altar of life [v6.0].cwk

71 Pages·2011·0.21 MB·English

by  Rubellite Johnson

Part 2 The Young Warrior
Part 2 The Young Warrior
Choral Introduction:
Male voices, baritone; several stanzas (numbered below). As the voices intone
the narrative, the camera creates a moving set of scenes of the
topography, natural or drawn, or a combination like a collage,
Camera: Unfolds the coast of Hamakua, between ‘Upolu and Waipi’o;
Hi’ilawe falls; Wailuku River in Hilo; or---
Camera: Zooms in on a chart drawn on a dull white piece of beaten
tapa cloth, as the names of the districts and their borders are
added to form the island of Hawai’i; some petroglyph or tapa
designs along the border of the cloth.
(1) Hawaii: Kohala district (north)
(2) Hamakua district (north, northeast): ‘Awini
Halawa
Waipi’o
(3) Add Moloka’i and Maui
(4) Hawaii: Hilo
(5) Puna: Kalepolepo
Mahina’akaka
(6) Ka’u Kalae (Kahuku)
(7) Hawaii: Kawaihae
(8) Kona: Hualalai
Ke’ei
Honaunau
Prologue:
(1) Kamehameha was not a lonely child,
So many were there to care for him
In ‘Awini valley, Nae’ole and his sister, Kekunui-a-leimoku,
The kahuna Kaha and his sister, Kahaopulani,
In the valley of Halawa;
On Moloka’i, high chief and priest, Kaiakea,
Who taught him the rules of behavior at court
Until Kamehameha was five years old.
Keaka, wife of Alapa’inui, in Waipi’o valley,
Rich with taro fields below Hi’ilawe Falls
Until Alapa’i moved his residence to Hilo
To be near Keouanui, nephew and general of armies
Of four districts: Kona, Kohala, Hamakua, and Hilo;
(2) Then suddenly Keouanui died,
Kamehameha was then twelve years old,
When Kalaniopu’u arrived at the funeral for Keouanui,
His brother, hoping to leave for Ka’u with Kamehameha
During the kumakena wailing for the dead,
Chanting the ancestry of Keouanui,
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Son of Ke’eaumokunui,
Son of Keawe-i-kekahi-ali’i-o-ka-moku,
From whom descended title to the paramount sovereignty,
Taken in battle by Alapa’i away from Ke’eaumokunui.
(3) Keawe’opala and Alapa’inui were there at Pi’opi’o
With the chiefs of Kona, chanting for Keouanui,
No one would let Kalaniopu’u take Kamehameha. to Ka’u
Where he would then live with his own true uncle,
Who, in those days, was regarded as one’s own father.
War broke out between Kalaniopu’u and Alapa’i,
From whose government Kalaniopu’u declared Ka’u independent,
In battles fought from Kalepolepo to Mahina’akaka in Puna;
Each time Kalaniopu’u was defeated
Until two years had passed,
(4) Alapa’i moved his residence to Kawaihae
Near Kamailekini heiau in Kikiakoi by the sea
Where he declared Keawe’opala heir to the kingdom.
After redivision of lands among the chiefs,
Ke’eaumokupapaiaheahe of Kapalilua rebelled
And was driven off his land in Kekaha at a time
When Kalaniopu’u was moving his army up from Ka’u
To Honomalino, where Ke’eaumokupaiaheahe met with him
To join in the revolt against the king.
(5) Keawe’opala came down from Waimea in the north,
