Kukona

Kukona was the 7th Alii Aimoku of Kauai. He ruled as the titular king or chief of the island of Kaua’i. Kukona took Ka-lau-nui-ohua, the ambitious chief of Hawaii who tried to seize Kauai, as prisoner to Kauai and this war was known as the War of Kawelewele. He was born around 1405 according to "Na Pua Ali'I O Kaua'i: Ruling Chiefs of Kaua'i" by Frederick B. Wichman.

War of Kawelelwele

Kukona was the Alii Aimoku or sovereign of Kauai when Kalaunuiohua of Hawaii made his descent on the coast of Koloa, and in that neighborhood was met by Kukona and all the Kauai chiefs. On the hills above Koloa on the island of Kaua`i stood the heiau and enclosures of the palace of the reigning king of that island kingdom, the gracious Kukona. His name became in Hawai`i the symbol of the very highest ideals of chivalry in battle. Long before the great sails of Hawai`i and her allies were seen, the court priests of Kaua`i had come before Kukona to warn him of the impending invasion. "And what is the outcome to be?" Kukona had asked, "Victory of defeat for us?" the priests had answered one word “Victory!” Kukona turned his eyes away and he wept. "O, that the blood of my people and my children, must flow again over their sacred land.

When Kalaunuiohua sailed on his campaign against Kauai to wage war upon Kukona, he was accompanied by three defeated kings of Maui, Molokai, and Oahu. There were Kamaluohua, king of Maui and Kahakuohua, king of Molokai and Huaipouleilei , king of Oahu.

But he had no intention to surrender nor to deliver his sovereignty to alien hands. When the armada of Kalaunui-Ohua, touched the shores of Kaua`i, they were met by an army of only 500 men. These were the defenders of Kaua`i. He himself had not even bothered to attend; he sent his heir, Mano-Kalanipo, to represent him. In one brief battle, the armies of invasion suffered a complete and absolute defeat. A small and greatly outnumbered force of Kaua`i warriors had decisively beaten the combined armies of all of the other islands. The invading monarchs now stood in peril of their very lives for ancient custom decreed that they might be slaughtered and offered as sacrifices before the great Ku temples of Kaua`i.

Kukona, however, decided otherwise and thereby set the pattern by which the acts in battle of the succeeding kings of Hawai`i were judged. He spared the kings who had come to conquer him. Instead of death, he gave them presents: to their men he gave provisions and supplies. He repaired their canoes and gave them more from his own fleets. He sent them back to their own realms over the seas in the regal state befitting a sovereign king of Hawai`i.

Peace of Kamaluohua

Kalaunuiohua and the other chief lived peacefully on Kauai with Kukona and were treated by him with all kindness. One time when Kukona was spending the day apart from his own people, with these captive chief about him, he was taken with a desire for sleep. He rolled himself in his blanket and lay down, but did not fall asleep (he was setting a trap for them) but was all the time alert and watching them from beneath his covering.

Kalaunuiohua and his fellow captives supposed that Kukona had really gone to sleep, and they began to grumble and find fault with Kukona and to plot against his life, at which the chiefs of Oahu, Molokai, and Hawaii nodded assent, agreeing that they should turn upon Kukona and put him to death. But Kamaluohua, the king of Maui, said, “Let us do no hurt to Kukona, because he has been kind to us. Here we are in his hands, but he has not put us to death. Let us then treat him kindly.”

Just then Kukona rose up and said to them, “What a fine dream I've just had while sleeping! I dreamed all of you were muttering and plotting my death; but that one,” pointing to Kamaluohua, “defended me and preserved my life.” They all acknowledged the truth of his accusations. “Because, however, of Kamaluohua's kindness,” continued Kukona, “and because of his determination that no evil should be done to me, because he appreciated that life and the enjoyment of peace were great blessings, I will not trouble you.”“Because Kamaluohua did right, I now declare all of you free to return to your homes with the honors of war, taking your own canoes with you. Do not think I shall oppress you in your own lands. Your lands shall be your own to live in as before.” So Kalaunuiohua returned home to Hawaii; Huaipouleilei, to Oahu; Kahakuohua, to Molokai; and Kamaluohua, to Maui. And they lived peacefully in their own homes. This peace was called ‘ka lai loa ia Kamaluohua’, the long peace of Kamaluohua."

The Chivalry of Kukona

Chivalry and grace were embodied in Kukona, the King of Kaua`i, and he remained throughout the centuries of Hawai`i's history as the criterion whence all other acts of warfare are measured. Even Kamehameha I violated all battle etiquette - yet we praise the results which he achieved putting an end to a disordered social system of Ancient Hawaii. Kukona's generous conduct towards the Oahu, Molokai, and Maui chiefs who fell into his hands after the battle, brought Kauai back into the family circle of the other islands, and with an éclat and superiority which it maintained to the last of its independence.

His son Manokalanipo by his wife Laupuapuama'a succeed him as king of Kauai.

References

* Abraham Fornander, An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origin and Migrations, Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1969.
*"The Stories & Genealogies of Maui," http://www.mauiculture.net/mookuauhau/index.html, Accessed 9 Oct 2004.
*David Malo, Hawaiian Antiquities, Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1951.

External links

* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~barbpretz/ps01/ps01_255.html Rootsweb]