The Hawaiian story of the wind keepers - Sydney Iaukea
Long ago, La’amaomao,
the Hawaiian wind goddess,
wielded a gourd that housed
the winds of the Islands.
It came to hold her bones,
along with the life force they carried,
and was eventually passed
to her grandson, Paka’a.
He learned the hundreds of distinct winds
that wafted and whipped
around his homeland.
Chanting their names, he could stir
the skies and raise the waves.
Like his father before him,
he became the most trusted attendant
to King Keawenuia’umi of Hawaii Island.
But his privileged status
also made him a target.
Two of the king's seafaring navigators
were especially envious.
They knew Paka’a’s skills
and responsibility to the king
were divinely inherited,
but they coveted his position.
So they whispered rumors
and eventually turned the king
against his most loyal companion.
Paka’a watched bitterly as he was stripped
of his land and privileges.
He fled, escaping the navigators who
plotted to drown him as he sailed away,
and took refuge on Molokaʻi,
where he married a young chiefess.
They brought a son into the world,
but Paka’a never stopped
imagining his return.
He taught his son, Kuapaka’a,
the way of the winds
until Kuapaka’a was poised
to avenge his father
and restore his rightful place
beside the king.
Back on Hawaii Island,
as the two navigators revealed
their selfishness,
the king realized how easily he’d been
deceived and longed for Paka’a.
Some of his more trustworthy attendants
divined that Paka’a was still alive
and told the king to construct
canoes for a journey.
However, Paka’a could not
return so easily.
First, the king’s loyalty and dedication
had to be tested.
As the king rallied his attendants,
Paka’a’s ancestral spirits arrived
in the form of two birds
and rotted the trees he was using
for canoe-building.
Though exhausted, the king had
his best archers shoot the birds,
and he started again.
Later, as Paka’a dreamed,
the king’s spirit announced his search.
However, Paka’a’s own spirit
misled the king,
saying he was on Ka’ula—
not Molokaʻi.
The king’s fleet soon set sail.
As they passed Molokaʻi,
Paka’a’s son, Kuapaka’a, greeted them,
warning that a storm was brewing.
He chanted the names of the winds,
but kept his identity a secret,
as per Paka’a’s plan.
The king’s navigators dismissed
the young boy’s claims.
But as they sailed off,
Kuapaka’a unleashed a vicious storm
and all were forced to shelter
on Molokaʻi.
For four months,
Kuapaka’a maintained the storm.
With Paka’a’s secret supervision,
he earned the king’s trust,
and, after clearing the sky, Kuapaka’a
agreed to join the king’s search.
At sea, the two navigators continuously
discredited Kuapaka’a.
Finally, he readied himself for revenge
and called the winds.
As waves crashed,
Kuapaka’a anchored the canoe
and passed provisions to everyone—
except the two navigators.
They grew cold and weak,
eventually falling overboard.
But Kuapaka’a’s work wasn’t done.
While everyone slept,
he brightened the sky
and sailed towards Hawaii Island
instead of Ka’ula.
Though the king regretted
not finding Paka’a,
everyone was glad to be home
and forgot about Kuapaka’a—
until the day he proposed a canoe race.
He wagered his catch of flying fish
against that of eight fishermen
who had been appointed
by the two treacherous navigators.
They agreed, figuring it'd be an easy win.
But Kuapaka’a called to La’amaomao,
and a great wave whisked him
ahead of his opponents.
Enraged and convinced this was a fluke,
the fishermen asked for a rematch.
But this time, they demanded Kuapaka’a
wager his bones against theirs.
At first, the men paddled fiercely,
with Kuapaka’a gliding effortlessly
in their wake.
As they tired, Kuapaka’a hurtled
himself to victory.
Hearing that eight of his fishermen
were to die,
the king asked Kuapaka’a
to have mercy on them.
But the time had come for Kuapaka’a
to reveal his identity
and have the King prove
his commitment to Paka’a.
Overcome, the king agreed to their deaths
and asked to welcome Paka’a home,
promising his lands and position
would be restored.
At last, the king and Paka’a
were back at each other’s sides.
Wielding the sacred wind gourd,
Paka’a and Kuapaka’a ensured the names
of the winds would never be lost,
and those who understood them
never undermined or forgotten.
