| Having collected his forces in Kohala, Kamehameha crossed the Hawaii channel, making his descent in Hana, and, as the natives say, his canoes covered the beach from Hamoa to Kawaipapa.
When Kalanikupule {sovereign lord or king of Maui} heard of the landing of Kamehameha at Hana, and that he was marching with his force through the Koolau district, he sent Kapakahili {noted warrior chief} with the best troops he had through the Hamakua districts to meet and resist the progress of invader. Of the campaign in Hamakualoa some mementoes are still pointed out. The fortified position at Puukoae on Hanawana, which was attacked and taken by Kamehameha, who had brought his fleet round from Hana. The hill is known as “Kapuai-o-Kamehameha,” to the west of the Halehaku stream, where he encamped for the night after taking Puukoae. Here his war-god Kukai-limoku was paraded around the camp, to ascertain by the usual auguries-the more or less erect position of the feathers, etc.–the issue of the campaign; and the answers being favorable, Kamehameha engaged Kapakahili in battle the following morning. For some time the result was uncertain, but reinforcements having come up to Kamehameha, the Maui forces were routed, and fled as far as Kokomo, where a final stand was made. Fighting desperately, and with hardly a hope of retrieving the fortune of the day, Kapakahili encountered Kamehameha on the field, and one of those single combats ensued in which the fate of an empire depends on the personal prowess of one or the other of the combatants. Kapakahili was killed, the Maui men fled and dispersed, and the road to Wailuku lay open to Kamehameha. |
| Originally published as Volume II of AN ACCOUNT OF THE POLYNESIAN RACE ITS ORIGIN AND MIGRATIONS ABRAHAM FORNANDER KNIGHT COMPANION OF THE ROYAL ORDER OF KALAKAUA The modern version, which makes great reading, is: ANCIENT HISTORY of the HAWAIIAN PEOPLE” First Printing November, 1996 Softcover ISBN 1-56647-146-X Mass market Mutual Publishing |
| The informal telling of these events have it that after the battle at Hanawana, Kamehameha and his troops stayed in Kakipi Gulch for a few weeks to rest. Here they built a Heiau {Hawaiian church} to insure the Gods favor in battle. In those times there were two ways to do battle: one was army against army and the other was general against general. So Kamehameha left the valley to have a “one on one” with the prince of the region whose Heiau was in Peahi gulch. They chose a distinctive geographical feature to meet now named the “Heel of Kamehameha” or Kapuai-o-Kamehameha because here Kamehameha stomped the prince under his foot. Kamehameha went on to take the rest of Maui but the center of the invaders religious, political, and cultural activities remained in Kakipi for some time. |