Mokuohai Battlefield
The ruling chief of Hawaii, Kalaniopuu, decided before his death in 1782 to leave his lands to his son, Kiwalao. To his nephew, Kamehameha, he entrusted his war god, Kukailimoku. According to historian John Papa Ii, Kamehameha felt a deep respect for his older cousin Kiwalao and had no wish to quarrel with his demands. However, when Kiwalao’s chiefs became greedy, Kamehameha and his allies felt war was the only solution.
The two factions met in battle at Mokuohai, a rough lava field not far from Napoopoo, in mid-1782. According to Ii, after several days of skirmishing, Kiwalao took the upper hand. He captured Keeaumoku, the ruling chief of Kona and Kamehameha’s ally, and threatened to kill him. When news of this disaster reached Kamehameha, he hastened to Mokuohai, accompanied by his future wife, Kaahumanu, daughter of Keeaumoku.
At that critical moment, one of Kamehameha’s expert stone throwers, Pahia, flung a stone at Kiwalao, hitting him in the temple with such force that the chief fell to the ground. Kiwalao had the bad luck to fall on or near Keeaumoku, who took his enemy by the throat and slashed it with a lei o mano (shark-tooth knife), killing him.
Kamehameha won the Battle of Mokuohai, but his victory did not bring peace. Although Kiwalao was vanquished, his uncle and younger brother escaped, regrouped their forces, and spent the next 10 years fighting amongst each other and against Kamehameha for supremacy of the island of Hawaii.
Copyright 1998 Kona Historical Society. Reprinted by permission.