Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits

by Caren Loebel-Fried

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  “Ka‘ili! Run!” she screamed, jumping to her feet, arms waving to get her brother’s attention. But just as he looked up, they were upon him. The big men easily overpowered the startled boy, and they bound his hands and feet and tossed all the fish he had caught back into the sea. They threw Ka‘ili into their canoe and paddled away, out of the bay and into the open sea.

  Na–‘ilima ran down the hillside path in terror, straining to keep the canoe in sight. She frantically called out to their family ‘aumakua, “Pueo! Pueo, please come and help!” She cried and prayed, desperately repeating her earnest prayers again and again. And then, from out of the wide, brilliant blue sky, the great owl appeared.

  He alighted soundlessly on a gnarled branch of a wiliwili tree growing next to the path. Na–‘ilima stopped before him.

  He was beautiful and majestic, with his sleek torso and grand feathered wings tensed and ready for flight. With unblinking, intelligent eyes on Na–‘ilima, he listened.

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  “E, Pueo!” she said quickly. “My brother, Ka‘ili, was fishing in the bay when the kahuna came in a canoe with his men and captured him. We did not know these waters were sacred!

  Please, Pueo, help my brother! I am afraid he will be killed!”

  The distant canoe was barely visible on the horizon now, but with his keen eyesight the owl could clearly see the boat and its occupants. Then, Na–‘ilima watched as Pueo took to the air with a great rush of wind, flying swiftly to her brother.

  The owl flew high in the sky along the shoreline, following the canoe. By the time the men brought the vessel to shore, the sun had almost set. In the growing darkness, Pueo kept watch as the kahuna and his men threw their prisoner inside the heiau. They finally settled down, leaning heavily against the outside wall of the temple. The owl waited, his sharp eyes on the men, whose breathing was growing slow with sleep.

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  And so there lay poor Ka‘ili, still huddled in a miserable heap in the corner of the heiau, still wishing passionately that he had never used his net in those sacred waters. Pueo glided down soundlessly on outstretched wings, landing next to the boy. Ka‘ili felt the stir of the air and turned his head slowly, fearful of what he might find. When he saw the owl, his family guardian, he was filled with joy.

  “Pueo!” he whispered, but the owl looked hard at the boy, and Ka‘ili realized he must be quiet. Ripping with his sharp talons and beak at the olona– cords that bound the boy’s hands and feet, Pueo set Ka‘ili free. The boy sprang to his feet, ignoring his stiff, sore limbs. He quickly scaled the temple wall opposite where the guards slept and, making not a sound, 9 1

  jumped to the ground below. But when Ka‘ili tried to run, the owl struck at him with powerful wings. Again and again the owl stopped the boy from running, until somehow Ka‘ili understood that Pueo wanted him to walk backward.

  The going was slow and awkward. The frustrated boy was terrified that he would be captured again, and the owl flew close by, stifling any attempts he made to turn and run forward.

  Ka‘ili realized then that his trust in Pueo, his ‘aumakua, was absolute. He must obey. The men were now awake, their distant shouts getting closer, and Ka‘ili could make out the glow of their kukui torches as they wound up the path, quickly gaining on him. With his guardian hovering protectively above him, the boy resolved to focus on his difficult task and overcome the paralyzing fear that gripped him.

  Meanwhile, Na–‘ilima waited anxiously at the top of the hill, her eyes on the path, with the pounding of the ocean below echoing the beating of her heart. When she finally saw her brother, Pueo flitting just above him, she called quietly.

  “Ka‘ili! Over here! Hide behind this rock!”

  He made his way carefully over to her and crouched behind the giant rock. Pueo flew down and beat a fierce wind with his wings, blowing away all traces of the boy’s final steps, then flew up to a branch above them.

  Na–‘ilima sat against the rock, collecting herself, seconds before the angry men appeared. Breathing hard with exertion and fury, one of the men saw the girl and asked her, “Have you seen a boy run by this way?” She looked up at the man, composed and unconcerned, and said, “I have seen no one.”

  Just then, one of the men brought his torch close to the ground, catching sight of one of the footprints on the path.

  “Look!” he said, pointing down. “These footprints are fresh, and I am certain that they belong to our prisoner. They go the other way. He must have turned around and slipped by us, but 9 3

  we can corner him by the sea. Follow me!” The men, with their torches held low, rushed along the dark trail, following Ka‘ili’s footprints back toward their heiau.

  As soon as the torchlight had faded, Ka‘ili and Na–‘ilima slipped away, dashing in the opposite direction, down the path toward their home. Once they were a safe distance from the men and the kukui torches could be seen no more, the brother and sister hugged excitedly.

  “My brother! I thought I would never see you again!” said Na–‘ilima breathlessly. She held him, and they pressed their noses together affectionately. The boy looked up into the sky and a huge smile spread across his face. “Look, sister,” he cried, pointing excitedly. “It is our Pueo!” They watched the owl gliding high in the sky above and spoke of their love and gratitude for Pueo, their marvelous, clever guardian, who had saved Ka‘ili from a certain death.

