The story of how Alika was named.

Alika was a man and Hina was his wahine, and their occupation was farming. Before they would begin farming, they would vow that should their crops mature, they would consume it along with Pele, the god. But when the crops reached maturity, the two of them didn’t carry out their promise, and the day that they ate of their crops, that was when they soon died.

This is how it happened: Hina urged Alika to eat sweet potato, and so Alika went to dig up some, and after finding some, he baked it in the umu¹ until done and then they ate it all; then the forest began to speak as if it were a man, echoing all about them. During which time, the man soon thought of their vow. Alika said to Hina, “We will die because of you,” and before he was done speaking, lava soon flamed forth and they perished.

And it is for this man that this land is called by that name until this day; if you look at the aftermath of the lava, in this area, the burnt homes of Kaupo stand jagged because of the spreading flames²; the land is horrid in appearance in every way; but the kamaaina love it here, and it is only the malihini who disparage it.

Pohakuekaha was the aikane of Alika and Ko-aka; Kiapea was the woman of all of them; they died and their bodies transformed into rocks; Pohakuekaha is a stone that is visited often by malihini who are in the area.

The amazing thing about this rock is that if the visitor climbs atop of the rock and throws pebbles into the sea, the sea will turn rough, but not in any other area, just right there.

As for Ko-aka, if the sea is calm right above it, during low tide, this is a sign that will be rough seas; this rock is now located in down in the deep, while Pohakuekaha is on the sand.

These things above deal with the story of this land as was heard by Kahinalua, the kamaaina of this place.

Yours truly,

M. K. KIAMOKU

Alika, S. Kona, Hawaii.

¹Umu is another word for imu, the underground oven (as in the name, Kaumualii).

²I am not sure if this is a reference to the actual place called Kaupo in South Kona, or to the famous saying “Kū ke ʻā i ka hale o Kaupō” from the story of Pāmano…

(Kuokoa, 8/7/1886, p. 3)

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke XXV, Helu 32, Aoao 3. Augate 7, 1886.