Remember your guardians, or 'aumakua. Woodcut by Dietrich Varez.

Stories tell of protective nature
of family shark 'aumakua

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Ph.D., R.D.

In the rich oral traditions of Hawai'i, mo'olelo (stories) are told about family 'aumakua (personal gods). These mo'olelo teach the youngest family members about the protective nature of their 'aumakua. Family 'aumakua perform at the most personal level in the lives of Kanaka Maoli. In the past, the head of the family led all kāne in daily prayers and offerings to their 'aumakua, during mealtime in the hale mua (men's house). Most often, the 'aumakua take earthly forms of animals such as the shark, owl, hawks, 'elepaio, rocks, eels, etc. Family kahu (keepers) are responsible for the daily care as well as taking food and gifts to the 'aumakua.

Shark 'aumakua live in the coastal areas of all islands. One 'aumakua, Ka'ahupahau (cloak well cared for), lived in the district of Pu'uloa. Ka'ahupahau had a brother, Kahi'ukā (the smiting tail) that was a stone in the sand a small distance from Ka'ahupahau's underwater cave. Ka'ahupahau's son, Kupīpī, lived in the water nearby. Ka'ahupahau was the chiefess of all sharks in Pearl Harbor. Ka'ahupahau and her brother were born as human beings. Then one day, a great shark god turned them into sharks. The youthful sharks swam upstream to a place where their kahu fed them 'awa. As the sister and brother sharks grew too large to swim in the stream, food offerings were brought to the lochs in the harbor.

Papio, a pretty girl, used to surf at Keahi, a place between Pu'uloa and Kalaeloa. One day she met an older relative of Ka'ahupahau's, Koihala, who was stringing lei of kou, ma'o and 'ilima blossoms for her beloved shark grandchildren. Rudely, Papio begged for a lei. Koihala refused each request.

apio finally left to surf without a lei. Later, when Papio returned from surfing, she snatched one of the lei from Koihala and scampered away laughing. Koihala was angry. Koihala took the other lei to the beach to Ka'ahupahau and told Ka'ahupahau what had happened. Ka'ahupahau became angry with Papio.

Meanwhile, Papio crossed the channel to sun herself upon a large rock. Papio stretched out on the rock with her beautiful long hair trailing in the water. Papio did not expect Ka'ahupahau to send a shark to destroy her. Papio was seized and killed by a young shark. Papio's blood spewed onto the nearby shore, staining the soil red, as it remains today. Once her anger had subsided, Ka'ahupahau was filled with remorse. Ka'ahupahau declared that from that day forward, all sharks in her domain would protect the people in Pu'uloa and not destroy them. Ka'ahupahau also forbade flowers from being worn or carried on the waters of Pu'uloa, because flowers had caused the incident. Since then, the people of the district and the sharks in the Pu'uloa lochs have been the best of friends.

Another story took place in Ka'ū. It was pouring rain and little Kawena asked for nenue (fish) to eat. Her mother said that was impossible, as heavy rains prevented fishing. Soon, an aunt came to visit and found the child crying quietly. The aunt had a solution. Hand in hand and dressed in raincoats, the two made their way down to an uncle's shoreline cave. When her uncle heard the little girl's wish, he said her wish would be granted. The uncle climbed up on the rocks above his home and stood looking out over the bay. He just stood there. Soon the rain stopped and sunlight fell upon the man, who kept standing upon the rocks. Why didn't he do something? Why didn't he get her fish?

Suddenly the man moved. Quick leaps took him down to the beach and he waded out into the water. The aunt and little girl arrived at the water's edge as the uncle drew his net up around some fish. The uncle said, “The first one is for you,” as he threw the fish back into the bay. A shark rose from the water and caught it. “These are for the grandchild,” the old man added. He was speaking to the shark, then he turned and handed Kawena four nenue.

The little girl's eyes were full of wonder. “That is your guardian,” said the uncle, as they watched the shark disappear. The trio returned to the cave to hear the story of the 'aumakua.

An older brother lay on the beach, he appeared lifeless. The brother's eyes opened, and he whispered, “Bring 'awa and bananas.” Confused, the uncle stood. The eyes opened again, the words were repeated. “Quickly,” was added. The uncle ran off to get the food. When he returned, his brother had pulled himself up on the rocks. The brother called out, “Wait, O my guardian! The boy has gone for food.” Uncle helped his brother take the food out on the rocks to deeper water. “Oh, my guardian, come! Here is 'awa to drink! Here are bananas! Come and eat.”

Suddenly a large shark appeared just below the rocks. 'Awa was carefully poured into the shark's open mouth. Then, peeled bananas were carefully fed, one by one, to the shark. “Thank you, O my guardian!” “Today you saved my life. Come here to eat when you are hungry.” The older brother told a tale of a squall at sea and an overturned canoe. Blinded by the rain, he lost the canoe. Just as he thought he was lost, he felt something firm under him and hung on. He felt himself moving and realized it was a shark. Uncle's older brother always took care of the 'aumakua. Just before he died, he passed the responsibility on to this uncle. The uncle said, “The 'aumakua wanted to eat nenue, today, so he put the thought into your mind. Always remember our guardian, Kawena.” And, she did.