1. PURPOSE. To preserve the Hawai`ian warrior heritage of the Manuwâ and Manu`â families as a means to honor the family name.
2. BACKGROUND.
a. In 1982 a family kupuna (revered elder) instructed the web master of this web site to restore the honor of the family name. The Manu`â (also spelled Manuwâ) family was discredited in a dispute over religious beliefs long ago.
b. This is the family legend.
(1) In the time of Kahiko (long ago, prehistoric) there was a battle in Kohala (district on the big island of Hawai`i) near the Mo`okini heiau (ancient Hawai`ian temple). The Manu`â clan and others supported the kahuna class (priests) of Kanaloa (Hawaiian god). The opposing clan supported the kahuna of Ku (another Hawaiian god). The Ku faction was more numerous and powerful and defeated the Kanaloa followers. The leaders on each side were cousins.
(2) The Ku people went on to become the Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasty, very powerful and famous people in Hawai`i history.
(3) The Manu`â clan and Kanaloa followers were scattered and dispossessed of property. They resettled in Hamakua and Hilo districts of the Big island, and the other islands of Moloka`i, Maui and Kekaha, Kauai.
(4) In time, the victorious Ku people discredited the Manu`â and Kanaloa people referring to them as something akin to "devil worshippers." The final downfall or slander to the family name came when King David Kalakaua published The Legends and Myths of Hawaii in 1888. Kanaloa is listed as "Lucifer, or fallen angel" and Manu`a is listed as one of the "Rulers in the realm of Po, or death." And Manu`â is named as "the supreme sovereign of Po." On the other hand, Ku is listed as one of the three main gods or "The Godhead" [see page 48 of the 21st printing by Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo, Japan, 1985].
3. RESTORATION.
a. The mandate by an elder to restore the family name was daunting. How do you counter the word of a beloved King of Hawaii? Besides, the Manuâ line was a cousin line to the Kalakaua line through a common ancestor named Keleanuinohoanaapipi of Maui and Oahu Islands. Moreover, the Manu`â family is in the 6th generation of Li`ili in the Kumulipo, the creation chant that honors King Kalakaua.
b. After 20 years of research, plus maintaining legends from family elders, the method towards restoration was mulled over and over with little headway. Finally, it was the miracle of the Internet that spawned the idea of a web page to share the heroic tales of old Hawai`i warriors that included the Manu`â clan. "Tell the world the other side of the story is the method of this madness." In short, there are two sides to every legend. And every Hawai`ian family has a "keeper of the family legends."
4. WE ONCE WERE WARRIORS.
a. The Maori (Polynesians of New Zealand) celebrate their proud warrior heritage to this day. Conversely, the warrior heritage of the descendants of Hawai`ian warriors of old languish in the backwaters of the cultural milieu of the Hawai`ian "renaissance." see comments on this by Judge Thomas Kaulukukui
b. It is time to be proud to say, "We once were warriors." E ku ha`aheo, stand proud!
c. In a genealogy published in the Hawaiian newspaper Ka Nupepa Ku`oko`a on December 12, 1874 by Unauna, Manu`â (also spelled Manuwa in the publication) is the son of `Ahu and `Ahu is the son of `Ī. Both `Ī and `Ahu were leaders of divisions of warriors in King Kamehameha’s army in the 1700s [See Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii]. We are proud to say our ancestors once were warriors.
5. OUR KING
a. In the book Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel B. Emerson is an ancient chant about the wedding night of King Manu`a and princess Wanahili. In the footnote it says:
Manu`â . A king of Hilo, the son of Kane-hili, famous for
his skill in spear throwing, maika rolling, and athletic
exercises….Tradition deals with Manu`â as a very lovable
character [see page 100 of the 11th printing by Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo, Japan, 1986].
b.Therefore, we honor the keepers of the Hula, for they have retained the honor of our family name. To our King of Hilo, Chief Manu`â , this website is dedicated.
David Manu`â Heaukulani, Ph.D.