Crossing the ‘A’amoku lava fields in the central highlands,
Passing by Ahu-a-’Umi heiau, an ancient temple built by ‘Umi
On the plateau between Mauna Loa and Hualalai,
East of which the battle began on the uneven, rocky plain
Between Ke’ei and Honaunau ...
So the story goes...
Kamehameha was then a youth
A boy no more than fourteen or fifteen years of age...
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Background genealogy:
Keaweikekahialiiokamoku Lonomaaikanaka (w) Kalaninui’Iamamao (k)
Keaweikekahiali’iokamoku Kalanikauleleiaiwi (w) Kalanikeeaumokunui (k)
Kalaninui’Iamamao Kamaka’Imoku (w) Kalaniopu’u (k)
(half-brother of Keouanui)
Kalanikeeaumokunui Kamaka’imoku (w) Keouanui
----------
*Kalanikauleleiaiwi (w) 1 Keaweikekahialiiokamoku *Kalanikeeaumoku (k)
(half-brother of Ka’Iimamao)
(half-brother of Keawepoepoe)
(half-brother of Alapa’inui)
Kekelakekeokalani (w)
Kalanikeeaumokunui Kamaka’Imoku (w) Keoua-kupuapaikalaninui
(Ke’aumokunui) ( or Keouanui)
(half-brother of Kalaniopu’u)
Keouanui Keku’iapoiwa (W) II Kamehameha I (Pai’ea)
(cousin of Keawe’opala)
*Kalanikauleleiaiwi 2 Kauaua-a-Mahi *Alapa’inui
(half-brother of Keeaumokunui)
(half-brother of Keawepoepoe)
Ha’ae
Alapa’inui Keaka (w) Keawe’opala
(cousin of Kamehameha)
(nephew of Kalaniopu’u)
*Kalanikauleleiaiwi 3 Lonoikahaupu *Keawepoepoe
(half-brother of Keeaumokunui)
(half-brother of Alapa’inui)
Keawepoepoe Kanoena Kame’eiamoku
Kamanawa
Keawepoepoe Kuma’aiku (w) Ke’eaumokupapaiaheahe
(or Kame’eiamoku) (nephew of Kalaniopu’u)
(cousin of Kamehameha I)
Ke’eaumokupapaiaheahe Namahana Ka’ahumanu
Kaheiheimalie
Kamehameha I Ka’ahumanu Pelelulu (w)
Kamehameha i Kaheiheimalie Kina’u (w)
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Background Genealogy
Keaweikekahiali’iokamoku Kalanikauleleiaiwi (w) Keeaumokunui (k)
Kekelaokalani (w)
Kekelaokalani (w) Ha’ae (k) Keku’iapoiwa (w) II
Keku’i’apo’iwa (w) II Keouakupuapaikalaninui Kamehameha 1
Keku’i’apo’ia (w) II Kamanawa Pi’ipi’i (w)
Ha’ae (k) Kaleleamauli (w) Kamakaeheikuli (w) (half-sister of Kekuiapoiwa II)
Ha’alo’u (w) (half-sister of Kekuiapoiwa II)
Ha’alo’u (w) Kekaulike (k) Kekuamanoha(k)
Namahana (w) (niece of Keku’iapoiwa II)
(cousin of Kamehameha}
Kekuapo’iula (w)
Kekuapo’i’ula (w) Kahahana (no issue)
Namahana (w) Ke’eaumokupapaiaheahe Ka’ahumanu (w) (niece of Kamehameha I)
Kaheiheimalie (w)
Ka’ahumanu (w) Kamehameha I Pelelulu (w)
Kaheiheimalie (w) Kamehameha 1 Kina’u (w)
Kamakaeheikuli (w) Keouanui (k) Kalaimamahu (k) (half-brother of Kamehahea I)
Kawelo-okalani (k) (half-brother of Kamehameha I)
Kamakaeheikuli (w) Kame’eiamoku (k) Kepo’okalani (half-brother of Kalaimamahu)
Kalaimamahu Kaheiheimalie (w) Kekauluohi (w)
Kaheiheimalie (w) Kamehameha I Kina’u (w)
Keaweikekahiali’iokamoku Kane-a-lae (w) Kumuko’a (k)
Keaweikekahiali’iokamoku Lonoma’aikanaka (w) Kalaninuiiamamao
Keaweikekahiali’iokamoku Kalanikauleleiaiwi (w) Keeaumokunui (k)
Kekelaokalani (w)
[the sons of Keaweikekahiali’iokamoku]
