Ka'akau Maka Weli Weli

KA’AKAU MAKA WELI WELI

Ka‘akau was the hanai mother of Kaili‘ohe. She was the founder of the school of sorcery called “ho‘opi‘opi‘o”. (If others from this family were hānaied by her and taught these things, is not known.) She had many followers. She taught dream interpretation, how to counter attack mischief, sickness and death. She had the knowledge of how to swish her kapa and drop a man in his tracks, plus she was the keeper of the Kalai pahoa gods after the death of her father. She built houses for these gods and all Hawaiians could tell you of their strength.

At the death of Kamehameha I, when all else had failed and he saw that ha’ole doctors and his own kahuna could not help him, he sent for the gods to be brought to him, for they would surely heal him. When the gods arrived from Moloka‘i, the King was dead.

Ka‘akau lived in the gulch at Kapualei with Puhene for many years. When Kahekili stopped at Molokai to get fish on his way to Oahu to be the winner. He was, and he gave to her the lands of Kapualei as well as other lands on Moloka‘i and Maui. Upon her death she was deified and made a Mo’o goddess in the ancient ways, although the Protestant Missionaries were already active in the Island when she died. The land of Kapualei was given to her toward the end of 1783, and her family, descendants, nieces; nephews have inhabited the land since that time.

At the mouth of the Kapualei gulch is a small walled structure with two compartments where Ka‘akau kept her Kalai Pahoa gods, Pua and Kapo.