| Ka
Mo‘olelo o ka ‘O‘opu
Wahi a kahiko ‘o ka ‘ohana mo‘o ka ‘ohana o kekahi o na&_macron;
holoholona Hawai‘i ‘o ia ho‘i ka ‘o‘opu a me ka ‘i&_macron;lio ‘ehu;
pe&_macron;la&_macron; pu&_macron; me na&_macron; ‘ehu wahine. ‘O ka mo‘o ka ‘aumakua ma kekahi
o na&_macron; ‘ohana Hawai’i no laila ma ia mau ‘ohana pa&_macron;pa&_macron; ‘ia ka
‘ai ‘o‘opu.
I kekahi la&_macron; i hele aku ai ‘o Kahi&_macron;nano i
kahi lokowai e lawai‘a ‘o‘opu no ka ‘a&_macron;ina ahiahi. Ma hope
pono o ka unahi, kua‘i, a ka&_macron;pi&_macron; ‘ana o ua i‘a la&_macron; a&_macron;na i hele
ai i ka pu&_macron;hala no ka ‘ohi‘ohi lauhala no ka ‘ulana moena,
ma muli o ka hiki koke ‘ana mai o ka la&_macron; ho‘okupu ali‘i.
Ua hiki akula ka la&_macron; kau i kona ho‘i ‘ana
i ka hale. I ke kokoke ‘ana aku i ka hale, na&_macron;na i kiu aku
i wahine ‘ehu e ‘imi ana no kekahi mea. I ke&_macron;la&_macron; manawa ke&_macron;ia
manawa ki‘ei akula ka wahine ma ‘o&_macron; a ma ‘ane’i; ma lalo ho‘i
o na&_macron; ulula&_macron;‘au, ma lalo iho o na&_macron; kumu la&_macron;‘au, a puni ala o ka
hale. Uluhua ka wahine i ka na&_macron;na&_macron; ‘ana aku a ‘o kona huli akula
no ia i kahi lokowai me ka ho‘o&_macron;ho a‘ela no&_macron; penei: “ ‘O Ka&_macron;ni‘o!”
“Eia no&_macron; au ma ‘ane‘i,” i pane maila ke ka&_macron;ni‘o
i loko o ko Kahi&_macron;nano hale me ka lele pu&_macron; a’ela mai loko a‘e
o ka ‘umeke a ‘o kona holo akula no ia i ka lokowai.
“ ‘O Na&_macron;kea!” i ka&_macron;hea aku ka wahine, a pane
koke ka na&_macron;kea me ka ho‘i akula pu&_macron; i ka lokowai.
“‘O ‘Ailehua! ‘O ‘Apoha&_macron;! ‘O Na&_macron;pili! ‘O Hinana!”
i ho‘o&_macron;ho akula ka wahine a pane la&_macron;kou pa&_macron;kahi i ka inoa pono‘i&_macron;.
I ka puka ‘ana aku o na&_macron; ‘o‘opu pa&_macron;kahi mai
ka hale aku, na Kahi&_macron;nano i ‘ike kohu mo‘o ka na&_macron;na&_macron; ‘ana o na&_macron;
wa&_macron;wae o ua mau ‘o‘opu la&_macron;. Me ka maka‘u ‘ana i ho‘ohiki ai
‘a‘ole loa ana e ‘ai hou ai i ka ‘o‘opu.
Ma o ia mo‘olelo i ‘ike ‘ia ka
pili ma waena o ka ‘o‘opu a me ka mo‘o. Ina&_macron; ha&_macron;nau ‘ia ka ‘o‘opu
ma ka ‘ohana kanaka, wahi a kahiko, he mo‘o ia ‘oiai he i‘a
wale no&_macron; ia. Ma hope wale mai o ka hiki ‘ana mai o ka po‘e
Mikioneli i pau ai ke kapu ma ka ‘ai ‘o‘opu.
|
The
Story of the ‘O‘opu
Our people believed
that the mo‘o or lizard family, was also family to some other
Hawaiian animals such as the ‘o‘opu, or goby fish, the ‘i&_macron;lio
‘ehu, or brindled dog; as well as the ‘ehu wahine, or mermaids.
The mo‘o was the ‘aumakua (ancestral guardian) of some Hawaiian
families, therefore eating ‘o‘opu was forbidden in these families.
One day a woman named
Kahi&_macron;nano went out fishing for ‘o‘opu in a nearby pond for
her dinner meal. After scaling, gutting, and salting the fish
she left the house to gather pandanus leaves to weave mats
for the upcoming ho‘okupu day.
She arrived home as
the sun was setting. As she neared the house she spied upon
an ‘ehu woman, a mermaid peering about; under the shrubbery,
under the trees, and around her home. Discouraged, the woman
turned toward the pond and shouted in a loud voice: “‘O Ka&_macron;ni’o!
“
“Here I am,” answered
the ka&_macron;ni’o from inside of Kahi&_macron;nano’s house as he jumped out
of the calabash and ran towards the pond.
“‘O Nakea! “ called
the wahine, and the na&_macron;kea answered quickly also returning
to the pond.
“‘O ‘Ailehua! ‘O ‘Apoha&_macron;!
‘O Na&_macron;pili! ‘O Hinana!” shouted the wahine and each one of
them answered as their name was called.
As each of the ‘o‘opu
came out from the house, Kahi&_macron;nano could see that their legs
and feet resembled those of a mo‘o, a lizard. Frightened,
she promised never to eat ‘o‘opu again.
The relationship
between the ‘o‘opu and the mo‘o family can be seen through
this story. If an ‘o‘opu was born into a human family it was
believed by our ancestors to be an ‘aumakua of the mo‘o family
even though it was “just a fish”. After the arrival of the
missionaries, the kapu on eating ‘o‘opu was no longer observed.
|