Ke’eaumokunui (k) Kamaka’imoku (w) Keouakupuapaikalaninui (k)
Kalaninuiiamamao (k) Kamaka’imoku (w) Kalaniopu’u (k)
Kumuko’a (k) Kaulahoa (w) Kalola-a-Kumuko’a (w)
(Moloka’i) (also Kalola-wahilani (w)
[the sons of Kamaka’imoku (w)]
Keouakupuapaikalaninui (k) Kamakaeheikuli (w) Kalaimamahu (k)
Kawelo-o-ka-lani (k)
Keouakupuapaikalaninui (k) Keku’i’’apo’iwa (w) II Kamehameha
Keli’imaika’i
[half-brothers of Keku’i’apoiwa Liliha]
Keku’i’apo’iwa (w) II Kamanawa Pi’ipi’i (w)
(son of Keawepoepoe) (half-sister of Kamehameha)
Keouakupuapaikalaninui (k) Kalola (w) Keku’i’apo’iwa Liliha (w)
[half-sister of Kamehameha]
[half-sister of Kiwala’o]
Keouakupuapaikalaninui (k) Kahikikala (w) Kalokuokamaile (k)
[half-brother of Kamehameha I)
Kalaniopu’u (k) Kalola (w) Kiwala’o (k)
Kalaniopu’u (k) Kanekapolei (w) Koouaku’ahu’ula (k) (twins)
Keouape’eale (k)
Kamehameha (k) Kalola-a-Kumuko’a (w) Kahili’opua (w) 1767
Kamehameha (k) Kanekapolei (w) Kaoleioku (k) 1768
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Act 2 Scene 1
Camera: Focuses on Hualalai area, zooming in on Ahu a ‘Umi heiau area ,
including Ke’ei and Honaunau.
Time: About the year 1754, after the death of Alapa’i-nui in Kawaihae.
Place: At the heiau Ahu a ‘Umi on the plateau below Mt. Hualalai,
Maunaloa, and Mauna Kea at 7,000 feet.
Scene: Night sky. Warriors encamped outside the walls of Ahu a ‘Umi
heiau (at 7,000 feet elevation) below Hualalai and Mauna Loa.
The young warrior, Kamehameha, about 14 to 15 years old,
sitting in a small walled enclosure hastily built of rocks. Light from
a slow-burning fire, reduced to charcoal. A warrior about the same
age with Kunuiakea, preparing their weapons for battle.
Persons:
Kunuiakea, young Kamehameha, about fourteen years old
Guard
Keawe’opala
Guard: The chief has sent me to take you into the heiau.
Kunui: Keawe’opala? To spend the night indoors?
Guard: Yes.
Kunui: I’d rather stay out here under the open sky. It’s so clear tonight.
Guard: Suit yourself.
Kunui: By the way, it’s a good thing you were standing on the ahu with a torch
last night, or we wouldn’t have found Ahu a ‘Umi temple in the dark. Is
that what you do all the time?
Guard: Last night only, since we were expecting you.
Kunui: How did you know we were coming?
Guard: Keawe’opala sent word to Kona for us to prepare Ahu a ‘Umi as a camp
for his men to spend the night.
Kunui: Do you live up here?
Guard: No, only now and then.
Kunui: There’s no running water, no taro, no fruit trees. What do you do?
Guard: We’re birdcatchers. You see these small rock circles. You’re in one of
them right now. We hide behind the walls during the day, so the birds
don’t see us, and at night the rocks shelter us from the wind.
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[Clouds move swiftly overhead with the wind, and the mist blows
through and around them in the darkness, except for the small
glow of the dying fire near the rock shelter].
Kunui: Birds! For food?
