No ka omo a me ka manō
Na Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds
Inā kama‘āina ‘oe me ke ‘ano o ke koholā, i
kekahi Manawa ulu nā pī‘oe he nui wale ma luna ona. Eia na‘e
inā kama‘āina ‘oe i nā i‘a ‘ano nui ‘ē a‘e a me nā manō e ‘ike
ana ‘oe ‘a‘ohe pī‘oe o ka hapa nui o ia mau i‘a. ‘O kēia i‘a
nei, ka omo, ke kumu i ulu ‘ole ai kēia mau limu a pī‘oe paha
ma luna o ka manō.
Ma ka moana Pākīpika i ke ao kahiko i maka‘u ai ka manō i nā
i‘a a me nā mea kanu li‘ili‘i i hiki ke ‘ike ‘ole ‘ia e ka maka.
Ua maka‘u ‘o ia i ia mau mea no ka mea ‘a‘ole ‘o ia i makemake
i ‘umi‘umi limu loloa a ‘ōma‘oma‘o e like ho‘i me ko kona kupuna
kāne ‘umi‘umi a ‘a‘ole ‘o ia i makemake i nā uku kai li‘ili‘i
e ola ana ma luna o kona kino e like ho‘i me nā uku kai i noho
ma luna o ke kino o kona kaikua‘ana kapulu. I nā lā a pau no‘ono‘o
ka manō i kēia mau hopena ke nui a‘e ‘o ia, no laila i nā lā
a pau ua ho‘ā‘o ‘o ia i kekahi mea ‘ōko‘a i ulu ‘ole kēia
mau mea ma luna ona.
Ma kekahi o ia mau lā, ua ‘ānai aku ‘o ia i kona kino ma luna
o ke ‘āko‘ako‘a, akā ua kahakaha wale kona kino i nā lima ‘oki‘oki
o ke ‘āko‘ako‘ā. I kekahi lā a‘e, ua lu‘u ‘o ia i kahi puka
o ka pele mai lalo mai o ke kai, eia na‘e, ua wela loa ke kai
a he hauna no ka wai o ia wahi. Ma hope o kekahi mau ho‘ā‘o
e ho‘oma‘ema‘e aku i kona kino, ua holo wale ka manō ma ke kai
a ho‘omeamea i kona nānā ‘ana ke nui a‘e
‘o ia.
Iā ia e holo ana ma ke kai, ua komo ka pōloli i loko ona a ho‘omakaukau
‘o ia e ‘alu‘alu i ka mea ‘ai. I kona ‘ike ‘ana i kekahi i‘a
‘ano lō‘ihi a ‘ele‘ele me kekahi mau kaha ke‘oke‘o, holo aku
‘o ia i ‘ia i‘a a pani i kona waha ma luna o ka i‘a. ‘O ka i‘a
na‘e ‘a‘ole i make, akā ho‘omaka ‘o ia e ‘uē i loko o ka waha
o ka manō. “E ka manō ē, mai ‘ai ‘oe ia‘u, ‘a‘ohe o‘u ono a
hiki ia‘u ke kōkua aku iā ‘oe!” Ho‘olohe ka manō no kekahi Manawa
a ho‘oku‘u ‘o ia i ka i‘a. He i‘a omo ia. ‘Ōlelo aku ka i‘a,
“‘Oiai ua ho‘oku‘u ‘oe ia‘u, ‘o ‘oe ana ko‘u home a ke ulu mai
kekahi ‘ano mea ma luna ou e ‘ai ana wau i ia mea i pilikia
‘ole ‘oe e like ho‘i me kou ‘ohana. No laila mai ia mua aku
ua noho ka omo me ka manō a ‘ai aku i nā mea ola mai luna mai
o kona ‘ili. Pīpī holo ka‘ao. |
The Omo and the Manō
By Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds
If you are familiar with whales, sometimes lots of barnacles
will grow on it. However if you are familiar with big gish and
sharks you will notice that some of them don’t have barnacles.
This fish here, the omo, is the reason why the seaweed and the
barnacles do not grow on the sharks.
In the Pacific Ocean in
olden times, the shark was afraid of the small plants and animals
that couldn’t be seen by the eye. He was afraid of these things
because he didn’t want a long seaweed beard like his grandpapa’s
beard and he didn’t want to have sea nats living on his body
just like those nats that lived on the body of his dirty brother.
Every day the shark thought of all these things when he would
grow older and every day he would try something different to
get rid of those things and stop them from growing on his body.
On one of those days, he rubbed his body on top of a coral,
but his body was just all scratched up from the sharp fingers
of the coral. Another day, he dived to where the lava flowed
out into the sea, however the water was too hot and it was really
stinky down there. After a few nire tries at cleaning his body,
the shark just gave up and swam in the ocean thinking about what
he would look like when he grew older.
As he was swimming in the sea, he started to get hungry and
he got ready to hunt his food. When he saw a fish that was kind
of long with a black body and white stripes, he swam to the fish
and closed his mouth around it. However the fish didn’t die,
but he did start to cry out from the mouth of the shark. “Eh
manō!,
don’t eat me, I don’t taste good and I can help you!” The manō
heard his calls and sat for awhile and released the fish. It was
an omo fish. Then the fish said, “since you have released me,
I will make you my home and when something grows on you I will
eat it so that you aren’t bothered by it as how they bother your
family. So from then on the omo lived on the shark and ate all
the growing things off his skin. The End. |
Kekahi
‘ike hou a‘e
Inoa Hawai‘i: Hehena, Keikiokamanō,
Leleiona, Omo
Inoa Pelekānia: Remora, Sharksucker,
Diskfish
Inoa ‘Epekema: Echeneidae spp.
Kona ‘ano: He po‘o pālahalaha ko
ka Omo. Ma lalo o ia po‘o he mea omo kona a me kēia ‘o ia e ho‘opa‘a
iā ia iho i ke kino o nā i‘a nui. He kino lō‘ihi ko kēia i‘a.
I kekahi manawa he ‘ele‘ele a ke‘oke‘o ke kino, a i kekahi manawa
he polū ka waiho‘olu‘u o ke kino.
‘Ikepili Hoihoi: ‘Ike pinepine ‘ia
kēia mau i‘a ma nā manō a me nā i‘a nui. ‘Ai lākou i ka mea ‘ai
i hā‘ule mai ka waha mai o ka i‘a nui a i ‘ole ho‘oma‘ema‘e lākou
i nā mea ola ma luna o ke kino o ka i‘a. |
More
Information
Hawaiian Name: Hehena, Keikiokamanō, Leleiona, Omo
English Name: Remora, Sharksucker, Diskfish
Scientific Name: Echeneidae spp.
Description: The Omo has a flat head. Underneath this head is
a sucker and it uses it to attach itself to bigger fish. This
fish has a long body. Sometimes this fish can be black and white
and sometimes it has a really dark color to its body.
Interesting Fact: These fish are seen around sharks and bigger
fish. They eat the left over food that falls from the mouth of
bigger fish and they clean up the things that grow on the body
of the big fishes. |