aia akula ka wai i lalo ʻō.”
“Oh, he aha ka wai?”
“Ka wai e inu.” Mea maila, “Hele mai, naʻu e hōʻike iā ʻoe.”
Kēia ka wai na ka manu kōlea i hōʻike i ka poʻe o Niʻihau. Na lākou i ʻimi i kēlā wai, Waiakōlea.
PN: A na kēia manu i hōʻike i ka poʻe kānaka o Niʻihau, kahi o kēia wai. He wai hūnā?
KF: ʻAe.
PN: He ʻano wai…?
LN: He wai huna.
KF: He wai huna.
PN: A ma hea kēlā wai ma Kawaihoa? Aia ma lalo o ka ʻāina?
LN: A pili i ka mea, i ka pali.
PN: ʻĀ!
LN: A loaʻa kekahi lua ʻano pālahalaha i lalo.
PN: He wai?
KF: Hele lua wai i kahe maila, aia i loko o ke kāheka.
LN: Hiki ke hele wāwae. Hiki ke hele me kou lio.
PN: Wahi lua kiʻowai, kēlā ʻano mea?
LN: Pono e—inā piʻoloke ka kai eh, pono ʻoe e kā [i] kēlā kai i waho. Inā kali ʻoe a mahope, a puka mai ka wai.
PN: Piʻi mai lalo aʻe?
LN: ʻAe, mai lalo, mai ka ʻaoʻao o ka mea…
PN: Kulukulu wale mai nō a…
LN: Kulu, kulu, mhmm. Hoʻopiha, eh.
Unuhina (Translation):
Kaʻanoʻilani Fuller (KF): Kawaihoa.
Puakea Nogelmeier (PN): Kawaihoa, oh, yes!
Lolena Nicholas (LN): In Keanahaki, eh.
KF: That’s where Waiakōlea is.
PN: Waiakōlea?
KF: Wai-a-kōlea. We went there to pick kīkānia, up on the cliffs of Kawaihoa.
PN: Really?
KF: We went and some people said, “I’m thirsty for water.”
“You want to drink water? Oh, ok, I have my water jug, but that’s for me. You go find your water.”
So the kūpuna said to that person, “The water is down there.”
“Oh, yeah, what kine water?”
“Drinking water.” Then the kupuna said, “Come, I show you.”
This is the water that the kōlea birds showed the people of Niʻihau. They found this water, Waiakōlea.
PN: And these birds showed the people of Niʻihau where this water is. Is it hidden?
KF: Yes.
PN: It’s water that’s…
LN: It’s a hidden water.
KF: It’s a hidden water.
PN: Where in Kawaihoa is that water?
LN: It's right up against the pali.
PN: Oh!
LN: There’s a sort of flat pool down below.
PN: There’s water in it?
KF: It’s a pool that the water flows into; it's in a tide pool.
LN: You can walk to it. You can go with your horse.
PN: A little pool of water, sort of a thing?
LN: If the ocean is really active, you have to push that saltwater out. Then if you wait, after a while the fresh water comes out.
PN: It comes up from below?
LN: Yes, from below, from the sides…
PN: It trickles in and…
LN: Trickles, trickles. Then it gets full, eh.
Niʻihau native speaker and community treasure, Lolena Nicholas, heard on this clip speaking with her uncle.
Niʻihau native speaker and community treasure, Lolena Nicholas, heard on this clip speaking with her uncle.
Niʻihau native speaker and community treasure, Lolena Nicholas, heard on this clip speaking with her uncle.
He ʻĪnaʻi
Niʻihau is a small, low-lying island and does not have the rainforests and watersheds found on higher islands like Maui and Hawaiʻi. Rainwater catchment systems provide the water needed for folks' homes today, but in times before, water sources like Waiakōlea would have been invaluable to residents, especially when traveling to hunt, fish, or gather other resources.
Niʻihau island. Kawaihoa point is at the bottom (name in yellow).
Knowledge of springs and other water sources is a special sort of ʻike that the kamaʻāina of a place often know. It was common knowledge back in Kaʻanoʻilani's time, but is becoming increasingly rare in modern times when we simply turn on the taps in our homes and piped water flows out in abundance.
Life on Niʻihau in the 1800s.
Where does the water in your pipes come from? Is your aquifer healthy? Is it threatened in any way? These are important question to address for ourselves as well as the pono of future generations. With issues like the Navy's contamination of water from the leaking fuel tanks at Kapūkai (Red Hill), it is important for all kamaʻāina to get back in touch with their local water sources.
Na Hina Kneubuhl i kākau a hoʻonohonoho i kēia moʻolelo. Mahalo nui iā Helena Bakutis i ke kōkua ʻana mai ma ka palapala leo a me ka unuhi ʻōlelo.
These pieces are all working interpretations. Should you see a kuhihewa, kiko hewa, or have any sort of manaʻo to share, please email kauamelemele@gmail.com - Mahalo!
Click here to access the full recording on the University of Hawaiʻi's Evols website.
Niʻihau island. Kawaihoa point is at the bottom (name in yellow).
Niʻihau island. Kawaihoa point is at the bottom (name in yellow).
Life on Niʻihau in the 1800s.
Life on Niʻihau in the 1800s.
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