Guard: No, feathers. Our ahupua’a pays a quota of bird feathers at makahiki
time for the ‘auhau taxes.
Kunui: Oh, you’re the ali’i’s vassal in wartime and the konohiki’s birdcatcher
at tax time.
Guard: I suppose I’m both of those.
Kunui: You know this area well, then. Is there a source of drinking water?
Guard: I know the mountains. There’s a cave a stone’s throw from here.
Water collects and drips down from the ceiling.
Kunui: Takes a while to fill a water gourd.
Guard: Set it out at night. By morning, enough to drink
Kunui: (looking at the heiau in the moonlight)
Ahu a ‘Umi, Pillars of ‘Umi, built in the sixteenth century. Not too
hard, from the looks of it. Small enclosure with eight ahu.
Guard: Built by Umi so that he could come across the island from Waipi’o
over the mountsins and not be detected, as he would have been if he came
by canoe.
Kunui: You mean to take the Kona chiefs by surprise?
Guard: Maybe at the beginning. But the battleground below is still an open
field. There’s no place to hide.
Kunui: Use the kahului formation? Sling-throwers go first, up front. (Holds
up a sling) These sling-stones are beveled.
Guard: (Picking up some of them) Aim for the middle of the forehead.
Kunui: Makes a nasty wound.
Guard: What’s this other piece of rope for?
Kunui: Oh, that. A pikoi.
Guard: Attached to a small rock.
Kunui: Aimed at the ankles. It wraps around.
Guard: A tripping cord. A woman’s weapon.
Kunui: It can bring down a big man. Takes practice.
Guard: Were you in Alapa’i’s army?
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Kunui: Yes, but we hardly went anywhere. The kingdom has been at peace
for more than ten years since I was born.
[Enter Keawe’opala]
Keawe’opala: Kunuiakea, there’s room for you in the house. It’s cold out here.
Kunui: Feels good. I can see all of Maunaloa, the top of Mauna Kea, and
Hualalai.
Keawe’opala: We leave before midnight tonight. Our way lies before us for
several miles before we reach the coast.
Kunui: The others have the advantage by canoe.
Keawe’opala: Ke’eaumoku-papaiaheahe and Kalaniopu’u.
Kunui: Only part of the way on foot, and uncle Kalaniopu’u has two district
armies, Ka’u and Puna.
Keawe’opala: Kona’s chiefs are still under me. That makes four districts: Hilo,
Hamakua, Kohala, and Kona.
Kunui: But Kona and Hilo are loyal to Keouanui, and he’s no longer at the
head of the armies.
Keawe’opala: Are you ready with your weapons?
Kunui: They’re here. (Holding up the ma’a slingthrower)
Keawe’opala: In the forefront of action.
Kunui: Behind.
Keawe’opala: The pololu? (wooden javelin, with a smooth spearpoint)
Kunui: No. ‘Ihe laumeki, (barbed spear)
Keawe’opala: In what battle has it been used?
Kunui: None yet. Maybe this time.
Keawe’opala: I was a young fellow like you when Alapa’i went to O’ahu to fight
against Peleioholani. Instead they spoke to one another across the
battlefield and recited a genealogy that showed their close blood ties.
Kunui: That’s famous. The truce between them at Na one a La’a in
Kaneohe.