  Then Ka‘ili and Na–‘ilima started on their way again, dashing the rest of the way home, quiet and happy under the protective wings of Pueo.

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  N O T E S

  ON THE Pueo

  The word pueo in Hawaiian means owl. Called Asio flammeus sandwichensis by ornithologists, the bird’s common name is the Hawaiian short-eared owl, because its earlike tufts are so small they are barely visible. The pueo is endemic to Hawai‘i, and can be found nowhere else in the world. Unlike most owls, the pueo is diurnal and sleeps at night, hunting for small rodents in grassy fields and marshes by day. Because they fly so high, these owls may be mistaken for the ‘io, the Hawaiian hawk, though the pueo is often seen in the evening, soundlessly gliding close to the ground. The owls build their nests on the ground in grassy areas, which makes their eggs and young vulnerable to predators. On O‘ahu the pueo is endangered, primarily due to loss of habitat, and state and federal laws protect them.

  Pueo, one of the oldest known guardian spirits, was protector to a great number of people in the ancient Hawaiian world. In the mid-1800s Isaac Kihe, a kahuna, or priest, from North Kona said that Pueo was “the most famous of all

  ‘auma–kua to help.” There are many historic accounts of indispensable aid given to worshippers, including early stories of the mighty owl rescuing lost souls on the plain from the dark realm of Po, the underworld, bringing them back to their bodies and to life. The great god Ka–ne was known to take on the guise of an owl and fight in battles to protect his people.

  Pueo freed prisoners, hid fugitives, and led whole armies to safety. In battle, an ali‘i, or chief, would look to the owl for guidance, and wherever the bird alighted would be interpreted as a safe passage.

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  Hawaiians whose ‘aumakua is Pueo look at an owl not just as a powerful, graceful bird flying overhead. They observe the owl’s pattern of flight and behavior meticulously, for clues may be hidden and guidance given in the wave of a wing or flick of the tail feathers. These are not the random actions of a wild animal. Instead, as the legends reveal, a god or the spirit of an ancestor may be alive within.

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  ABOUT THE

  BLOCK PRINTS

  The block prints appearing in this book were created using a basic technique that developed independently in many cultures. In fact, ancient Hawaiians invented a kind of block printing to decorate their kapa, or bark cloth. Highly skilled women practiced this refined and beautiful art form using stamps made from bamboo strips called ‘ohe kapala. The designs cut into the strips included a
wide variety of geometrical motifs and straight lines. Colored dyes used to ink the stamps were made from the leaves, fruit, bark, nuts, roots, tubers, berries, and flowers of local plants. The repeating patterns were pressed down on the cloth, either over a large area or only along the edges, as a border. While bark cloth has been produced throughout Polynesia, this form of block printing on kapa was unique to Hawai‘i.

  Growing up, I was lucky to have a mother who was a prolific artist and teacher. We spent summer days at the beach—my mother making woodcuts while my brother and I played. I loved watching her strong hands work the tools, the metal blade gouging out thin lines of wood, and I would collect the curly strands left in the sand. I could spend hours this way without getting bored, because it was fascinating to see the image as it was gradually revealed. My own block carving methods have developed mostly through experimentation, but luckily I have my mother to call on whenever I have a question or a problem.

  When I make a block print, I do a lot of work before I even touch the block. First, I research the legends and Hawaiian natural history, so I can represent the plants, animals, and life in ancient Hawai‘i as accurately as possible. I attempt to bring 9 7

  forth the essence of the plant or animal, those qualities that might suggest the spirit within. This results in a symbolic portrayal of the story sometimes and a literal depiction at other times. I also enjoy weaving elements from the legend into the borders as decorative details.

  I spend a great deal of time developing my drawing on paper and do not transfer the image to the block until I am satisfied with the design. All cuts are permanent, and I have learned to my frustration that when a cut is made by accident, the block is ruined. So I am certain of every line before I do any carving.

  All areas that will appear white on the finished print are carved out of the block’s surface. The prints appearing in this volume were made with rubber or linoleum blocks. While a variety of specialized tools are available for carving, my favorite is a simple mat knife with a fresh, sharp blade.

  The printing is the most exciting part of the process—it’s the “grand finale” and always a surprise. I apply ink to the block with a roller, so that it covers the uncut surfaces. I carefully lay paper over the inked block, then rub the entire surface evenly with a wooden spoon. In a moment of tension and anticipation, I pull the paper slowly off the block and the 9 8

  final image is revealed. The colored images in this book all began as black-and-white prints, which I painted with washes of ink. Any translucent medium will do, such as watercolor paints, drawing inks applied with a brush, or artist’s markers.

  Block printing is a very pleasing medium with which to work. I enjoy its simplicity and its roots in ancient history, and it is gratifying to continue the work that my mother taught me by example. Although the results are sometimes disappointing and I have to go “back to the drawing board,” I am almost always happily surprised. The animals and plants I have studied and the legends I love so very much now have a life of their own in the dancing lines and shapes that sweep across the printed page.

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