Keawe’opala: Then Alapa’i went to Moloka’i to defend the chiefs there against
Kapi’iohokalani.
Kunui: Kapi’iohokalani was defeated in that battle.
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Keawe’opala: Keouanui, your father, was Alapa’i’s general in that one.
Kunui: More than ten years ago. I was throwing cane tassels at banana
trees.

Keawe’opala: Aiming at the heart.
Kunui: Banana tree trunks.
Keawe’opala: They’re slim and smooth, like round, thin bodies.
Kunui: Tomorrow, those will be men.
(pause)
Keawe’opala: I’m going now. Goodnight.
[Exit Keawe’opala]
[The moonlight casts shadows across the heiau]
Guard: Since ‘Umi’s time Ahu a ‘Umiheiau has been a hideout for warriors from
Waipi’o.
So that you can find your way back when and if you need to, look
back along the trail as you go down, so that it’s familiar to you when you
start back this way. Otherwise, check the direction back to Waipi’o
through this pasage.
(Indicating the direction of the doorway to the heiau and
looking northward to the stars).

Kunui: So I see. There’s Na Hiku, the seven stars to the north.
Guard: And just below is one that’s always there, even when The Seven
are gone.
Kunui: Hokupa’a, the north star.
(The fire is no more than a small glow of embers. Kunui lies down)
Guard: Light’s out, and all’s well.
Kunui: No. Nothing is right.
Guard: No?
Kunui: No.
Guard: Keawe’opala has never faced warrior chiefs like Ke’eaumoku and
Kalaniopu’u. Alapa’i is not with him this time.
Kunui: And they have Kekuhaupi’o, too.
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Guard: Well, they’re not coming after you. The danger is that you’re at the
front of the army. right In harm’s way.
Kunui: Ke’eaumoku is Keawe’opala’s cousin, and one of them will die
tomorrow.
Guard: You’re all cousins.
Kunui: We share common descent from Kalanikauleleiaiwi on the maternal
side.
Guard: That won’t matter now, will it?
Kunui: No. There’s bad blood between them. Keawe’opala drove
Ke’eaumoku off the land of Kekaha, and Ke’eaumoku fled to Ka’u by
canoe.
Guard: From the looks of things, I’d say, you’re on the losing side this time?
Kunui: I’ve given it a lot of thought.
(staring into the embers as the glow dies].

[Exit Guard] Dissolve.
[End Act 2 Scene 1]
Act 2 Scene 2 1754 Two years later.
At the Waioahukini residence of Kalaniopu’u in Ka’u, on
the west coast of Kalae, South Point, Hawai’i
The training ground under Kekuhaupi’o. Kalaniopu’u’s sons present:
Keoua-ku’ahu’ula and Keoua-pe’e’ale, (twin sons of
Kanekapolei wahine)
and their half- brother, Kiwala’o (half-brother, son of Kalola
wahine, the sister of Kahekili),
their cousin, Kamehameha.
All about the same age, from about fifteen to sixteen years old.
(a) Practice with spears made of light wood (hau)
(1) ‘ihe laumeki (short spear, barbed point, for jabbing
through
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Kekuhaupi’o: (Speaking to Kalaniopu’u’s sons and their cousin, Kamehameha).
My father told me that it’s important for a warrior to get used to
swift running, so that he may escape from pursuers. He said it was a first
principle of defense.
Boys, do you have any thoughts on this?
Keoua-pe’e-ale:(Saying the obvious)
I think that’s true. When you have no weapons left, and you’re
outnumbered, you have to run away, but unless you’re faster, your
enemies will get you.

Kiwala’o: (Saying the obvious) I think that’s true, that you have to run away,
and you need speed, but that also takes more than muscle, like strong lungs
and endurance.

(Showing the alternative) But I offer that you can also hide from
your pursuers, so you need to really know the country, where you can
rest from pursuit, until danger is past.

Kunuiakea: That’s true. You need to know the country well. (Looks up high,
behind him). Like Ahu a ‘Umi.
Kekuhaupi’o: Kunuiakea?
Kunuiakea: I’ve been there. (Changing the subject)
Kaha’opulani, my second mother, taught me to run up and downhill
to strengthen my legs and lungs just doing everyday chores.
Kiwala’o: You mean you’re used to doing what women do?
Kunuiakea: I’m used to running on trails along the mountains, up and down
valleys from Kohala to Hilo. But it’s nice to know where you can find
respite from time to time, like a real cave. I know women who did that.
Keoua-ku’ahu’ula: The pu’uhonua place of refuge is just as good a place to be
when the king’s men are after you, just as good as a cave hideout, and we
have the pu’uhonua in Honaunau. It’s the safest place for a fugitive soldier.
Kunuiakea: (Keeps silent, is not familiar with Kona).
Kekuhaupi’o: That’s still a good distance away.
Kiwala’o: Go by canoe. Paddle at night, nobody sees you. Hide by day,
short distance to run.
Kekuhaupi’o: Say you have no canoe, and only your legs.
Keoua-ku’ahu’ula: Then you run like Kunui over the valleys from Hamakua
to Hilo, up and down, over one hill, down the next.. Know the way.
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